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.
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