⌛ Should I Rent or Own a house in the Philippines?

I have been considering retirement in the PHLs (I still have MANY years to go!!!lol) and keeping busy by volunteering. THANKS for all the awesome advice! I have heard a lot of similar stories to back up what was written. I mostly know poverty filipino people thru the volunteer organization so there was no point in asking their advice.

Cyndi

 

Good point. Honest lawyer? An oxymoron. No doubt but does anyone in Dumaguete know of a lawyer who has done a good job for them in the past?
I also need a fax number where I can receive some documents when in Dumaguete. Where could I find such a place? Any ideas? Any commercial places available?

Chi Town

 

tax declaration? don't buy this kind of land

Tax declaration BTW is not a proof a ownership..as much as possible try to avoid buying a property with this nature to avoid headache! My advice if you want to buy lang in PI find a piece of
land already has had the work done, and
it comes with a clean title.

****If you are not familiar with land laws here, get
some good help. There are plenty of people who can do this, Filipinos as
well as foreigners. Above all else, do your own independent cross checks,
and trust no-one.

 

professional advice- property ownership laws

I will recomend this guy:: "Dave Williams"

He alraedy give many advices to some of my friends ,also to me who just a victims of "land buying" In Philippines .I think he knows also some honest attys. out there.

One more point I might add here is that lawyers in the Philippines
are often in on the scam so be careful.....

Actually my wife and I bought a piece of land in metro dumaguete a bit on the mountain side,BUT NOT TITLED-----that's our problem now.Somebody told me lately, many lands on this place not titled and sell it to some foreighners(like me) who are ignorant of Real Estate law or land ownership law in PI.

 

tax declaration? don't buy this kind of land

THANK YOU DAFFS....

KAI

 

Should I own or rent

My wife, daughter, her friend and I just returned from our building site about 3km north of zambo.

Our contractor has over 40 workers full time there, plus two armed security agents to protect against thievery of supplies at nite.

So far, the work has been tremendous, and they are turning a fabulous oceanfront lot, with a wild jungle into an unreal estate.

We may be wrong for having "bought" land here, even though we know we can't actually own it for now. We have a 50 year, non cancellable, perpetually renewable land lease. We pay $1 per year for the lease. The land is titled, and we had a very prominent judge review all the paper work, and even sign off on it's legallity.

We live in a very large recreational area in Missouri in the US, and many of the properties are land lease, especially on the lake itself. You own the house, but pay anywhere from $500 - $2500 U.S. per month for the lease, and all properties are on a minimal 20 year lease. If you don't make the land lease payment, you can legally and easilly lose your house. If you sell your house, the buyer has to assume the land lease as well. So maybe the landlease in the Phil. isn't so bad after all

Our builder and his crew work basically 7 days per week, 50 hrs, per man. We are building a huge house,pool, second house for my daughter, gym, and helpers house. If everyone worked this hard in the states as they do on our property, no one would be unemployed. The work ethic is amazing.

I have heard the horror stories from expats about building a house, and I may eventually be one, but for now, all I can do is highly recommend my builder. If anyone needs a fabulous contractor ( his sons are licensed engineers who gradualted from Silliman) just email me, and i will give you his phone number.

My builder still has a 40 meter oceanfront lot for sale, next to my lot, with about 2000 total meters of land. Private brand new paved road, and absolutely an unreal view of the sea and Apo.

Again, everyone may not want to jump into the pool like I did, but for now, it still is fun.

See ya all soon at Coco Amigos.

2 blackbelts

 

Kai,

Thanks for the lawyer information. Hope your problem works out for you. Seems a shame that things here are so complicated when it comes to real estate dealings. Got to ask a lot of questions, as everyone says but what questions to ask? That's why a good lawyer is invaluable.

Thanks again,

Chi Town

 

I would be very appreciative to receive any details of the construction project you'd be willing to share. Did you use an architect? What building method is being utilized (type of concrete, etc.)?
Here in the states, when it comes time to choose finishes, the contractor hands you a bunch of booklets to select paint colors, cabinets, appliances, fixtures, etc.. How is it being handled for you?

Hmmm..other expat websites complain about how lazy Filipinos are. It's good to hear the other side of the story.
(I've seen plenty of lazy Americans.)

 

This is David's Yahoo Group CLICK HERE you'll need a Yahoo account to join and read the messages.

Lots of good info there, and David Williams used to relate many of his personal PI real estate experiences to me. He went through a real mess over in the Oslob area a few yrs ago.

As far as the 50yr lease thing, we knew one guy who built a home with a pool on leased land, then the lot owner decided he wanted to sell the lot! The homeowner was able to sell the house first. Though I'm not sure what position that left that next owner. Maybe the original home owner sold the house and lot and paid the lot owner what he wanted for the property itself..

We knew the guy and his wife when we lived in Dgte, and in fact bumped into them at Sea Forest the first week of May this year, but never inquired into the details of what happened with that a few yrs ago. So, what it all was about is unclear.

In most every situation I've heard of though, it's been said that foreigners should not expect much impartiality in a PI court should push come to shove.

 

Yabs most of your comments only really apply to single guys and they are the ones who should beware. Most foreigners who buy here want to provide for their families the same as in any other country. Isnt it better to leave a house worth 5million pesos to your loved ones than waste it all on rent? I lived in Spain for 10years and watched the influx of foreigners change the face of many a peaceful town into a thriving resort but if you dont like it then dont go,there will always be rustic and undeveloped places for the likes of you and others who wish to stand in the way of progress and better facilities for everyone including the locals. Are you going to stop fresh clean water from being introduced into barangays and villages for fear it may attract development and forein investors?