Hi, I have been with my Phillipino girlfriend for 4 years and am planning to get married. Her family aren't wealthy however they have a bit of land which her father and mum live on and which they built a house for one of her brothers. They intend to leave their property to the other brother and to give a piece of the land to my girlfriend as her 'inheritance'.
The land hasn't been legally split and I would appreciate any advice as to how I would go about getting her piece officially registered in her name and subsequently building a modest house on it albeit one of a construction that will withstand the big storms they regularly experience.
As is probably a familiar picture I will need to pay for everything so having a good idea of what I might be facing would be brilliant.
Can anyone tell me:
a) Do I need a solicitor to register the land or is there some professional who might do that - I know I can't have any ownership of the land - and how much should I expect to pay to get it done properly?
b) If her land is owned by her can I jointly own the property we build - have a lease (50 year renewable did I read somewhere)
c) Regards building a home realistically i won't be onsite to watch what is going on and I am concerned to have a chance of the builder doing a decent job - is there some sort of national builder standard - qualified builders directory? I can only afford a fairly modest property but would rather pay a bit extra to have something where theres some sort of standards or guarantee? Also has anyone any idea what a build would cost ( I appreciate size and fittings make a difference and what I am asking for is a bit - how long is a piece of string but broadly it would be nice to build a 80-100 sqm 2 bed brick/concrete building, if anyone has done something recently an idea of likely costs would be magic - plus any good/bad experiences and tips).
Thanks in advance for any replies