Topper in Bacolod

[Topper]

if you're buying from a single person - you'll have to do the legwork yourself.

Or have the family realtor do it for a small fee....well medium fee.

I've read a bunch about the hoops one has to go through....

My FIL was given (he was a pastor) a piece of land to build the family house and a church school on, that's where my wife and her siblings were raised and eventually worked for years as teachers at the school. Later, the siblings and my MIL all moved to Bangkok with just the FIL here holding things down. Eventually, he decided to move to Bangkok and let another person use the property while he was away. He moved to BKK about twenty years ago and died there last June.

So when we moved here, the family was all "Let's get our house back!!!!!!!!!, Mr and Mrs Tops can live there!!!!!!" My wife took a look at the place and said fook no, the place is a shithole. However the family was adamant. So we did some research and found that deed to the lot was still in the original owners name, so the family was "Go talk to him and see if he'll sign the deed over!!!!" Well, it turned out the guy is dead, which means his children inherited the land, so we'd need to go buy out all of his kids and the family was "Well, get started! To which my wife replied, No. She reminded them that her family never owned the land, so they had no right to it now." One of her brothers is still not really speaking to her today because of it.

Oh well.....family drama. It gave me a chuckle though hearing the wife explain her reasoning to her brother. She ended the conversation by explaining that he could be here in 3 hours any day of the week if it was that important to him to pursue the issue.

[panama hat]

I still find it intriguing that Filipinos would move to Thailand (now they do to to teach English, sure). Did your FiL do it to proselytise? Of course, feel free to simply not answer as it's a personal question.

[Topper]

Did your FiL do it to proselytise? Of course, feel free to simply not answer as it's a personal question.

Everything he did was geared in that direction, but mostly taught disadvantaged Filipino kids in BKK who couldn't quite fit into a Thai school. He had a master's in education from the University of Oregon.

[katie23]

@topper - yeah, you could pay someone to do your legwork for you. Since I'm kuripot (heh) and I had the time, I did the legwork at the Registry of Deeds for a family matter.

Yeah, land matters in PH are very complicated. I've been watching vids from PH lawyers about inheritance, taxes, land, etc. I've learned a lot and I've also learned from the comments section about so many problems re: land ownership, tenancy, lease, etc. There are family members who don't speak to each other because of land matters - similar to your wife & her brother's case.

Yeah, if the land (of your FIL) belonged to a deceased person, then the buyer has to locate all the heirs of that person and have them sign an Extrajudicial Settlement with Partition Agreement (it's a mouthful). All of those signatories to the partition must agree to the sale and sign in the Deed of Absolute Sale. It's a mess and IMO your wife is right not to pursue her family's claim.

[DrWilly]

Everything he did was geared in that direction, but mostly taught disadvantaged Filipino kids in BKK who couldn't quite fit into a Thai school. He had a master's in education from the University of Oregon.

Respect.

[panama hat]

Respect

Ditto. Thank you, Topper.

How did disadvantaged Filipino kids end up in BKK. There's a link between two countries that I didn't know existed.

(Too many questions? Please ignore, Topper)

[Topper]

How did disadvantaged Filipino kids end up in BKK.

Filipino teachers don't make tons of money and their children they've brought with them speak no Thai, so finding a homeschooling tutor like my FIL fit many a bill. He would go to their house (often at his own expense) and homeschool them while mom, dad or both were at work, or they'd make their way to his home. Same with my MIL while she was alive, she passed about 5 years ago. They both worked for donations, (we, meaning entire family) chipped in every month to make sure their ends met.

[Topper]

After today's typhoon induced flooding...this is about 1/2 a kilo from my house...luckily down hill.

[katie23]

^hope everyone/ everything is safe down there, tops. It's still rainy & windy here (a few clicks south of Manila). No power cuts but rainy & windy intermittently. It's good that Typhoon Egay stayed mainly in the north. I hope not too many crops & livestock were affected, else low harvest = low supoly = higher prices in a few months.

The ex-BF of a friend (Filipino) is an English teacher in Thailand. He's now married to a Thai lady & they have kids. I saw his pic on FB - they both look like nice, ordinary people. My friend and the guy parted ways amicably and they're FB friends.

When I travelled from Vientiane to Udon Thani on a bus, there were several Filipino teachers who were my bus-mates. It was Songkran and they were travelling in TH for a few days. Lots of Filipino teachers all over the world, so it seems.

+++++
On another note, there's this vlogger/ YT channel that I regularly watch now. It's about house renovatiins/ improvements done on rowhouses (1 and 2-storey rowhouses). I'm watching a reno in real time (since the vlogger/ contractor posts daily updates). I've also watched some old vlogs. In some houses, the reno cost up to 700k & even 1M+ pesos!

In one of the older episodes, I saw the contractor/ vlogger have initial talks with future clients. The clients were a foreign guy his Filipino wife. I think they live abroad & had talks with the contractor during their visit to PH. The good thing abt the contractor vlogging abt the project is that the clients get daily updates about the reno. They also have an idea of where their money is going since the vlogger shows the receipts to the audience when he buys something for the project (tiles, cement, etc). So Topper, some foreigners w/ Pinoy wives do buy rowhouses. (good luck to them - I hope the house doesn't deteriorate fast). The couple looked to be in their late 50s.

