Things To Be Aware Of In Rental Contracts

[Jollygoodfellow]

Hi All, I've found the house I want to rent in Davao and intend to sign up for one year initially, anything that I should be aware of? Anything that is different here to the UK? The owner is asking for one month in advance and two months security which I believe is the norm.

Also be sure you are renting house and lot as some are house only and one day you might find things or people in the backyard you wish were not there.

[Mike S]

Hi All, I've found the house I want to rent in Davao and intend to sign up for one year initially, anything that I should be aware of? Anything that is different here to the UK? The owner is asking for one month in advance and two months security which I believe is the norm.

Also be sure you are renting house and lot as some are house only and one day you might find things or people in the backyard you wish were not there.

Hummmmmmmm ..... the land-lords goats comes to mind ...... :hystery:

But all kidding (as in goat) aside we once looked at renting a house with a nice double car carport .... only to find out that the owner (who lived next door) parked both his car and multi-cab there with only about 2 feet to get into the front door of the rental house ...... seems he had 4 vehicles and only a spot for 2 at his place .... so although you might not think about what JGF said at first ..... especially when renting a house .... check ...... :cheersty:

[Curley]

Hi All, I've found the house I want to rent in Davao and intend to sign up for one year initially, anything that I should be aware of? Anything that is different here to the UK? The owner is asking for one month in advance and two months security which I believe is the norm.

Also be sure you are renting house and lot as some are house only and one day you might find things or people in the backyard you wish were not there.

Thanks, i wouldn't have thought of that. :cheersty:

[Geoff Thomas]

Hopefully your broker or friend relative or any other person you deal through may have past knowledge, good or bad of your landlord/landlady's past history with regards to returns of deposits etc, but from personal experience don't go for a reduced rent deal by paying one year in advance as this just leads to problems for sure.

Most contracts we deal with are for a minimum of one year, most landlords are very aware of how we feel about the deposit situation and this is why they are starting to have the advance rental cover the first and last month of your contract so as to protect themselves. Most bad deals I have come across in my seven years of running my real estate office come from Landlady's that have inherited plenty of properties but not kept up the general maintenance and upkeep of their property. Instead they will accuse you of neglect and charge you for what should in fact be their commitment. This unfortunately is unavoidable in some instances but if you get a good feeling run with it, if you can get knowledge of your landlord/landlady even better, but as I said there are definitely some signs to look out for.

I lost 75,000 when I dealt with the mother of all Landlady's about 5 years ago, but put it down to a learning curve, since then have met 3 people that have had the same Landlady before me and all had massive issues with her.

If there are any people on this site from Davao maybe they could give you some feed back with regards to who are good or bad known landlords. But send in a personal message not a public one as you may end up on the wrong side of somebody.

Hope all works out well!

[Dave Hounddriver]

I am almost afraid to say anything so I don't jinx myself but I have been very lucky so far.

Rented 5 places in 5 years. 3 of them I gave NO security deposit, the other 2 I negotiated to only a 1 month security deposit. Of those 2, one of them gave me a full refund on moving out (and I broke the lease and moved early due to a break in so it was unexpected that they gave it back) and the other did not give a refund but I did not ask as my dogs had done some damage so I felt like they should keep the deposit to cover the damage, totally my choice as I could have just lived out the last month and not paid.

[MikeB]

I've rented 3 places and had 3 landlords including the current. All 3 have been helpful and cooperative in every way, and on the 2 I left I got the full deposits back. That's not to say there are not dishonest ones, but if you believe all the bad stories on forums and go into it with a negative attitude you are almost guaranteed to have a negative experience. For every bad owner there's probably 20 bad tenants. It's a 2 way street and somewhere between the way it is in the US, where it's nearly impossible to get a bad tenant evicted and here, where you can toss anyone and their property out on the street any time is the elusive "way it should be".

[Call me bubba]

Most contracts we deal with are for a minimum of one year, most landlords are very aware of how we feel about the deposit situation and this is why they are starting to have the advance rental cover the first and last month of your contract so as to protect themselves

What about a 6month deposit or advance rent ?

i recently saw an advert ,that required or asked for a 6month deposit/advance rent

is this now considered the "NEW" norm? just curious how can some people afford such a "cost"?

i understand if your business is transfering you here , they would pay,

but for the "average" Bob.Joe or Bubba on a fixed or retirement income, could come up with that.

(at least I could never in my life here or back home)

The 1month 1st.last and deposit I can(under 12.k X 3=36k)

How do others(members of this forum) deal with a "deposit/advance"rent situation?

just negotiate with the "future" landlord??

Edited August 16, 2012 by Call me Bubba

[CebuAndy]

I've found landlords in the Philippines to be both nice and fair to deal with, :) knock on wood.

First landlord bothered visited me almost daily, so I had to bring this up to his family attention. They offered me to cancel the contract, and move out in a peaceful way, and deposit was returned 100 %. We parted as friends :thumbsup:

Second landlord was fast to make repair, and didn't ask me to pay (professional landlord). :thumbsup:

I've seen many advertisement where they want 6 months up front, so we might see a new trend.

For myself, I only look at properties where they accept 6 months lease or less, and max 1 + 2 months advanced.

In Thailand majority many landlords find a silly reason for not return the security deposit, or they promise you the money back in 30 days, which not going to happen. I would be very careful when a landlord ask for more than 1+2 months.

[luke]

The first 3 rentals were paid by the company, all located in Paranaque bordering Pasay. Security deposits were not paid back. The first landlady came up with a list of damages that I couldn't agree on but she wouldn't return a penny. The second rental was repossesed by the bank; I could "escape" just in time with all my possesions. The third landlady partially paid back the security deposit claiming she didn't have enough money.

The current rental is in Makati and I dealed directly with the landlady myself. The contract included village association dues, taxes and garbage collection fees. She was very attached to the house. She paid for all major repairs and even repainted the exteriors and interiors during my stay here. Unfortunately she died 2 years ago (aggresive cancer) and the property reverted back to her elderly mother who is not as freegiving as her daugther.

Just to say, there are good and "not so good" landladies/landlords

[Adventurer]

I rent a place that is part of a resort, the owners are very nice people. We never signed a contract, I just paid 3 months in advance and now we just pay per month so can leave anytime, there was no bond or are there any issues, If we need anything done then he is always happy to come and help. He is a simple province fisherman and has other members of his family run the resort. I always go through him and his wife for anything as they are like friends. The beach house was not really used so when i moved in I think they were very happy to have someone stay long term. I love the place, right on the beach and peaceful although I won't spend another holy week here as that was hell with discos and karaoke all around the neighboring resorts 24/7 for 3 weeks. The place needed a few things done to it, I pitched in for some money , only a couple of thousand pesos and they spent days making the place really nice for me. We love it here, simple but just the ideal place for us, cheap too. Of course I would not recommend this friendly arrangement in all situations, each situation is different. If I was in the city in an apartment etc I would want a contract etc.

Edited August 16, 2012 by Adventurer