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People often believe a Deed of Sale is proof of ownership of property.
They believe that the property is theirs even though they do not have the land title since they have fully paid the seller.
They are correct that there is proof of a sale, but they will not be properly acknowledged as the owner by any institution if they do not complete the transfer of title from the original owners to themselves and pay the transfer fees.
This article explains:
<ul>
<li>What is a Deed of Sale?</li>
<li>What are the characteristics of a Deed of Sale?</li>
<li>What is a Land Title?</li>
</ul>
What are the characteristics of a Land Title?

A Deed of Absolute Sale is a legal document that outlines the transfer of ownership and the lawful acquisition of real estate rights from the seller to the buyer.
It must be duly notarized and must be apostilled or authenticated if coming from abroad.
It includes important information about the transaction, such as the names of the parties involved, a description of the property or asset being sold, the purchase price, and any specific conditions or terms related to the sale.
It also often has an attached acknowledgment receipt page at the back.
A Deed of Absolute Sale is best written by a professional real estate lawyer but many often opt for the cheaper DIY method of just downloading a template from the internet and editing it themselves, due to the cost.
However, this practice can lead to serious complications later on and should be avoided for the most part.
For the Deed of Sale to be respected by Philippine institutions such as the government and banks, it is important that the notarized Deed of Sale is registered with the BIR, the transfer taxes paid and the title transferred &ndash; this is expensive and costly, but it is the only way that your rights as an owner will be respected.
Note however, that a Deed of Sale is not final proof of ownership.
A Deed of Sale is not respected by institutions such as the government of banks and&nbsp;will not&nbsp;let you mortgage, sell or enter legal transactions for the property unlike a Land Title.

<img src="https://haspcms-fcb-lawyer.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/tinyeditor_uploads/jlxdd1l6WeOt0YaCLyLCV9B1RSWBWMF6z7pGVaS9.webp" alt="Key Components and Information of a Deed of Absolute Sale" width="889" height="739">
A Deed of Sale is a written legal document transferring an asset between two parties.
It must have:
<ul>
<li>Parties&nbsp;&ndash; the &ldquo;Buyer&rdquo; and &ldquo;Seller&rdquo; are named with their complete addresses</li>
<li>Agreement&nbsp;&ndash; the details of the transaction such as the price and the date</li>
<li>Property&nbsp;Description&nbsp;&ndash; the details of the property are fully and unambiguously described to avoid complications.</li>
<li>Notarized Document&nbsp;&ndash; a Deed of Absolute Sale must be notarized</li>
</ul>
Each of the above components are important.
In one Deed of Absolute Sale that we examined, the property description was very vague.
In fact, the property description was so vague that the BIR would not accept it for processing and so the document could not be used.
This was very problematic since the parties were deceased, and solving this issue took some time and cost.
Additionally, a Deed of Absolute Sale must be notarized.
Often, a Deed of Absolute Sale is not notarized due to the cost of notarization, which can be a percentage of the transaction cost.
However, a Deed of Absolute Sale that is not notarized cannot be used.
No institution will accept it.

<img src="https://haspcms-fcb-lawyer.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/tinyeditor_uploads/YOeILCfP1Q5eu4yyeTyUDRrZhgpcnm2q6gLDZ9Q2.webp" alt="What is a Land Title" width="885" height="562">
The Land Title is the most important document related to property ownership.
The Land Title is official proof of property ownership submitted and recognized by the government and other institutions.
A property without a Land Title means the owner doesn&rsquo;t hold the full rights to the property
A Land Title in the Philippines is issued by the Registry of Deeds to the owner while an exact reproduction is kept at the Registry of Deeds itself.
Both copies are important as they act to confirm information that the other holds.
Both will be used in transactions concerning the property.
Thus, it is important to check the status of your land title at the Registry of Deeds as well as to hold the Original Land Title itself.

A Land Title has specific information:
<ul>
<li>It lists the owners of the property</li>
<li>It typically includes a history of ownership and any&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/cancellation-of-encumbrance-sec-7-ra-26/">encumbrances</a>&nbsp;on the property, such as mortgages or adverse claims</li>
<li>It also includes a technical description of a lot property.</li>
</ul>
A Land Title is not notarized and is sufficient on its own.
The Original Land Title must be kept safe.
The&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/how-to-reconstitute-a-philippine-land-title/">loss of the Original Land Title</a>&nbsp;will often trigger a very long and costly process to replace it &ndash; it will often take years and it will take money.
So, keep your land title always at hand.

To get a Land Title when you only have a Deed of Absolute Sale follows the below basic steps:
<ul>
<li>Your Deed of Absolute Sale must be notarized and correctly state the information above</li>
<li>Gather documents relating to the buyer and seller and property documents of ownership</li>
<li>Register the Deed of Sale at the BIR and pay the transfer taxes</li>
<li>Register the Deed of Sale at the Registry of Deeds</li>
<li>Register the Deed of Sale at the City Tax Assessors</li>
</ul>
This is a long process and there are several fees.
This process however, is extremely necessary &ndash; if you don&rsquo;t use the Deed of Sale by registering it at the BIR and transferring it, then you are not recognized as the owner by the government and other institutions.
And this means that you cannot mortgage, sell, donate or enter into other legal transactions at all.
Furthermore, inheriting the property and&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/how-to-transfer-land-heirs-philippines-extrajudicial-settlement-philippine-land-inheritance/">transferring it to your heir&rsquo;s names</a>&nbsp;will become exceedingly complicated.

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The Documents needed to get a Land Title if you only have a Deed of Absolute Sale are as follows:
<ul>
<li>Identity documents of the Parties such as Birth Certificates and valid IDs</li>
<li>Original Owner&rsquo;s Title</li>
<li>Certified True Copy of the Title from the Registry of Deeds</li>
<li>Certified True Copy of the Tax Declaration</li>
<li>Notarized Deed of Absolute Sale</li>
<li>Special Power of Attorney, if you are asking someone to work on it on your behalf.</li>
</ul>
The documents must be gathered so that they can be presented to the BIR.
The documents must also be accurate and contain the same information &ndash; for instance, the names on the title must be the names of the sellers on the Deed of Absolute Sale.
Inaccuracies can lead to further processing issues and cause a lot of delay.
Additionally, the documents must be correctly gathered.
If the parties are abroad, then the documents have to be&nbsp;<a href="https://lawyerphilippines.org/apostille-of-documents-from-and-for-the-philippines/">authenticated or apostilled</a>&nbsp;as applicable.
If the Deed of Sale is completed, then it must also be correctly notarized.
Without these, the BIR will not process the Deed of Sale.

<img src="https://haspcms-fcb-lawyer.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/tinyeditor_uploads/mjqOKmE9OZH9bSxhLjvSQJdNXyipCyosY4Zi4AEi.webp" alt="Land tittle process" width="886" height="428">
It can take 6 months to a year, depending on the state of your documents.
If you have a correctly prepared Deed of Absolute Sale and all the documents (without errors and with confirmatory information), then 6 months is achievable.
If you are starting from scratch and gathering documents, then you may find that a year or more is more likely.
Of course, if there are errors in the documents or contradictory information, then this process will take longer depending on the type of fix that is needed.

Is a Deed of Absolute Sale Sufficient Proof of Ownership of Property in the Philippines?