My Experiences Trying To Buy Land Or A Home In The Philippines

[Mr Lee]

I wanted to buy a home in the Philippines ever since I first met my wife many moons ago and had tried from the second year of marriage up until a few years ago when we bought our condo. We had been traveling back and forth to the Philippines from our home in the states with the desire to buy a place to eventually move to but the price in the early years always seemed too high and it was not until the later years that I fully understood why. I guess it was partly the white man or kano tax whenever we looked at used homes and partly that everyone in the Philippines seems to think all foreigners are so very rich and therefore tried to sell us the higher priced items or homes. My wife's educated aunt whose husband is in politics in their hometown even tried to sell us some of her land 10 years or so ago and it was a couple of million pesos back then and she just could not understand why I could not afford to buy it because in her words all Americans are millionaires. It seemed that most Realtors that I tried to use to buy a home always seemed to not listen to what I was telling them when I told them what I wanted to spend and that I was not rich, yet they would show us homes way beyond my means, which brings about the next question, are we really millionaires if we can afford to make payments on a property that cost millions of pesos or if we have worked our whole lives and saved up or sold our homes which gained some equity in our respective countries and then took that money and either bought a property or put a down payment on one and are making payments on it. I guess the short answer is yes because many of us may have some money in the bank or in a retirement plan, be it small amounts or larger amounts and because many of us who are now retired do have something even if it is only a monthly check. Seems this thought is prevalent in almost everyone we meet in the Philippines and even many Filipinos who move to our countries. I have heard it said over and over and I just could not get my head around it, but I guess all in all it is true to some degree because many Filipinos do not have monthly checks coming in or pensions or social security or have something that they could sell and parley into something else, so while many of us may be in fact rich compared to the average Filipino, many of us still have to watch our spending to survive and have enough to not end up living in a hut down the road, unless of course that is something some of us wish to do and I am not knocking that.So now I ask myself, are many of us really paying a white mans tax or do many Filipinos just try to sell us the higher end products because they think we can afford it. I guess many of us could be considered very rich if we tried to live the life that many Filipinos seem to find themselves living and if we put the rest away for the future. I would hope that everyone who is retired is saving some of their check for a rainy day of unexpected expenses but many people seem to live for today and never worry about tomorrow. Anyway back to my buying property. I finally came to the realization that I would have to deal directly with a builder who had a price sheet and deal on something that was already built. This came about when I contacted a sister of a friends wife here in Florida to buy a condo in Cebu. She verified that the online price sheet was correct and that was what we should expect to pay and then when we got to Cebu the prices went up, so I felt it was time to cut out the middle person and see what deals could be gotten. I got the builders price sheet which was the new higher price sheet that had been in effect for 3 months so I tried to negotiate from there down and found that the only discount would be a cash discount if I could afford to pay cash, so off we went to look at other condos and homes. Shop shop and more shopping and nothing was where we wanted to live and within the price we wanted to spend except one place way out in Talisay that would have required us having a car and the sad thing is the year before we had used a local Realtor and she had shown us around but she too showed us properties too high for us and we could have bought a place then if only she would have listened to us on price we could afford, so we ended up where we bought and bit the bullet and paid the new price on a unit that someone was willing to transfer the contract on and luckily the prices have gone up 7 times since then so while we probably got screwed in a round about way, we still ended up doing OK all in all. So my advice is why waste the 10 years and if you can afford it and if you trust your wife or partner, go ahead and buy now and if you do not have a partner you can trust then go buy a condo or townhouse and just know that someday it may be worth what we paid for it and in the mean time we will have a place to live. And of course it is always better to have a Filipino do the bargaining for you but I have found that as soon as we come into the picture or they find out my wife's last name is not Filipino then the deal seems to change.Anyone else wish to share their experiences?

[Old55]

Perhaps being shown homes above your budget were in fact within your budget but you were expected to bargain the price down to that point? We will never get around the fact we are not "rich"! :SugarwareZ-037: Ive looked at homes in Cebu, Leyte and Bohol for over ten years now and have given up. Five years ago I had one guy raise the price 1 million the second he saw my white face. Had several Filipino friends (truly friends) along who knew the guy and true price and market. He told them the asking price was five million but the second he saw me it was six. We all had a good laugh. What the dumb a** did not know was at that time it was likely I would have bought the home. I'm thinking if ever I make the big move I will rent. I want a home in a gated community more than likely. A condo is perfect for someone like you and your wife Lee. Because you guys live in Florida part of every year you can leave the condo empty. It's not so easy with a home.

