Building or buying a house in the Philippines

Share |

Here is a foreigner/expatriate who has built a house in the Philippines. I might note several considerations:

1. The opportunity to build with local labour to lower your costs; as long as you tightly structure contracts and manage performance to ensure your expectations are closely realised

2. The opportunity to buy foreclosed properties - remembering that not all banks offer good value, and to check to ensure you are paying a reasonable price

3. Take the opportunity not just to find out the prices of property from websites like Sulit.com.ph, but to also talk to landowners around your areas of interest. Why? At face value property in the Philippines looks like a rather illiquid market. Well, you'd be surprised how many sellers are out there, but its harder to connect with them.

4. Foreigners are like gold mines to Filipinos; a dollar sign flashes before their eyes when they see one. Its engrained in them from the age of 5yo. Its all a big joke; but at the end of the day, its their 'inter-dependence' culture that pulls everyone down. The difference between you and some other rich Chinese Filipino is that they will probably be assured that you have money, and that you are less likely to be committed to someone. 

See this blog by an expatriate who has built a house in the Philippines. You might expect materials to be more expensive in the Visayas. See here.

Andrew Sheldon NZ Property Guide Philippine Real Estate Guide Foreclosed Japan Guide Applied Critical Thinking, Strategy, Integrity Investments SheldonThinks