Advice needed buying and building

[Scooter]

1 minute ago, Colsie said:

Oops! raw nerve... 

What's wrong with sounding as carefree as a teenager... 

Sir you couldn't raise my blood no matter what you said. I take in positive information from people who have knowledge and advice. . Negative information is meant for followers to listen to and fools to say

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 minute ago, Scooter said:

like drumstick boy ;)

We do try and let things go on this forum.  He said something you did not like.  You made that clear.  We like to forget it and move on because too many members have quit over the years due to hurt feelings (which are often just misunderstandings).

You will have a wonderful life in the Philippines.  There will be highs and lows but it sounds like you will enjoy it.

[Scooter]

9 minutes ago, Colsie said:

The guy in the photo is Blackadder, you're probably to young to know that... 

I don't watch television often. When I do I enjoy learning and things that bring in information .. have a good day sir . 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Scooter

[Scooter]

7 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

We do try and let things go on this forum.  He said something you did not like.  You made that clear.  We like to forget it and move on because too many members have quit over the years due to hurt feelings (which are often just misunderstandings).

You will have a wonderful life in the Philippines.  There will be highs and lows but it sounds like you will enjoy it.

Thank you sir. I appreciate that. I'm sure there will be. How long you been here? Which island? 

[Dave Hounddriver]

58 minutes ago, Scooter said:

How long you been here? Which island? 

I spent 13 years on Cebu, Leyte, and Negros but I am currently taking care of my aging mother in Canada.  I was back in Cebu for a month in March and I will be back again but I do not know when.  There is something about the Philippines that draws me back.

[stevewool]

2 hours ago, Scooter said:

 like drumstick boy ;) . 

That’s so funny , thank you for making me laugh 😆 

[Mike J]

3 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

There is something about the Philippines that draws me back.

And that "something" is kind of hard to define.  I had made a number of trips to the Philippines to determine if I would actually be able to live here full time.  The last temporary visit was in 2011.   We came in April because I needed to see if I could stand the heat in the middle of the dry season.  Arrived in Cebu just after midnight.  Tired, hungry, hot, humid, the air stinking from exhaust, garbage, maybe my own armpits?  We were being hassled by the airport workers who wanted tips, frustrated in trying to get an honest cab.  I remember thinking "This really sucks but it feels nice to be home".   That was an epiphany for me.  Made the move in 2013 and have not been back since.  The Philippines certainly has it's share of problems as a developing country but it is home now and I love it "warts and all".  I have a feeling that Scooter will have issues but find happiness here.

Sorry for rambling and being a bit off topic. 

[baronapart]

6 hours ago, CebuAndy said:

May I suggest a cold shower 😉 read this forum for 1 year, stay in country for 1 year uninterrupted, before you make the big move?

Excellent advice...

[Snowy79]

Seriously don't take anything as an offence here, most people are extremely helpful and talk from experience, either their own or close friends. What may come over as improper advice may have a ring of truth to it.  I spent over 24yrs in the military and many of those years I was put in a position to mentor the younger guys. If I tried to advise 20 of them using experience, 19 of them knew better and were going to prove me wrong. Eighteen ended up failing and one worked bloody hard to make it work.  As for people wanting to make things happen, pretty much everyone that is prepared to up sticks and travel half way around the World to start again isn't the type of person who doesn't take risks.

Back to the buiding scenario the legal ownership will be your biggest hurdle followed by the designation of the land and the future town plans. If it's not fully titled don't touch it, tax declared pretty much means it can be taken by the govenment any time they wish and if the town planners decide the new road, hospital, sewage treatment plant is going on your land then that is what's going to happen. If it's not Alien and Disposable  will you get permission to build a house on it, how many people are on the title deeds an how many not on them but will soon appear before the ink is dry on the sale? Then as you can't own land here whose name will be on the deeds and how well do you know that person?

Without prying into your personnel life look in on it as an outsider and think how you would advise that person.  I see a fair few fall in love online with the one.  Visit for a few weeks and decide they've met a cross between a saint and a Victoria Secret model who just happens to love a guy many years older than them that they've nothing in common with and if he was being honest with himself wouldn't get a second look in the West.  They've worked hard all their life to build up a nest egg and come here, throw it at a house, land and business which is in the saint's name who so many times just happens to have a kid and has never held a job down or graduated from school.  A few years down the line he gets kicked to the kerb, she has everything and her young Filipino partner moves in.  He has zero legal comeback and is out on his butt with a seriously dented nest egg, a lot older and wiser but too poor now to give the real one the quality of life he had planned when he meets her.  Just go into any bar here in the Philippines and you'll meet them sitting on the corner of the bar enjoying happy hour.

Good luck but tread wisely.   

[CebuAndy]