Our approach to buying a piece of land
As I said previously, we just bought some land on Samal Island. I am sure that some of you would be interested in the process that we followed, so let’s have a look!
The first step was that Feyma and I started spending a lot of time on Samal Island, and we loved it out there. It’s quiet and peaceful there, and we really value that. After going there quite a few times, we started noticing when we heard about land for sale out there, in the past when we heard about that, we just tuned it out, because we were not interested in buying any land. But, once we fell in love with Samal, it just seemed that we heard more and more about land for sale there. A good friend, Maej, was buying some property on Samal, and she put us in touch with her agent that she used to buy her land.
Next, Feyma contacted the real estate agent and introduced herself. She did not tell the lady that she was married to a foreigner. For monetary reasons, it’s best to leave that part out for as long as possible, because land prices tend to rise quickly when a foreigner is sniffing around! 
Soon, Feyma and the Real Estate Agent got together and went to Samal to look at some different land there. Feyma made it clear that we were looking for either View property or Beachfront property, so those are the kind of places that they looked at. Late in the day, the Real Estate Agent asked Feyma if her husband was a foreigner, and Feyma confirmed it. The prices had already been quoted by that time anyway. Most people here can easily tell that Feyma spent a significant amount of time abroad, so they generally expect that she is married to a foreigner. It worked out OK, though.
Next, Feyma and I went to Samal on our own and looked at the places that she liked from her previous tour. In addition, we found other places for sale. Our favorite, though, was a property in Limao, which is sort of in the center of the island, near the west side. It had a beautiful view. A few days later, we got together with a friend of a friend. This fellow, Rolf, is Swiss, but he has lived on Samal Island for some 30 years already. As he told us, he knows property in Samal, and he cannot be fooled, so we had him show us around a bit. We also took him to the property that we were already falling in love with for his opinion. He liked it, and gave his stamp of approval on that land too.
So, we had pretty much decided on one area, but there were a lot of properties available in that one subdivision (yet to be developed). We had a map of the different lots, and tried to decide which would be best. We hired some people to clear one part of the land, because it was really overgrown with weeds and small bushes. After the land was cleared we had a better idea of where we wanted to buy. The clearing of the land was paid half by us, and half by the landowner. It cost us less than $20 for the job, so no big deal.
After all the work had been done, and we decided on the lots we wanted to buy, Feyma went and negotiated with the land owner, and they struck a deal. Of course, we checked to make sure that the land had a title available, and it did. A contract was drawn up, reviewed by the lawyer, and payment was made. We are purchasing with some terms, under which we put down a 20% downpayment, and we have 2 years to pay the remaining 80%. There is no interest as long as we make our monthly payments on time. That won’t be a problem, and we’ll probably just pay it all off a little early, when we are ready to start making some improvements to the land.
Keep following along, we will keep you up to date with the process of building the house, or any other adventures with the land!
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Hi Bob,
Your blogs of 2/28 and 3/1 got me thinking about availability of solar power and wind power in the Philippines. More specifically, I was wondering if solar power or wind power is an option for the individual land owner? I recall that in an earlier blog you mentioned that the cost of electricity,
relative to other expenses in the Philippines, is rather high.
How is the golf site coming?
Bill
Hi Bill – I do plan to employ solar power in our new house when it is built. My plan right now is to at least allow for solar water heating. A house that I used to live in had solar hot water and it was great! The supply of hot water seemed almost never-ending and it was quite hot. I may look into using solar more extensively.
I have not heard much about wind generated power here, and I also think that the area where we will build does not have adequate wind to generate enough power to be sufficient.
We are working on the golf site! I promise!
hi bob, I understand land cannot be owned in your name when you are a foreigner. but do you know, can you rent it for example 100 years?
i dont think i will live longer than that. my wife is a filipino citizen and i am american citizen. is it better for kids to be born in philippines then rather than in USA, will that give them right to own a land there?
its amazing that they dont naturalize anyone, but guess that keeps the land price down, which is not so bad either..
Hi Damian – you are partially correct. Under a fairly new law, the rental can not be longer than 50 years now.
The kids don’t need to be born here to own land here, as long as they retain their dual citizenship in the USA and Philippines they will be allowed to own land here.
Bob:
Is it all right if I ask you info on the location (is it planned as a subdivision development?) of the lot you purchased in Samal. What is the going rate per sq. m. with similar view you had?
Thanks
Ray
Hi Ray – The property we purchased is in Barangay Limao, Samal Island. There are plenty of lots still available in the planned subdivision. We paid P850 per square meter for the property.
