Tips in buying lands in the Philippines

What's the repercussion if you bought a 3600 sq,m land from an American citizen whose property exceeds the allowable land area ( 1,000 sq.m. per person ) provided by the law?

 

that is a kind of simple, as you can not buy a land from an American citizen (he can't own land)...

Foreigners (private persons) can't own land here in the PI. You can take over a lease of land.
Corporations can own land, so long as Filipino citizens own 60 percent of the company.
If you really bought land from a foreigner, you should try to get the money back or see it as very high educational fee and forget about it. Unless there are other circumstances we don't know from the post above.

cheers

Rhoody

 

Here's the scope: The American is married to a Filipina from another city.

My question will be...how will I know if the Filipina spouse has dual citizenship to be able to buy land greater than 1000 sq.m?

Another scenario: Let's say she denounced her Filipino citizenship but can still buy land no greater than 1000 sq.m. but because her real estate agent works at the Registry of Deeds and REALLY wants to get the 5% commission, made a Title for a land that's 3600 sq.m.

Now, if I bought that land that they shouldn't have owned according to the law...what will happen to me?

 

no pinoy citizen, no land, whatever she was before.
dual-citizenship (american and pilippino) can own land.
more than 1000 sq.meters are usually family-owned with one representative.

If they don't own the land legaly what will happen to you?

Imagine you bought my car (including papers) and 2 month later the police tells you it was stolen 1 year ago and takes it back to the original owner... do you think you get your money back?

 

I agree with Rhoody. Any dubious land deal will likely backfire (I've had similar offers myself...and politely declined)...and with a foreigner involved to milk of his dollars...it's almost guaranteed to end badly. There is a Yahoo group: philippine_real_estate and a few experts there could advise you. I personally wouldn't touch it...

 

It seems many foreigners get excited about buying property of some kind in the Philippines. Of course, Rhoody and garbonzo are correct in their assessment of this situation. Personally, I think a portion of patience is called for. My asawa will be purchasing land in the Philippines but not until we're residing there full-time. We will take our time in finding the "right" property then solicit the assistance of a lawyer who can assure us that all the proper government agencies have verified the title is clean and clear. It's important to realize that record keeping in the Philippines can be "a bit sketchy".

 

You are correct there Timn8ter by saying " record keeping in the Philippines can be a bit sketchy". It's already a year ago, paying fully the lot and until now, we are still waiting for the Certificate of Title of the land we bought. Literally, it's the legal process that takes time. Subdivision planning must be approved by DENR, then months in the process for the approval in the municipality and the more it takes ages (if it's approved in the municipality),regional office. We still have the patience coz we can do nothing but wait, wait and wait. And I know, that place is worth waiting for. With a panoramic view like that....and just across the road is the Dream Park, Jo's Chicken by the Sea and a few minutes walk is SeaForest Beach Resort and our future neighbor's place is paradise too. I think it's worth it.

 

Be careful with beachfront property as the sea levels are rising. We used to sit and drink on the beach at the front of South Sea Resort in the 1980's. That spot is now underwater. I wouldn't touch anything that was less than two metres above sea level and then i would want to see it in wet season before buying.

I agree with you Chrissar that on the hill at Sibulan is a great location. We are likely to be neighbours in the future.

 

Some clarifications;

First, I would like to add my agreement with everyone that is telling you to be very careful in land purchases.

That being said, there is something that nobody as yet has mentioned. A former Filipino can own the same amount of land as any other Filipino, provided it was theirs before they renounced their Philippine citizenship. So in this case, if the land belonged to the Filipino before that Filipino became an American citizen, the land is legally hers.

A former Filipino can pay the very small fee and take the oath to become a dual citizen, thereby allowing them to purchase any amount of property that any other Filipino can.

The constitution forbids a forienger from "aquiring land except through hereditary succession". This means basically that a foriegner cannot buy land, but it does not mean he cannot own it. He can in fact own it if he inherits it. However, this is likely only to happen if the Filipino spouse has no other living relatives that will contest it. The foriegner will always lose if it is contested.

Larry


As Canuck pointed out, there is also a clause where former natural-born Filipino citizens, a.k.a. "Balikbayan", are entitled to own a maximum of 1,000 square meters of residential land and one hectare of agricultural or farm land. For business purposes, a maximum of 5,000 square meters of urban land or three hectares of rural land is allowed.

 

Former Filipino citizen can buy land up to 1000 sqm for residential purpose or 1 hectar for farming. They can own 5,000 square meters urban land for business purpose of or three hectares rural land.

so if the american citizen mentioned in the original post is a former filipino he/she can own land.
(sorry, I was not thinking of that option)
cheers

Rhoody