Are condominiums good investment? Real Estate Philippines

For me, house and lots are more viable investments than condominiums.  Why? Condominiums have a higher rate of depreciation and a lower chance to increase its market value. Therefore, if you later decide to sell your property, house and lot will give you more bucks than condominiums.

for its good part condominiums are open for sale to not just pinoys but any citizen of any country or to any foreigner :)

Foreigner's Guide

By law, foreigners don't have the right to acquire land in the Philippines. Only Filipino citizens can own land (there have been many proposals to amend this law but of this writing, the law remains unchanged.) The simplest way for a foreigner to acquire real estate properties is to have a Filipino spouse purchase a property in his/her name.

Exceptions:

Corporations or partnerships that is at least 60% Filipino owned are entitled to acquire land in the Philippines. An exception to this rule, is foreign acquisition of a Philippine real estate in the following cases:

* Acquisition before the 1935 constitution.

* Acquisition thru hereditary succession if the foreign acquire is a legal or natural heir. This means that when you are married to a Filipino citizen and your husband/wife dies, you as the natural heir will become the legal owner of his/her property. The same is true for the children. Every natural child (legitimate or illegitimate) can inherit the property of his/her Filipino father/mother even if he/she is not a Filipino citizen.

* Purchase of not more than 40% interest in a condominium project.

* Purchase by a former natural-born Filipino citizen subject to the limitations prescribed by law. (natural born Filipinos who acquired foreign citizenship is entitled to own up to 1,000 square meter of residential land, and 1 hectare of agricultural or farm land)

* Filipinos who are married to aliens who retain their Filipino citizenship, unless by their act or omission they have renounced their Filipino citizenship.

Owning of houses or buildings is legal as long as the foreigner does not own the land on which the house is build.

Setting up a corporation with 40% of the stocks in the foreigner's name and 60% to Filipinos is a good alternative. There must be a minimum of 5 stockholders, and foreigner can have the Filipino stockholders sign blank transfer of the stocks for security.

Rent

The land can be leased by the foreigner or a foreign corporation on a long term contract for an initial 50 year period and renewable every 25 years. A foreigner can rent a lot and at the same time legally own the house on the rented land.

Condominiums

The Condominium Act of the Philippines, R.A. 4726, expressly allows foreigners to acquire condominium units and shares in condominium corporations up to 40 % of the total and outstanding capital stock of a Filipino owned or controlled condominium corporation.

Those who claim that foreigners can own a house & lot in the Philippines have a condominium title to their property. There are a very few single-detached homes or Townhouses in the Philippines with condominium titles. Most condominiums are mid to high rise buildings.

Please see our condominiums for sale in the Philippines.

If you wish to stay permanently in the Philippines or if you frequent the Philippines and stay for long periods. Avail of the government's Special Resident Retirement Visa (SRRV).

so those selling condo's might want to look into selling to the world :)

When I bought a condo unit, I was focused on what is most convenient for myself and my family.
As a home, it should not be looked at as a financial investment. Rather, it should be considered as a life goal. 

Here are the things I considered when I bought my unit. I think this could also set an answer whether condominiums are good investments (analyzation of financial viability). 

1. Location which includes convenience and attractiveness of neighborhood and security; 
2. Reputation for quality of development of the builder;
3. Rules of the association governing the neighborhood and costs in relation to this association; and 
4. Ones ability to maintain all amortization and maintenance (association, repair, taxes) payments.

 

Thank you. I actually decided on buying a condo unit and have reserved already. Your answer could set as a guideline for me.

