Tips in buying lands in the Philippines

Jelly, Can you please send me the name of the lawyer you used to complete the transaction??? A close friend needs a competent attorney familiar with real estate transactions. Thanks in advance for your help

 

@tlrtraveler. Ummmmm this is a bit sensitive. If you manage to get any help from Jellyfish now, it would be a miraculous act of Divine Intervention. Our very dear but departed friend is no longer a mortal.

 

Thank you, Broadside. I did not realize that. My apoligies to his friends and family for the gaffe.

 

Well its Easter, you never know. With respect to John. We still miss you.

 

To throw a cat amongst the pigeons: I have an Ausie friend in Bacolod his Pinay asawa died last year, god bless her soul, He was left with the dilemma of maybe having to sell out real quick, but I say but, the law is as follows, a foreigner can own up to 75% of land, but he must give the other 25% to a relative of the deceased, giving the foreigner the controlling 75%

 

Can someone verify if the above is accurate? Where can I find this information?

 

one issue not mentioned is that of getting a proper survey. I once paid good money for a survey for land my wife and i owned on Comotes island and after inspection months later found the survey stakes consisted of a tree branch stuck in the ground. And only one at that. Someone at about the same time spent some time digging into a WWII Japanese pill box on the Property. I guess they were looking for Yamashita"s gold??

 

What I was told by my lawyer years ago was that foreigners are allowed to own land they inherit from their spouse for a grace period until he can sell it. But, there was no fixed time limit set. No one can just come and claim your land without a court order, just because you are a foreigner. They can try, but contrary what they or anyone else says, you got rights if you live here as a resident. They will have to take the repossession of your land to court, at which you can present your case, and will be given a grace period during which the ownership has to be transferred to a valid owner. If anyone try something else with you, find a good lawyer, preferable from Cebu or other place. Chances are your opponent is somehow connected with a lawyer you get locally.

Whenever you sell something yourself, make sure you get paid in dollar. It's a mess trying to convert high amount of PHP to foreign currencies.

 

Laws by definition are never straight forward, if not, lawyers would not have work anymore.
The Philippines is no difference to say the least.
But there is a "reserved" part to start with:
The “compulsory heirs” are:

Primary - legitimate children and/or descendants
Secondary - legitimate parents and/or ascendants; illegitimate parents
Concurring - surviving spouse; illegitimate children and/or descendants

That means that the surviving spouse (husband/wife)comes only on the third place
You can read the whole text here:Will in Philippines | Philippine Will | Inheritance Tax Laws

 

I would assume that would be the case only if there was no will and the property was owned by an individual (or individuals) and not a corporation.