THANKS FOR YOUR SITE I HAVE A LOT ON SAMAL ISLAND. AND I PLAN
TO REITRE THERE SOMEDAY OUR LOT IS NOT IN A SUBDIVISION BUT
ON A HILL OVER LOOKING THE CITY OF DAVAO AND THE ISLAND. HOW
IS IT FOR AMERICANS TO LIVE AND EXPLORE THE ISLAND DAY TO DAY
THANKS AGAIN I WILL CONTINUE TO READ YOUR FULL WEBSITE THANS AGAIN.
Hi Dan – You won’t run into any problems on Samal. The people there are very friendly! A lot of foreigners like you and I live on Samal Island!
Hi Bob & Feyma – what is the average lot size in the subdivision?
Hi jd – The lots average 120 to 150 square meters, which is small. We bought 7 adjacent lots, though, and have the entire square block!
want to start a small hotel,16 rooms, small pool, and food/bar. I was told I could build this with aprox 120,000 us dollars. My wife is philippino but a us citizen. Any problems you can forsee? let us know. Thank you Mike and Marissa Trudeau. P.S. the land is in lagaspi
Hi Mike – Since your wife is a US Citizen, she will need to apply for her dual citizenship here before you move forward with your project. As a US Citizen she cannot own a piece of property exceeding 1000 sq. meters, also she cannot own a business. Once she acquires her dual citizenship, that should free her to do the project that you talk of.
Good luck!
Hi, Bob.
I just have one negative comments about the aggressive marketing scheme to lure foreigners and ex-pat living abroad to move to the Philippines. I’ve seen it too often and it gives the real estate industry a bad name. Most of the real estate companies are aggressively pushing condo units and home and lots to foreigners who have never set foot in the Philippines or to ex-pat who haven’t visited the Philippines in years. Both groups are basically ignorant of what life in this country is like.
Many who bought would often contemplate whether or not they made the right decision or not only after living here for a few months or years. The majority are retirees on pension and have limited income. Buying condos and homes is a major financial undertaking, even in the Philippines. And everyone should have an opportunity to see for themselves what they’re buying instead of doing the transactions from thousands of miles away.
The real estate market in the Philipppins is very fickle. It’s neither a sellers or buyers market. Almost everywhere you look there are many houses for sale, but not that many takers. The owners of these houses are either in financial crisis or trying to immigrate to another country and will need to process their papers. Both are in dire need of cash. The last groups are either foreigners or expat who tried living here, but had had enough and wanted to go back their respective land and host countries.
To eliminate the chance of putting a bad taste in the foreigners and ex-pat and getting blamed for it, why don’t these real estate companies promote rental options first before buying? This way these real estate companies are laying everything on the table to giving their potentail buyers an objective feel for what it’s like to live here first before making a commitment. In end, if things don’t work out, the buyers have no one to blame but themselves, instead of the real estate industries for luring them into an investment that’s not right for them. Till next time….
Hi Julius – most of the ones I have seen doing those sales pitches in malls and such are the subdivisions or condo units themselves, so they have an interest in selling the purchase rather than any kind of rental. I agree that it is best for a foreigner to rent at least for a few years until they decide for sure if they can make the adjustment to living here.
Hi Bob & Feyma,
We just got back to the US from Cebu and have several properties that we are considering. I hope to move there soon and rent real estate to generate peso income.
I know that foreigners cannot own real estate directly. Does this proclude you from owning jointly with your wife? Will both of you put your name on the title?
I am considering the idea opening a corporation. Presumably a company owned by a foreigner can own real estate. Any thoughts?
Hi David – I believe that such corporation can have a maximum of 40% foreign ownership.
Aloha Bob and Feyma, My wife is from Davao and we also love Samal. We are planning a trip this summer and hope to explore more. I was wondering… Is there any decent map available of Samal Island? I am hoping to paddle around the island. Is there any region I should avoid?
Thanks! Mike and Marlet
Hi Mike – Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad to have you on board. The maps that I’ve seen of Samal area all kind of very general, not detailed. Because of that, I don’t really have any that I recommend. The area is quite safe, though, I do not believe that you will find any part of the island that should be avoided.
That’s a lot of paddling! Have a good one!
Bob – as others have said, your writing style/perspective is most enjoyable and your blog has become my preferred source of living in PI/Davao/Samal information. The timing of your land purchase on Samal couldn’t be better as we are hungry for current buying/building info for Samal. My wife (from Tagum) will visit for a month this summer and scout Samal. We tried to investigate Samal with the help of family and a digital camera. Not efficient. So this summer Mady will recon the island and we’ll go from there. We’ve got about 8 years before retirement so this would just be a land grab. I will follow your rent first advice and make frequent visits to Samal (assuming we buy) until/if I’ve “adjusted” to living in the PI.
Hi Jon – Thanks for the compliment! I am glad that you find the site useful!
When your wife is in town, we would be happy to show her a few places on Samal, if she is interested. Just let me know, if you’d like.