Building on my girlfriends family land - Help please

gezze mate you have got to b there  on site as they will cut as many corners as they can including 2nd hand electric cables, no rio in your concrete, mate b carefull u sound like your are still at home not in the country you have got to be there every day to supervise the building process, otherwise will be massively rippped off believe me!! im renting in Bohol and heard many stories concerning this, and xpats will say all good but dont believe it unless you partner knows the building process and can understand how it works ???

and do u hav clear title ? if its got coconut trees? a mate of mine bought what he thought was clear title block to be cleared for a house only to be told by his neighbour that the the neighbour actually owned  all the trees on that block and took it to court !! beware courts will always side on the Phillipa and it could go on for years , this is after the new owner cleared all the trees to build his house lol ??? and do u realise that u will only own 40% of the property with your partner ? unless u have a really good wife that wont leave u anythime soon !!

Hi Bernswaggle, Thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes, I do get it that I pretty much won't have any ownership rights. Initially I guess the issues like clear title would be handled by a lawyer when we sort out seperating the land. For sure I am concerned about not being able to supervise the build which is why I wondered if there was some sort of standards. I know I'm not going to get an NHBC but hoped there was something regulated or inspected out there. Cheers

mate seriously dont do it sorry yu will be ripped off big time, i did send u a reply but not sure if you got it,look if you trust your girl to do the right thing all good !! but its usually the parents who orginaise the build!! be aware ripped off !! sorry but thats the was it is in Phil, im renting in Bohol been there for 12 mths and not buying anything yet due to mates telling me be carefull and dont rush !!

The process of subdividing a lot is rather tedious and complicated. If it's a simple division, where each lot will have direct access to the road / street, your gf and her parents MIGHT be able to do this by themselves. If not, they will need the help of a professional, like a lawyer.

My parents recently subdivided one of their properties here in Quezon City, a 450 sqm lot with improvements, between me and my siblings. One side was vacant and the other side had a row of apartments.  I wanted to build a row of apartments on the vacant portion at my own expense, but was concerned that my siblings might claim that as part of their inheritance and share in the income of a building which I would have built with my own money. So, my parents had the property subdivided. They did not hire a lawyer, as the split was simple. Then they "sold" me the vacant lot through a Deed of Sale. They "sold" the other side to my siblings.

If your gf and her parents want to do the subdividing themselves, this is what they need to do.

Go to the Registry of Deeds (RD) in their municipality / city and get certified true copy of the Transfer of Certificate Title (TCT) of the property.

Hire a licensed geodetic engineer / surveyor to survey the property based on the description on the title. They will also need to work with him as to how they would want the property subdivided. He will then write up a new description.

Get a Deed of Partition based on the new description, register it with RD, pay the fees to obtain the separate titles. Once they get the titles, they will have to get a Tax Declaration Certificate and pay the corresponding fees.

The parents will have to transfer the title to your gf of her portion either through a Deed of Sale or Deed of Donation. Then they will have to go back to RD to transfer the title to your gf and pay the appropriate taxes and fees.

All these sound complicated. In actuality, it's even more complicated, especially with all the documentation and legwork involved.

But before all these, you need to determine the land values in their area. The transfer will be worth it if the property is worth a lot more than the cost of subdividing and transferring. (Will you be the one paying for the fees and taxes? Taxes will depend on: value of the land, capital gains tax from the sale, other taxes. Fees: lawyer, if you want to hire one, surveyor, various fees of RD which will vary per municipality.) Otherwise, just gift a small piece of land to your gf where you plan to build a house under your name and write up a long term lease for your protection. This way, your gf will avoid conflicts with family members in the future over a piece of land, and you will still have a roof over your head in case you and your gf break up.

About building a house, this topic has been discussed (and argued on) extensively in several threads. Read through them, and perhaps send a private message to expats who have had experience in house building, preferably near the area where you plan to build your house.

You are in for a long wait for the land to be in your girl friend name you will need a lawyer it can take years my wife has property left to her by her grandfather we have been working on title for 10 years there are over 30 individuals in this case but we are getting close

My wife's family have been working on the title for the land inherited from their father for 10 years

Just make sure all title issues are all dealt with before u consider building anything.

Please consider renting the land with a view to a 25 year lease. My advice would be to place a Prefab Build on the land such as an expandable Container House which can be bought from China. (if your wife chucks you off the land you still own the house)

Philippine builders are good at building bamboo sheds with corrugated roofs "end of story" A concrete build would require a bricklayer/carpenter team of builders with "ISO" standard.  The Philippine standard of build is classed as the Brick Shit House (BSH) . Lovely People who will smile as they rip you off "God Bless them"

Whatever you intend to invest here whether its for a plot of land,house or any other....Imagine it to be a Long Term Rental/Lease with full capital up front, and not as something you can sell for cash down the road...Be prepared to walk away with *nothing. But hey...if things do go as planned your cost of living may actually be cheaper than long term rental. So do not *over-invest on anything (land/house/love) that you are not willing to 'walk-away' from.

