Building our house and garage in the Philippines
Discussion
King Herald said:
Ken Sington said:
Great thread! If you are in earthquake country though, don't you run the risk of a lot of cracking with so much concrete in the build if tremors hit?
I'm hoping not. That's why they put so much re-bar in it, and so many beams and columns. Anything above a 3 causes the bottles to "clink" together.
Choose a safe place outside of a building to sit and drink.
Preferably not under overhead electric cables.
Send houseboy out to buy a new alarm.
House is coming along great. BTW
A very interesting thread.
My wife and I stayed in Panglao in Bohol for 4 months in 2009 when I was out of work due to the financial crisis. We saw the opportunities of the island and decided to buy 1000sqm that we have just had fenced as we don't anticipate building on it for a good few years yet.
The plan is to build a West Coast / tropical Australian / modern Balinese style villa to which to retire for the UK winters. An international airport has just been approved on the island so it looks as if our suspicions about the island being "up and coming" were correct.
I'll follow your thread with interest.
My wife and I stayed in Panglao in Bohol for 4 months in 2009 when I was out of work due to the financial crisis. We saw the opportunities of the island and decided to buy 1000sqm that we have just had fenced as we don't anticipate building on it for a good few years yet.
The plan is to build a West Coast / tropical Australian / modern Balinese style villa to which to retire for the UK winters. An international airport has just been approved on the island so it looks as if our suspicions about the island being "up and coming" were correct.
I'll follow your thread with interest.
allgonepetetong said:
A very interesting thread.
My wife and I stayed in Panglao in Bohol for 4 months in 2009 when I was out of work due to the financial crisis. We saw the opportunities of the island and decided to buy 1000sqm that we have just had fenced as we don't anticipate building on it for a good few years yet.
The plan is to build a West Coast / tropical Australian / modern Balinese style villa to which to retire for the UK winters. An international airport has just been approved on the island so it looks as if our suspicions about the island being "up and coming" were correct.
I'll follow your thread with interest.
What are the land ownership rules like for foreigners?My wife and I stayed in Panglao in Bohol for 4 months in 2009 when I was out of work due to the financial crisis. We saw the opportunities of the island and decided to buy 1000sqm that we have just had fenced as we don't anticipate building on it for a good few years yet.
The plan is to build a West Coast / tropical Australian / modern Balinese style villa to which to retire for the UK winters. An international airport has just been approved on the island so it looks as if our suspicions about the island being "up and coming" were correct.
I'll follow your thread with interest.
As a foreigner you can't, basically.
The way around, as ther always is with these things, is to have a trusted Filipino's name on the deed who then leases it to you for 30 yrs with a 30yr option at the end. You also have them sign a power of attorney giving you sole control over the affairs of the land.
When we lived in Hong Kong we had a Filipino helper live with us for 3 years, so she was an obvious choice for our 'trusted person'.
The way around, as ther always is with these things, is to have a trusted Filipino's name on the deed who then leases it to you for 30 yrs with a 30yr option at the end. You also have them sign a power of attorney giving you sole control over the affairs of the land.
When we lived in Hong Kong we had a Filipino helper live with us for 3 years, so she was an obvious choice for our 'trusted person'.
Are you both sure about the law regarding foreign ownership.
(of stuff)
I was of the opinion that the ownership of one residential lot, with or without improvements was ok.
It didn't affect us because my wife already had a decent house, biggish and not made of twigs before we met.
There was also a law change in the mid nineties regarding corps, that allowed Carrefour (French superstore) to open in Manila.
However employment laws are still very archaic, as a non pinoy you are barred from most proffessions, even Doctors without Frontiers tending to people after some flooding were told "sorry, no doctoring" you're foreign. (northern Mindanao some years ago).
Off topic a little, Bohol is a nice little island, great beaches, very low crime rate, but......if you fancy a bit on the side you are gonna get caught cos it's so small
Of course that is not relevant for us PH types, just added it for the casual lurkers.
(of stuff)
I was of the opinion that the ownership of one residential lot, with or without improvements was ok.
It didn't affect us because my wife already had a decent house, biggish and not made of twigs before we met.
There was also a law change in the mid nineties regarding corps, that allowed Carrefour (French superstore) to open in Manila.
