Philippine properties for sale - buying a house house or property in the Philippines - property in the Philippines - real estate - tropical island property
Hot tip: Philippines Boracay Island - Beach front resort at prime location for sale 2500sqm
Buying property - When dreams come true - or - when dreams turn into nightmares
always be careful when investing in the Philippines to make your life pleasant and to avoid nightmares
Many foreigners dream of a house or peace of land owned ...
there are legal aspects you need to learn first - basically a foreigner can have NO property in his name - only in the name of a local national ...
there may be exceptions for tourist industry or changes in law but care is advised when considering purchase of property, house, land or business in the Philippines.
prices for real estate varies a lot depending on the province or exact location. these past days and weeks - on the pin-board of a resort in la union we have 3 different offers for sale. here a brief description to give you an idea of the price range and kind of property or houses in the Philippines:
Some current real estate properties for sale in La Union as an example of the price range to expect
- there is a house for sale - asking price is US$ 100'000. no details given
- 5000 sqm land for sale - 700 PHP / sqm
- country property for sale - 20'000 sqm, including 2 houses, one 3-bedroom house and one 1-bedroom house, with fish pond and "scenic view" - asking price PHP 430 /m2
- and a totally different investment opportunity near Boracay on a tropical and mostly empty neighbor island - Carabao island ( San Jose Island ) there are 2 parcels of land as a whole or in several lots for sale - starting at PHP 100/sqm. San Jose Island is measuring only 28.9 square kilometer. in the FAQ section of the real estate owner you find some more details about what is available or needed. these facts may be very typical and also valid for many other similar real estate offers in the Philippine islands and provincial areas of this most beautiful tropical country. here some recent historical facts about Carabao Island
these above are but a few examples of investment opportunities in real estate or land. of course if you are out of tourist centers or industrial areas - deep in provincial areas - you may find other opportunities far below above price range.
in 2001 i spent several weeks in deepest provice of Zamboanga del norte - 2+hrs boat ride along the coast to reach the village. no road for motorized vehicles. no public electricity. one generator running 3 hours each evening for 1 light bulb per household.
soon after my arrival there i have been offered 2 different houses near the ocean to buy:
Local style houses - bamboo or wooden houses
- a bamboo style house - just a few years old, in top condition, very solid and clean native construction style - some 50 meters from the beach and about 5 meters above sea level with direct scenic sea view and a small garden of several hundred sqm surrounding the house. the purchase price for the house only was PHP 3000 !! no option to buy the land.
- directly on the beach - 2 meters above sea level and some 10 meters to water front - an older wooden house - large, solid and good condition ... for PHP 4000 - it was built on public property - hence no option to purchase garden land around, BUT i have been offered a "title" for the exact square meters of the house ... for a "donation to the Barangay" of PHP 300 ... a Barangay is the smallest local government unit in the Philippines, similar to a village
both above offers have been very tempting - either of them would have been fine - i knew that most importantly of all i was welcome as a foreigner in that village. my job requirements of daily internet access however made it impossible to accept either of the two offers. the nearest www access was some 3 day travel away ( round trip ).
as you see - there are many options to own land or house even on the beach front. legal aspects however are important and need to be seriously considered when investing larger sums. for such houses like my last above mentioned - of course it never really matters if you are owning the land or just the house. the amount could be considered venture capital and even if you stay there for a few months or years only - it's a bargain ... provided you are really welcome in such a village and feel happy far away from industry and cities. you are welcome if you can truly love all local people and if you become a source of help, advise or a technical or agriculture resource for the local population. with other words - if you are bringing them something in exchange for their friendly and most loving hospitality.
To own land is one of the many reasons why foreigners get into a relationship with a Filipina girl and finally get married to a Filipina girl - however such reason is no reason for a lasting relationship ! all such relationships i know so far are unhappy relationships and breaking apart. the only reason for a lasting relationship is true love - something very difficult to achieve with a typical Filipina girl since the material and financial interests of Filipinas is far too strong for true love.
Official numbers and statistics about tourism, hotels occupation, arrivals and departures from and to Philippines
Some of your decisions may need solid facts and data - hence you may want some statistics and hard facts. here below you may find official sources - be careful ! some of the data are 2+ years old, in the average - according to my own observations during the past years here - the tourist industry, number of visitors, etc in many or most areas are going down for lack of overall quality of services, quality of hotels, quality of food, infrastructure and recreational facilities offered here in the Philippines. If a peaceful retreast is what you are looking for - may be the right time to come here. The Philippines in all aspects of tourist related quality and services are far from the quality level experienced in other South East Asian countries such as Thailand - Quality consciousness is missing in the Philippines even among most foreign owned or foreign managed hotels and resorts !!!
Find some legal information on real estate from the "land registration authority" of the Philippine government More current Philippines Properties Real Estate Listings - and official statistics from the Philippine government, usually some 2+ years behind, but still of some value in decision making processes Official statistics from the Philippines about " Distribution of Regional Travellers in the Philippines" - "Outbound Philippine Residents" - "Average Number of Rooms and Occupancy Rates of Hotels" - "Visitor Arrivals by Region of Residence" and finally " Outbound Philippine Residents"
The Department of Tourism has its own website and my offer additional stats and facts relevant to your needs
My personal recommendation about owning real estate, land or houses in the Philippines
Rent whatever you love - avoid buying - buying property almost always means buying problems when purchasing property. rental of houses - even beach front houses or beach front cottages is so cheap that there is no reason to invest ten thousands of US$ to buy problems unless you know exactly what you do and can afford the problems as well!!
