Local land prices, are they crazy?

The thing that amazes me about the property market here is that most of the people with land for sale don't seem to care if they sell it or not, there are still some of the same lots for sale as 6 years ago when we first came here

 

As long as expats don't do their research properly, you'll get local land prices driven up by pure greed and laziness.

During my research into land prices in the hills above Dauin, I've had prices quoted to my wife between 300-1200p / sq. meter. That's clearly greed at it's best. There's no possibility that I'll pay more for land in the Philippines than I've paid back home in Hawaii. A more normal price for land in the Dauin area (not oceanfront) would be 50p/sq. meter.

What's more normal is 300p / sq. meter in the outskirts of Cebu on a paved road with electric / water. That's an acceptable price. Or completely undeveloped land on Siargao Island for 9p/sq. meter.

Filipinos are usually in no rush to sell the land. They want to win the ultimate prize of selling their land to some expat that doesn't know the value of land here. So they play the long game and wait until a sucker comes along.

The better way to buy property is to buy when there's an emergency (medical / legal / etc..). Keep in mind though that you need to thoroughly research the property prior to giving even 1 centavo towards the purchase. Is there a clear title? Are back taxes owed? Is the property simply something the family paid the taxes on (perhaps in the past) and they claim it as their own? Are there dozens of family members that claim the property as their own and maybe 1 of them is trying to sell it to you while the others are unaware?

If you're just going to build a Nipa hut, perhaps just rent the property?

If you buy some property, expect that there will be later claims, once they know a foreigner is involved. It's best to get some sort of quit claim signed and notarized by every known relative on planet Earth.

Here's a suggestion: Buy some property on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. Be sure it's fee simple. The weather is a LOT better than the Philippines and it's incredibly beautiful and clean. Stay away from the volcano area and south of there as the gasses from the volcano are noxious.

 

You mean such a place exists?

Btw I've seen more drunk belligerent foreigners in the Philippines than local Filipinos.

 

if you are going to buy here..................ooooooooooooooo baby baby baby

do your homework do your homework do your homework

buyer beware buyer beware buyer beware

 

I would suggest that if you are serious about purchasing a lot. Check out the foreclosures at the Banks. They all have a list of foreclosed properties. The banks do not want to own land they want their money back. So you can find some good deals but it takes a lot of research. Plus the ownership document's are in order before the banks will loan money on the land

 

The other tactic is to get you some Tuba and some cheap wine. Go around the area that you like and introduce yourself to the people. Sit at their house and get to chatting them up. Sooner or later the topic of land will come up and you will get some tips maybe even introductions to other people selling lots. I found a few places like that. 2,000 m2 for 300p divided it between 4 people and they built a road to service each lot. An Atty. can handle the lot division without going through the subdivision permitting crap. Common in the Phil when siblings inherit land and divide between them.
I did this for a few of my expat friends who all wanted to buy. So They went in as partners and I found the lots for them to look at. They agreed to pass some money my way for the work. The land title looks like this. A single title with the survey dimensions on it of the total lot. then it states the dimensions of each piece and the name of the owner of each piece of the lot.
After I spent 4 months working on this and spent a lot of my time and money to put the deal together even as far as getting to an Atty. They never followed through on the deal. So I got an education on how to find cheap land but that was it.

 

Does anyone know how many years a bank mortgage normally goes for?

 

I have been told but not experienced (meaning it could just be rumor) that some Filipino land brokers, ask whatever they can get above what the seller wants. Sometimes the seller is not aware of the price the land broker (salesman) is even asking. I do know to stay away from friends of friends, of cousins of the owner when negotiating because everyone will get a cut of the action . Try to get as direct as you can with the REAL owner Just information to check out, but like most things let the Filipina do the negotiating and stay home doing research.

 

Normally 25/30 years depending. Just like the West really the Bigger the Deposit the Lower in Repayment years. But as with Many things YMMV