Pag-ibig housing loan guidelines
Posted by engkanta on August 8th, 2007
If you’ve made that big decision to buy a house, chances are you’re also already choosing from the many possible financing options available to you because, let’s face it, only a few people can afford to pay cash for big purchases like property acquisitions.
One alternative that private sector employees should consider when acquiring a house and lot is to take out a housing loan from the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), more popularly known as Pag-ibig Fund.
Republic Act 7742 has made membership in the fund mandatory for private sector employees earning 4,000 pesos and above. If you’ve been contributing religiously to the fund for at least two years, you probably quality for that loan.
Pag-ibig Fund allows borrowing of up to 2 million pesos to fund any of the following:
* purchase of a fully developed lot in a residential area
* purchase of a lot and construction of a house on it
* purchase of a house and lot, townhouse, or condo unit
* construction of a house on a lot owned by the member
Taxes on real estate transactions
Posted by engkanta on August 1st, 2007
Jose Reyes, who works in a call center in Cebu City, has been transferred to his company’s main branch in Manila. He wants to move for good and sold his house and lot in a subdivision in Lapu-Lapu City for 2.5 million pesos.
How much is he required to pay in taxes to government for the sale?
The computation of his tax due depends on whether his property is a capital asset or an ordinary asset.
Capital assets refer to properties that are not used in connection with trade, business, or as an income source by the owner.
An example of a capital asset would be a residential house and lot “actually” used as residence by the owner.
On the other hand, properties used in trade or business or as a source of income by the owners are considered ordinary assets.
The applicable tax in the sale of capital assets is the capital gains tax. The tax rate is 6 percent of either the “price per deed of sale” or “zonal value” in case of land.
Government, in deciding which of the price or the zonal value (fixed by the local government unit) to use as basis in the computation of taxes, always goes for the higher amount.
Oath taking of new real estate brokers
Posted by engkanta on July 29th, 2007
Last night, we took our oaths as new real estate brokers, vowing to follow the code of ethics of the real estate profession and to place the interests of our clients over our own.
By we, I meant of course me and the 54 others in my review class who passed the licensure examination held in May this year.
Our oath taking was officiated by Zaide Bation, chief of the Trade and Regulatory Division of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Cebu province. It was held at the Cebu Midtown Hotel in Cebu City.
Realtor Serafin Blanco, a former Mandaue City administrator, in his welcome remarks told of the “opportunities up for grabs” in the real estate profession, citing last year’s 26 percent growth in the real estate sector that roughly translated to exposure of 70 billion pesos.
Computing real property taxes in the Philippines
Posted by engkanta on July 25th, 2007
If you’ve owned real estate for some years now, chances are you already know what you need to pay government on a yearly basis.
Those still thinking of acquiring a house and lot or commercial and industrial land, be warned that aside from the one-time tax due on the sale, mortgage, or exchange of real property, there is also the regular yearly taxation–basic and special education fund–that you need to settle religiously.
The first of these yearly levies on properties is called the basic real estate tax. The other is the special education fund tax.
How does government determine how much basic tax owners should pay for their properties?
Central to this determination is what is called the fair market value (FMV) of a property.
Buyer’s market vs. seller’s market
Posted by engkanta on July 23rd, 2007
A seller of real property would not want to sell in a buyer’s market and a buyer would rather not buy in a seller’s market.
Sounds confusing? Let me explain.
Buyer’s market and seller’s market are real estate jargons that mean the exact opposite of each other.
But I think you’ve guessed that by now.
Anyway, on to my explanation.
Property sold to 2 persons–who gets it?
Posted by engkanta on July 22nd, 2007
Mr. A sold his vacant lot, measuring 500 square meters, to Mr. B for 1.5 million pesos in 2006. A year after or in 2007, Mr. A sold the lot again to Mr. C. for the same amount.
Who between Mr. B and C has the bigger right over the property?
Real estate laws in the Philippines say the buyer in good faith who first registered the sale has priority right over the 500-square meter lot.
If Mr. C, who paid for the property a year later than Mr. B, first registered the sale with the Register of Deeds, he gets ownership of the land.
Ways foreigners can own real property in the Philippines
Posted by engkanta on July 20th, 2007
John Smith, a natural born US citizen of American descent, is thinking of retiring in the Philippines and wants to buy a house and lot in Cebu.
Can Smith and other foreigners like him acquire real property in the Philippines?
Generally, no, said Cesar E. Santos, a licensed realtor, appraiser, and consultant. Santos conducted a whole-day review for our class one Saturday last May on the possible questions to expect during the real estate licensure examination.
The Philippine Constitution, starting with the 1935 enactment, strictly limits ownership of land to Filipinos.
There are, however, certain exceptions to this rule, Santos added.
Passing the licensure exam for brokers
Posted by engkanta on July 18th, 2007
After two months of waiting, the results are finally out. I passed the licensure exam for brokers given last May 27 at the Cebu Normal University. Yay!
I don’t know how well I did in the exam. I just received a letter from a Cebu chapter official of the National Real Estate Association Inc. (NREA), which conducted our review by the way, congratulating me and I guess all the passers.
I still have to find how many of my classmates passed. I tried calling the NREA office today but I got an answering machine.
Our oath taking ceremonies, said NREA Cebu chapter president Jun Gultiano Jr. in his letter, will be on the July 28, a Saturday. That’s one day before my birthday. This is the best birthday gift ever.
I can’t wait to go into the practice. If you’re thinking of buying real property in Cebu, leave me a message here. I just might have what you need or refer you to others who do.
What’s a fee simple?
Posted by engkanta on June 11th, 2007
Hint. It’s neither a fee nor is it simple.
Rather, the term is used to refer to the “bundle of rights” that accompany ownership of real property.
The “fee simple” is the largest bundle available for private ownership of land.
Included in the bundle of rights under “fee simple” are: right to occupy and use, right to build, right to restrict use, right to mine, drill, or farm, right to mortgage, right to easements, right to exclude others, right to sell, right to give away or abandon, right to refuse to sell, right to rent or lease, right to license, right to the fruits, and right to devise by will.
Hence, real estate ownership is also really just ownership of the rights to the land.
When a real property is mortgaged, this may be viewed as removing one right from the bundle and giving it to third parties (such as a bank or other financing institutions ).
Four people you meet in real estate practice
Posted by engkanta on June 8th, 2007
You see them at malls manning exhibits of subdivision developments, say Filinvest Land Inc.’s Corona del Mar or Commonwealth Estate Inc.’s Collinwood.
They entertain you during open houses of subdivision or condominium projects and show you around the house models or condo units that are for sale.
They take you “tripping”—the term used in the Philippine realty service to describe the practice of bringing prospective buyers to one or more properties so they can choose what best suits them.
They’re known as real estate brokers and because of the nature of their profession, they need to be a little bit of a PR person, lawyer, accountant, conciliator, geodetic engineer, says Trade and Industry Regulatory Division-Cebu Province chief Zaide C. Bation.