However employment laws are still very archaic, as a non pinoy you are barred from most proffessions, even Doctors without Frontiers tending to people after some flooding were told "sorry, no doctoring" you're foreign. (northern Mindanao some years ago).
Off topic a little, Bohol is a nice little island, great beaches, very low crime rate, but......if you fancy a bit on the side you are gonna get caught cos it's so small
Of course that is not relevant for us PH types, just added it for the casual lurkers.
Well who did you give it to? I was also under the impression you couldn't buy there as a foreigner and had heard the same thing about it having to be signed in a locals name. A mate of a mate in Thailand where as far as I'm aware it's the same deal got stiffed in this way as the person (his girlfriend at the time) that he had as the legal owner of his bar, that he spent a lot of money on, one day got the police to come and evict him from it and that was that. He now drives lorries around Scotland, rather than spending his days in his bar abroad.. So how did you get round it?
Edited by swiftpete on Tuesday 16th August 02:38
jeff m said:
Are you both sure about the law regarding foreign ownership.
(of stuff)
I was of the opinion that the ownership of one residential lot, with or without improvements was ok.
It didn't affect us because my wife already had a decent house, biggish and not made of twigs before we met.
There was also a law change in the mid nineties regarding corps, that allowed Carrefour (French superstore) to open in Manila.
However employment laws are still very archaic, as a non pinoy you are barred from most proffessions, even Doctors without Frontiers tending to people after some flooding were told "sorry, no doctoring" you're foreign. (northern Mindanao some years ago).
Off topic a little, Bohol is a nice little island, great beaches, very low crime rate, but......if you fancy a bit on the side you are gonna get caught cos it's so small
Of course that is not relevant for us PH types, just added it for the casual lurkers.
Seriously, a foreigner can not own land in any shape or form. It is also illegal to form dummy corporations, for the business of controlling the ownership of land. Everything we have is my wifes, if we split up she gets it all, just like the UK really.......(of stuff)
I was of the opinion that the ownership of one residential lot, with or without improvements was ok.
It didn't affect us because my wife already had a decent house, biggish and not made of twigs before we met.
There was also a law change in the mid nineties regarding corps, that allowed Carrefour (French superstore) to open in Manila.
However employment laws are still very archaic, as a non pinoy you are barred from most proffessions, even Doctors without Frontiers tending to people after some flooding were told "sorry, no doctoring" you're foreign. (northern Mindanao some years ago).
Off topic a little, Bohol is a nice little island, great beaches, very low crime rate, but......if you fancy a bit on the side you are gonna get caught cos it's so small
Of course that is not relevant for us PH types, just added it for the casual lurkers.
You can own a minority percentage of a business or corporation, as long as the majority owners are Filipinos, which is how big foreign businesess operate here.
As for a bit on the side, we have an incredibly fit 18 year old nice living with us, and I seriously have to be careful what my eyes, and mind, are doing when she is wandering around the house in her tight little shirts and short shorts.....
ETA: We did think about putting it in our daughters name, as she has dual nationaily, like my wife, but then it could not be sold or anything like that until she was 21, not for any reason. Another 11 years, if ever we decided to get rid of it.
Edited by King Herald on Tuesday 16th August 02:43
I had worked out that you hadn't got this far by not knowing who you'd paid your money to! I was just wondering how you'd done it, I've never bought abroad but had heard about several people that had and have had it turn out quite badly as I have a mate who lives in Bangkok and another that lives in Manila. Like you say though, if you split up then your wife gets it all anyway, so what's it matter really?
The chap I was talking about earlier basically gave his bar away to an w
e, who had supposedly given up the skanking life to be with him. She didn't strike me as the sort of person I'd have trusted any money to, to be honest and in the end she proved that my gut feeling (and everyone else's), about her was correct.
The chap I was talking about earlier basically gave his bar away to an w
e, who had supposedly given up the skanking life to be with him. She didn't strike me as the sort of person I'd have trusted any money to, to be honest and in the end she proved that my gut feeling (and everyone else's), about her was correct. Edited by swiftpete on Tuesday 16th August 03:06
King Herald said:
jeff m said:
Are you both sure about the law regarding foreign ownership.
