Certificate of Sale and Real Estate Mortgage

It is a well-established rule that before a Certificate of Sale may be admitted for registration, the mortgage that was foreclosed must first be registered. (LRA Consulta No. 3125)

In Consulta No. 1308, this Authority ruled:

" The Sheriff's Certificate of Sale is likewise not registrable it appearing that the same refers to a mortgage which has not yet been registered. This Commission (now Land Registration Authority) believes that to be registrable, the mortgage that was foreclosed must be registered. The legality of the auction sale conducted by the sheriff has nothing to do with the registrability of the Certificate of Sale. Legality should not be confused with registrability. There are instruments which are perfectly legal and yet, for reasons independent of their legality, unregistrable."

" x x x while a mortgage creates a real right and directly immediately subjects the property upon which it is imposed, whoever the possessor maybe, to the fulfillment of the obligation for whose security it was constituted (Article 2126, Civil Code), for registration purposes, however, it is necessary that the mortgage lien be annotated on the certificate of title where the sheriff's certificate of sale is sought to be recorded to serve as basis for the registration of said certifcate of sale ." (Consulta No. 1828) (Cited in LRA Consulta No. 2958 dated February 7, 2000)