Building on my girlfriends family land - Help please

     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.
   
    -@fgarthon

Don't give away anything that you can't afford to lose.

@FindlayMacD

sounds like good advice pal i will take it on board as her father and son also live in the house.

the house was built by her brothers who live over the field for her as she paid them to build because she has been working in singapore for 11 years to keep the family

farming life doesnt require much spending i think as i was there for 2 weeks and a very simple lifestyle they have but like you said things will change possibly

thanks again for your advice Finlay

    @danfinn
2017 post still good info to me thanks pal
   

    -@renegadesric529

Sure but, almost *seven* years later? Do you think he still can use your advice about getting married here? Is he still on the forum? I'll bet ya didn't look at the date lol. It's OK, happens to the best of us (pal) LoL

@Burt Figgis I wonder how it went for you. I have a fiancee who keeps telling me that since the land is owned by her family members that we don't need a building permit. I keep asking for the title of the land she owns so that at least it shows her as the legal owner before I acquire a building permit. This is agricultural land, so most likely I will have to seek a re-classification of the lot we are looking into building a home.

I realize that this article is very old (2017), but for those facing the same dilema here are a few things that any expat trying to build a home in any rural area should know:

There are legal documents that any builder in the Philippines should be aware of which includes the following:

1. A copy of the Title of the land - proof of the ownership of the owner. You will need this documentation to show that you have the right to start construction on that property. It is essential for builders too because it determines how a builder can construct the home.
2. Affidavit Of Consent From The Owner Or Contract Of Sale - only needed if you are not the owner of the land - acquire a contract of sale or lease from the owner when he or she sells it to you. You will need an attorney to transfer your name as owner of the lot.
3. Tax Declaration - the Philippine government requires you to pay taxes on your land.
4. Latest Tax Receipts - this will show that you paid your tax declaration.
5. The Owner's or Builder's Building Permit - Cedula is sometimes referred to as the Community Tax Certificate (CTC). It is a certificate given to persons or businesses on payment of community tax.
6. Lot Survey Care Of Subdivision - when you pay your tax declaration, a free survey of your lot is provided to you automatically from the government.
7. Barangay Clearance - Before you officially start the construction, a barangay clearance specific for construction is needed. Your contractor can help you settle this crucial document so make sure to ask for help.
8. Special Power of Attorney - is needed If the building permit applicant does not stay here in the Philippines.

Great info. There should be a FAQ section where this gets stored.

    @Burt Figgis I wonder how it went for you. I have a fiancee who keeps telling me that since the land is owned by her family members that we don't need a building permit. I keep asking for the title of the land she owns so that at least it shows her as the legal owner before I acquire a building permit. This is agricultural land, so most likely I will have to seek a re-classification of the lot we are looking into building a home.
I realize that this article is very old (2017), but for those facing the same dilema here are a few things that any expat trying to build a home in any rural area should know:

There are legal documents that any builder in the Philippines should be aware of which includes the following:

A copy of the Title of the land - proof of the ownership of the owner. You will need this documentation to show that you have the right to start construction on that property. It is essential for builders too because it determines how a builder can construct the home.
Affidavit Of Consent From The Owner Or Contract Of Sale - only needed if you are not the owner of the land - acquire a contract of sale or lease from the owner when he or she sells it to you. You will need an attorney to transfer your name as owner of the lot.
Tax Declaration - the Philippine government requires you to pay taxes on your land.
Latest Tax Receipts - this will show that you paid your tax declaration.
The Owner's or Builder's Building Permit - Cedula is sometimes referred to as the Community Tax Certificate (CTC). It is a certificate given to persons or businesses on payment of community tax.
Lot Survey Care Of Subdivision - when you pay your tax declaration, a free survey of your lot is provided to you automatically from the government.
Barangay Clearance - Before you officially start the construction, a barangay clearance specific for construction is needed. Your contractor can help you settle this crucial document so make sure to ask for help.
Special Power of Attorney - is needed If the building permit applicant does not stay here in the Philippines.

We built a house on family land that was part of a mother title and that may be what your fiancée has, given that creating a separate title from family inheritance is very expensive. Most locals don't bother with that formality (I did, but only to define ownership for out kids' inheritance). Most locals "own" and sell property by tax declaration which you and I know has no legal validity in modern times here lol. We built the house while still on mother title on top of a small shack that existed there with no building permit. Nobody ever said we needed a building permit here ever and we have 2 houses. As for taxes, the municipality will see what you are doing and contact you to visit the assessor's office to create a tax declaration and agree upon what the house is worth and pronounce the tax...the tax rate is uniform thoughout the country, about 2% or 3%. And yes, for knowing the value you do need a lot survey by a licensed surveyor either if you create a title or if you are like a local and just "own" by tax declaration. We never had to go through the formalities you mention pre-construction but we had a huge amount of formalities required when creating the titles. They will bill you for taxes but will probably not bother you for permits etc. if building on family land. Our municipality for one of our houses had nobody employed who could inspect for code compliance. At our other house there is but the architect said we needed no building permit on an existing home for a 2 million php expansion and they have not re-assessed the homes here yet for taxes. At our other home, after we made a few improvements for 1 million, to a house worth 10 mil, our taxes went up 40% and we are scheduled to meet them about that; I don't think they will change, however.

    Great info. There should be a FAQ section where this gets stored.
   

    -@Andy_1963

Umm...as reference information only.

@Burt Figgis hi burt i am mike i have lived in the philippines for years, and land issues are very complicated out there.  If the family are poor, they have never sub divided the land into separate titles.  The issue is this

1 who was the last official owner of the land.  i.e whos name is on the title. i would imagine it is the grand parents? so with that in mind any children they had would each have a equal share on the land. so let us imagine 6 children.. the land would be split in 6ths.  so lets call the a,b,c,d,e,and f

A) had 4 children but the person died, that 1/6th of the original land would be shared between the 4 off spring.

now there are 5 children from the grandparent alive and 4 grand children so with this in mind 5 children would have a 6th share and 4 would have a 1/4 of the 6th.

gets complicated further along the tree you go.  we will just use the 9 for this example.  next is has the land tax been paid and up to date. if it has not, no title will be issued to anyone. when was the last land tax paid?

let us imagine the land tax has been paid, which i don't think it has. the land tax will vary with the land explanation, farm, residential or commercial?

so what portion of the land is allocated to A) children and b.c.d,e and f.  who gets the prime section.

My wife and i used to buy and sell land in the Philippines.  you never never take anyone's word you want to see the documents, if there are no documents you can check who was the last owner at the DENR office.  AND NEVER NEVER hand over any money, until you are sure 100% sure.  or you will never see your money again. 

Has the land been pawned?  if so who owns the Pawn on the land?

this will give you some food for thought.  if you want to see a clear and clean title, go to philipinebeachland.com there is an example on my web page.

good luck and keep your eyes open.

Calling Burt Figgis.

Calling Burt Figgis.

How's 2017, over.

    Calling Burt Figgis.
Calling Burt Figgis.
How's 2017, over.
   

    -@Jackson4

    He was in Cyprus in 2017, has not posted since.

        Calling Burt Figgis.Calling Burt Figgis.How's 2017, over.        -@Jackson4

    He was in Cyprus in 2017, has not posted since.
   

    -@mugteck

He's probably buried somewhere on the family plot. RIP Burt. It's been real.

Hello everyone,

I am closing this thread. It's been 3 years since the OP last logged in to the website.

Members having the same questions are invited to open a new thread on the Philippines forum.

All the best

Bhavna

[Topic Closed]