Buying land / building in RP

[johncar54]

I am sure this must have been covered many times in the forum but despite searching, many times, I have not been able to locate any thread. (I rarely have luck when I make a search ! )

My wife told me yesterday that her cousin had put a retention deposit, for her, on a building plot in Rizal, near Manila. Although I would have preferred to have been told before the event, its not a problem for me/us.

I am now 'trying to catch up' so that I can make the best deal.

Any info, on making a good deal, transferring the funds (I have only transferred small amount by ATM previously) would be appreciated.

Thanks,
John

[Steve.r]

The more worrying thing for me I think John, is that Rizal is about a 4.5 hour drive from Manila Not close imo

[Terpe]

John

For what it's worth here is my input:-

Unless you are a citizen of Phils there is no legal way to own, or control ownership of land. Everthing must be in the name of your wife. I'm sure you knew that anyway.

1. First step I would suggest is to understand the workings of a clean title for the land.
In my opinion you must verify the title. If you feel confident to do it yourself
then I would say it's probably your best bet. Otherwise you are going to be in the
hands of a local lawyer.
If neither you nor your wife can personally do this, then I strongly suggest that the
person you get to help you must be willing and able to do the legwork and be strong
enough not to take any BS
Never ever use the services of the sellers lawyer.

2. Go to the local assessors Office with the description of the property and property
number.
From there you can get the title number.
Go to Register Of Deeds (ROD) and get a copy of the true title.
Now you know WHO and HOW MANY are title holders, and also if the property is
mortgaged and by whom
Now you are in a good position to decide your next step

Regarding transfer of funds, there are a number of ways. I would suggest bank-to-bank either through your own local bank or via a reputable remittance company.
Just be sure to understand any bank charges/fees

[sars_notd_virus]

I
Any info, on making a good deal, transferring the funds (I have only transferred small amount by ATM previously) would be appreciated.

Thanks,
John

Good deal is when you buy a land from the 'owner' and not by the agent because its negotiable and you can barter a lot!!! ,as what terpe said verify the title with the registry of deeds first ,so you are sure that the land you are about to purchase is clean! some seller are in charge with the processing of the legal papers ,the amount can be deducted from the actual amount of the purchase but i would suggest a buyer to contact his or her own lawyer for the transfer certificate title,deed of absolute sale etc...
with regards to transferring funds its good to have a same bank as what they have in the philippines...your currency will be converted into pesos and they can pay thru bank draft and not carry the cash by hand (which is pretty dangerous)...

your wife can instruct the bureau of land officer that apart from her as a sole owner ,should also put clearly MARRIED to (a foreigner husband)

[johncar54]

TayTay, is about 15 miles, or about an hour + by FX in the rush hour

I know the area its is where my wife is from, but I have not intention of living there as were are very settled here in Spain.-

Thanks for the input.

John

[johncar54]

Terpe, thank you for the info, I have sent it to my wife's cousin in RP and will follow up on it.

[rani]

i lived in cainta, a step away from taytay..... its less than an hour to megamall/ortigas area (with no traffic, of course)... make sure also that the place is "flood-free"

[johncar54]

i lived in cainta, a step away from taytay..... its less than an hour to megamall/ortigas area (with no traffic, of course)... make sure also that the place is "flood-free"

Thanks Rani.

As I said my wife is from Cainta. (Parola, so maybe you even know each other) And yes. as her family were badly affected in the Parola area with flooding we were careful in choosing an elevated plot.

[rani]

thought she's from taytay

[johncar54]

thought she's from taytay

Well for the purposes of this forum they are fairly close (2.15 Kms or about 1.5 miles)

[somebody]

I know your wise to this John but be wary of the Cousin wanting to help with this deal. Be prepared to pull out if the warning signs appear regarding any part of the deal..

Heard of a few plots which were mis sold and only once much money was invested was the issue brought to the attention of the buyer.

Read and heard of plenty of OFW's and Phill/west couples walking into moneypit deals often with the help of friends and families unwittingly...

Suss out the neighbors and local politics on here and in the Wifes local area I have seen that Neighborly disputes can be far more vicious than here in the UK.

If building is to be done you need a person on the ground from day 0 till the end who has your best interests at heart and understands your budget and what is required of the building. Plus a tough negotiator and deal maker who has the ability to check quality of building work and materials. Plus make sure all the utilities and right of way can be accessed heard of a few who didn't take this into account and then especially once western money was known to be involved they were basically held to ransom in one way or another..


Common sense I know but very very important it seems in phill especially with humidity,flooding and Earthquakes plus typhoons likely to affect the building over its lifetime.

[aposhark]

This is all valuable information for anyone who is thinking of buying there

[fred]

Good info regarding titled land via Terpe..
Having said that there may be a chance that the land has no title and is referred to locally as tax declaration..Most of the land we have purchased here has had tax dec papers only..Everything has worked out fine for us and we have got most of it titled since..
However..The check-lists are much longer and not something Id wish to do without being here personally.

[johncar54]

Thanks guys for the good advice.
My wife will be in RP on 1st December, so will deal with the initial paperwork. We have put in hand the property registry searches.

The plot is on phrase 4 of a large development. The first couple of phases are getting built now and the two manned gate entrances are in operation.

The cousin who is helping and whom we are trusting, was brought up by my wife as his mum was working abroad so in effect is her son.

The same cousin has a Nationwide Debit Card (Previously a Cash Card, now 'improved' and thus useless) and has been dealing with money were have sent for various relatives over the past 4+ years. We have also transferred money for friends and in all cases the cousin has acted totally as were expected.

[fred]

Thats good news as the land really should have been titled as the developer or their buyers cannot be issued building permits..Most Filipino`s know this of course!
It would however be interesting to know if the individual lots have their own title or one for the entire phase 4 land parcel..