"Be prepared to walk away with *nothing."
Your rights here in Philippines are only as strong as your relationship when it comes to land and houses.

Happy wife, happy life.
But I think it is more complicated than that.

Okieboy wrote:

My wife's family have been working on the title for the land inherited from their father for 10 years

You already waited 10 years, have you looked at doing a silent claim?
I think, in the Philippines, you only needed 7 years occupying the property and using it as your own before your GF can do a silent claim. I am not sure if an heir can do silent claim too. Maybe you can ask your lawyer.

Bernswaggle wrote:

and do u hav clear title ? if its got coconut trees? a mate of mine bought what he thought was clear title block to be cleared for a house only to be told by his neighbour that the the neighbour actually owned  all the trees on that block and took it to court !! beware courts will always side on the Phillipa and it could go on for years , this is after the new owner cleared all the trees to build his house lol ??? and do u realise that u will only own 40% of the property with your partner ? unless u have a really good wife that wont leave u anythime soon !!

How did that work out for the owner of the trees? To the owner of the trees, I would say to him, "GTFOML"

Okieboy wrote:

My wife's family have been working on the title for the land inherited from their father for 10 years

I hope they already paid the BIR fees. if not, after 10 years of fines and interest Brrrrr They will rip you a new ass...There is a moratorium on fees and interest for this issue, Ends in April 2020.

Well, now I see this is a 3-year-old post and the poster has not been back. Dang, another waste of 5 minutes.

Yup!

Okieboy wrote:

My wife's family have been working on the title for the land inherited from their father for 10 years

a. someone waiting for payoff

b. someone scheming

c. a&b

do not do it ! better rent the lots for 50 years on your name then build house and let your gf rent it to you for long term,,,,! do not trust no one here when its come to money,,,,why to buy the cow for a glass of milk ????

Just curious but, if you rented the lot in your name for 50 years and built the house on it. Why would you need to have your GF rent it back to you? Why would she even be a part of the process at all? My understanding is that once you’ve rented the lot, nobody else even needs to be involved.

mikepier69 wrote:

do not trust no one here when its come to money,,,,why to buy the cow for a glass of milk ????

Yup here it is wiser to 'lease' the cow for a glass of milk or ar least till her udder runs dry!

Burt Figgis,
How did it work out for you since 2017?

The problem is the land my wife's grandfather received was from the Government for his service in WW2 it is just red tape they have all the paperwork but getting all 11 together they live all over the Philippines

Okieboy wrote:

The problem is the land my wife's grandfather received was from the Government for his service in WW2 it is just red tape they have all the paperwork but getting all 11 together they live all over the Philippines

don't put yourself into this. it's not legal to get around the anti dummy law (buy land under the name of girl then lease it...).

OlivierDeCavite wrote:

Okieboy wrote:

The problem is the land my wife's grandfather received was from the Government for his service in WW2 it is just red tape they have all the paperwork but getting all 11 together they live all over the Philippines

don't put yourself into this. it's not legal to get around the anti dummy law (buy land under the name of girl then lease it...).

Actually, I believe that it is legal. It is not legal if it’s a spouse though. The OP wasn’t talking about buying the land. He was talking about building on land that he GF’s family already owns. Either way it could turn ugly if he ever had a falling out with his GF even with a lease. I’m sure that we’ve all seen the lengths that people have gone through to unearth a foreigner from what they paid for regardless of legal documents that were in place.

i don't know where her family lives but i have just the plan for you plus A LOT of good advice.

1)DO NOT build anywhere NEAR her family or your life and retirement will be a disaster, no matter how "nice" they seem at the moment.
2)Do NOT trust anyone. period. ever.
3)DO NOT try to buy any land without a clear and verified title already in hand of the seller, and make sure the seller is really who they say they are for that matter!
4)YOU cannot own land here, your "wife" can, whatever your girlfriend owns or does not own or buys or does not buy is irrelevant. think of "girlfriend" as another word for "future thief" or "devastating enemy that you think is your friend"
5) your girlfriends... "family" ...you should think of this term as " the people who will stoop to any level to steal and scam my money and destroy my marriage" including but not limited to -extortion,accusing you of molestation,having expensive sudden "medical emergencies" , poisoning you to get your debit card...etc,etc... no matter how old or nice or friendly they seem now or how big their smiles are when they see you.
i am NOT joking.
It may take years if ever to get a deed or title or even to get all the kids and cousins and nieces and nephews and grandkids and grandparents to agree and sign the papers..if you can find them all !
and then you need the death certificates of those who owned the land before and cant sign the paperwork.
   Then after 5 years and all that when you get the lot measured by an engineer 20 people will pop out of the woodwork claiming that some or all belong to them and they will steal your lot markers and vandalize and harass you with summons after summons to appear in the brngy hall to listen to them yell about things that don't make sense.
  all known from experience...
NOW..i do happen to know where an extremely strong well built home is ,  practically earthquake proof, for sure will withstand any typhoon its likely to see, and its 20 feet from the ocean and the house lot goes all the way to the water so it has a private beach !
  I know its well built because I built it and have pictures and video to prove it. I was here climbing all over the $20,000 of iron oxide coated rebar and mixing cement made from two different sizes of crushed stone hand picked by me to my specifications every minute overseeing every single tie wire.
  IT has red, white, purple and orange flowers climbing up the entire east side shading the house and very large terrace upstairs that overlooks the private beach. The roof is supported by hardwood (hard to come by) beams BOLTED to the ring beam and covered in 3/4 inch marine plywood and the thickest steel sheet metal I could find (brought in from 80 miles away) which is primed with iron oxide and coated with white high gloss enamel to reflect the suns heat. it also has insulation between beams and plywood and again between plywood and sheet metal to prevent heat convection as well as insulated on the interior underside of plywood.
   large living room, bathroom, and kitchen downstairs as well as tool room. upstairs has 2 bedrooms a landing/hall area and a large (13ft.X16ft.) terrace overlooking the ocean.
I have spent untold hours, days, weeks and months and years to get the title to this property, jumping thru so many hoops you would have given up.
  ALL yours for ONLY $75,000 US.
why so cheap you may ask, why are you willing to sell your tropical paradise you worked so hard on ?

