Finance & Legal Best Posts in Thread: Real Estate Attorney & Qualified Surveyor

I have read the advice given to this thread. Some of it is wrong. My wife and I spent 20 years in the Philippine real estate business. We've bought and sold 87 properties. I even wrote a book about buying and selling real estate in the Philippines but I haven't published it yet. The process is filled with land mines, a million tricks and jillion lies. If any English-speaking foreigner has a problem and wants 30 minutes of free advise, I am available pool-side at Dumaguete Studio Apartments.

 

If anyone is looking for a lawyer and surveyor, I can thoroughly recommend Attorney Rilt Dorado for any land, property purchases. He is honest and will not take advantage of you being a foreigner. I have used him on three different transactions and I was very satisfied. He can be located in the same building as Alima Cafe which is located along the road next to the new 7/11 on Aldecoa Drive opposite Silliman Medical Centre. If you walk past the Cafe to the end of the building, there is an alleyway and his office is signed: Geoscape Survey Services.
https://www.google.com.ph/maps/@9.3172883,123.3037864,18z

 

From talking with others, I knew that buying land in the Philippines can be a huge exercise in frustration. So I was ready for anything, including walking away from any deal that became too difficult.

We chose a nice lot that did not touch any road. A relative of the owners (four sibling heirs to the deceased person on the title) was acting as a representative for the owners. She was knowledgeable on real estate dealings, but not licensed as real estate agents are in my country (US). Not even sure if there are licensed agents here. She kept the deal moving along. It wasn't so much that owners refused to sell as much as the vagaries of how land is owned and titled, and the absence (overseas) of essential players. This representative actually worked out several right-of-way plans before one finally worked. The biggest obstacle was that one lot which was essential to two of the plans was never claimed or titled. So the "owner" of that land (we needed only about 15 square meter) was more than willing to sell, but he and his 10 siblings did not legally own it since his deceased father never claimed the lot back in the 1990s when the government did the survey. He likely did not have the money to pay the taxes and fees to get the title, and his surviving children still don't have the money to pay those fees, back taxes and late fees. So, unless we wanted to spend a lot just to get this land titled for him, that entire plot was useless to us.

The representative worked out a deal (after three other plans fell through) with two other land owners who were willing to sell for a right-of-way, and that's how it worked out. From the start, we insisted that we would own the right-of-way on a separate title. Legally dividing up a lot and getting a separate title costs about 50,000 pesos each just in legal and government fees, and we had two lots to split. But when the dust settles, it will be worth it we think. The other cheaper option is just having the right-of-way as an amendment (addendum?) to the owners title. Since all of this titling was done in the 1990s when the government completed its survey, most of the title holders are now deceased and few Filipino heirs have bothered to get the title changed since it requires effort and money.

All that being said, it sounds essential that an attorney handle these things. Evidently the law allows someone with a lot to simply claim access via the shortest route and start to use it. Ownership doesn't change, but the right-of-way becomes the responsiblity of the person claiming its use. If you own a lot, the government gives you the right to access it over private property. But I would certinly consult an attorney before trying this. The other consideration is that you are then dealing with someone who may resent your intrusion and likely has everyone in the neighborhood on his side.

Bottom line: Even though you have the right to access your lot, it is probably better to seek out a different situation and walk away from a deal where you willl end up leglly using someone else's property against their will.

 

Good advice Gord.

We have to pay to gain Right of Way even though we are providing a common Right of Way for Free to locals as the path runs directly through our Lot and has done for more than a century. We looked at pushing for Right of Way through the Seller's property, but to do so would take away land from another Buyer who is only buying a smaller narrow 300m2 Lot. In front of that is a House on a narrow long Lot (maybe 150m2) which means there is no way a road could be brought in from the Highway, so we need to go through a neighbouring property where the Common Right of Way proceeds. That Owner (Care-taker) has offered to sell us a Right of Way, but it is a Communal Lot with more than one Owner, so we need to obtain the Title then search for surviving Heirs before we make an offer of a Cash Payment. Right of Way is a very complex process and can make or break a deal, and as per the News here, has been the death of several who have pushed their luck.

I am getting Joshua (Surveyor) to mark on the Plans where the right of way will go through our Lot as I do not want it running through the middle making around 350m2 useless, instead I am redirecting the right of way to turn left where it enters our Lot, then right, following the Eastern end of the Lot so that we may make better use of the Lot. Both the Attorney and Surveyor wants us to ask for a 6M wide Right of Way so that a Truck/ Car/ Tricycle/ Motorbike/ Pedestrian can freely pass, but I think 4M wide is enough and would most likely cause less of a problem with securing a Right of Way. Joshua wanted to place the concrete Pegs as markers on our Lot for the Right of Way but at 1.5M wide from the property line as long as it is marked on our Plan I think that is enough to show the Right of Way should any legality occur in future.

We have been at it now 3 years and are finally moving forwards, but still have a long way to go. Would I do it again if I knew the problems we would have? HELL NO!! But I am determined to see this through!

Anyone buying here;
TRUST NO ONE!
DEMAND the Title and do your research BEFORE signing anything or paying a single Peso!
TRUST NO ONE!
Check your options for Right of Way BEFORE you pay a single Peso or sign anything!
TRUST NO ONE!
Engage a GOOD Attorney before you do anything!
TRUST NO ONE!