(I'm planning to do a house build maybe next year, so I'm watching lots of construction & reno vids.)

[Topper]

^ Thanks for the info Katie!!!!!!

Today, I would like to announce that the PI government approved a permanent resident visa for me. This means I'll NEVER have to go through the visa approval process as long as I'm married to ...what's her name again . I do have to pay a tax every year of ~300 pesos (200B). I can get a job, own land in my name, basically do anything a citizen can do...except vote. I don't need any money in the bank and don't need to renew my visa every year and I don't need a work permit or such shite. Fook Thailand and its rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[helge]

Sounds good

[Topper]

^ It's superb compared to Thailand.

[cyrille]

^^It does.

Good for you, Topper.

[Topper]

^Thanks Cyrille!

[malmomike77]

Today, I would like to announce that the PI government approved a permanent resident visa for me

Congrats, happy for you both after all the shit you've been through. Warrants a nice celebration burgers and loaded fries

[katie23]

Congrats, Topper!

Just a small correction: a foreigner cannot own land unless it's in the form of a corporation & there are rules for that.

If you + Mrs Tops buy land, it will be stated in the land title as: Land X is transferred to Maria Cruz-Topper, Filipino national, married to Tops Topper, USA national. Maria owns the land, she just happens to be married to Mr. Topper. Maria won't need Tops' consent if she wants to sell the land bcos she's the sole owner.

The phrasing would be different if both were Filipino nationals. It would be: Spouses Juan Cruz and Maria Cruz, Filipino nationals = Juan and Maria are equal co-owners of the land. If any of the spouses wants to sell the land, there must be consent of the other.

This is to correct anyone's misconception that those on 13A visa (the visa that Tops has) can own land in his name. I could quote the law but I'm too lazy to look in my notebook. This has also been upheld by a recent Supreme Court decision (Filipina wife vs estranged foreigner husband, husband was claiming land/ compensation).

[Topper]

Thanks again Katie, I stand corrected.

[katie23]

^You're welcome.

If ever you'll buy land in PH with your wife, it is with the knowledge and agreement that SHE is the sole owner of the land (and she's the SWMBO ).

For your reference - it's a good article
Can foreigners own land in the Philippines? - Manila Standard

The Supreme Court ruling is about Matthews vs Taylor, GR No. 64584, June 22, 2009. So if ever you or any foreigner husband files a case, there's a precedent. Buyer beware...

If the court won't side against you, there's always the TV program of Raffy Tulfo - it's where foreigners complain if they get shafted by their Filipino(-a) spouse/ partner. Foreigners can get some kind of justice but their troubles will be aired on national TV and on YouTube.

*****
On a positive note, you can work or be a business owner and your yearly renewal fee is miniscule if you're a PR by marriage (on 13A visa).

[Topper]

We've been talking about making an offer for a long term arrangement for the apartment we're in. We like it here, even though the apartment is a touch small for us at times.

[cyrille]

Sounds like you should aim higher.

Just my tuppence ha'penny worth.

[Topper]

Sounds like you should aim higher.

Just my tuppence ha'penny worth.

I appreciate the advice. We're comfortable where we're at, I don't have to worry about blackouts or needing to walk a kilometer to buy food, beer or such. If we bought a house, chances it would be in a subdivision where we'd have to walk to the main road to get a taxi. I've not driven in well over 20 years and my wife has never driven a car or even rode a bike before. Right now, she can walk downstairs in a torrential downpour and ask the guard to go out and flag down a taxi as we live on a main road.

It's easy here, I guess is what I'm saying. I reckon I could go through a driver's ed course and get a license, then buy a vehicle, but we only go out once, maybe twice a week.

However, I've seen a few of these and I quite like them and they're cheap. Kind of like a Ranchero, but Jap stylee.

[cyrille]

If you feel like you don't have enough room then that feeling isn't going to lessen in strength.

Johnny Cash was once asked in an interview what he thought was the secret of his long and happy marriage to June.

He answered 'Separate bathrooms'.

[DrWilly]

Dunno, I'm inclned to side with Topper here. Convenient life style, shops and taxis etc. Stay there.

[PAG]

I appreciate the advice. We're comfortable where we're at, I don't have to worry about blackouts or needing to walk a kilometer to buy food, beer or such. If we bought a house, chances it would be in a subdivision where we'd have to walk to the main road to get a taxi. I've not driven in well over 20 years and my wife has never driven a car or even rode a bike before. Right now, she can walk downstairs in a torrential downpour and ask the guard to go out and flag down a taxi as we live on a main road.

It's easy here, I guess is what I'm saying. I reckon I could go through a driver's ed course and get a license, then buy a vehicle, but we only go out once, maybe twice a week.

However, I've seen a few of these and I quite like them and they're cheap. Kind of like a Ranchero, but Jap stylee.

A buddy of mine who lives in San Luis got himself this last year. They're not a particular make, from what he told me just a collection of parts. He's quite pleased with his as a local run around.

[malmomike77]

Daihatsu Hijet