YOU pay-YOU ought to own, unless it was a gift.
...We bought a piece of land well over two years ago and we still don't have the titulo in our names. We have built two properties on this piece of land and wish to sell everything now. I'm assuming we can't sell unless the land is in our name. Is this correct?
Haleema.
Do I understand right that you have built TWO homes on ONE piece of land to which you don't yet have title?
First yes, YOU need a lawyer, you needed one two years ago, so don't waste another minute. You built on land which
may technically not yet really be yours.
As to the new law, since April last year you can not segregate land from a larger plot and sell that section just on contract anymore. To do this, you need title of the main land, that land officially surveyed by a licensed surveyor (
agrimensor) and then, the separation surveyed and it's segregation land court approved in a process which is called "
deslinde". If your main plot is already a cut out of an even larger piece of land, that one had, and thus now has to be segregated (
deslindado) first.
You will want to seek a knowledgeable lawyer for this relatively new procedure.
For further reference, it is in my opinion, very unwise to "invest" (like starting to build) on land you have no clear title to. Before you hold clear and verified legal title, your ownership of the land may still be challenged.
Furthermore, in this country just like in any other, unless it is a GIFT to somebody else, if YOU pay for something, have YOUR name ONLY put on it (title, deed,
matricula, etc). There is NO reason why you should not (unless you are laundering money, which I trust you are not). Here, just like in most countries, you can own vehicles, land, homes, whatever, all to your name as a foreigner, EVEN if you were not yet a legal resident. Everything else is BS. If you prefer to keep certain things "unconnected" to your name, have a limited liability company setup (to YOUR name) and put some of your acquisitions to it's name.
Again, I am not a lawyer, so this is not legal advise but merely my opinion based on my experiences. In other words, back to the top, get a lawyer (YOUR lawyer).
... J-D.