Wanted to buy tax dec land and then process for title

Hi! There is a land in southern municipality of Cebu that my husband and I would like to buy but it is still in tax declaration, but after buying, we'd like to process for title. I've heard that the process would be tedious and would take years, that's why we'd like to make sure first that no one else will contest to such ownership.

Am I right in saying that
1) We need to have it surveyed first so we may know the exact location of that piece of land? Is there a technical description in a tax declaration?
2) We go to the assessor's office to check whether or not there are others who are paying tax for the same property and see to it that the tax dec is updated?
3) We go the register of deeds to to check whether or not this piece of land is titled already (worse with owner other than stated in the tax dec.)

Do we need to also check DENR to make sure that it's alienable and disposable? What does alienable and disposable mean?

What else do we need to check?

How much is the average cost for having a 3,400 sq meters titled and for how many years does it take to have it titled?

We need your guidance and thanks in advance for your help.

Hi, I am not a lawyer but would like to share my little knowledge to you. Normally. the Tax Declaration indicates the Certificate of Title if is titled, number of sqms, location as to its surrounding lots, i.e., North, West, etc. or names of owners surrounding it. I suggest you also check with municipality Engineering to know what type of land it is, and if the government giving/selling it to whoever possess the land. Kasi ang Alam ko kapag Hindi titled ang lupa ay ari pa ng gobyerno at ang Tax Decs ay hindi document signifying ownership of it but it is only for tax payment purposes only, and the tax being paid ay parang bayad upa sa pag occupy or pag possess ng lupa.Just for sharing, the subdivision in our province only purchased from individual Farmers ang sinasakahan nilang lupa (agricultural land) at ginawang subdivision. Those who had fully paid the land and house, the developer or owner cannot issue the title as I heard only after 25 years that the title be issued. How true, I don't know. I think HLURB is the dept. responsible for land use including ruling for subdivision.DENR is a good start for inquiry. Ladie

Hello po. In relation po sa tanung regarding the untitled land being sold, if namatay na po yung original may-ari ng untitled land at apo na lang nya yung nagbebenta, need po ba ng buyer magbayad ng estate/inheritance tax prior to securing the certificate of land title and to register the land in the register of deeds? Salamat po.

[quote="Ladie"]Hi, I am not a lawyer but would like to share my little knowledge to you. Normally. the Tax Declaration indicates the Certificate of Title if is titled,

This I am aware. That's why we also have to check the chain of tax dec to prove the land has been in their possession. Then tax clearance to see that he's taxes have been paid and updated, then check the bureau of lands to see if the land described has been titled already, coz if it is, then the tax dec is of no use. The title is stronger than the tax dec because title indicates ownership while tax dec only indicates that you've been paying taxes. The government doesn't care if there are many who paying for the same piece of land, they just receive it anyway.

This piece of land is agricultural and atty. said if we want it titled we'll have to apply at DENR to free patent it and wait for 5 years before it can be titled/ re-sold. No problem with the agricultural type of land because we're going to use it as agricultural anyway with just a small house for a relative who will be caretaker while we're away.

bookworm_jess13 wrote:Hello po. In relation po sa tanung regarding the untitled land being sold, if namatay na po yung original may-ari ng untitled land at apo na lang nya yung nagbebenta, need po ba ng buyer magbayad ng estate/inheritance tax prior to securing the certificate of land title and to register the land in the register of deeds? Salamat po.

You can ask the apo to pay the estate tax because, though I'm not lawyer, in my understanding it is the tax which involves his inheriting the land, so it should be fixed first before he is entitled to sell the land. In our case, the buyer said the estate taxes have already been paid, though we still have to check and get the proper docs to be really sure that they indeed paid the estate taxes.

For: Bookworm_jess13:

I am not a lawyer ly want to share my little knowledge
Any land whether titled or not, in order to sell it, there are many steps to go through. If owner of land (name on the title or tax declaration) is deceased, an Extra-Judicial or judicial settlement be FIRST executed among the deceased owner's heirs, notarized by a lawyer. Estate Tax if titled be paid by heirs/seller, Doc Stamp Tax and Transfer Tax. Certificate of Property Taxes payment, Transfer Tax, Certification of Publication of the Extra-Judicial or juicial settlement required byRegistrar Office in transferring the land to the buyer's name
On untitled land a deed of Renunciation of POSSESSORY Right is one needed and I think Estate Tax is not applicable since the land is not owned by the POSSESSOR. The Tax Decs is not a document signifying ownership but rather is only for property tax purposes.

For: Tangadsangig

I am not a lawyer but only sharing my little knowledge. If it is ang agricultural land and untitled, I think there are some prohibitions, restrictions in selling it by the CLOA/Dept of Agrarian Reform Act of 1988.