By law, foreigners 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.

 

* Purchase of not more than 40% interest in a condominium project.

 

* Purchase by a former natural-born Filipino citizen subject to the limitations prescribed
by law. (natural born Filipinos who acquired foreign citizenship is entitled to own up to
1,000 square meter of residential land, and 1 hectare of agricultural or farm land) 

 

* Filipinos who are married to aliens who retain their Filipino citizenship, unless by their
act or omission they have renounced their Filipino citizenship.

 

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.

 

 

The land can be leased by the foreigner or a foreign corporation on a long term contract
for an initial 50 year period and renewable every 25 years. A foreigner can rent a lot and
at the same time legally own the house on the rented land.

 

The Condominium Act of the Philippines, R.A. 4726, expressly allows foreigners to acquire
condominium units and shares in condominium corporations up to 40 % of the total and
outstanding capital stock of a Filipino owned or controlled condominium corporation.

 

Those who claim that foreigners can own a house & lot in the Philippines have a condominium
title to their property. There are a very few single-detached homes or Townhouses in the
Philippines with condominium titles. Most condominiums are mid to high rise buildings. 

 

If you wish to stay permanently in the Philippines or if you frequent the Philippines and stay for
long periods. Avail of the government's Special Resident Retirement Visa (SRRV).We commit ourselves to help you find your dream home.
Come and let us help you...

Contact Us:

Jose Glenn M. Asuque
Sales Associate
Accredited Agent License #: 0013572
Mobile Numbers : +63932-860-8685 (Sun); +63927-386-6521 (Globe)
+63919-948-6003 (Smart)
Email Address: filprimehomes@yahoo.com
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