ALMOST A DONE DEAL

Once upon a time, a property sale was on the verge of closing. The buyer had paid earnest money to secure the deal. Both parties—seller and buyer—had done their part (or so it seemed): tax clearances secured, certified documents obtained, closing papers signed, and payment breakdowns agreed upon.

Closing day arrived. It was the first time the seller and buyer met in person. Smiles were exchanged, a few pleasantries shared, and then they got down to business.

Signatures were affixed on each page of the closing documents. Once everything was signed, the buyer handed over a Manager’s Check—the full payment. The seller, in turn, reached into an envelope and handed the buyer a blue piece of paper.

The buyer looked at it, puzzled.

“Uh... what’s this?”

“That’s the title,” the seller replied, confidently.

The buyer examined it. “But… this is just a certified true copy. Anyone can request this from the Registry.”

The seller blinked. “Well, this is all I’ve ever had. I thought this was the original.”

It was only then that both parties realized: the original title was missing. The seller had never seen it and didn’t know the difference.

What followed was a painfully awkward moment. The freshly signed documents were torn up. The Manager’s Check was returned. Smiles were replaced by polite nods and forced goodbyes. Though they said they’d resume once the title was found, it was clear—the buyer had lost all confidence.

Weeks passed. Eventually, word came: the original title was nowhere to be found. The only option now was to apply for a reissuance—a legal process that could take six months, maybe a year or more.

At this point, the buyer wanted out. He asked for his earnest money back.

But there was one more problem.

The seller had already spent it.

Lessons from this ordeal? I’ll be sharing them tomorrow.

***

Following up on yesterday’s post: What can we learn from that awkward failed sale?

More specifically—how could the buyer have known, beforehand, that the seller didn’t actually have the original title?

Simple: ask to see it.

Yes, it sounds overly cautious. And in most cases, it’s not common practice. Ask a seller to show you the original title, and you’ll likely be met with confusion—or even suspicion. They might argue, “A certified true copy from the Registry should be enough.”

But here’s the thing: it’s not always enough.

There are a few scenarios where only physically seeing the original title would have saved you:

The title was used in an informal loan.

In the Philippines, a property can be sangla’d (pawned informally) without any annotation on the title. If the lender holds the original title, you’d have no idea by looking at a certified copy.

The title is mortgaged, but unannotated.

Some banks delay or skip annotation altogether. I’ve seen titles held by lenders for years without any record appearing on the title.

The title is simply missing.

Like in the story from yesterday’s post, the seller inherited the property and had never seen the original. What he had was just a certified copy—and he didn’t even know the difference.

So what can buyers do?

Make it easy and non-confrontational. Instead of insisting on an in-person viewing, you could request a quick video call. Ask the seller to show the original title on camera. You could even lend them a black light so they can prove it’s authentic (real titles have security features like UV marks).

Now, let’s talk about the second issue: how do you prevent a seller from spending the earnest money before the deal is finalized?

In many countries, earnest money goes into escrow—a neutral third party holds it until conditions are met. But in the Philippines, that’s rare. Escrow setups are costly and time-consuming. Some parties open a joint bank account for the purpose, but that also adds friction.

So what’s the solution?

Tie both together: Ask to see the original title before handing over the earnest money.

It’s a small step that could save everyone from a long, expensive mess later on.