⌛ Hello all!

HD, welcome, there are many of us here who have built our dream houses and are enjoying life. It is achievable. However, when you get ready to do that I suggest you read many threads regarding the actual cost of end to end building. Prices are escalating as we speak so you might want to give some thought to buying a lot now and building later. The lot would be in your wife's name. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the suggestion PatO. That is our plan, to buy a lot as soon as possible then build later.
Any suggestions on areas of the city or near city that are nice would be welcome. We don't need to be in the city but no further than 15-30 minutes out. We are thinking of something around 1/2 to 1 acre, not sure of the hectare conversion.
The only way I have found to look at property is online. I am sure most of the property listed online is aimed at foreigner's and the price is inflated.

Thanks again for all the posts, we look forward to chatting with all of you in the future.

Jon

 

Ahhh, I am from the Siletz/Toledo area, near Newport.

Larry

 

I had a guy from Toledo on my ship when I was in the Navy many years ago. Ralph Sinsel. I served from '75-'79

I visited him once after I got out but have lost track of him.

 

2.49 acres per hectare

 

Be aware that buying property in the Philippines is very, very, very tricky business.
90 % of all lots offered to you will give problems.(YES 90 %!!)
To avoid this, ask your bank first if they have forclosed property for sale.
Dumaguete City Development bank has lots of forclosed property's for sale,ask for Mr.Jun Garrovillo.
The advantage of buying forclosed land is that all paperwork is included in the price, you buy inclusive of the tittle in the price.
If you don't find what you want, 3 very simple rules to avoid 50 % of the trouble.
--Only deal if you see the REAL TITTLE, so no xerox.
--Look for the date that the tittle was produced and compare that to the age of the seller. Many property's are sold by children of the real owner what gives always problems
--Read the tittle word for word, maebe you will not understand anything of what you see but if you see the word"agrarian" be aware of trouble ahead.
If you realy are serious about a particular lot, prepare as many papers as possible in advance.
Once the deed of sale is notarised, you have very limited time to process your papers for BIR (time depends but always less than 1 month)
-make sure you have a TIN number
-Get a certified true copy of the tax declaration (latest copy)
-Get a certified true copy of the tittle
-Get a tax clearance from the commune
-Bring a copy of the deed of sale before notarising to BIR and ask an estimate of the cost of processing (including capital gains tax), just say that you want to be sure you will have the money ready by the time you have to pay.

If you follow all this, there is a big chance that you are one of the few foreignerswho dont run in trouble by buying property in the Philippines
Good luck

 

The Sinsels lived just down the road from us.

Larry

 

HD, in addition to Firefly's very helpful key info, choosing your lot is key. Firstly, what are your needs in terms of schools, etc. Living 15-30 min from town gives you many choices, many foreigners prefer Valencia for its charm and cooler climate, others choose Sibulan north of town and near the airport and closer to transportation to Cebu. Those who can afford to live at or near the beach or dive a lot prefer Dauin. I wanted to be out of the city but not far from the mall so I chose Dauin. Lot prices seem to vary from at the beach (high), to the boondocks (low), and in between. Major considerations are power, water, and connectivity for tv and internet, as well as paved roads, right-of-ways, noisy karoke, and animals (cows, goats, pigs, horses, etc) near your lot. A paved road is less of a hassle and the closer you buy to the hiway the better the services. Many buy transformers and voltage regulators due to power issues. Some have to use satellite for tv if you are outside the range of Sky Cable or FilProducts, and some of us outside the range of Globe or Sky Cable internet have to use dial up slow modems. To get a general idea of prices, have a look at Island Properties Dumaguete and surrounding towns. Dumaguete city lots are generaly more expensive than outside of town (on the water of course the exception). Others can weigh in but I estimate if you were to buy a lot in Valencia, Bacong, or Dauin close to a road with primary Noreco line and cable and internet access, a half acre (about 2,024 sq mtr) would run within a range of 1,000-2000 pesos per sq mtr, depending, again less if you go further away from the main services area or more by the beach. Most lots are sold by word of mouth or a sign posted somewhere, not necessarily with a listing agent. Many of us can point you in the right direction when you are ready to have a look. Good luck.

 

Wow, small world!