NewsWhore
12-15-2008, 01:10 PM
Higuey has been described as a Mecca for forging land titles, where just in parcel 367-B there is a portion of land with 15 "claimants" fighting over its possession, as reported in Diario Libre.
Also in the area there are property lines over property lines of land. The State Lawyer for the Higher Land Court, Fermin Casilla Minaya, said that lately in the facilities of Law 108 regarding the registration of land titles, there have been "encumbrances upon encumbrances."
Casilla says he does not know just how these new cadastral designations on the same properties are being obtained. He said, "Higuey is a Mecca for false documents. There, above all, in parcel 367-B there are some (parcels of land) with 15 titles, 15 owners who are fighting."
He says he does not know how surveyors modify the boundary lines of properties in the tourist areas, where there are many cases of fake documents. He said, "For this reason, before buying a property investors should come to the Registrar's Office and request the services of a surveyor in order to locate precisely the land they plan to purchase."
He bases his arguments on the fact that in Higuey parcel 367 has a series of land titles that do not have possession or a letter of title or proof, and therefore they do not know where their lands are located. He added, "In that parcel of land, the state still has 41,500,000 square meters of land, and even the state does not know where its land is, exactly."
He revealed that he recently sent seven falsification cases to Higuey and his staff is currently investigating six more cases with a view to charging the forgers. Casilla Minaya said: "Since there was an old cadastral designation and the law permits that with this number, in order, it is easier to change the number of a parcel of land and obtain the des-encumbrance on the land that is already clearly-titled and has its cadastral designation and boundaries."
Casilla Minaya warned that a lot of counterfeiting operations operate around the Superior Land Court, supposedly by notaries based in the area known as "La Placita".
He said, "That is where the fakes are made. We are investigating and there is one particular notary who has not been suspended by the Supreme Court, but is on trial, namely Trigo Fondeur, who legalizes the documents that pass through "La Placita" which is next to the Higher Land Court."
Casilla Minaya revealed that the land courts are not dealing with penal cases or establishing penalties for the falsification of land titles. The situation is motivated by the fact that the new Law on Real Estate Registration repealed all of the penal dispositions that the old Law 1542 had on Land Titles.
The Law, in Article 113 says that generally the penal actions of the Land Court are common law actions. At the same time only four violations are mentioned in real estate jurisdiction: perjury, interruption of publicity and moving the boundary stakes, which are called infractions of little account and not punished to the same extent as faking documents.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)
Also in the area there are property lines over property lines of land. The State Lawyer for the Higher Land Court, Fermin Casilla Minaya, said that lately in the facilities of Law 108 regarding the registration of land titles, there have been "encumbrances upon encumbrances."
Casilla says he does not know just how these new cadastral designations on the same properties are being obtained. He said, "Higuey is a Mecca for false documents. There, above all, in parcel 367-B there are some (parcels of land) with 15 titles, 15 owners who are fighting."
He says he does not know how surveyors modify the boundary lines of properties in the tourist areas, where there are many cases of fake documents. He said, "For this reason, before buying a property investors should come to the Registrar's Office and request the services of a surveyor in order to locate precisely the land they plan to purchase."
He bases his arguments on the fact that in Higuey parcel 367 has a series of land titles that do not have possession or a letter of title or proof, and therefore they do not know where their lands are located. He added, "In that parcel of land, the state still has 41,500,000 square meters of land, and even the state does not know where its land is, exactly."
He revealed that he recently sent seven falsification cases to Higuey and his staff is currently investigating six more cases with a view to charging the forgers. Casilla Minaya said: "Since there was an old cadastral designation and the law permits that with this number, in order, it is easier to change the number of a parcel of land and obtain the des-encumbrance on the land that is already clearly-titled and has its cadastral designation and boundaries."
Casilla Minaya warned that a lot of counterfeiting operations operate around the Superior Land Court, supposedly by notaries based in the area known as "La Placita".
He said, "That is where the fakes are made. We are investigating and there is one particular notary who has not been suspended by the Supreme Court, but is on trial, namely Trigo Fondeur, who legalizes the documents that pass through "La Placita" which is next to the Higher Land Court."
Casilla Minaya revealed that the land courts are not dealing with penal cases or establishing penalties for the falsification of land titles. The situation is motivated by the fact that the new Law on Real Estate Registration repealed all of the penal dispositions that the old Law 1542 had on Land Titles.
The Law, in Article 113 says that generally the penal actions of the Land Court are common law actions. At the same time only four violations are mentioned in real estate jurisdiction: perjury, interruption of publicity and moving the boundary stakes, which are called infractions of little account and not punished to the same extent as faking documents.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)