You can own a condo or house but not the land it rests on.
But you can lease the land for a long-term use.
And if your age is 35+, then, you can get a retirement visa by depositing $50,000 (USD) in a Philippine bank.
You can even use that money to invest in treasury bills in the Philippines or any other government-approved investments such as real estate.
You can marry a Filipina if you want. And buy a land using her name.
You can also plan to lease the house that you built in the land that you rent.
Yo can also lease that house to your parents (who will rent from).
To make it easier for you to find and buy a land, you need the assistance of a trusted Filipino friend, family member of your fiance and a registered real estate agent or an official real estate broker.
Do not trust any unregistered real estate agent or broker.
Here are the steps to be taken in buying a land or property in the Philippines for foreigners:
Step 1. Check the Original Land Title from the Land Owner
Most of the time, land-buying agreements in the Philippines reach back for generations.These days, things are becoming more strict and systematized.
You will encounter situations where the title was never transferred to the buyer or recent owner in order to avoid transaction fees.
You can still buy the land even if the current owner doesn't have the original title.
You can verify the land title by going to the Office of Registry of Deeds of the city or municipality where the land is located.
Regarding the price of the land that you plan to buy, don't forget to negotiate to lower down the price.
Step 2. Secure a Deed of Sale in Notary Public or from an Official Notary Lawyer
After you agreed on a price with the seller, you and the seller of the land need to go to a Notary Public in order to secure a Deed of Sale - a contract of agreement of the purchase of the land/property.You and the seller will sign the Deed of Sale. If the land is owned by several people like sisters and brothers, they also need to sign the Deed of Sale.
Payment in the Notary Public is minimal. It could be 1% of the total purchase price.
You need to pay capital gains tax (6% of the purchase price) and the documentary stamp tax (1% of the purchase price) to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) within 30 days after the deed has been signed.
Step 3. Secure Certificate of Authorizing Registration (CAR) and Tax Clearance (TCL) from the BIR.
You need to get Certificate of Authorizing Registration (CAR) and Tax Clearance (TCL) from BIR. Fees for these documents are just minimal (around Php150).If you want to expedite this processing, you need an agent or fixer but you will pay extra processing fee.
Step 4. Pay the Transfer Fee and Transfer Tax of the Property
You need to pay Transfer Fee and Transfer Tax at the Provincial Treasurer's office.Pay these fees as soon as possible in order to avoid service charge per day if you pay late since the day the CAR certificate has been issued and the transfer tax is paid.
Additional requirements to bring are:
- Latest Tax Clearance from the Municipal Treasurer (Original)
- Latest Tax Declaration (Photocopy)
- Any of the following Deed of Conveyance:
- Deed of Sale
- Extrajudicial Settlement
- Deed of Donation
- Adjudication
- Deed of Exchange
- Waiver of Rights
Step 5. Secure requirements to the Registry of Deeds
Go to the Registry of Deeds and bring the following requirements:- Affidavit of Publication
- Affidavit with regards to the nationality of any owner (if not a Filipino or citizen of the Philippines0,
- Owner's Copy of the Title
- DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform) Clearance - if the land is agricultural
- Approved Subdivision Plans - if the land is part of the subdivison.