Best Posts in Thread: Property search

I am still surprised at the asking prices for farmland here. As soon as there's reasonable access the prices go through the roof in comparison to elsewhere.
Compare France (6000€ per ha, or around 350,000 Php), or USA (around 3000$ per acre, or 7500 per ha, 375,000 Php).
Obviously at least part of the reason for the huge price difference is the total lack of zoning enforcement in the Philippines, which means people can basically build a house wherever they like, whereas in Europe you can only build a house on farmland if it is to replace an old farmhouse.
The other side of that coin should logically be that the average price of residential lots is subdued by the alternative of building on farmland. Lately there has been very little evidence of that though, the prices for residential land have exploded in the last 10 years or so, at least locally.

 

Buyer Beware, the majority of houses built here are done in Concrete Hollow Blocks, most suffer the same problem and that is; the steel within these blocks has no protection below grade level (under the soil) blocks are no where near waterproof (in fact they absorb water like a sponge) and mostly below grade they are stand alone without any rendering to them, so these houses are about as much good as an Igloo in the Sahara Desert, OK that is a bit of an exaggeration they do not erode that fast likely to be 20 years plus before the cracks form, Septics tanks they are the first to fail in around 10 to 15yrs if made in CHB, even when rendered on the inside they are never done outside? then we have the new methods in which to build in Pillar and Beam with CHB as infill, Skinny Cosmetic Pillars and Beams hidden from view, these houses look just dandy with nice plain even walls, but are no better than a house made with just CHB's without P&B's.

Admittedly there is a few great looking houses here tastefully designed, but they will all Suffer from the above problem eventually, Fecking sponge cakes frosted over to look like Wedding Cake.