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QUERY raised in letter received: I am an overseas
worker, now homeless in my own native land. A couple of years ago, I
bought a townhouse unit from a realty firm, through an agent.
Through him, I religiously paid the monthly installments. I also had
said unit fully developed—with complete furnishings—making it an
ideal place to live in. In my desire to fully pay my obligations for
the unit, I went abroad to work. Having saved enough to complete the
payment, I came home. My homecoming, however, started my agony.
Upon arrival, I found out that my
unit was occupied. The padlocks which I had put at its door were
destroyed and forcibly opened. And the occupants were using the
furniture in it, including my bed, the sofa, as well as my dining
sets and other electronic devices. I exerted utmost effort to look
for the agent to whom I gave the payments, but he was nowhere to be
found. My frustration was aggravated by the information I got from
the realty firm that it had not received my payments.
What can I do?
Advice:
You must immediately get the
police and the NBI to look for the crooked agent.
Then, you may take action against
those who entered your unit. For destroying the padlocks which you
had placed at its door, they can be held liable for malicious
mischief under Article 327 of the Revised Penal Code which holds
criminally liable any person who deliberately causes “any
damage” to the property of another.
Such criminal act was aggravated
by their entry to your unit without your knowledge, much less your
consent. Such act constituted trespass to dwelling which is also
punishable under Article 280 of the Revised Penal Code.
On the other hand, nominal
damages are adjudicated in order that a right of the plaintiff,
which had been violated or invaded by the defendant, may be
vindicated or recognized. (Article 2221, id.).
With respect to exemplary
damages, they are imposed by way of example or correction for the
public good (Article 2229, id.). This is in addition to moral,
temperate, liquidated or compensatory damages.
Liquidated damages are designed
to prevent breaches of obligations between the contracting parties.
It is intended as an indemnity or penalty (Article 2227, id.).
But you have a gigantic problem.
Can you prove that you made payments to the real estate company
through the agent who absconded with the money? Did he give you
official receipts of the real estate company? Are there papers
showing that you and the real estate company have a contract and
that your payments were to be made to the agent?
If you do, then you can be
protected by Republic Act 6552. That is the law that provides
protection to buyers of real estate on installment payment.
That law provides that in all
transactions or contracts involving the sale or financing of real
estate on installment payments, including residential condominium
apartments, the buyer is entitled to the following rights in case he
defaults in the payment of succeeding installments:
To pay, without additional
interest, the unpaid installments due within the total grace
period earned by him which is hereby fixed at the rate of one month
grace period for every year of installment payments made: Provided,
that this right shall be exercised by the buyer only once in every
five years of the life of the contract and its extensions, if any.
There are other provisions of the
law.
But none of those will bring you
back your money and establish your ownership of the townhouse if you
have no documents to prove that you are the buyer and you have paid
all the installments to the real estate company through its now
missing agent.
Above all things: Let us
reflect on the following words of our Lord and d Master Jesus
Christ: “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and
does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be
exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his
works may be clearly seen as done in God.” (John 3:20-21).
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