[abw]

This is my recent experience buying land in the Philippines. We have been planning on buying some land in Silay City, which is 15 minutes from Bacolod. Silay is a smallish city of about 120,000, and being close to Bacolod means we have convenient access to malls (SM, Robinsons), top private school/university (La Sal), top private hospital (Riverside), restaurants, cinemas etc. ]The idea was to build a house for us and a small house for the mother in law and a few other family members. When we last lived there (near Silay), we bought into a guarded subdivision. One of the problems living there was the social isolation. Virtually nobody could get in; not even tricycles. Neighbors were few and far between. So I decided this time around that I'd want to buy into either an unguarded subdivision or outside a subdivision with plenty of neighbors around. And for privacy, we'd always have a big wall Our original plan was to visit there next March and look for a lot maybe 500 or so square meters. Well, as it turned out, a 404 sq meter lot turned up for sale rite next door to where the relatives now live. It is not too far from the main road heading into Bacolod, and has water, sewerage, electricity, and PLDT. Being next door to the relatives, we can just hook up to their services as their land and our will form one compound (no temporary electricity, water while building). The smallish subdivision is half full of homes and more are being built, so we will be surrounded by neighbors (and none have pigs or chickensWe paid P2000 per sqm, which was the going rate.Andrew...So this is a picture of the land

Edited July 5, 2011 by Boss Man

[Mr Lee]

Looking good Andrew and it sounds like a solid game plan to me and you will all be able to share some things like DSL and possibly cable and other services and end up with them all on one bill. The land look nice and since the neighborhood already has new homes going up, your land and home is sure to grow in value. :551:

[abw]

Looking good Andrew and it sounds like a solid game plan to me and you will all be able to share some things like DSL and possibly cable and other services and end up with them all on one bill. The land look nice and since the neighborhood already has new homes going up, your land and home is sure to grow in value. :551:

And guess who will pay the bill...maybe that's why the mother-in-law is so excited for us to move thereAndrew Edited December 13, 2009 by abw

[Mr Lee]

Looking good Andrew and it sounds like a solid game plan to me and you will all be able to share some things like DSL and possibly cable and other services and end up with them all on one bill. The land look nice and since the neighborhood already has new homes going up, your land and home is sure to grow in value. :th_signs027:

And guess who will pay the bill...maybe that's why the mother-in-law is so excited for us to move thereAndrew

Yup that is one of the downfalls of living too close and of being a non Filipino while living in the Philippines, :551: but at least it will all be on one bill with some savings. :lol: I just hope your family does not decide to heavily use aircon (not likely) because electric seems to be pretty expensive nowadays so you might want to include some solar and an attic fan into your plans. Edited December 13, 2009 by Mr. Lee

[Guardian]

Looks very nice the best of luck with it. I guess you had to put it in your wifes name?

[abw]

Looking good Andrew and it sounds like a solid game plan to me and you will all be able to share some things like DSL and possibly cable and other services and end up with them all on one bill. The land look nice and since the neighborhood already has new homes going up, your land and home is sure to grow in value.

And guess who will pay the bill...maybe that's why the mother-in-law is so excited for us to move thereAndrew

Yup that is one of the downfalls of living too close and of being a non Filipino while living in the Philippines, but at least it will all be on one bill with some savings. I just hope your family does not decide to heavily use aircon (not likely) because electric seems to be pretty expensive nowadays so you might want to include some solar and an attic fan into your plans.

Well, we pay all their bills anyway, so it makes no real difference;) Andrew

[abw]

Looks very nice the best of luck with it. I guess you had to put it in your wifes name?

Yep, my wife's name goes on the land title. It should be noted though, that my name is added to the Deed of Sale as the husband (I'll have to check this). This means that my wife cannot sell without my consent (or it would be pretty difficult).Andrew Edited December 13, 2009 by abw

[Mr Lee]

Looks very nice the best of luck with it. I guess you had to put it in your wifes name?

Yep, my wife's name goes on the land title. It should be noted though, that my name is added to the Deed of Sale as the husband (I'll have to check this). This means that my wife cannot sell without my consent (or it would be pretty difficult).Andrew

I am not sure if that is true. My understanding is that she totally owns the land and can do what she wants with it but that if she should God forbid pass on then the land would title to you as her husband and heir and that would only be if her family did not fight you and try to make claim to it. My advice would be to use an attorney and have your wifes desires written up, just in case. There have been way too many horror stories, so it is better to be safe than sorry IMO, but that would be totally up to you.