Buying A Lot, Or Maybe Not!

[Kenraw]

Land for $5 per sq m. in US. Really where would that be?

[Robert12]

I purchased last Nov.2012.a piece of property for 1500p per meter.The land is off from the national highway up a paved road outside of Dumagette about 15 mins,The property came with electricity and water.It,s about 300 feet up.It over looks the ocean and behind overlooking the mountains.Make sure that any property you are buying is titled to the person selling you it.Also make sure it is surveyed and that you have a lawyer look at it to see that all the taxes are payed etc.Good luck on finding you dream there.  :no:

[Adventurer]

If I was to buy land there then I would be putting aside EXTRA money for legal fees. If you are told you need 20,000 pesos then double it and put in 40,000 ( I have no idea of the cost, this is an example). In Australia I would have to spend nearly $1000 to get property inspections but the property would cost a lot more than the Philippines. In the Philippines the property will be cheaper but why not crank your legal budget up a few notches just to be on the safe side.

[Robert12]

Always a good ideal to put extra on for a lawyer etc.I had the seller pay for the lawyer and survay,so it didn,t cost me anything.Also make sure the title that the seller shows you is a clear title. The price of 1500p per meter was a 1000 meter piece,if that helps you.

[Adventurer]

Another thing I thought I would mention is that I was looking at some lots there myself last time and talking to some locals is the best way to find lots. I just took a trip to the area I was interested in and started talking to some locals on the side of the road. One friendly man took me on a tour of the area and I was able to find some really good lots that I would never have seen.

 

I also met a young German couple that were very excited about their new lot and house they just purchased. Then months later I noticed they were not around anymore. Some local people told me that the property they purchased was only the interest or something and they got screwed and had no ownership of the property even though they spent their life savings on the place. Lesson from that is always get the legal side of it done properly. Maybe if they had spent an extra $1000 they would not have lost their life savings? Remember you have no ground to stand on if something goes wrong legally as a foreigner you have basically no rights, only your wife will.

[Fred & Mimi]

Yeah one must be so careful. My GF and I were checking a 4 hectare property about 20km from Argao with a friend of the owner, a kick backer who took us to showcase the properties. It was over two titles and first we were shown an interesting block of land with many fully grown mango trees and told that was the smaller lot. The neighbour confirmed it was owned by the person we were told was the landowner. The other lot was shown to us on the other side of the road and was mostly uncleared land with several mangoes but it was hard to tell how many.

 

My GF was all excited but I couldn't understand how the two titles were actually connected to each other as shown in the title deeds and not on opposite sides of the road as was originally shown. I brought this up with the person showing the site and they just couldn't explain that anomaly either... sure !!. Needless to say I lost interest immediately but I could imagine how someone caught up in the excitement might get a rude surprise after the sale went though.

 

Trust no one when it comes to property!

Edited March 25, 2013 by Fred & Mimi

[Americano]

The minimum for purchasing land in the Philippines is a Tax Declaration in the name of the person you are buying the land from.  Receipts in that person's name showing he has been paying the taxes every year.  And, concrete Survey Markers where it was last surveyed and shows the boundaries of the lot.

 

If you have these three things then you can make a Deed of Sale, pay the Capitol Gains Tax, and transfer the Tax Declaration into your wife's name.  After all this is completed then you have documents to support your squatter's rights.  That's right you will only be a squatter who is paying the taxes.  A Title of Real Property is the only proof of ownership, which most land in the Philippines does not have.

[Geoff Thomas]

Jake, on 07 Feb 2013 - 23:24, said:

May I suggest contacting forum member Geoff who is also our resident real estate agent. Along with his wife Anilou,

they have been in the business for the last several years in Cebu area. Geoff's advertisement banner is authorized

by the Boss: http://cebupropertyrentals.com/

Thank you very much for the vote of confidence guys, I actually am a quarter share holder of 1.9 hectares in Moalboal, we bought under corporation and subdivided to make 24 lots held under a mother title, each original owner kept 1000 sq/mtr. We still have about 9 lots for sale but the lots can at this moment only be transfered to individual ownership as a tax declaration, held under the mother title (work in progress to actually title the individual lots but very safe.

We actually only deal with real estate in Cebu city as our main business, just happens I bought land in moalboal a few years back, we focus on a few main area's in Cebu City now, but that being said I do know people from Dumagette to Malapasqua and would gladly put anybody in touch with people in various area's if looking. Main point of this post, get a reputable lawyer, known buy other contacts to search through the background of a prospective property, I once almost parted with a few million to buy a beautiful overlooking lot in Panagsama/ Moalboal my lawyer not cheap took about 6 weeks researching the place, all was looking good until in the last week he found out that the lot had been sold many years ago to the Philippine tourism association PTA, other lots I looked into had the same problem but different association Tri Island Corporation, my lawyer saved me a few million peso, cost me a quite a few thousand which I thought was steep at the time but cheap by comparison to what could have been the outcome. Ladies & Gents, please get a good lawyer and don't think its a waste of money. There are plenty of good ones out there, ask a friend whom they have used and spend a little to gain more!

Edited March 28, 2013 by Geoff Thomas

[Elena]

Jeff since you have had experience buying land in Moalbole Can you recommend a good lawyer? We think about the long-term land lease (50 years) and want to make sure that all documents are properly decorated. My husband and I both are not Filipino citizens, but I read that making out a long-term lease on the land may be a contract for the first right on leased land if you change the law, or a family member marries filipinkoy citizen. Is this true?

[Ynot]

interesting stuff on land ownership, and good advice about ensuring your cross the t's and dot the i's.   So if 1000 piso a sq metre is what you would expect to pay around Cebu City area, how easy is it to find a block in the 400 sqm range.  I've seen pleny of lots under 200 sqm which appears to be small from my experience. I would prefer to buy land that is in the 400 sqm size.  If you build a house what is the cost per sqm for that???