Real estate here in the Philippines can be a real headache for many people who do not understand how the system works. What I will say is check and double check with all the nessassary offices and even have the papers checked by a reputable real estate lawyer before you commit to buy anything.
We bought our property in July 2011 and thought all was ok with the papers as we were told by the sellor who happens to be british like me and ofcourse we trusted him (big mistake). It happens that it was not a clean title and was a mother title and we are still trying to sort it out three years later!
I will also mention if you do decide to ever buy a property never ever trust the sellor to pay the bir taxes and stamp duty as again this will never be paid, always pay it into the bank yourself or through a reputable lawyer and ALWAYS get a signed reciept.
There are good deals to be had here with real estate and plenty of bad ones, one of the biggest issues is people not paying the estate taxes every year which again you need to check up at your local municiple office, they will usually tell you of any other problems with the property.
Again if you decide to buy DO NOT buy from a dealer as they will usually add a large amount of cash to a property and all they will do is take you to the property once (you pay the transport cost) as they have no money!
If the property you are buying has a clean title and all is looking ok after the checks the title will be issued in around 3-4 months depending which province you live in.
Now we come to rental properties! Again there are good and bad rentals here in the Philippines, you hear some real horror story's and also great reviews. Rental prices can vary a lot depending where you are and whether furnished or unfurnished, always ask what is included in the rental cost and also just have a wander around the area to see how it looks, no one wants to be near a blasting karaoke until 3am every night.
Most of the local owned rentals are ok but not all are maintained very well or re painted that often so often look tired and gloomy. Never pay the usual 2 months deposit as I have heard many times the words "sorry sir no more money" when it comes to paying the deposit back, always have it written in the contract that the deposit can be used at the end of term or have it written the deposit must be returned minus your bills and any breakages.
Bills like electricity and water is another thing, when moving in always ask to see the electric meter and what the charges per kwh will be if they are paying the bills and the same for the water. I have also heard of a local rental who happens to be a foreigner who charges vastly excessive amounts for electric and when your times is up at this rental you would be lucky to get anything back and maybe ever ask you for more!
My wife and I have many foreign and local friends here on negros oriental and we always know someone who is trying to sell or rent out apartments or houses at varying prices. So please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need any advice on either of these matters. Will will also recomend a good real estate lawyer and we can introduce you to the sellor or owners of good rental properties.
Tuesday, 30 September 2014
Sunday, 28 September 2014
Bayawan, negros oriental
After visiting bayawan a few times over the last few years I have now decides it's a pretty cool place. Yes there aren't the malls or big stores there but you can get some things and a new hypermart is to open in bayawan in October 2014.
It is so much more peaceful up there away from the hustle and bustle of Dumaguete and surrounding areas and what is nice is not many trikes or loud motorcycle exhaust systems tearing around on the roads.
The boulavard is really nice with two lanes for traffic each side with no heavy traffic, there are a couple of good resto's along the strip which I visited this time and both with good food and cold beer. One of the places is called pepe's and has great cold beer and imported stuff, cable tv on a large screen with a clean modern look.Another nice thing is it has a great sunset which I miss here in Bacong as mt talinis blocks it.
The local hotel is not bad either and also on price, a double room with cable tv, Internet and aircon is around p900 night, don't bother with the food though except for the free breakfast which is ok.
This was the first time I had really hung out in bayawan for a period of time and will defiantly be going back in the future.
Around 5kms North of bayawan there are some cold water spring water pools which were so refreshing to swim in and only a p10 entrance fee, cottages were p300 for the day but well worth it!
It is so much more peaceful up there away from the hustle and bustle of Dumaguete and surrounding areas and what is nice is not many trikes or loud motorcycle exhaust systems tearing around on the roads.
The boulavard is really nice with two lanes for traffic each side with no heavy traffic, there are a couple of good resto's along the strip which I visited this time and both with good food and cold beer. One of the places is called pepe's and has great cold beer and imported stuff, cable tv on a large screen with a clean modern look.Another nice thing is it has a great sunset which I miss here in Bacong as mt talinis blocks it.
The local hotel is not bad either and also on price, a double room with cable tv, Internet and aircon is around p900 night, don't bother with the food though except for the free breakfast which is ok.
This was the first time I had really hung out in bayawan for a period of time and will defiantly be going back in the future.
Around 5kms North of bayawan there are some cold water spring water pools which were so refreshing to swim in and only a p10 entrance fee, cottages were p300 for the day but well worth it!
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
Dumaguete, one of the best places to retire 2014
I think the title says it all, it has it's good points and it's bad points like any other place. I have lived here or should I say just outside the city on the south side for just over 3 years now and much prefer this side, good points about Dumaguete is you can buy most things you need if they are in stock!
Roads are pretty crowded in the city in the day time and rush hour is hell if you drive yourself, there are far too many trikes here on the roads now, some people say around 2,500-3000 and even the drivers complain they don't make such a good living now.
They say Dumaguete is a smoke free city now and have even won some awards but again I have not seen this yet especially with the 2 stroke pedicabs, jeepneys and trucks and buses belching out smoke choking everyone, I think they meant Dumaguete is free from smokers of cigarettes!
http://www.worldfactsnews.com/2014/08/dumaguete-city-one-of-world-top.html
Anyway it's still a pretty cool place to live and still much quieter than Cebu or Manila which I could never live in!
When we came here first we were out nearly every day exploring all the different places around Negros oriental like the falls, dolphin watching, snorkelling, hiking in the rain forest and much more, we even had several trips to siqiuijor and Bohol!
Over the last year many websites have been saying Dumaguete is one of the best places to retire which it may very well be but they also I don't think it is that easy to live on a budget of $500 a month! $1000-$2000 would be much more comfortable.
I have also noticed over the last few years how prices have risen in all aspects of life, I do wonder how long the economy will keep growing on this scale!
Roads are pretty crowded in the city in the day time and rush hour is hell if you drive yourself, there are far too many trikes here on the roads now, some people say around 2,500-3000 and even the drivers complain they don't make such a good living now.
They say Dumaguete is a smoke free city now and have even won some awards but again I have not seen this yet especially with the 2 stroke pedicabs, jeepneys and trucks and buses belching out smoke choking everyone, I think they meant Dumaguete is free from smokers of cigarettes!
http://www.worldfactsnews.com/2014/08/dumaguete-city-one-of-world-top.html
Anyway it's still a pretty cool place to live and still much quieter than Cebu or Manila which I could never live in!
When we came here first we were out nearly every day exploring all the different places around Negros oriental like the falls, dolphin watching, snorkelling, hiking in the rain forest and much more, we even had several trips to siqiuijor and Bohol!
Over the last year many websites have been saying Dumaguete is one of the best places to retire which it may very well be but they also I don't think it is that easy to live on a budget of $500 a month! $1000-$2000 would be much more comfortable.
I have also noticed over the last few years how prices have risen in all aspects of life, I do wonder how long the economy will keep growing on this scale!
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