P.R. Laws tit. 31, § 1268l

2019-02-20 00:00:00+00
§ 1268l. Non judicial public sale proceedings before notary public

(1) The non-judicial public sale shall be held before a notary public selected by the creditor to act as an independent auctioneer, before another notary public required by the former to witness and attest to the details of said public sale under his notarial certification. Neither of the two (2) notary publics may have intervened in the preparation of the documents whereby the credit under foreclosure was created. The notary fees will be paid to the notary public that grants the deed of transfer of rights based on the value of the real property right to be executed, as established under the Puerto Rico Notary Act.

(2) Prior to the commencement of the non-judicial public sale, the creditor shall furnish the following documents to the notary public:

(a) True and exact copies of the documentation constituting the credit.

(b) True and exact copy of the demand for payment delivered to the mortgagor, with the corresponding evidence of return receipt.

(c) True and exact copy of the certification of attachment and evidence of its filing in the Registry of Property, as well as the corresponding return receipts from debtor, the current title holder, if a different person, and from the junior lien holders, if any, as they may appear in the Registry of Property.

(d) True and exact copy of the notice of sale.

(e) Original sworn statement document executed by the representative of the newspaper in which the notice of sale was published, certifying the publication thereof as provided by this chapter.

The creditor shall certify to the notary public that the documents specified in the foregoing clauses (a)—(d) of this subsection, are true and exact copies of their originals. The notary public shall enumerate all of the foregoing documents in the deed of transfer of rights (“escritura de transmisión de derecho”), as is provided hereinafter and shall certify that the same were reviewed and found to comply with the requirements of this section.

(3) The non-judicial public sale shall be carried out in the following manner:

(a) The individual accommodation, real property timeshare or vacation club right shall be sold by public auction, for the minimum bid price stated in the notice of public sale.

(b) If a mortgagee or other person who holds a lien or encumbrance upon the property should pay the all amounts claimed by the creditor before the non-judicial public sale, the money paid by such person shall be accrued to his/her credit and may be recovered at the same interest his/her credit earns.

(c) If no bids are received at the non-judicial public sale, the creditor may take title to the right subject thereto for an amount equal to the minimum bid. If the amount of said minimum bid is insufficient to cover the full amount owed to the creditor, with penalties and costs, then said creditor may commence a collection action before a court of competent jurisdiction in Puerto Rico in order to collect the deficiency due and in such a proceeding may obtain an order to attach real and personal property of the debtor without bond.

(d) If the right sold in the non-judicial public sale is sold to a third person and the amount for the bid price is insufficient to pay the full amount owed to the creditor, with penalties and costs, then said creditor may commence a collection action before a court of competent jurisdiction in Puerto Rico in order to collect the deficiency due and in such a proceeding may obtain an order to attach real and personal property of the debtor without bond.

(e) The person acquiring title to the individual accommodation, real property timeshare or vacation club right at a non-judicial public sale shall acquire title as is, where is and without any warranty by the creditor, the notary public or auctioneer, including, without limitation, the warranties of title and against latent defects provided by the Civil Code of Puerto Rico.

(f) If the real property timeshare or vacation club right in question is sold to a third person, the creditor, after satis-faction of the amount of its credit, shall distribute the remaining proceeds to the junior lien holders, if any, according to rank as per the Registry of Property, equal to the outstanding balance of its credit, and if there are any proceeds left, they shall be delivered to the debtor or titleholder, if a different person.

(4) The foreclosing creditor may suspend and continue the public sale on a day-to-day basis if he/she so deems necessary, and subject to force majeur, may suspend the public sale for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days by means of verbal notice to the persons attending the public sale. The notary public shall be required to attend the continuance of any public sale and, if not available, the notary public shall execute a notarial deed describing the proceedings of the day, including the verification of documents described in subsection (2) of this section and the basis for the suspension of the public sale and any other details. The notarial deed will be part of the deed of transfer of rights (“escritura de transmisión de derecho”).

(5) Upon conclusion of the non-judicial public sale, the notary public will prepare a deed of transfer of rights (“escritura de transmisión de derecho”) describing the events which the notary witnessed, including the following:

(a) Name and social security number or employer’s identification number of the foreclosing creditor.

(b) Name, address, social security or employer’s identification number of public independent auctioneer.

(c) The Registry of Property description and recording data of the individual accommodation, real property timeshare or vacation club right subject of the public sale.

(d) The names of all the persons who attended the public sale and the day it actually took place, if such date is different.

(e) The verification of the documents described in subsection (2) of this section.

(f) The name of the winning bidder, his social security number or employer’s identification number and postal address.

(g) The amount of the sale.

(h) The awarding of title to the individual accommodation, real property timeshare or vacation club right subject of the non-judicial public sale to the highest bidder who shall pay to the foreclosing creditor the amount of the bid in cash or official bank check, the delivery of which shall be certified by the notary.

(i) That said amount satisfied the indebtedness in question or, if insufficient to satisfy the same, that the amount thereof was not fully satisfied.

(j) A statement attesting to the fact that the public sale was carried out in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(6) The foreclosing creditor, the independent auctioneer and the winning bidder will sign the deed of transfer of rights (“escritura de Transmisión de derecho”) and said document shall be evidence of the successful bidder’s title to the real property timeshare or vacation club right.

History —Dec. 26, 1995, No. 252, added as § 13-106 on July 29, 2010, No. 106, § 10.