Checking Land Titles in the Philippines and Spot FAKE ones in 30 seconds

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The numbers of scam victims fall for fake Land Titles continuous to increase nowadays despite the government’s effort to fight against scammers. Having a proper knowledge in checking the characteristics of a land title could be your first line of defense to learn if you’re dealing with them.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE IMPORTANT POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHECKING THE LAND TITLE:

PHYSICAL QUALITIES– The papers used for authentic land titles in the Philippines are supplied by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas. These papers are physically unique from all other kinds of papers that you can buy from stores. Here are the things you should look for:

• The texture is similar to that of a bank check
• It has a faint watermark that says “LRA“
• If it’s an old title (before the newer e-Titles being used today), the color of the paper is light yellow.
•  If it’s an e-Title, the color should be pale straw.
• Tiny fibers and dots should be noticeable
• And if you could use a UV light, these fibers should fluoresce or shine slightly when subjected to UV light.

CONTENT

Below are the items you should look for in the contents of the title you are checking:

• If it’s an Original Certificate of Title (OCT), it should indicate “Judicial Form No. 108-D” at the top.
• If it’s a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT), it should indicate “Judicial Form No. 109-D“
• The serial number label (SN No.) should be in red color, while the digits should be in black for the owner’s duplicate.
• The last two digits of the page number in the upper right hand side should correspond to the last two digits of the TCT number.
• The red/blue border should be slightly embossed and not flatly printed.
• For e-Titles, all entries should be computer encoded and printed, unlike the old versions which were manually type-written
•  The seal on the lower left hand side should be dark red and does not blot when a litle water check is done.

SIGNATURES:

• for Judicial OCT, it should have 2 signatures present – the Administrator and the Registrar; while for TCT, only the signature of the Registrar is present.
• For Administrative Titles: one signature from a PENRO or CENRO officer and another from the registrar.

If the title does not pass this simple test, then you have saved yourself a lot of trouble, time and money; You don’t have to do further verification anymore since you already know it’s fake.

However, please also note that even if the title passes this first and immediate test, you still can’t be 100% sure that it is authentic, until you verify it with the LRA, the Registry of Deeds and the concerned local offices of the Municipality where the property is located.

original link: https://philpropertyexpert.com/how-to-check-land-titles-in-the-philippines-and-spot-fake-ones-in-30-seconds/