partial payment to land, land title missing

Hello,
I made an arrangement with a landowner to purchase his empty Lot for 800k in Bulacan. The owner does not have an original copy of the title, he only had a xerox copy of it. He gave me a copy of the land title, We agreed on terms written and signed by him that i would forward him 200K, and within 3 months he would produce the original land title. Then i would pay him the rest once i get original title.

The understanding was, the original title was lost, and he needed 3 months to have a new title produced. Its been 7 months, no original land title. He said he is working on it, but i doubt it. I still want the LOT. Can i take this to court? Do i have a case to get my downpayment
back or the lot? Any advise would help.

thanks,
JC

Have you and the land owner executed a contract to sell or any contract at all regarding the sale of the property? Second, have you taken possession of the property?

Yes, there is a hand written sale contract signed by the landowner, stating that he agree to sell his land to me for the said amount and that he will produce the original land title within 3 months from my prepayment. I am not about to pay him the rest, without receiving the original title. I have not taken possession of the land. Its currently just an empty land.

Yes, you can bring it to court to oblige him to perform his part under the contract and you can also ask for damages.

If you want to pursue this, you can end a direct email to km@kgmlegal.ph so we can discuss it further.

Best regards,
Atty. Katrina

Thank you for all the Legal advice. I will give the owner some time and see if I need to get legal help. Again, Thanks!

You're welcome.