(of stuff)
I was of the opinion that the ownership of one residential lot, with or without improvements was ok.
It didn't affect us because my wife already had a decent house, biggish and not made of twigs before we met.
There was also a law change in the mid nineties regarding corps, that allowed Carrefour (French superstore) to open in Manila.
However employment laws are still very archaic, as a non pinoy you are barred from most proffessions, even Doctors without Frontiers tending to people after some flooding were told "sorry, no doctoring" you're foreign. (northern Mindanao some years ago).
Off topic a little, Bohol is a nice little island, great beaches, very low crime rate, but......if you fancy a bit on the side you are gonna get caught cos it's so small
Of course that is not relevant for us PH types, just added it for the casual lurkers.
Seriously, a foreigner can not own land in any shape or form. It is also illegal to form dummy corporations, for the business of controlling the ownership of land. Everything we have is my wifes, if we split up she gets it all, just like the UK really.......(of stuff)
I was of the opinion that the ownership of one residential lot, with or without improvements was ok.
It didn't affect us because my wife already had a decent house, biggish and not made of twigs before we met.
There was also a law change in the mid nineties regarding corps, that allowed Carrefour (French superstore) to open in Manila.
However employment laws are still very archaic, as a non pinoy you are barred from most proffessions, even Doctors without Frontiers tending to people after some flooding were told "sorry, no doctoring" you're foreign. (northern Mindanao some years ago).
Off topic a little, Bohol is a nice little island, great beaches, very low crime rate, but......if you fancy a bit on the side you are gonna get caught cos it's so small
Of course that is not relevant for us PH types, just added it for the casual lurkers.
You can own a minority percentage of a business or corporation, as long as the majority owners are Filipinos, which is how big foreign businesess operate here.
However you CAN own a residential building as long as you don't own the land. Real useful eh
Get the land on a 25 lease, renewable for another 25, and you can start sticking up poles.
The 40/60 split for corps was opened up in '96 with the expansion of the law to accomodate the big French Superstore, I wonder how many Mecedes changed hands on that deal
Copy & pasted;
Retail Trade Enterprises
100% foreign ownership is allowed for Philippine retail trade enterprises: (a) with paid-up capital of USD 2,500,000.00 or more provided that investments for establishing a store is not less than USD 830,000.00; or (b) specializing in high end or luxury products, provided that the paid-up capital per store is not less than USD 250,000.00 (Sec. 5 of R.A. 9762). No foreign equity is allowed in Retail Trade Enterprises with less than the above mentioned capital.
swiftpete said:
...... She didn't strike me as the sort of person I'd have trusted any money to, to be honest and in the end she proved that my gut feeling (and everyone else's), about her was correct.
I work in the oil and gas offshore business, and you'd not beleive the number of guys I've met over the last 20 years with similar tales of woe. I know one American guy who has lost THREE houses to Thai hoars! 
King Herald said:
swiftpete said:
...... She didn't strike me as the sort of person I'd have trusted any money to, to be honest and in the end she proved that my gut feeling (and everyone else's), about her was correct.
I work in the oil and gas offshore business, and you'd not beleive the number of guys I've met over the last 20 years with similar tales of woe. I know one American guy who has lost THREE houses to Thai hoars! ) some of the Thai/Flip hookers make great housekeepers ..... Your place is looking great there!!!
Finally, a little progress. We have been concentrating efforts on the house for several months, but now they have started back on the garage, with the roof. Trusses are made from 2 x 1/4"angle bar, x 12"deep, should be strong enough even though they used the local equivalent of 1/4", which is about 5mm......
The purlins (sp?) are about 1mm thick max, which seems very skinny to me, but that's the way they do it here.
Arches from dining room to the kitchen, something the mrs had to have. (All we need now is some stained glass windows and a few bells in the loft......)
House is being rendered inside and out now, with 1" of concrete. The surfaces are as flat as a pool table, amazing workmanship.
The purlins (sp?) are about 1mm thick max, which seems very skinny to me, but that's the way they do it here.
Arches from dining room to the kitchen, something the mrs had to have. (All we need now is some stained glass windows and a few bells in the loft......)
House is being rendered inside and out now, with 1" of concrete. The surfaces are as flat as a pool table, amazing workmanship.
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff