Things To Be Aware Of In Rental Contracts

[JJReyes]

The first rule in rentals is to document everything. The real estate company I jointly own with my wife (Principal Broker) and son (Broker-in-Charge) has a property rental division. We are serving as the property managers and responsible to the owner. For unfurnished units, photographs are taken as to the pre-occupancy condition. Photographs are taken after they vacate. For fully furnished units, there is an inventory of everything and photographs. The tenant signs the inventory list. One tenant tried to substitute more expensive cutlery for cheaper ones and got caught.

We also recommend to the tenant to do the same and take pictures. There are no problems 98% of the time. Tenant eviction is a hellish process. It includes hiring a lawyer, court case, and a sheriff for enforcement. We actually do much better than other real estate companies. The reason is the head for property rentals wants tenants who are with the military. At the first sign of trouble, she goes straight to the commanding officer. They are so afraid of adverse publicity, the commanding officer wants to settle matters as quickly as possible.

In one incident, a submariner was a last minute substitute on a sub deploying. He forgot to arrange for rental payments while at sea for 120 days. He paid the rent later, but refused to pay for late charges. His immediate superior agreed with the submariner throwing the line, "In service to his country." Our rental manager went to the media. There was an admiral and another ranking officer at our office the next day to settle the misunderstanding. It helped that the property owner was a 74 years old widow, whose husband was killed in the Korean conflict. She had a compelling story for the media.

[Dave Hounddriver]

What about a 6month deposit or advance rent ?

Yeah right.

My friend Tom did that. (not JGF) and still has not seen his money or the house. The lady told him about it being the new norm and about how this means the rent won't go up. After he paid it the woman said her children told her she had rented it for too little and she had to go to hospital in Manila and he would have to deal with them. Well he went to the cops and they were sympathetic but had no interest in tracking the woman down in Manila and when the 'children' showed up and said she had no right to rent the house . . well like I said, he is still out the 6 months rent AND no house to live in.

Be vewy vewy careful out there.

[sqylogin]

I would also look for a clause in the rent contract that specifies who pays for repairs. Possibly a stipulation that the tenant pays up to a specific amount (say, P5k) with the landlord picking up the rest. For repairs that aren't due to tenant's fault, of course.

[Call me bubba]

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.

If you really like the place

go back on different times of the day or early evening. Not once but at least 2times .

it is helpful to "know" more about the new place you may be calling home.

esp if you have children,

I have done this in my past 2 moves, and was SOOO glad that I did

as it made me certian that the place i decided to move was the "right" one,

again each person will have different experiences on their seacrh for a house/home

[Dave Hounddriver]

go back on different times of the day or early evening.

Yes. One of the first places I rented was an absolutely beautiful place on the water for a good price. After moving in I found that all the local young adults thought so too so after 9 pm they were ALL outside my front gate, between my house and the water, drinking and singing and partying and fighting and making a mess with all their garbage until the wee hours of the morning. Even going as far as gunfire on one occasion. We moved after a break in and theft but there were plenty more reasons to move out. Later the place was purchased by a foreigner who was willing to put up with all the negatives and did so by turning the house and lot into a fortress.

[i am bob]

When ever I look at a place for the first time, I like to do it when the weather is bad... Do you have to wade through water to get in the door, does the yard holds water rather than it drains, is the street prone to flooding? This is before I have even gone inside! So many places I have gone to look at and didn't even bother to stop once I saw the outside! And even if you go in - do the windows leak? The roof? Is it dark and clammy feeling? If you aren't comfortable when they are showing you the place, how bad will it be once you move in? And this is also a good time to check for infestations - mice, rats, bugs, snakes, you name it! They don't like the rain either if they can get inside! If a place passes muster when it's not nice out, usually it will be a great place when it's a beautiful day! But, as someone mentioned a few posts before this one, don't look just once. If you look early in the day, check back again later in the afternoon. Try getting there in rush hour. And always go back after dark just to check the neighbourhood. Some places I go back and check again around the time the bars close. Remember - many of these places have a year lease. It's not easy to break a contract if something doesn't fit right! And if you can avoid a place that has a hidden defect (3 am karaoke? bug central? indoor swimming pool?) you really just might find your time in the Philippines that much brighter!!!

