Looking for real estate attorney in Cebu.

[IanH]

We live in Australia, my wife is originally from the Philippines. We're buying a unit in Cebu but won't be able to travel for some time. Can anyone recommend a reliable attorney or agent who can act for us?

[Dave Hounddriver]

On 4/17/2018 at 12:16 PM, IanH said:

Can anyone recommend a reliable attorney or agent who can act for us?

It is hard to recommend someone as reliable in Philippines unless you know them personally.  I personally know that our admin @Jollygoodfellow lives in Cebu, has knowledge of the area, and may be able to act for you.  What do you need exactly?

[Old55]

8 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

It is hard to recommend someone as reliable in Philippines unless you know them personally.  I personally know that our admin @Jollygoodfellow lives in Cebu, has knowledge of the area, and may be able to act for you.  What do you need exactly?

Both Dave and I know JGF personally I would highly recommend asking him via private message. If he can’t directly aid you likely he knows someone who can. I will give him our attorney contact information if he asks.

[scott h]

On ‎4‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 9:16 PM, IanH said:

Can anyone recommend a reliable attorney or agent who can act for us?

First of all Ian, welcome to the forum, you can get lots of info here.

First of all, if your Wife or her family can not recommend a trusted attorney or agent (most likely a relative or close family friend) you are just asking to get fleeced. 

Let me explain. Due to the large amount of overseas workers this is the land of proxy actions. Almost anything can be done for you with the proper authorization. For example, I have a brother in law in the states. With a photocopy of his government ID, account information and authorization letter, I can make deposits and withdrawals from his Philippine bank account. So if you hired an attorney you would need to give him lots of info and authorization to act on your behalf. Trust would have to be explicit. That trust we can not extend to you.

Now I could recommend my wife's cousin, who is an attorney who has acted on our behalf before, and since he is family we are confident that he will not cheat us (at least not much lol), but you and your wife, not being family, might be fair game for him to pad his bill and drag things out.

Since we do not charge for advise here, I strongly suggest that you and your wife get boots on the ground and do as much coordination in person before handing over personal info or money to a relative complete stranger. 

Again, welcome to the forum

[Jack Peterson]

On 4/17/2018 at 12:16 PM, IanH said:

We live in Australia, my wife is originally from the Philippines.

 Be Lucky, stay safe and be wise 

[IanH]

Thanks for the great advice. Since posting we've also talked to a few people here and we've come to the same conclusion. Namely, the only way we can feel comfortable is to actually be there ourselves. My wife has some trusted relatives in Manilla but it's going to be better if we start the process then maybe ask them to do some of the follow-up.