Tips and Guides on Buying or Renting a Condo

Buying or Renting a Condo especially in Makati can be a complicated process if you don’t know what your doing. With the real estate and the condominium market constantly changing it may be good time to start considering buying if not renting a condominium since the market today is a buyer’s market . Buying or renting a condo can give you advantages, with the former giving first-time home buyers some low interest rates and falling real estate prices. You can buy a condominium and real estate properties through an reputable online condo and real estate websites like Condo Rental Makati.

To get started  the process of buying or renting a condo, the first step is to start first by registering your interest in buying a condo by sending us an email or you can also contact us directly on our telephone and mobile numbers. After registering and showing your interest in buying or renting a condo especially in Makati, the next step would be to search and select a condominium that matches your requirements and budget. Searching for a condo will be easy if you know your needs and have a goal in mind.

Once you know your needs, preparing your finances is very important and this includes your projected income and other investments. Planning your finances early can help you can avoid the inconvenience of having to prepare your finances in a hurry once you have found a suitable condo that has met your requirements. After finding a condo that has met your requirements, you can then make an offer to the seller through your broker. Your broker can guide in getting the best possible deal available. This can be done verbally or through a letter of intent which your broker can do for you.

Once the offer is approved between the two parties, you can then assign a broker to handle the legal paperwork involved. After the draft contract has been made and an agreement has been made, both parties could then finalize the contract. After this, the only things left to do would be to sign the contract and enjoy your condo.

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Acquisition is the act of procuring or getting a hold of real estate property. Disposition is the manner of alienation, transfer of possession and ownership thereof prescribed by the Philippine law. The acquisition and disposition of real estate is embodied in written agreements or contracts voluntarily entered into and subscribed by the selling and buying parties thereof, before a public officer designated as the Notary Public of the City or Province where the subject property is located. Thereafter, the instrument embodying the particular real estate transaction is required by law to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds in the City or Province where the real estate property is involved and located. The Philippines uses the “Torrens” system of real estate ownership. Pls. check out the details below for more information.

TORRENS SYSTEM OF REAL ESTATE OWNERSHIP

An adapted form of the “Torrens” system of land registration is used in the Philippines. The system was adapted to assure a buyer that if he buys a land covered by an Original Certificate of Title (OCT) or the more familiar Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) issued by the Registry of Deeds, the same will be absolute, indefeasible and imprescriptibly. The registered owner will never lose his ownership to squatters no matter how long such land was illegally occupied.

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CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT OWNERSHIP LAW

Presidential Decree No. 957 , which regulates the sale of subdivision and condominium developments, and providing penalties for violations thereof. The National Housing Authority has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate real estate trade and business, a function, which is presently exercised by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). Certain conditions are required before a license to sell condominium development units and or subdivision development lots and homes is issued to a Filipino or Foreign owned individual or corporation. The requirements include a certificate of registration, a performance bond, and an approval of the building plans and specifications. Violation of these rules could mean fines, cancellation of license and or imprisonment.

TAKING TITLE TO THE PHILIPPINE REAL ESTATE

The “Deed of Sale” is the document showing legal transfer of real estate property ownership. The deed of sale is then taken to the Registry of Deeds to be officially recorded. “Tax Declarations” are sometimes used but are not very enforceable in court because there may be many others with a tax declaration claiming ownership of the same property. A property may be Titled by taking the Tax Declaration to the Registry of Deeds to process to be officially titled. Always purchase property with a proper deed of sale if possible, and if there is not one, a tax declaration is your last choice.

Owners must be active in enforcing their property rights. Possession is 90 percent ownership. If the property owner can only show a tax declaration as an evidence of ownership, that means the land is untitled and not registered under the Torrens system, the buyer will not get as much protection, as his title will not be absolute and can yield to one who has a better right, like the person actually possessing and occupying or tilling the land, and who subsequently applies for the titling of the land in his name. It is possible for two or more tax declarations issued to different persons with exactly the same technical description, or referring to the same property.

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Purchases from Individuals:

• Philippines Capital gains tax – 6% of actual sale price. This is paid by the seller but in some cases it might be expected that the buyer pays. This percentage could differ if the property assessed is being used by a business or is a title- owned by a corporation, in this case the percentage is 7.5%
• Philippines Document stamp tax – 1.5% of the actual sale price. This is paid by wither the buyer or the seller upon agreement. Normally however, it is the buyer who shoulders the cost.
• Philippines Transfer tax – 0.5% of the actual sale price
• Philippines Registration fee – 0.25% of the actual sale price

Purchases from Developers:

• Philippines Capital gains tax – 10% of actual sale price. This value might be expressed as part of the sale price
• Philippines Document stamp tax – 1.5% of the actual sale price
• Philippines Transfer tax – 0.5% of the actual sale price
• Philippines Registration fee – 0.25% of the actual sale price
  

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Know your the law, rules and regulations on foreign ownership of land and condo in the Philippines by checking the information provided below:

The Right To Own Philippine Property

Foreigners Leasing Of Philippine Real Estate Property

Leasing land in the Philippines on a long term basis is an option for foreigners or foreign corporations with more than 40 percent foreign equity. Under the Investor’s Lease Act of the Philippines a foreign national and or corporation may enter into a lease agreement with Filipino landowners for an initial period of up to 50 years renewable once for an additional 25 years.

