Couple Fights SQUATTERS on Their TITLED Property for 2 Years in Bocas del Toro, Panama 

They hired a lawyer and purchased a TITLED property. Squatters decided to break the law and try to stay there. They were advised by a lawyer about the law. Knowing the law was not the problem.

@@marilynnarnold811 there is another problem… they call the people squatters, I think we have to be careful with the way we qualify this individuals, the reason why I say that is because if this are indigenous natives this titles properties can be wrongly measured or titles on areas protected by the laws that protects them and you will an I really mean you will lose your money because you can’t purchase indigenous lands in this country another issue we see a lot is beach front properties sale to people and they limit the access to the beach when the constitution of Panama prohibits this actions and then been sued and lost in court

Exactly! That is precisely what the attorney said to do. Have proof that you are active on the property, even if you aren't there.

Yes, but the time frames in the US are MUCH longer than in Panama for what is considered to be squatter's rights.

@@hollyhummel9774 there is the national registry, El Registro Publico. This registry is the top level Panama register for land ownership and is higher value than the local, city, and province registries. I believe that it is now available with online access. It is quite common in Panama that people sell property that they do not own ... Do not believe anyone until you verify their ID and match it to the national registry. Also check that their aren't any leines or that the person selling it is not the name sake of the real owner. Do you due diligence and remember Caveat Emptor

@@hollyhummel9774 were these fake titles from the Registro Publico? I have heard of titles that were faced by the use of a different registry such as Corregidor or Municipio... But I haven't heard of national registry titles being faked. The paper title has a National registry number, and to verify, you can check the Registro Publico number in the data base to verify the rest of the details. I have a number of title deeds that I registered under my own name. Once I misplaced my paper title and used the Registro Publico to duplicate it. Make sure you are present for the title transfer... It is not a quick and simple process. Also be careful of titling the property in a Sindicado Anonymo. (S.A ( I have heard of people who let their lawyers st everything up, and then found out the lawyer and/or someone else involved had the property. Do your due diligence on everything... Also Abogados in Panama do not have much regulation regarding conflict of interest, or even ethics. Your best bet is by checking around a bit. Almost no one will put in writing that someone is a crook... The crooks usually protect each other and many are in position of authority. Calumnia Injuria is not dismissed just because it is true... You can be found guilty of saying things that injure people's honor even if it is verifiably true. This kind of goes back to the aristocracy where you are not allowed to bad mouth a Don.

We had spoken to the Juez quite early in this ordeal/process. What we were dealing with was a bit of behind the scenes politics and certain people trying to obfuscate the legal process. Jay kept up the pressure until they ran out of maneuvers.

More likely to have squatters in remote islands in Bocas.

that's a sad way to go through life

No reason not to buy property in Panama. You just have to be SMART about it and not get stars in your eyes. I own multiple properties here, no problems.