Just Ask - Owning land in Philippine

Hi Daniel

I guess we share the same passion and obession of buying and owning a land that we might only dream of in Singapore unless we have few million loose change in our bank account.  Most Philippine call us  foreigners as long you are not a citizen here in Philippine. I had a army General friend elegantly address me as an  Allied rather than calling me foreigner, the name sound more refined since we all inherited this ONE earth. To cut the chase SO foreigner by law don't have the right to acquire land in the Philippines. Only Filipino citizens can own land (there have been many proposals to amend this law but of this writing, the law remains unchanged.) The simplest way for a foreigner to acquire real estate properties is to have a Filipino spouse purchase a property in his/her name. Exceptions:
Corporations or partnerships that is at least 60% Filipino owned are entitled to acquire land in the Philippines. An exception to this rule, is foreign acquisition of a Philippine real estate in the following cases: * Acquisition before the 1935 constitution. * Acquisition thru hereditary succession if the foreign acquire is a legal or natural heir. This means that when you are married to a Filipino citizen and your husband/wife dies, you as the natural heir will become the legal owner of his/her property. The same is true for the children. Every natural child (legitimate or illegitimate) can inherit the property of his/her Filipino father/mother even if he/she is not a Filipino citizen. Owning of houses or buildings is legal as long as the foreigner does not own the land on which the house is build. Setting up a corporation with 40% of the stocks in the foreigner's name and 60% to Filipinos is a good alternative. There must be a minimum of 5 stockholders, and foreigner can have the Filipino stockholders sign blank transfer of the stocks for security. In the province , the land is much more cheaper than in the cities, like Singapore the location of land is price sensitive. For example , in Gamu an 80,000 m² cost Php P28,000,000 about S$875,000 for 80,000 m². In Singapore, you could only purchase a 4 room 1281sqft condominium outskirt of the town. Just for your reference I extract a property advertisement for your reading pleasure. 

In Gamu, Isabela

	REAL ESTATE OVERVIEW

Location Barangay Linglingay, Gamu Town
Offering One specific individual property unit
Property Type Residential Lot
Transaction For Sale
Asking Price P 28,000,000
Lot Area 80,000 m²
Terms Negotiable

	PRICING INFORMATION

P 28,000,000

SHOW CURRENCIES US$ 627,661 € 421,787 A$ 715,447 £ 329,325 C$ 672,100 FJ$ 1,025,599 HK$ 4,901,914 S 2,624,882 ¥ 69,111,858 MR 2,087,603 SAR 2,353,732 S$ 884,626 R 4,895,763 D 2,305,214

Price/Lot Area P 350/m²

	PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

EIGHT (8) HECTARES VACANT Lot Ideal for Subdivision development located along the Provincial Highway in Barangay Linglingay, Gamu, Isabela. A place with great potential. The site is just a kilometer from the town proper of Gamu and just 6 kilometers south of the Provincial Capitol of Isabela in Ilagan. Very accessible to public transportation. It is along a concrete provincial road connecting central Isabela with the towns in Mallig plains.

With plain topography and with panoramic view of the surrounding corn fields. Plenty of road frontage.

	AREA DETAILS

Neighborhood Area Rural agricultural
Proximity to...

General Hospital		30 min
Downtown Area		30 min
Seaside		5 hrs
Shopping Mall		30 min
Police Station		15 min
Fire Station		15 min
Domestic Airport		30 min

	PROPERTY DETAILS

Encumberance None.
Yes - metal fencing with barbed wire
Public Thoroughfare Access Yes - adjacent to public thoroughfare
Topography of Land Completely Level