Foreigners owning Houses in the Philippines

Foreigners owning a house or building in the Philippines is legal as long as the foreigner does not own the land on which the house is build.

Foreigners owning Condominiums & Townhouses in the Philippines

The Condominium Act of the Philippines, R.A. 4726, expressly allows foreigners to acquire condominium units and shares in condominium corporations up to not more than 40% of the total and outstanding capital stock of a Filipino owned or controlled condominium corporation. However, there are a very few single-detached homes or Townhouses in the Philippines with condominium titles. Most condominiums are high rise buildings.

Foreigners Leasing of the Philippine Real Estate Property

A foreign national and or corporation may enter into a lease agreement with Filipino landowners for an initial period of up to 50 years, and renewable for another 25 years. Or lease the property in your Philippine Corporation name for an unlimited period.

Filipinos & Former Filipino Citizens (Balikbayans) & OFW

Former natural-born Filipinos who are now naturalized citizens of another country can buy and register, under their own name, land in the Philippines but limited in land area. However, those who avail of the Dual Citizenship Law in the Philippines can buy as much as any other Filipino citizen. Under Republic Act 9225 (Philippines Dual Citizenship Law of 2003), former Filipinos who became naturalized citizens of foreign countries are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship, thus enabling them to enjoy all the rights and privileges of a Filipino regarding land ownership in the Philippines.

Foreigners Married to a Filipino Citizen

If holding a title as an individual, a typical situation would be that a foreigner married to a Filipino citizen would hold title in the Filipino spouse’s name. The foreign spouse’s name cannot be on the Title but can be on the contract to buy the property. In the event of death of the Filipino spouse, the foreign spouse is allowed a reasonable amount of time to dispose of the property and collect the proceeds or the property will pass to any Filipino heirs and or relatives.

Former Natural-born Philippine Citizen now Naturalized American Citizen

Any natural-born Philippine citizen who has lost his Philippine citizenship may still own private land in the Philippines up to a maximum area of 5,000 square meters in the case of rural land. In the case of married couples, the total area that both couples are allowed to purchase should not exceed the maximum area mentioned above.

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1. Particle matter such as dust, smoke, pollen, animal dander and particles associated with tiny organisms such as dust mites, moulds, bacteria and viruses and

2. Gaseous pollutants such as gas from cooking stoves, volatile organic compounds or VOCs found in many building materials like adhesives, paints, varnishes, paint thinners, some furnishings and carpets; as well as cleaning products and pesticides.

Provided are tips on how to have clean air in your condo and how important it is to avoid concentrations of volatile organic compounds or VOCs are consistently higher indoors than outdoors even up to ten times higher and persist in the air long after their use. Adverse effects due to exposure to high concentrations of VOCs include eye, nose and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver kidney and central nervous system. There is a growing awareness among developers and architects for the need to use building materials that are low in volatile organic compounds or VOCs. Reputable furniture and carpet makers have also begun using low VOC materials and it is getting easier to find information on the internet about which brands and products use harmful chemicals.

The simplest and easiest way to protect yourself and your family as condo dwellers against indoor air pollution is through proper ventilation and a good air filtration system. Aside from allowing unpleasant odors to escape and keeping a room’s temperature down, good ventilation ensures a steady inflow of oxygen and prevents a build-up of dangerous gases such as Carbon dioxide or LPG gas. In addition good ventilation would discourage the growth of mould and mildew, which would aggravate Asthma and may cause allergic reactions.

The simplest way to protect yourself from air pollution is to put indoor plants in your condo. Plants give out oxygen which is crucial to our body and take in carbon dioxide. Plants help clean the air in your condo unit and to maintain good air quality, it is important to have a plant for every 10 square meters of your condo. Plants also help remove stress from your body and can help you breathe better.

Excerpts from Bautista, J.,  Condo Living

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2. Don’t limit your tropical beach theme to bright colors -  Try mixing it up with wind and earth elements and colors. You can add furnitures with earthy colors and such as wood, sand, leaves and rocks. Try mix and matching your furnitures just make sure they blend well with the tropical beach theme.

4. Add different lighting effects – use different lighting effects to create a relaxing and homey feeling in your condo. Experiment with different lighting effects to create a good mood effect and enhance your tropical beach paradise theme in your condo.

Whether you own your condo or just have it as a condo rental, what’s important is to make it your own home. Make sure that you fill your condo not just with furnitures but with joy and love. Now, that is what the real essence of improving the look of your condo inside and out.

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1. Organize your condo appliances into groups or sections so that you can easily use them and find them. This is very important for small appliances.  Store your commonly used appliances together so that when you need them it would be easier to find and use.

2. Make a list of appliances that you use everyday, some that you use a few times a week and some that you use only when there’s an occasion. The list that you make will help you determine which ones are more needed than those that are rarely used.

3. Store rarely used condo appliances in your basement to avoid clutter and to enable to enjoy more space in your condo where ever inch of space is important.

4. Invest in space saving appliances like that ones that you see in infomercials, where you can just fold it or store it an a convenient location.

5. Organize and straighten you condo appliances every week as much as possible. This will help keep your condo clean and will enable you to have more space in your condo to enjoy.

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