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Has anyone bought land in the Philippines?

Discussion in 'Money Matters' started by JasonWong, Mar 7, 2018.

  1. JasonWong
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    JasonWong Member

    Has anyone had experience of this? My wife is Filipino and I am British so I guess we will have to buy it under her name.

    We are looking to buy residential land to eventually build on in 10 years time. But wanted to research on what I should be looking out for and stuff as I plan to buy this in the next 3-4 years.

    Anyone got any pointers?
  2. graham59
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    graham59 Banned

    Foreigners, as you probably know, are not permitted to own land in the Phils. (You can buy a 'Condo', but you still won't own the land of course). You can own 40% shares in a company, but that's another subject.

    So yes, it will need to be put in your wife's name, though your name may still be added to the 'deeds'.

    It is most important to be able to ascertain that the land has CLEAN TITLE. You will need a lawyer. Any doubts over that, don't buy.

    My wife and I (ok... my wife ;)) bought a half hectare of land, and after the title was sorted out , which took about a year, we built a small house on it.
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  3. JasonWong
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    JasonWong Member

    Yeh that’s what we are planning on doing. Where did you end up buying?

    Did you find the land via an agency or direct?
  4. graham59
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    graham59 Banned

    We bought the land from a local... known to family. We split the lot with my wife's (former) school teacher. We then were able to split costs in having a boundary wall built between our two properties, as well as some of the legal costs.

    (Some people don't like being close to relatives in the Phils, but mine/ours are lovely people, and we are happier being closer to them).

    So everyone involved was 'known to us' . I can't advise as far as any other purchasing route goes.
  5. Maley
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    Maley Well-Known Member

    First where do you want to buy and what type do you want ie beach side, mountains for a rest house or city type? There are tons of choices. Of course city and beach location are slightly expensive than those in the farm/countryside area. You also need to consider the distance of the new place vs her relatives. Do you want it to be very close or totally a different island?

    There are plenty of options - you can buy from a real estate company. Ayala is expanding throughout the country. They are notoriously expensive but they have one of the best track records in ph - their main strong hold of Forbes park subdivision hasnt devalued for more than 100 yrs. they have an expansion area in tagaytay (i think) and it is supposed to be environmentally friendly and sustainable.
    Of course there are more real estatr companies some are local and some nationwide in scope. Do your research specially on the local ones.

    Or you can follow @graham59 nothing beats local knowledge. You always get thr best price if they know you are local just make sure it is clean and there is deed of absolute sale.
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  6. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    Markham has ;)
  7. Sanders
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    Sanders Banned

    My wife to be has some land. Not much but a nice little plot in Valencia. I saw photos of it a couple of months back. But she is going to leave it behind and head over to the U.K. The plot is sitting there, with occasional maintenance.
  8. DavidAlma
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    DavidAlma Well-Known Member

    I bought a lot in a high end subdivision Davao. We bought through the developers, and employed a builder to design and build our house. The title to the land is in my wife name and I am mentioned in the title. The house is registered in my name. We are very happy with our route, the price of the land has almost doubled in 2 years.
  9. John Surrey
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    John Surrey Well-Known Member

    We've bought a few pieces of land from my wife's family and also we took over an option to purchase which a family member couldn't afford to exercise...

    Nothing is what it seems in the Philippines so it's buyer beware...

    In our (1st) case, to me it was fairly obvious that my wife's family actually owned the land they were living on, her father is descended from a Spanish clan who own most of the surrounding land and therefore not only do I get to enjoy living close to my wife's family but I also live next door to all her extended family too! The title of the land isn't registered (I should sort out our purchases) and we got a visit from the Municipality last year... so the property is now registered for local taxation...

    In our (2nd) case, we bought part of a very large sale of land in what is supposed to be (and is by all accounts) a local beauty spot... other purchasers were the Mayor (her relatives) and other local businessmen etc. We basically got a bit lucky because my wife's brother is quite well connected - having said that we bought it about 3 years ago and haven't been there to see what it's like yet...

    In the 2nd case my name went on the title too - so if my wife dies before me I'm assuming I'll inherit it (Spanish Civil code ...) - Pretty certain my children would be entitled to a share too depending on their ages I guess.

    In the 1st case I didn't add my name to the title of the family land here as it's "family" land - my children being classed as "family" but I'm obviously not (being kano)...

    If you're looking at spending more than you can afford to lose (and looking 10 years down the line) I would buy the most marketable condo you can afford in your own name to insure against house price inflation and other unforeseen issues...
  10. graham59
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    graham59 Banned

    This was our place when we first bought it. It looks isolated, but is in fact next to a decent road, with shops and schools a few hundred yards away. My wife tells me the value has gone up fourfold during the past 2 years.

    .
    land2.jpg

    land6.jpg
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  11. John Surrey
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    John Surrey Well-Known Member

    Very nice road.
  12. Bluebirdjones
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    Bluebirdjones Member

    "It is most important to be able to ascertain that the land has CLEAN TITLE. You will need a lawyer. Any doubts over that, don't buy."

    This cannot be emphasised enough.
    ...... and a lawyer that you find/engage, not one that the seller recommends/suggests.
  13. graham59
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    graham59 Banned

    Biggest problem we have at the moment, is keeping people off the garden ornaments. :erm:

    .
    IMG_20160206_145959.jpg
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  14. JasonWong
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    JasonWong Member

    looks awesome.

    where is this?

    We are planning to buy around roxas city, but we dont know anyone who has land there tbh...
  15. graham59
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    graham59 Banned

    We live way up in Pangasinan, North Luzon... just north of Dagupan .

    Do be careful with this land-buying business (or house). Lots of pitfalls if dealing with strangers. ;)

    Oh, I forgot to say in my earlier post.. we have bought an extra chunk of that land now.

    Tomorrow we're having a mast and antenna erected on it too... to boost our internet.
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
  16. JasonWong
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    JasonWong Member

    Sounds awesome! How’s your internet now?

    Out of interest how were the construction costs out there? We are in really early stages, I haven’t even saved up enough money yet but want to know what sort of figures I need to be getting close to. Obviously construction costs are dependant on what I want but saw a few houses online too and they’re around £40k already built. But then land alone can cost about £20k on some sites...I would have thought to build a reasonable sized house would be at least £80-100k...
  17. graham59
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    graham59 Banned

    I won't go into our construction costs, because that is a private matter, but naturally that can vary widely... as can land prices. You'll just need to do plenty of research on that one. :like: Other members may be more forthcoming.

    Our internet speed has apparently gone up from practically zero, to around 19 megs, which we are delighted with. :)
  18. Markham
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    Markham Guest

    Allow Php8,000 per square metre per floor for basic (ie unfinished) construction and you won't go far wrong. Roofs are extra and the costs depend on materials used - if you're wise, that won't be tin ;)
  19. john jones
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    john jones Active Member

    Graham59. I will be harassing you for more info about your mast and internet in about a years time when im living there properly. Just to give you plenty of warning!;)
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  20. DavidAlma
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    DavidAlma Well-Known Member

    Land prices and construction costs will vary greatly depending on many factors, location, type of construction, finishing etc. If it helps, I am happy to share my details. We bought a 220sq.m. lot in a high end subdivision in Davao. The price when we bought 2 years ago was P6,200 per sq.m. Current selling prices are almost double at P11,000 per sq.m. Our house is 155 sq.m. and cost us a total of P5m, built to what I would consider to be close to western standards, including the electrical wiring. That also included architect fees, building permits etc. Included also was basic landscaping of the garden, lawn and a few palm trees, bourgainvillea etc.

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