BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-02-25
SAN JUAN, FEBRUARY Is
For Clearer And Cleaner Titles t
Real Property.

lNM llVPutt j
Sometime during the month of January,
. member of the Hsuse Of Delegates intro
duced q very comprehensive measure for
t,s registry of titles to real estate, and of all
documents in any way affecti1g or liable 10
affect the status of such titlss The bill in
ita preamble was called ga bill to establish q
system of contracs and registries of original
Il los rolstIng to real property, based n tt Q
Torrens system"
This bill, while containing several clauses
which might be changed from time to time
with good advantage, is easily the best mea
sure which mas yet been introduced in the
House, and if properly discussed and passed
would be the first intelligent step taken to
solve problem which is Of utmost impor-
tsnce to this island, and would relieve sit.
uation, which to day holds Insular real
estate valneless for the purpose of sale, and
makes the owners thereof ''land poor"
On several fcrmer occasions the BOLE.
tion, generally when most aggravating and
fiagrant cases of injury to public interest
have come to the notice of this paper.
Americans and other foreigners coming here
with every intention of investing in our
lands if possible, have after vainIy endea
voring to secure clean titles to land, been
been compelled to admit that such a thing
ID an impossibil:ty in Porto Rico, and to
refrain therefor from investing even the
smallest sum in what might be called hardly
mere than chose in action.
With Equatters leaseholders, freekolders
and claimants of every description believ
ing in their right to property, with encroach-
mentG going on unchecked every day, with
an imperfect 81 stem of recording liens and
charges on real state, and with titles original
ing from dozen different fountain heads,
it would certainly require that good law
be passed to prevent such complicated
state of sffairs, or to at least reduce the
possibility of such conditions continuing or
re-occuring.
For the purposes of properly registering
real state and everything that might effect
titles to the same, and for the convenienc g
and proper sub division of the work, the
bill divides the island into four Registry
districts, each district to be in charge of a
registrar assisted by an Assistant Registrar
and such clerks as may be necessary.
The bill then goes on to cover the entire
field OF real property registration, and is
both comprehensive and effectual for the
present state of affairs on the island. While
many expert real estate men might have
suggestions to make which would improve
certain clauses in the bill, on the whole it
can be said that this measure lays the
foundations for an excellent real property
law, which would within short Gp CO Of
time have the effect of clearing away the
dangerous uncertainty which deters propec.
tive investors from interesting themselves
IN local and interior real estate.
The passage OF the law, and the general
opening mp of the real property situation
would create an immediate market for real
estate, and some sort of q sensible basis foz
real estate valuations could then be obtained.
All over the civilized world taxable valua
tioDs are generally based upon selling
valuations, but here the assessors on en-.
deav0ring to discover any selling valuations
% basis for taxation we're compelled to
admit that there was no such thing as
selling valuation, the movement in real
property being so small or arbitrary that the
selling price of property furnished no basis
whatsoever for it's prop valuation.
The objection that this property law
emanates from the American law and there.
fore inspplicable cannot be charged, as the
author OF the bill is native Porto Rican
and 90 the bill was drafted here and made
to specially apply TO insular conditions.
The author of the bill is also known to
be real estate expert of wide experience
covering period OF many years spent in the
actual work Of conveyanclng and registering
real property.
There il every indication that Congress
10 abeat to solve the problem of the real
property in dispute between the Insular,
Federal and Local authorities, and this one
great difficulty will be removed; then why
not let the island concurrently solve its own
real estate question, by the passage of
good clean, explicit law, which working
together with the relieved situation of In
sulsr property would make titles all over the
island 90 secure as anywhere in the States,
would promote investment in real property
now lying idle and running to ruin, and
would form an intelligent basis for selling
valuations. This bill should be taken up by
the House before adjournment