because i built near my wifes family !

if you are seriously interested email me***

Great price SoonRetired and I have heard similar stories. After reading your post, even I am afraid of your wife’s family. 😂

Tim L. from what i have seen here it would be good for anyone  to be afraid of any family members here , of girlfriends or wives. If i had it to do over i would have taken my future wife far from where she grew up and set her up in a rental til we got married and looked for some land far from her family to build. Another thing i failed to mention is... this small brngy. is about 400 people and 350 of them are "my wifes family"
well i just found out i wasn't supposed to put my email in the forum for security reasons, so, if anyone is looking for a sweet beach side house just let me know in here. it really is a great house and location, as long as you don't know anyone here !

@Bernswaggle

hi i have a girlfriend and her dad owns a farm her brothers built her a house on the land and i intend coming over to live later this yeari understand i have no rights whatsoever but will live with her and her son

i am going to keep all my assets in uk and would it be wise just to send money to a bank account at an affordable rate to live there

@Burt Figgis Hello My friend you know as foreigners you have no rights here in the Philippines .Your wife can kick you out any time .Please be careful and make sure that its true love you have. i believe you should get another land where if and when you have kids you can give it to them. U absolutely have no rights at all ,when u marry here in the Philippines usually u are married to the family's .AND u should live separately from the foamily who will not be asking you loans and coming over every day and offering their unsolicited advice. Just do your research first.

@FilAmericanMom

I hope all follow all or part of this truthful advice.

It contains advice based on life experience  and facts.

Dodi

There is also the application for srrv. If you can obtain one you can own a condo, maybe. A home but not the land

@fgarthon hi im moving over from uk in july my gf has house on family farm and son and dad live in house also 2 brothers have houses on farm will i have to look after them all

@renegadesric529. .A blogger once said, never spend more than you can walk away from.  We don't have a crystal ball for war, disability or a falling out.  I am in agreement with this blogger

@fgarthon

to old for children

i have been over and met the family i have had an extension bedroom built on her house for us and i know i will own nothing if all goes pear shape will she have rights to my uk assets

I would love to say being in love is  great but i believe for your life i can only suggest and you will do what ever you want. But its not a good idea maybe your girl friend loves you but of course family's comes first there is no way they will go against their family's .Here in the Philippine family's is wonderful but you need to let them know from the beginning what is acceptable to you .you will here a lot of sad stories to play on your heart and please before you invest in any thing make sure u used papers promises notes . Now every one is not the same and I'm guessing you have been around life enough so if your heart says don't do it follow your heart. Houses u can own not the land. so if you will go th ere just be aware you will pay for every thing including brothers children father medicine .if this is okay for you then go ahead you are a man who will decide his own destiny. Please evaluate first before making any comitments.

    @Bernswaggle
hi i have a girlfriend and her dad owns a farm her brothers built her a house on the land and i intend coming over to live later this yeari understand i have no rights whatsoever but will live with her and her son
i am going to keep all my assets in uk and would it be wise just to send money to a bank account at an affordable rate to live there
   

    -@renegadesric529

You are replying to a post over 3 years old. Do not be surprised if he doesn't answer.

    @Burt Figgis Hello My friend you know as foreigners you have no rights here in the Philippines .Your wife can kick you out any time .Please be careful and make sure that its true love you have. i believe you should get another land where if and when you have kids you can give it to them. U absolutely have no rights at all ,when u marry here in the Philippines usually u are married to the family's .AND u should live separately from the foamily who will not be asking you loans and coming over every day and offering their unsolicited advice. Just do your research first.
   

    -@fgarthon

Do you happen to know the year of the posting that you are commenting on? 2017?

@danfinn

2017 post still good info to me thanks pal