Usc buying property in the Philippines

[Marley2010 2]

Can I buy a house and lot in the Philuppine if im already a USC?

[Chancy 6,233]

*** Moved from Off Topic to the Philippine regional forum ***

 

17 minutes ago, Marley2010 said:

Can I buy a house and lot in the Philuppine if im already a USC?

 

If you are a former Filipino, then yes, you may still own residential property in the Philippines, but limited to 1,000 sqm in urban areas or 1 hectare in rural areas.  To be free of this limitation, just reacquire your PH citizenship to become a dual US-PH citizen.  That way, you regain all your former rights as a PH citizen, including the right to buy as much landed property in the PH as you can afford.

 

[Stevephoto 224]

Aloha @Marley2010! We seriously JUST did this! What @Chancy said is absolutely correct, but it is not as easy (not that difficult though) as that. You will need a Special Power of Attorney to allow someone in the Philippines to sign all the documents if you are not physically in the Philippines. The SPA needs to be notarized. The Notary then needs to be certified (circuit court in Hawaii) and apostilled (Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Hawaii). You may also need an affidavit of residence and Batas Pambansa 185 which will end up as an encumbrance on the Title stating that you are a USC/Former Filipino intending to reside permanently on that land. We may look into getting the title revised once we get to the Philippines next year. Note also that you cannot not own two lots in the same area as a Filipino ex-pat. All that goes away if you reclaim your Filipino Citizenship (RA 9225 is the law that you want to review). Again, we (Joan) JUST finished this process (as in yesterday). It is a very easy process and depending on where you are, the oath taking will be on the same day (Joan's was two days after submitting her documents). The document phase was very fast, but read the requirements very carefully and follow them exactly. You might see (depending on the Consulate) that they "require" the newer PSA Birth Certificate rather than the older NSO BC. This should not matter because the PSA has stated that the documents are identical except for the logo and security paper used. However, it is up to the specific government office whether they require the newer documents. Our consulate listed the PSA document, but Joan's older NSO document was fine. The Philippine Senate just unanimously passed Senate Bill Number 2450 which mandates the permanence of older NSO documents and forbids government or school offices from requiring the newer documents. This bill has not been signed or passed into law yet, but I am following it closely and will post the update once it is acted upon.

 

The process of buying land in the Philippines is long and tedious will a lot of back and forth between offices over several months. We finally decided to hire a Real Estate Professional and it was one of the best decisions we ever made. He was incredible. You can send me a PM if you want his name.  You can also either ask here or PM me with any questions on buying land/building houses (we also got very lucky and hired an excellent architect/builder)/Dual Citizenship/SBN 2450/etc.

 

Good luck!

[RO_AH 1,615]

19 hours ago, Marley2010 said:

Can I buy a house and lot in the Philuppine if im already a USC?

As others have stated you can purchase as a Philippines citizen (so you must re-aquire your citizenship) but a US citizen cannot purchase a lot and house.

[Stevephoto 224]

I can no longer edit my post so I am adding a new one: you will also need a Tax Identification Number (TIN) if you no longer have or did not a TIN. Your Attorney in Fact (SPA) can get you a one-time use TIN to pay the transfer tax on the title. Research Republic Act 8179  (especially section 10) for information on former Filipinos owning property. As noted, reclaiming your Filipino Citizenship is easy, does not impact your US Citizenship and removes a number of issues related to land/home purchase.