MONTE CARMELO – October 2015 Important Update

I have been working with Monte Carmelo in Vieques for many years.  The same goes for Villa Borinquen and Bravos de Boston.  While all three areas overall share similar backgrounds, circumstances and issues, Monte Carmelo has always demonstrated to be a breed of its own.  Monte Carmelo has always been seen as the “black sheep” of the family.

Apparently, all that is about to change very rapidly.

The Puerto Rico Housing Department (“PRHD”) is in charge of Monte Carmelo.  Historically, PRHD was also responsible for Villa Borinquen and Bravos de Boston, until the Municipality of Vieques acquired all the rights over those two areas.  Monte Carmelo remained with the PRHD.

The Municipality of Vieques has always been more effective in moving the title process forward, with many titles having been recognized in both Villa Borinquen and Bravos de Boston.  Since 2008 my law firm has been involved in many transactions for both these areas, many of them already completed at the Puerto Rico Property Registry.  In the event you are wondering, by “completed” I mean: “the title formally reviewed, accepted and recorded as final by the Puerto Rico Property Registry.”

That has not been the case for Monte Carmelo, mostly because PRHD could not get its act together.

Nevertheless, for the past few months the PRHD has been actively pursuing the required information to complete closings which would result in completed titles.  While bureaucracy always plays a part when working with most government agencies, PRHD is becoming increasingly effective at managing their resources and may be on the verge of granting the first series of titles in Monte Carmelo.

The first titles to come through would be those for permanent residents of Vieques.  These has been the category of transactions that PRHD has been (reportedly) focusing on.  Nevertheless, just a couple of months ago, we were able to finally create the correct environment for other categories of properties and applicants to be considered and accordingly began some motion forward.  The category which is now moving to the front of the line, are those properties which are currently being used for residential purposes regardless if the person is a permanent resident or not.

I believe PRHD is moving in the correct direction.  While I wish they would do so at a much faster pace, it appears that we are headed into a very busy Christmas Season.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions on the above.

Very truly yours,

Santiago F. Lampón

Monte Carmelo – A brief update

I received confirmation from a good source that titles are not yet being granted in Monte Carmelo, but that lots are being in fact assigned to qualified individuals.  Who is a “qualified individual” is beyond the scope of this post, but there are well established specific requirements which need to be met in order to have a lot “assigned” to an individual as a prerequisite to title.

Individuals interested in having their rights formally recognized with regards to properties in Monte Carmelo, should not remain idle thinking this is “more of the same.”

Yours,

Santiago F. Lampón

When is the possession of your property in danger?

Through a few of my posts I have covered the importance of possession, but apparently the subject requires further discussion. 

It is also apparent that this subject is becoming increasingly important in some areas of Vieques and warrants further discussion.  This time, I am going to begin with a question.

What would you do if one day ou came back to your home and found a stranger claiming possession or ownership of your property?

You would not stand by and do nothing, right?   The same standard applies to properties in Puerto Rico even if there is no house or structure built upon it.  If your possession is interrupted you need to take action.

Usually, in my experience, when someone has had its possession interrupted it is because the person did not take care of the property in the first place.  Fortunately there is always an oorotunity to handle rhe situation if confronted in a timely fashion.

Possession is something that requires action of one kind or another.  If it is land, it needs to be cleared with some regularity and the fences kept in good shape.  Of there is a house, even if abandoned it needs to be looked after.  Another option is to have someone visit the property every now and then and report back to you on its condition.

Juat note that you have to do something with your property, or you may be literally leaving the door open for someone else to do something,  regardless if the property is titled or not.

If your possession has been snatched by someone, you can take action to snatch it right back to you, but it requires diligent motion on your part.

As a final note, nothing here is meant to promote the use of violence.  There are many legal tools available to enforce your rights at any given time. 

One note of caution: besides remaining motionless, time can be your worst enemy.

I hope this helps.

Yours,

Santiago F.  Lampón

Filing a Deed at the Puerto Rico Property Registry

Land Subdivision in Puerto Rico – Episode 2 of 3

Looking into the future subdivision and sale of land in Puerto Rico, in this video I discuss important items an owner needs to consider when subdividing land in Puerto Rico.

Land Subdivision in Puerto Rico – Episode 1 of 3

Dear Reader:

Here is the link to my latest video on real estate transactions in Puerto Rico.  With regards to Vieques and property not registered at the Property Registry, the notice on this video does not applies directly; but please let me know if you have any questions after watching it.

Yours,

Santiago F. Lampón

 

ADVERSE POSSESION – a note about “ADVERSE”

Following my video on Titled vs. Un-titled Property I decided to expand on the practical definition or use of the term “adverse” and here it is.

Titled vs. Un-titled Properties

In this video, I present the overall description of titled vs. un-titled properties, briefly describing the differences and some of the misconceptions associated with these.  I also provide an introduction on what it takes to convert un-titled property into titled.

Enjoy!

 

Adverse Possesion Claims – A note about “possesion”

I present to you a new video on the subject of adverse possession.  In this video, I focus on an aspect of adverse possession claims in Puerto Rico which is easily misunderstood.  As an additional note, you may also read my recent article on this subject here.

I hope you enjoy the video and the article, and always remember that you may post questions or comments on this or other subjects.

Adverse Possession in Puerto Rico

On January 24, 2008, I published an article on this blog which I have expanded and re-published at www.PuertoLegalBlog.com which you may access and read here completely free.

The revised article is fully applicable to adverse possession claims in Vieques.

Yours,

Santiago F. Lampón