5 Things to Consider When Buying a Real Property in Baguio City, Philippines

So you finally decided to stay here for good? Then one of your primary concern is buying a home in the Philippines. With the retirement visa made available for those who wish to settle in the Philippines, foreign nationals consider it as an option to live their retirement here. Whether you are a retiree from another country, a returning OFW or one who is now able to buy your dream home, it is best to know more about how properties are sold and bought before you make your intention to buy public - meaning, before you even start asking or looking for options, know these five things first:

Where to look for a property and whom to ask

Several expats I know directly contact a real estate agent when they are looking for a real property. Perhaps, this is the rule of the thumb in the country where they came from. Again, I say (as I mentioned in the previous post), there is nothing wrong about contacting a real estate agent - just be cautious about how most agents are doing their trade. You might end up paying hundreds of thousands in peso for a fee you never thought of at the onset of your deal.





Others would look up on the local newspaper for ads. This is a good option too but many other options are posted online because it is free as compared to print ads and the expected audience is more. When a property strikes your interest, ask the person who posted it if he owns it or he is the agent of the owner. Most of the time, when you see a note to the tune of: "Direct buyers Only" or "Agents are not welcome" then you are almost 98% sure that you are dealing with the owner and not an agent.

Know the costs and the "other costs"

Pay special attention to the wordings of the ads. Do you see there the word "net" after the price? Then it means that you will be paying fees and taxes on top of the price indicated. This may mean about 12% more (I will be posting about fees and taxes in a separate post).

If the ads is not detailed enough about this, be sure to ask the contact person when you call him or her. Let this be one of your very first questions: "Is the price net?" You certainly do not want surprises. Several transactions I know were dumped into the bin because the price indicated is not the only cost that the buyer has to shell out considerable amount of money for.

In a nutshell, ask the cost including fees and taxes for the transfer. Sometimes, this spells the convenience of dealing with a real property agent because they already know what these "other costs" are. If the owner-seller you are dealing with is a first time seller, there is a chance that he/she does not know it.

Ask for the title

When you are really interested in a property, ask for the title before going further. Avoid asking for the title if you are still shopping around with many options in your list. Ask for the title only when you have shortlisted your options. Why? On the part of the seller, it is a bit annoying when the buyer asks for the title when s/he doesn't seem to be genuinely interested to buy it. Besides, you will just be wasting your time.

Then, proceed to the Register of Deeds to check if the copy shown to you is authentic and updated. Look closely at all the pages of the title - search for "lis pendens" or annotations. This will reveal the true status of the land. What if for all you know, the real property that you want to buy is about to be foreclosed or attached? Let's talk more about this in more detailed post.

What's next

Be one step ahead by knowing what are the procedures followed in a sale of real property. Before you give a peso for a deal, know exactly what's the end of the line. Think about this situation: You like the property very much but the money you allotted for it will be on hand after a month or so. Then, the owner or agent asked you to pay earnest money. Come again, is it earnest money or option money. There is a difference.

Dealing with a real estate agent

Don't get me wrong - I am not anti real estate agent. As a matter of fact, I took the licensing exam last February (2016), the last exam for those who wanted to be real estate agents but are not BSREM graduates. I saw the challenge of being a real estate agent myself because of unfortunate experiences I had with real estate agents.

When dealing with real estate agents, be frank and straight to the point; lay your expectations and limitations; ask questions and get a straight forward answer before going further. This topic calls for a separate more detailed post.

Feel free to write your questions about buying properties in the Philippines.

Baguio property with great panoramic view

Dealing with Real Properties in Baguio, Philippines

3 years ago, I wanted to sell my home.
Not anymore

If one day, you will find yourself in a situation where you have to sell your home, you will be facing tough and anger-provoking situations soon. In most cases, selling ones home is coated with mixed emotions. Surely, it will include one of these strong emotions - happiness or sadness. Perhaps, at first, you are enthusiastic and hopeful that your real property will soon be sold at a good price. With the advancement in technology, connecting real property sellers and real property buyers appears to be reduced to a simple click. "This is common sense," you may even shout out. But then, believe me when I say that hours will turn to days...then to months...then perhaps years and while your enthusiasm wanes, your hopes undermined, engaging the services of a real estate agent will start toying in your mind. In fact, perhaps, many real estate agents may have already contacted you, offering their services and asking you to sign an exclusivity contract. If you haven't succumbed to their appealing offers, you must be clever and pedantic.

It is not bad to engage the services of real estate agents. As a matter of fact, this may hasten a potential deal to end up to a fruitful one. But this is only if you are cautious in dealing with real estate agents. As expected, they will have a cut in the deal. Well, that is their compensation for working hard to come up with a sale. This is to say if the real estate agent is one who indeed work hard for the sale. I have known several real estate agents who are sneaky and cheaters. They are too fast in claiming their commission even if it is not commensurate to their efforts. There are even those who deal with your property as if they own it and have a full discretion on its disposal - they negotiate with the buyer on the price. Now, this will surely boil your blood to a medically critical level. Note that this is not the only thing that will break you when you deal with a real estate agent. In my experience, my patience was stretched to the maximum when I was dealing with real estate agents while my house was offered for sale.

I will be posting some tips in dealing with real estate brokers in the Philippines soon.

Have you ever had a wonderful experience with a real estate agent? You must be lucky. Let us hear from you. I bet that most of us had experience the reverse.