As an individual foreigner you can't own a real estate here in PI. And if your Filipina online-long-distance-girl-friend is trying to convince you to buy a property or a condo here; then most likely she's a scammer or a condo real-estate agent on commission basis. These agents are starting to penetrate the online dating game just to lure foreigners into buying condos.

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IMHO, a resounding NO. Yeah, you only can buy 40 percent--the rest belongs to wife and family. and your heirs will never get it. There is a chance you will return to your country much poorer than when you arrived.
(note: I am understating everything here in order to meet this site's standards for respect. But just multiply everything I say by a factor of two.)
You could buy a condo in the province but even there the space is rather small. Buy a small condo in Manila? Yeah, if you can stand living in a very crowded and polluted megatropolis.
If you are unlucky enough to have a legal problem with your real estate purchase...there is an excellent chance you will not be given a fair shake in the courts or elsewhere.
Some Philippinos may not have a sense of "fair play" as we westerners understand it so beware in all your dealings with Filipinos. Foreigners are not overly respected here. Life is hard and a problematic for many Filipinos here so sometimes they are not overly generous or understanding of foreigners who come here and want to take advantage of their precious country by buying real estate. But you say, of course, I am not like that. Well, good, just convince 50 million Filipinos of your good intentions and everything should work out fine. he he.

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Yes, if you have a good and faithful asawa and you never let it be known that you (a foreigner) is the real paying party. You just attend the closing. And, yes, if you get the property at a reasonable price. I, for one, would not buy a condo but only vacant land, or lot, and just build to my specs.
IMHO....do not buy until you have lived in the Philippines a couple of years and have been married (to your filipina) at least that long.

If you want to be single and a player then do what you wish.... I guess.

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Condo-resort? Please define this. What are the amenities are you looking for in this type of residence? Did you base it on watching many Hollywood James Bond movies? Sipping a Martini by the pool? Gambling in a casino nearby w/ your lovely exotic Asian partner beside you? Playing golf w/ one of the local wealthy Filipinos? NOTE: most westerners left their countries and moved to P.I. to get away from these lifestyle and live in provinces for a simple uncomplicated life. If you're moving to the Philippines and seek these western comforts & conveniences; then it's probably more practical to stay put in your country.

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Msanti

My wife and I purchased a small piece of land (yes, in her name) and we built a small home. We researched where to buy and build for about 4 years before buying and building and we are happy with the choice.

Are asking about prices for a home for yourself or investments for resale?

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You can't own land in Philippines as a foreigner not even 40% it has gone owned by a Philippine national, usually your wife. As for buying as an investment firstly it's not yours to sell, unless you buy a condo then it's yours but usually you have mainance fees every month, and if you want a parking space that's another expense. Then a few year later you want to sell at a profit you might not sell for a few years or until you reduce the price dramatically. For investment purposes property is not such a good deal here really. Other naive foreigners might buy but Filipinos who are rich enough to spend several million on a property are thin on the ground really. If you are already married to a filipina and have been happy happy happy for at least three years, you may be ok buying property here but if you split up its her house not yours. You can get a say in it but it still belongs to her not you. A condo YOU can own but not the ground it sits on. A good friend of mine bought a condo in Paranaque has been trying to sell it for just over a year now. If your looking to invest and make money forget Philippines.
My opinion only of course.

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Msanti,

If you are investing your money it will be with a Filipino partner in marriage or business and the land will not belong to you.

Got the money and the trust?
An expat with the cash developed a small parcel of land locally and is selling lots through his wife. Very iffy as most subdivisions seem to stand mostly empty for a very long time, if they ever do fill up. The exception seems to be corporate developments offering a RFO financed home and lot,.

Condo,
Yes you can own a condo, but after traveling around you will see many condos falling into disrepair with the owner either on the lam, bankrupt or just plain doesn't give a damn.
Obviously there are some corporate developments that have the backing and a smidgen of integrity and keep the building up, such as those owned by Ayala land, Robinsons, SM, etc. Maybe buying one a few years old might be a better buy but also tell you if the place is being maintained.
They sizes seem to range from around 25 sq m to over a 100 sq m. Smaller developments seem to offer more room for less cost per sq m if you can find a good one.

Houses
A neighbor down the road just purchased a small older home on a large lot in apparently good structural condition. He remodeled and added on and the end result was a gorgeous home in which he intends to live.
If you want to flip houses, forget it. The average Filipino doesn't have the money to buy it and the wealthy will build their own new house in either a vacation spot or on their own large chunk of land .

Apartments
You can with your Filipino partner build a small apartment unit and rent it out if your a hands on kind of guy with some construction knowledge and are willing to oversee the entire build to keep from having materials walk off and keep an eye on the quality of the work and the overall cost down. Can you sell it, maybe if listed as a fully occupied building with income potential.

We have seen houses that have been on the market in our area for over 3 years and the owners won't budge on the price as the home slowly deteriorates.
We know of another gent who built a resort style business with restaurant, rooms, villa, pool, bar, etc. It's for sale and at this point has NO bites.


Moving here and renting, traveling a little to find your favorite place and familiarizing yourself with the Philippines and maybe sharing firsthand with other expats their experiences before diving in and possibly losing a lot of money might be a good idea if you haven't already planned on doing so.








Can you just buy and sell for profit is short order, in my opinion no.

As others have stated, come over, rent, explore and decide if you want to stay and where and get a feel for the real estate market for youself.

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Hi Teejay 8990 better known as Deca sell condos they advertise in Davao but build all over the Philippines I don't know their prices but I expect it's not too hard to find out

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Wel my wife and I knows eachother for 18 years now . I trust my wife and She trust me . I invest ( bought) several houses and land in pinas . The houses I put them on the rental market and They are all rented . I have a Nice return . I Its true , Its difficult to sell AND you need to be patiënt . Our belongings Will go to the childeren . I always say , let the land come to you, dont go to the land . I already made Nice purchases........ this counts only If you have a partner/wife that you Can trust .

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I am in the opinion that all you should do is rent...You can find a relatively cheap place to rent a house or condo...No worrying about repairs or a cheating wife....Don't marry the girl...Just keep a long term girl friend....Then if things don't work out...you can slit and no fuss....Just don't fall for the guilt trip and marry her. There is no financial advantage to marrying a local.....My opinion only.,...Good luck.

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Patience seems to be the key and a little knowledge. If the buyer/seller has the time, money and patience, the purchase of raw land in a growing area with commercial potential might reap some rewards.

With our investments, I simply plan on it going to the family, all of whom are some very good people.

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Also, we bought a 300 sqm lot in Paranaque in 1990 for 800 php per sqm. We built a five stall commercial bldg, nine room boarding house and our two story 3 br 3 bath home all on the lot for about $40k US. It all appraises around 10M php now. So, I suppose it was a good investment and it generates a fair monthly income.

There is a nice lot beside us, around 600 sqm, that we have offered to buy from the owner but they won't sell and they just allow the jungle to grow aND squatters squat. We have to cut trees there and try to run the free loaders away. ..... Some filipinos who have money, a lot of times, just will not sell.

All in all it is a gamble....

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McBride you have done well and have an I come from your expenditure, worth 10 million now, on paper that's a good profit, but trying to get what it's worth would be the hardpart. But to build and rent out will have its problems of course but I would say that's a better investment. But but to sell is a very high risk.
As has been said on here many times, the best way to make a million here is to bring two million. Haha good luck.

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