I would like to buy a plot of land in the Phillipines to build a house for my retirement. The problem is that I am a European and as I am not married to a Filipina, leagally I cannot own land there.
I have been told that many Europeans in the same situation have bought land there and I have been told many different stories as to how they do it. Does anyone have any reliable knowledge as to how to proceed without problems and headaches. I would be most grateful for any information provided. John dayz
2006-07-31 18:13:45 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Own 40% of a Filipino real estate company. Bid the company to assign you an estate to keep, lease-debited from your share earnings. Company life is 50 years and renewable, so, it's just like forever because your family can inherit your shares to the company.
The legislative move to allow foreigners to own land may succeed anytime. When it happens, do something like convert the property into a personal one from your equity share (instant), or liquidate it with your profit shares (long term).
2006-08-01 20:26:39 · answer #1 · answered by Vince 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are ways around this, and I highly encourage that you DO NOT get married and put it in your spouses name. Too many stories out there about the husband and wife seperating and the husband (that bought the land) losing everything he invested.
One of the things that you can do is to "lease" the land for up to 99 years. This is the easiest thing to do, and you will simply need to get yourself a decent lawyer to draft the terms of the lease (eg to insure that it can't get taken back by the property owner once you make improvements/buy a house).
Granted, it's not something that you can pass down for generations, but it's a way to make sure that you get what you want, which is basically land that will be yours until your dying day ;-)
your other option is to buy a condo (which you can legally own) but since you mentioned building a retirement home, I would imagine this isnt an option that you are wanting.
2006-08-01 18:10:23 · answer #2 · answered by Brock 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You either marry a local, or get a Filipino who you can trust to put the property in their name.
If you truly befriend a Filipino, you have a friend for life and many do just that. Getting to that point is the tough part...
2006-08-01 01:46:01 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