haruki

Hi all,

I've been lurking on here for a little while so thought it was time to say hi and, of course, ask the resident experts for some earnest advice.

My Filipina wife and I have a small 2 bed villa (house and lot) in a private sub division in Tagaytay. We bought it a few years ago with intention of retiring there when the time comes.

We've recently been thinking about selling the house so that we could buy some (non sub division) land to build a new house and have some land to spare for growing some veggies etc. If we could sell the house and get a new one put up quite quickly we may bring forward our move to Phils a little - but that depends on a whole bunch of stuff, not least our daughters education.

Does anyone have any experience in the Tagaytay / Cavite real estate market and have any ideas how quickly a house sale would take to complete? Additionally do any of you fine folk have any reliable / trustworthy real estate contacts?

Cheers,

mikemike

You may wish to advertise this on the net using https://www.olx.ph/

I have found that using brokers is a very sad experience except for one who works out of Cebu.

Save yourself commission if you get very good pictures and very good words.

As you are an absentee owner it makes it a whole lot harder

The agents if they like it will undervalue it for a friend etc

worldtravellerph

Where exactly is it located in Tagaytay, how many sqm building and lot and how much are you asking?

Most sales are by private arrangement with cash buyers.

haruki

Thanks for the replies.

@mikemike - we were thinking of going down the olx route but thought it would be quicker / easier if we had someone managing the sale for us in our absence. Having said that my in-laws are nearby and can help us with viewings etc. We rent the place out from time to time and mother in law is always super helpful with that.

@worldtraveller - the house is in a sub division in Salaban, just off of Crisanto M. Delos Reyes Ave, 10 minutes from Summit Ridge etc. Lot area is 120 sqm, not entirely sure on the house floor area, I guess 100 sqm. It's 2 bed / 2 bathroom with a covered lanai and fitted kitchen. We'd be selling furnished with white goods etc. for around 4m.

We'll be coming out in either April or August next year so would hope to conclude this by then. Wishful thinking I know..

Cheers,

mikek1

Have to agree with Mike Mike, Olx is your best bet. Agents here demand 5% ! We just bought a house and the vendor told us how much the agents charges were.Selling a house here takes a long time, especially if it's expensive.Your house should sell quicker because it's not expensive and it's relatively close to Manila.

I recently used OLX to sell a car. It was easy to place the add and it was free. After about a week we got an email asking us to pay php500 to refresh the add or Php 1000 to move it to the top of the listings. It's well worth paying to go to the top of the listings because the response was very good.

Rocknrolla

Good advice, try and market it yourself. If the house is priced right it should sell within a year or two, then again you might be lucky and sell it sooner.. Most properties that are on the market and don't sell are way overpriced, more so here.. If real estate sits on the market for too long people people tend to shy-away. Do your homework and try and find what other properties have sold for in your area and price yours accordingly. I know you can still build a reasonable quality house in some areas of the Visayas for around 20/22000 pesos a sqm. Not so sure about in your area though..Many people today prefer to build their own home and to their own design...Be prepared to negotiate.... Remember, often your best offer can turn out to be your best price. Good luck.

haruki

Thanks all for the replies and advice.

We've heeded that advice and gone down the olx route so we'll see how this works out and where this journey ends.

Next on the list is to find a decent solicitor / lawyer as and when the time comes - has anyone had good experience with a particular firm or person?

mikek1

Be careful, not all lawyers will have your interests as a priority. We have a very good trustworthy attorney but as we live in Pangasinan it would be of no use to you. Having recently purchased a house we negotiated very hard, and made the vendor pay all the ancillary costs. Are you aware that should you sell your house, there are capital gains, transfer taxs etc that you will be liable to pay?