This case has been cited 4 times or more.
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2014-06-30 |
BERSAMIN, J. |
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| The foregoing circumstances negated the third element of good faith cited in Bautista v. Silva, i.e., that "at the time of sale, the buyer was not aware of any claim or interest of some other person in the property, or of any defect or restriction in the title of the seller or in his capacity to convey title to the property." As we have ruled in Bautista v. Silva,[47] the absence of the third condition put the petitioner on notice and obliged him to exercise a higher degree of diligence by scrutinizing the certificates of title and examining all factual circumstances in order to determine the seller's title and capacity to transfer any interest in the lots. Consequently, it is not sufficient for him to insist that he relied on the face of the certificates of title, for he must further show that he exercised reasonable precaution by inquiring beyond the certificates of title. Failure to exercise such degree of precaution rendered him a buyer in bad faith. "It is a well-settled rule that a purchaser cannot close his eyes to facts which should put a reasonable man upon his guard, and then claim that he acted in good faith under the belief that there was no defect in the title of the vendor."[48] | |||||