Annotations Often Found on Real Estate Titles

Properties · Housing · Loans · Investment · Mortgage · Real · Estate

Whenever you invest in Philippine real estate, you have to be extra cautious when it comes to reading
and understanding the papers included in the deal, especially the title of the property. There are
instances when a buyer neglects to spot an annotation on the property title he has been given, and this
often leads to problems about property use and ownership. These are a few of the most usual
annotation that a title might contain.

1. Notice of Lis Pendens. Latin for “a suit pending”, a notice of lis pendens is a written warning that
states that there is a pending legal process pertaining to the said real estate property’s ownership or
possession.

2. Writ of Preliminary Attachment. The writ of preliminary attachment is issued by the court ordering a
sheriff or a law enforcement officer to seize a property from the owner or defendant for the satisfaction
of a decision by the court. This action is done in order to put the defendant’s assets on hold while a legal
action such as fraud is taking place.

3. Writ of Execution. As a means of fulfilling the decision of the court, a writ of execution is issued for a
sheriff’s sale to take place to sell off the property that was seized so that the plaintiff can claim the
proceeds as payment.

4. Section 4, Rule 74 of the Rules of Court. After the death of an estate owner, the heirs to his estate
can go through an extrajudicial settlement to claim the property title in his name. If an heir, creditor or
other individual was left out of the settlement without authorization, these people have two years
starting from the annotation date to file a claim.

5. Deed of Restrictions. A deed of restrictions indicates that there are certain limits concerning the use
of the property. A few of the limitations in the deed are how the property can only be used, how big the
building should be in proportion to the land, what kind of building can only be constructed, how tall a
building can be and that a land cannot be further divided.

6. Easements and Rights-of-Way. Easements indicate that other people are allowed use of a specific or
general part of your property even if they don’t own it. One type of easement, a right-of-way, signifies
the right of other people to pass through your property to get to a public place.
7. Mortgage. An annotation about mortgage shows that the property is being used to accomplish a
financial obligation by using it as security or collateral. If a property has a pending mortgage and a buyer
agrees to shoulder the balance, the buyer should remember to ask for proof of the total balance of the
mortgage, as well as interests and penalties, from the date that the property was sold.