Philippine real estate attorney

[Kathy and Jesse 16]

Hello! Can anybody recommend a good real estate attorney and do not charge an arm and a leg in the Philippines?

[Hank_ 9,174]

Thousands of islands .. where ?   

 

What do you need done?  Extrajudicial of Sale, inheritance ?   

 

Best place to look is around the LCR.   Attorneys that deal with real estate tend to have an office near the LCR.

 

Big thing to watch out for is that the person selling the land is the same person listed on the deed (you need to see the original deed).   Philippines uses the Torrens system of title which is a much better system, but does make the original deed very important.

[Kathy and Jesse 16]

14 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

Thousands of islands .. where ?   

 

What do you need done?  Extrajudicial of Sale, inheritance ?   

 

Best place to look is around the LCR.   Attorneys that deal with real estate tend to have an office near the LCR.

 

Big thing to watch out for is that the person selling the land is the same person listed on the deed (you need to see the original deed).   Philippines uses the Torrens system of title which is a much better system, but does make the original deed very important.

Ooops!!! 😅 around metro manila and just need to consult about legal process of buying a land. My parents are been looking of buying a land to build a house, due to limited of cash it makes it harder to find one because it seems like seller wants cash based only. Long story short, they recently found a land and paid processing fee to get it started. Somehow, the agent they are dealing with found another client who was offering full payment cash for the same land my parents were buying and supposedly the owner of that land went ahead and sold it to the other client even though they were initially selling the land to my parents. I asked my brother if wasn’t there a contract they signed that the owner of that land has accepted their offer. He said it was all verbal and they cannot do anything if the agent found another client who has better offer even though they had accepted the offer of my parents for that land. That is why they need to consult to an atty to know what is the legal process so they know where to stand.

[Chancy 6,241]

19 minutes ago, Kathy and Jesse said:

He said it was all verbal and they cannot do anything if the agent found another client who has better offer even though they had accepted the offer of my parents for that land.

 

Your brother is right -- unless the seller has a signed agreement with your parents, there's nothing they can do to prevent the seller from accepting an offer from another buyer.  As for the processing fee, they should be able to get a refund, assuming they have the receipt.

 

[Hank_ 9,174]

4 hours ago, Kathy and Jesse said:

Ooops!!! 😅 around metro manila and just need to consult about legal process of buying a land. My parents are been looking of buying a land to build a house, due to limited of cash it makes it harder to find one because it seems like seller wants cash based only. Long story short, they recently found a land and paid processing fee to get it started. Somehow, the agent they are dealing with found another client who was offering full payment cash for the same land my parents were buying and supposedly the owner of that land went ahead and sold it to the other client even though they were initially selling the land to my parents. I asked my brother if wasn’t there a contract they signed that the owner of that land has accepted their offer. He said it was all verbal and they cannot do anything if the agent found another client who has better offer even though they had accepted the offer of my parents for that land. That is why they need to consult to an atty to know what is the legal process so they know where to stand.

Nothing in writing  ..   just a bunch of smoke in the wind.

 

Yup need to find an attorney and complete the Extrajudicial of Sale .. next time.

[flicks1998 1,044]

4 hours ago, Kathy and Jesse said:

Ooops!!! 😅 around metro manila and just need to consult about legal process of buying a land. My parents are been looking of buying a land to build a house, due to limited of cash it makes it harder to find one because it seems like seller wants cash based only. Long story short, they recently found a land and paid processing fee to get it started. Somehow, the agent they are dealing with found another client who was offering full payment cash for the same land my parents were buying and supposedly the owner of that land went ahead and sold it to the other client even though they were initially selling the land to my parents. I asked my brother if wasn’t there a contract they signed that the owner of that land has accepted their offer. He said it was all verbal and they cannot do anything if the agent found another client who has better offer even though they had accepted the offer of my parents for that land. That is why they need to consult to an atty to know what is the legal process so they know where to stand.

As others have stated, get everything in writing.  I used to work extensively with Filipino landlords and they would constantly want verbal agreements, etc.  However our company process was to get everything in writing.  Even if you have a conversation with a landowner, you should summarize that conversation in an email afterwards and even ask for confirmation of what you stated.  If you do not document every step of the process, it will lead to nothing but problems.  The goalposts and even the agreement that was made will change.  The nefarious landlords/landowners/property owners will not like this documentation process, but its a must.  The honest and reputable landowners, etc etc will have no issues documenting everything.

[Adventine 3,196]

My mother was a real estate broker and documented everything, even the small reservation fees that tenants/buyers would sometimes put down before the security deposit (for rentals) or downpayments (for purchases).

 

Before anything else and to avoid this situation going forward, have a direct conversation with your parents about NEVER paying for anything related to real estate without a receipt and written documentation.

 

Edited August 24, 2021 by Adventine

[John & Rose 7,239]

I actually have a friend who did that in Batangas.  They found property that they liked but there was a handshake agreement with another party.  Long story short, money talks.  My friend paid full price in cash and they built a beautiful house.  The other party wanted to sue but without any paperwork they didn't have a chance in court.  My friend was able to present the legal deed and the case never really even started.