Local land prices, are they crazy?

I agree that these so called land brokers that go around trying to sell land to foreigners is a scam in most cases the work for a commission that is added to the price. Just like the ones that find rentals for us. They get part of your rent money every month. We bypassed these pain in the @ss brokers.
I did have good experiences meeting and talking to the locals with my wife and children. my kids played with any kids at the house we happened to be at. They even in some cases escorted us to the land owners house. The biggest problems I had were the foreigners not following through and wanting everything handed to them. I will never do favors like that again. I don't need the money that bad. If some day I lose my senses and decide to buy a lot I know how to do it.

 

They may not have good title or a generation of taxes haven't been paid, possibly too many owners having to sign off and it will never happen. If any of the owners are left out they become your co-tenant with as much right to use any of the land as you do (he might run pigs), so be sure to build them a nice house! A partition suit in the Philippines ought to be utterly charming and probably lead to Partition by Licitation where the property must be sold and you each receive your proportionate share. I would buy only from a single owner because if there is a group of owners every time someone dies the ownership divides by 3 to 20 more people and all must be found to prevent....Howdy neighbor!

 

My wife and I have been purchasing property for about four years now. We also looked at property for several years off and on before buying our first lot, an overlooking lot in Valencia. We have also made four separate purchases in Siquijor of raw land.
We have attempted to purchase at least 6 other properties that there was a scam to cheat us. The first was an 80 yo lady with a lot in Valencia which we paid 10k pesos to survey. We then went to the lawyers office, an older gentleman and his wife only to find out she had already sold the land to an Aussie and received payment in full. She somehow forgot to tell her siblings, which were in the attorney's office, that she collected the money but failed to pay them their share. Later I found out in another case that when this happens one of the siblings will bring a case against the purchaser and the whole transaction is thrown out with the rightful heirs getting the property and the purchaser getting the shaft. Some of the others have been this sort of scam.
Another property we tried to buy was a good deal except the 80 yo lady, yes another one, was not the only signer but she said she was the only signer. She had sold other land in Dumaguete near Valencia that she was only part owner but said she was the only signer. Property was sub divided and houses built by the unsuspecting persons. I don't know what happened in that deal.
There are two ways to hold a property in Philippines, Tax declaration and title. Once a land is titled it must remain titled, no more tax dec. There are many cases, one we encountered, where a third party would get a title to land with a tax dec and then get a title. After five years no legal suit can be brought against the person holding the title, it belongs to them period.
We were trying to buy a lot and it turned out to be on the other side of the road from the land we were shown and only turned up when the surveyor showed up and pointed out the discrepancy. We have 30k in that deal and trying to get at least some of it back.
There are so many ways to get screwed trying to purchase property here. I'm not trying to discourage you but beeee careful. If you do find something you want to buy I would suggest you go to Attorney Dee across from Palwa Hotel and have them check it out for you, even that is no guarantee the title will be good as this is not the US where you have a way to check for leins on a property.
I do not consider myself an expert but I do have some experience in property in Philippines.

 

Any leins on a property is registered on the title deeds and this is easily checked at the registry of deeds, the registry for Negros Oriental is located on the North highway opposite the capital building. All drawings and maps can also been seen here just as long as you have the time it takes for the staff to find the relevant documents.

 

There are some very good books about real estate in the Philippine. Example: Real Estate Lessons from Edward L. Tan.

 

Yes - and if you are selling a property to someone who is getting a bank loan, you need to make sure your atty puts a clause in the 'Deed of Sale' making the buyer responsible to complete the purchase price within a set time if the bank backs out.

 

Yes I can understand this BUT there is NO way anyone can have the Title Deed until the sale is completed & then it can take many months to actually get the Tile Deed so to me something is very wrong here. Bin there and done that.

 

The problem there is that the bank won't release the loan money until the borrower presents the TCT in their name. So the seller has to give an 'Absolute Deed of Sale' without having received the loan money. It then takes 3 - 4 months for the TCT to be processed in the borrower's name, presented to the bank and the bank releases the cheque.

 

Well to me that is like getting an OR, would any of us do this? A receipt with out receiving any Money, Surely there is something wrong here

 

Yes there is much more to it than that, banks name as lien holder on title registered at registrars office. is what they are looking for. But a notarized purchase agreement completed by Atty. , Seller, buyer and lender can be accomplished prior to the money being released by the bank.