A purchaser of land that turns the blind eye and does not make checks before the transaction may lose its rights

An apartment owner discovered that his rights in the apartment were recorded in the Land Registry under the name of another, without his knowledge.
The Court accepted the claim and held that the transfer of rights in the Land Registry is to be canceled and the rights restored to the original owners. Israeli law states that the rights of one who acquires a right to real estate for consideration and relying on the registration in good faith, will trump over rights of a third party even if it turned out that the registration was incorrect. The purchaser's good faith must continue until the registration of its rights and where any doubt arises, it is the purchaser’s duty to conduct a proper review of the status of the rights before advancing the transaction. Here, the ex-wife of the original owner sold to a third party rights granted to her in an ex-parte judgment (the judgment was later reversed) based on a forged prenuptial agreement and the judgment was never dully served on the original owner. The apartment was sold in a haste, immediately after recording the rights under the seller's name, under circumstances that should constitute a "warning light" in real estate transactions. The purchaser, despite being a real estate lawyer by profession, turned a blind eye and not only did he refrain from conducting a proper check prior to the purchase date, despite knowing about the original owner, but even afterwards did not take any actions that would have allowed him to cancel the transaction and receive his money before registering its rights. Therefore, it was held that the late purchaser did not meet the good faith requirements and the rights of the original owner trump.