Prepare Deed of Absolute Sale by yourself

In the Philippines, when we sell or purchase real estate unconditionally, we use a document entitled Deed of Absolute Sale. The "deed" is usually prepared and must be notarized by a lawyer-notary public and thus considered a public document.

Having your lawyer prepare the document usually means you pay more. Nothing actually prevents the parties from preparing the document themselves, and there are quite a few guides available on the net. One such guide is available at this website entitled Philippine Legal Forms.

As you will see, all you need to prepare in order to complete the form are as follows: the names, civil status and addresses of the buyer and seller; the original or transfer certificate of title (OCT or TCT) number, the address, land area in square meters, and technical description of the property; and the amount of consideration as well as community tax certificate (CTC) numbers of the buyer and seller.

Of course, to know the technical description of the property, you will need a copy of the OCT or the TCT. In fact, it is a good practice for the buyer to ask the seller to show his or her owner's copy of the OCT or TCT in order to ensure the legitimacy of the sale.

By the way, print the document on 8.5 by 13 inch paper in at least 5 copies. Sign all the copies and proceed to a notary public for the notarization. Chances are, you end up saving a few hundreds if not thousands of pesos.