fagin76

Hi all

I`m new here and need some sound advice from you hardened Expats! If you would be so kind I`m married to a Filipino woman whom I meet in England some years back and we have decided to relocate to the Philippines.
We want to buy a property in a subdivision for renting out rooms to students, we don`t mind doing a bit of work to it if needs be. But what we really need to know is.. Seeing as we are not that business savvy over there.. is how and what is the safest way to transfer money over there, we don't want large amounts of money to vanish into thin air! What with all the corruption being so rife! What's the best, stress free and easy way about doing this?? Have any of you Expats had experience with this?? Thank you

mikek1

We own a house in a sub-division and the rules of the committee would not allow the property to be used by boarders. The only way to insure that your property would be a success is to buy somewhere close to a university, college, or shopping mall. You will find that properties that are in these locations carry a premium price, and anywhere decent in Manila would be expensive.
We looked at buying a boarding house that was already up and running. The price was reduced from P12m to P10m. The questions we asked were why the price drop and why it had not sold in the 3 years it was advertised. The outcome for us was that it would take us an eternity to get a return on our investment ,and more important, no business in the Philippines is easy and stress free. If you don't need an income to live in the Philippines don't start a business.
With regards to transferring money from the UK, just open an account in the Philippines and transfer electronically from your UK bank.

mikemike

As a foreigner you will have no ownership rights, you are in effect donating your assets to your partner.

As pointed out above you will have to go to local City Hall and Barangay to ensure that you have zonal clearance.

be prepared to be met with bundles of red tape to confirm zonal clearance plus business permit issue and the various departments that are in that chain. The process is a money making venture and you are expected to pay for it.

Never forget the truism that if you want to make a small fortune here start with a larger one.

Personally I would keep my money in the UK and transfer what I need, you have less costs and risk placing your money in the UK top 100 stocks than investing here.

You may wish to consider opening a Bank account with BPI in Earls Court London this allows on line transfers to here at very cheap rates very fast.

quiltman

Agree with MikeMike. Especially with BPI. Open sterling account with BPIEurope - www.bpieuropeplc.com - they will open a peso account for you here , enrol in bpi online, and transfers can be done in seconds and at good exchange rate. costs are low - £5 to transfer £1000, for example.

fagin76

Hi and thanks for the replys. Yes, I already have bpi account in the UK and your right its really good! As for buying property, I know I cannot own it outright, its ok for me to put stuff like that in my wife's name, it works for us..is it all really that bad, trying to start that kind of business?? Would it be cheaper in the Baguio area? How come so many Filipinos do ok with renting out rooms?

Gazza-d

Define OK, enough perhaps as a sideline to help feed their family but with absolutely no maintenance.

mikemike

Yes!! it is that bad and that is because you are not a Filipino. The locals live a different subsistance lifestyle and regard that as living high. what ever a local has to pay to get things done will be magnified if it is known or suspected that a foreigner is bank rolling anything.

fagin76

Is it really all that bad? Are you saying that I will be conned completely out of my money? They may not even know that I'm behind the scenes as my wife would take care of all that side of things. I don't really need to show my face anywhere, just a smooth transaction of money is all i was asking about at this stage, just wondered if you had experience or know what we should look out for in the way of any forged deeds and documentation because I know there is loads of corruption even amongst Filipinos themselves! your comments are appreciated even if some are a little negative.

Gazza-d

You keeping in the background may not help. If your wife has lived abroad for many years she will also be treated as a foreigner. Forged documents can be a problem. You need to see the original papers to look for any additions or outstanding loans etc. I'm sure the seller will only have clean deeds .

fagin76

ok, but what is the normal procedure of buying over there? Do people need an attorney, to sort eveything out? can they be trusted also? or do they try to corrupt you aswell? is it easier to pay the full amount for the property or get a bank loan? just how corrupted are estate agents? my wife has lived in the U.K since 2001 we married 5 years ago, we have been to the Philippines 7 times, her family are well off also..thank you

mikemike

As you have visited , i suggest you arrive on a balikbayan or as your wife is a returning pinay maybe a retirement visa where she sponsors you as she will be primary member, the cost if done this way are way lower than you applying as primary.

Be here for at least 12 months and start to build relationships for Attorney etc and take your time. Rush in and you will be yet another married foreigner taken as a lamb to the slaughter.

Yes, it is that bad

If you are still determined to risk all for nothing then approach the banks for their reposession lists, they have lots and they will also offer finance deals. These properties will be 'cleaner' than most

wayne42

No,its not really that bad and definately not impossible, although it could be if you have little knowledge about the way things work over here. My wife was with me for 20 years in the UK...She slotted right back in when we returned.
We have been living here for nearly ten years very well on income derived from the type of business that you are suggesting. Our ROI was 7 years in real terms.
Nothing is impossible,it just depends how much you want it.

mikemike

I agree but also not just how much you want it but where you want it as some places here are worse than bad, some are far better. On the subject of how much you want it, may well be a case of how much!!

wayne42

I didn't say it was cheap or easy! Just not impossible.
Actually,I`ll say no more as I dont really want to encourage any healthy competition!

fagin76

Thanks for the encouragement wayne, we are thinking to buying up the baguio area in a subdivision or somewhere like that..do you know any good websites where i can get a walk through guide and tips of what to look out for? we wont be doing anything until we have a rock solid understanding of how things work there..how much do think an apartment block of say 5 lets and maybe some boarding housing would be? can you recommend where to look, how about sulit.com or olx? did you get a load or pay outright? ta