:36_1_68[1]:

[earthdome]

Take a good flashlight and inspect well in corners, under sinks, utility rooms, closets, etc. Look for signs of flooding, water damage or mold. For those with allergies or sinus problems living in a place that has had a mold problem can make you miserable.

Flush every toilet and pour water down every drain to make sure they work. Try every water faucet. Look for leaks.

Look at the location of lights and electrical outlets. Try every light and test some outlets. Find and inspect the electrical breaker box.

Take video/pictures before you move in to document any existing problems or damage.

[Dave Hounddriver]

Try every light and test some outlets

Any Philippine house I have ever rented does not even come with light bulbs. People take them with them when they move. I think some people are in for a surprise when they go to rent their first low cost rental in the Philippines.

[Curley]

I'm beginning to think it may be a good idea to arrange to rent for a month as a holiday let, even at a much higher rent, before committing to a long term lease. I'm talking about furnished here.

[Markham]

I've been renting for almost five years, first in Cebu and for the last two years in Davao. During that time, I have had problems with only one landlord who happens to be our previous one here in Davao. He originally wanted a two month deposit - plus one month's advance rent - but my wife managed to get the deposit reduced to just one month. The contract was pretty much standard and made the tenant responsible for minor repairs only. So we signed.

Within days we discovered that the main drain that serviced the 3 CRs and the kitchen sinks was running slow and we informed the landlord who sent a plumber to clear it. Well he didn't do a very good job because within a day or so, the drain again ran slow. We also noticed that the roof was leaking in the corner of the living room and when it rained heavily, some water ran down the wall in the corner of that room. When we informed our landlord, he responded by telling us that we were responsible for ALL repairs to the property, regardless of cost. I checked with our lawyer, who happens to be one of our son's Godparents, and she assured us that the lease contract only required us to perform minor repairs, replace light bulbs etc., and that issues regarding the structure and services of the property were down to the landlord. Also neighbours told us that every previous tenant had suffered problems with the drains and the landlord simply refused to fix them. I did get a quote from a plumber who investigated the problem and his "diagnosis" was that not only was the wrong diameter piping used but it was of such poor quality (thin wall) that it had ruptured underground - probably caused by a tree root; the estimated cost to replace was Php 25,000 (which included removing 50 metres of concrete pathways, replacing the pipe with the correct size and grade and re-concreting). When I informed the landlord of the diagnosis and estimated cost, his response was that we HAD to get the work done at our expense - since we are the tenants.

Well, I didn't do that repair: the cost was greater than the monthly rental. We were in any event very close to the end of our six-month lease and, knowing that the landlord would be unlikely to return our deposit, we simply paid a token amount for two month's utility bills (electric, Sky Cable and Globe phone) and left him with unpaid bills that almost exactly totaled the deposit (give or take a few Pesos).

We moved from there in October to a very nice place in a different sub-division owned by a true gentleman and so far, I have to say, the best landlord I have yet encountered. Nothing is too much trouble for him and although we had to pay Smart to install a 50' mast and canopy antenna, our landlord has assured us that he will refund the installation cost when we vacate.

If you're thinking about renting a property within a sub-division, I strongly advise you to visit the sub-division's office and check that all the dues have been paid up to date - this is almost always the landlord's responsibility and not the tenant's. This is particularly important if the mains water is charged by them and not the water company because they will come to the property and disconnect your supply if the sub-division's dues are badly in arrears. Or, as we discovered upon moving out of our last place, the guards are empowered to prevent you removing your own property; we spent the best part of half a day trying to sort this. When we notified our landlord-from-Hell that we couldn't move out because he was in arrears, he texted my wife and told her to pay the outstanding dues AND/OR an additional month's rent if we could not vacate by 5pm. In the event we did neither, the sub-division's treasurer came to our rescue and authorised our removals. (And yes, according to his contract, he was responsible for the sub-division's dues.)