Only now that we have a GOOD Team of Attorney's on our side are we making progress otherwise we would have walked away from and lost half a Million Pesos plus the first part of the Lot we purchased due to the difficulty and nonsense we have endured. WE WERE LUCKY! Now we have a Legally binding Contract signed with the Seller for the remaining portion of the Lot so hopefully all is full steam ahead.

Oh, and;
TRUST NO ONE!

 

Okay, my reply in short; I can fully agree that Attn. Rilt Dorado is indeed a very good and honest choice. Our experience: he first prevented us from buying a house and lot from a con artist. We did not know this old lady, she felt very genuine, but he knew everything about her and gave us a clear advice to stay away from her and her offer.
Then after doing so, he guided us to a very good deal, which was price wise and legally an excellent offer, zero issues. Then after buying that without any hassle, he later helped us subdivide our land in 750 sq.m. lots, again no hassle at all and always very competitive rates.
Always excellent communication, not only is his English perfect, but he is straight to the point and always answers my emails very well and quick.
So, at least this particular service in Dumaguete it is a no-brainer: need a real estate attorney and surveyor, choose Att. Rilt Dorado!! His details:
Cell: 0917 314 2565
Ph: 035 225 1468
Email: geoscapesurvey@yahoo.com

 

The good thing is that the goverment is not involved many times in traps. When the goverment got trapped then it is a victim of a very professional real estate scam. It is difficult to forge a fake title. But very corrupt people in the goverment can assist with doing this. Can probably be prevented by asking around in the area or on forums if there are any real estate issues around.

The worst thing is if someone presents to you a fake title which is an exact copy from a real existing title. But even then there are protections around. Ask the barangay captain that you want to talk with the title owners. Most original title owners are not knowing that a fake seller is attempting to "sell" their lot.

Or the multiple selling of same lot especially if it is on sale.

 

You are correct. I suggest that you have the attorney draw up a Special Power of Attorney giving you the ability to make decisions regarding the property in case something happens and your wife cannot.

Also, have the attorney draw up a 25 year lease with option to renew for another 25 giving you control of the land. Work out the details with your spouse and the attorney.

If she balks, rethink the entire situation. Unless you have children together, you will lose the land if she passes before you and has living parents and/or children (who might not be your own). She can leave the land to you, but that is valid only for your lifetime and you would immediately lose all, or a portion, to mandatory heirs. If you do manage to hang on to any of it by inheritance, it must revert to Filipino ownership when you die. (I THINK the lease will protect you from losing control to the heirs since you would have paid the 25 year rent up front. They would have to wait for the expiration to exercise rights of ownership,,,,I THINK. Definitely a question for a lawyer.)

But even if she makes you sole heir, the Philippine law provides for mandatory heirs which take precedence...parents and children for sure. I am not certain about siblings, but I don’t think they are mandatory.

I am not telling you this as anything more than an opportunity to get the real story from a lawyer. I have zero legal training, but have researched and asked questions. Things are different here, as they would be in any country not your own.

 

You're right that it can be done. The process can be reasonably workable (but there will be work).
You will end up running around, chasing your tail, all over Dumguete from government office to governement office and back several times. Once I had my car, license and apartment, the only project I had to do was the land deal. So running around and doing some waiting was okay since I had nothing else to do.

I think all deals can be done, but some may have very expensive obstacles to overcome. If you are willing to pay all kinds of related expenses to get everybody else's paperwork and taxes up to speed to acquire a property, then everything is possible.

Based on my extremely limted experience with this one lot purchase and two sub-lot purchases, I recommend that:

1.) Use an attorney. Mine charged no fees when I went to ask questions. He was willing to wait until the deal closed to claim his pay which, I think, was immensley reasonable. I did pay about 5,000 pesos upfront to get his survey team out to define how the right-of-way would show up on the title.

2.) Do whatever legwork is required yourself. Otherwise, it may ever get done, or done correctly.

3.) Work only with titled property and be sure it's clear. Get a certified copy of the title yourself. It's not that expensive and sometimes the clerk will give it to you right away. Other times he will make you wait the 10 days that the law entitles him to make you wait....even though he could pull it up in the computer and print it out in less than 2 minutes. Be like the "city of gentle people."

4.) Make sure your attorney knows that you expect (when the dust settles....a year later!) that you want the new clear title in your name.

5.) There are several taxes and fees that have to be paid at closing. Be sure to work these out ahead of time with the attorney and the seller. One kicker I had was that the sellers wanted me to pay any capital gains taxes that they owed over the sale. I refused that one since the capital gain was theirs and not mine, and they were about to become enriched by the sale with more money than they likely saw in the last 20 years. The other fees and taxes were minimal and arguably the responsibilty of the buyer anyway.

6.) Be ready to wait for the final paperwork to get through. The survey will take a year to be certified by the government and the titles cannot be completed until they have a certified survey. That glitch alone is enough reason to have an attorney work the deal through to your new title(s).

7.) If you purchase a portion of another lot for a right-of-way, get it surveyed and the lot subdivided legally and pay for a new separate title to that sub-lot in your name.

In the Philippines they tend to do things in many different ways that can work if everyone always and forever get along nicely. They do it with extra judicial sales and addenda to titles, but that just muddies the water further and will provide headaches down the road if you ever want to sell. Good luck.