Acquiring real estate property entails a lot of decision making, and questioning as well. I've approached some condo owners and asked of their experiences. I believe this is an effective idea in helping me narrow down the process of choosing a developer and a development. In my study, DMCI Homesreceived the most positive remark. Before I can finally move on to the next stage, I've made some research regarding DMCI Homes for further information. And I was pleased, so I've invested in one of its project development, Rhapsody Recidences, which is set to rise along the East Service Road, near Sucat Interchange, Muntinlupa. You might want to look at it at http://www.dmcihomes.com/rhapsody-residences.php

for me it depends on where is your property located since the main and vital thing to consider for a real property is location...our house is still valued at 2M for the past 10 years... tita gave us money while working abroad to buy her a condo in taguig way back in 2005 for 3.2M cash price.  The condo we purchased for her now fetch 15M based on current market value.

for me, gusto ko maka pag invest sa condo since single pa naman ako and working.
syempre tingin muna kung maganda yung developer and location, mas ok sana kung
nasa pre-selling pa lang since mabilis din naman mag appreciate and condo and then once
nagsawa ka na, hehe, pwede mo ipa rent or i market sa foreigners since mga foreigners pwede makakuha ng condo
dito sa pinas.

Maganda sana ang merong condominium lalo na at ito ay nasa isang strategic location na malapit sa lahat ng community service facilities. Kaya lang, paano na kaya kung magkasunog o kaya ay lumindol ng malakas at namalas-malas na ang condominium na pag-aari mo ay nadamay (nasunog o kaya ay gumuho dahil sa lindol): meron ka pa bang right kapag pinatayuan ito ng bago? Think more than twice (speculate for the worst scenario).

ewan ko lang din kung tama yan? siguro nga ganun talaga. tama..

You're right, safety first. I can assure you that these condos are built for safety and comfort.

House and lot is still the best for me. people are lured into condos kasi they have good payment terms sa down payment.

magandang investment din ang condo for me especially if its located in a strategic location and busy market where all people will congregate like malls, banks,office buildings kasi if ang investment mo plano mo ipa rent out ehh me posibility na marami ang interested because of the location.

kung investment of extra money, ok ang condo.

solid investment din kasi ang condo. how i wish i can own one ,but only in my dreams.

For me investing a condo is good or anything that has a value is a good investment. Hindi nga lang liquidity ang pag-invest ng condo, house or a lot. Meaning if nangailangan ka agad ng money at gusto mong ibenta hindi ganun kabilis mabenta lalo na kung hindi ganun kaganda ang  location.

So sa akin kung may excess money ako, I will invest it in an Insurance company that has Unit-linked products. Why? Kase may combination un ng Investment, Savings and Protection. At anytime na  kailangan ko ng money  pwede ko agad makuha at the same time secured din Loved ones ko kung bigla ako nag-disappear sa mundo.

House or condo, ganoon din po you incur the same risk sa lindol at sunog. Requirement ng building code ang sprinkler system sa mga multi-family dwellings. Kaya po kung iyan ang aking pinoproblems, kumuha po ng insurance.

Message appended on June 25, 2012 10:07PM

Dreams come true bro. So, don't stop dreaming for your ideal condo.  Good luck po, makukuha ninyo po iyan kung talagang gugustohin.

Message appended on June 25, 2012 10:30PM

It's a good form of passive investment.  Binilihan ko po ang aking asawa ng condo units para po mayroon siyang income stream along with other retirement income pagtanda niya at kapag wala na po ako. Matagal pa naman iyon pero kailangan sa long-term planning iyan.

Congrats to your new condo. :)  Buying a property is a long term investment. and youre right that it can be an income stream as long as there are renters and your condo is in a good location.

I'm planning to buy a unit under their development. I heard many good feed backs about your developer. specially the part that you really get what you paid for.

condominium is a good investment if you'll have it as business. Pero kung dun ka titira forever, I might as well go for a lot. :)

 

"DMCI Homes for me is the best because:
1) Company Owner David M. Consunji at 90 is still a game changer and an innovation leader;
2) It acquired Maynilad Water Company in partnership with the Metro Pacific Group;
3) It created new business segments, namely DMCI Mining and DMCI Power;
4) It completed key undertakings such as the Subic-Tarlac Expressway by DMCI Construction.
5) It provides better online experience in its website;
6) It received Gold Award in 2012 'Reader's Digest Asia' trusted brands awards; etc

Wow. Okay pala talaga background ng DMCI. Pati yung mga projects na involved sila. Didn't even know their partnership to other big companies til' now. Thanks for the information. Looking forward to buy a uit under their development.