I want to pay for a property in the Philippines that will be titled in my wife's name. She is a citizen of the Philippines/currently lives there, with her family, on that property that we want to buy. Does anyone know of a good lawyer in Melbourne who can help us/ensure that we are not scammed/ensure that the sale will 'go through' legitimately? I don't mind paying a reasonable rate for whatever services are required. I am just not willing to 'fly in blind'/attempt to 'go it alone' on this; I need an expert to guide me through the process. ANY advice at all would be greatly appreciated.
Buying property in the Philippines
GnarlyKnuckles on 10/11/2017 - 03:05
Comments
Perhaps look for expats that may be able to point you to a trusted source.
'Why not start with contacting solicitors in the philippines?'
Simply because I don't want to be scammed by someone who may decide that they can make a lot more money by teaming up with the seller and creating a 'deal' that falls through at the last minute, after I have given them a substantial part of the payment. Such things a relatively common in the Philippines, and if it happened I would have no real recourse to do anything about it. Conversely, if an Australian lawyer/solicitor attempted to scam me or lost my money due to a lack of due diligence, I can pursue them for the return of my money through the Australian legal system.
What type of property are you buying? Is it land? It is not difficult to find which is scammed or not. If you are buying the land, you just need to ask you wife's relatives ( which is what I did ) so they can validate from the council if the land is legit and is owned legally by the person selling it. There are a few scams but if you know someone out there it is very easy.
'… they can validate from the council if the land is legit and is owned legally by the person selling it.'
This is a good starting point, thanks. Yes, it is land. As I say my wife lives on the land currently with her family, so they are 'out there', but they are not knowledgeable in anything even remotely related to property acquisition. They have no real idea how to go about it/not get scammed. So I will need to 'steer the ship' on this one.
help us/ensure that we are not scammed/ensure that the sale will 'go through' legitimately?
Are you worried that you'll be scammed by your wife or her family or the person selling the place?
You'll probably save a tonne by going through the local lawyers. Go to a few of separate ones and you'll be able to tell if the advice received is consistent across all of them. IF the advise is consistent, then there's a good chance that it's correct.
OP is worried about the vendor not actually owning the land/transferring the land.
OP should be worried about the wife just taking the land and not acknowledging his interest in the land.
'You'll probably save a tonne by going through the local lawyers….'
Probably true enough, but unfortunately I am not there right now, and I will not be able to make it back over for a few months. The land needs to be bought 'nowish', as they are essentially squatting on it/are being told they will be evicted from it very soon.
I want to pay for a property in the Philippines that will be titled in my wife's name.
Pretty sure this is where you should actually be worried about being scammed…
Op may not a choice. Many countries doesn't allow foreigners to purchase property and if they can then it's under strict conditions.
There may also be tax concessions that aren't available to foreign buyers.
Of course OP has a choice - don't buy the land/property. Hell, off the top of my head, a better option would be:
Buy a property here in Australia. And just send money to the wife to rent the property in the Phillipines.
Of course OP has a choice - don't buy the land/property.
Op wants to purchase a property in his wife's name, which also happens to live there. The alternative is not purchase it and force his wife and their family to rent. Only slack husband would do that.
Buy a property here in Australia.
A $500k property in Sydney is a cozy and charming home. $500k in the Philippines could be five or more bedroom mansion.
@whooah1979: Are you the wife? Kidding, but…
They're already renting the property, if you read the post because they're already living in it. I mean, buying a ppty for the missus is fine, but I see no reason why OP should be buying a house for the in-laws to live in.
And no matter the restrictions on foreign investment, for someone putting all the money in a property, it'd be worth any amount of hassle to have the property in his own name. Not even arguable.
And there's also a reason why ppties in Aust. are more expensive: It's a better market, with better potential for mid- long-term growth, is more stable, and is just a better investment. That's MORE, not less, reason to buy in Aust. instead.
'Buy a property here in Australia.'
You are missing the point entirely. I already own land here in Australia, and I want to buy some for my wife's family. Perhaps I should mention that where they live, which somewhat remote/not densely populated (but really nice nonetheless), you can by 200 square metres of land for less than $10,000 AUD. This is also part of the big attraction.
'$500k in the Philippines could be five or more bedroom mansion.'
As I've said below (or is it above) whoop, where the family lives (nice semi-rural location) you can buy 200 square metres of land for less than 10k AUD. So just imagine how much land you could buy for $500,000! LOL
That is all well and good if you have the money to buy a property here.
I bought a property over there in my partners name a few years ago. It was a simple and small place but near her family. Cost was ~$5000 AUD.
'Op may not a choice'.
This is exactly the case. Only citizens of the Philippines are legally allowed to own land in the Philippines. Some countries do not think it's a good idea to sell off huge swathes of their land to foreign owners!
Some countries do not think it's a good idea to sell off huge swathes of their land to foreign owners!
Some countries think that land is owned by the land owner, not by the country.
In any case, those kinds of laws are fairly trivial to get around, but you're definitely better served going to the Philippines and actually talking to a lawyer there in person.
'… those kinds of laws are fairly trivial to get around,'
I beg to differ with you, unless you are referring to 'long leases'. I am not interested in a 'long lease'.
My way of 'getting around' 'those laws' is to buy the property in my wife's name.
@GnarlyKnuckles: No, when I mean they're trivial to get around, I mean they're trivial to get around. You'll need to talk to a Philippines lawyer though for the exact structure. Getting around them by literally gifting the entire plot of land to another person seems counter-productive to me. But you do you I guess - my advice stays the same. You'll want to talk to an actual Philippines lawyer in person. These things are worth a few thousand in plane tickets.
'… by literally gifting the entire plot of land to another person'
Bear in mind this is not just 'another person', this is my wife. Don't worry, there is method in my madness.
'These things are worth a few thousand in plane tickets.'
As I've stated above, the actual property itself only costs a few thousand. It is not the cost of the plane tickets that is the issue (I go there regularly anyway), it is the fact that due to various current commitments here in Australia I cannot go there for the next two or three months. But the land needs to be bought sooner than that.
Oh, completely missed that it's $10k.
In that case, go for it. Where's the nearest city? Quick google gives this list:
https://www.hg.org/law-firms/real-estate/philippines.html
And from that list, the only one I recognize and is international and so I'd trust, is:
https://www.hg.org/attorney/baker-and-mckenzie/21623
They'll charge a pretty penny (again, very big international law firm), though hopefully with exchange rates it comes out at an okay amount in AUD.
if it's in the province (which province by the way) it is worth knowing a fixer in the local government. it is always tough but if you pay the fees and follow the paper trails through you should be fine. are you looking to build on the land or build a home. make sure you're getting a good price. half the time property remains on the market because noone has the money to pay so be sure you're paying market value.
Probably also worth mentioning that foreigners cannot buy land or houses in the Philippines.
The only exception to this is in any unit/condo complex 40% of lots can be reserved to be owned by foreigners.
That said, you are usually paying ~3x times more for the unit compared to the 60% that are owned by locals.
If you trust your spouse enough to buy land for her, not the worst thing in the world to have it in her name.
why not start with contacting solicitors in the philippines? one would think that they know better than one from vic.