# Buying land for Filipina to use with out risking loss?



## amygdalas (Dec 27, 2020)

I am a US citizen, living in the US.
I have a close Filipina friend, who I know has one of the most valuable personality types in the business world. I would love to give her the opportunity to run a business. She has an idea to buy farmland, which she would use to start her business. Is there anyway for her to buy the land with my money, but be legally required to sell the land and return the money upon my request?

1) I'm willing to get married IF necessary
2) I am willing to invest $200k
3) A return on investment of 5% yearly would be nice, since other wise I'd be losing as much due to inflation and opportunity cost.


I know this is a tall ask, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding resources. I would appreciate being guided to potential information resources if the answer is too long to be typed out.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

amygdalas said:


> I am a US citizen, living in the US.
> I have a close Filipina friend, who I know has one of the most valuable personality types in the business world. I would love to give her the opportunity to run a business. She has an idea to buy farmland, which she would use to start her business. Is there anyway for her to buy the land with my money, but be legally required to sell the land and return the money upon my request?
> 
> 1) I'm willing to get married IF necessary
> ...


I don't know where to start other than have you actually spent time here and are you a woman? Your name indicates that you might be a woman, if I'm wrong I apologize in advance and if so there's no such thing as same sex marriage here it's not recognized and if if you were married or living here on an SRRV you can only own 40% of the land the other 60% will go to the partner, not good.

You wouldn't want to send anyone any money here and good luck ever seeing your money again the courts will be costly and as foreigners we are not allowed to own land only condos, this is a 3rd world country get ready for some wake up calls. Will her personality have a lifetime worth of farming capabilities, farming equipment, fertilizer costs or is she just going to hire people to do all the work and then no profit... wow, so does she have any business and leadership skills.

Find books on Philippine Culture and please read also there is a guy that might have some very helpful videos on YouTube he goes by the name Resort Rebel look him up watch his many videos on business.

Many many Expats have lost their nest eggs here and so if all this upsets you I am sorry but you need to be warned and I feel I've done my best to warn a possible new Expat to our forum of the dangers of sending money.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Never invest in the Philippines more than you are prepared to walk away from.


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## Zep (Jun 8, 2017)

My advise would be to keep your money in the US if you want to preserve it or make any money on it. Money spent in the Philippines is used for living expenses or your personal pleasure. I would never consider having a business over here as everything is a con and even your relatives will not treat your money well.

Why $200K for farmland? That is an insane amount of land (hectares). What does she plan to do with the land?


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Zep said:


> Why $200K for farmland? That is an insane amount of land (hectares).


 Even if buying land for the whole amount it would be just 25 hectares, which is a *small *farm in US/Europe messure. (Expect at least 40p/m2 if it is for fertile flat *field *farmland. If other "Agricultural" land the price can be much less.

*BUT if I have understood correct it's a max 5 hectares rule concerning "rice land" *(except for them who had it before that law.)


Zep said:


> What does she plan to do with the land?


 That I wonder too  to see if her business mind is as good as you think, amygdalas. It's possible it is, a few earn good, but most earn bad at farming. Which island? =Is there any big market in city within same covid region to get less problem with transports?


amygdalas said:


> Is there anyway for her to buy the land with my money, but be legally required to sell the land and return the money upon my request?
> 
> 1) I'm willing to get married IF necessary
> 2) I am willing to invest $200k
> 3) A return on investment of 5% yearly would be nice, since other wise I'd be losing as much due to inflation and opportunity cost.


Well. As others have told it isn't sure you as foreigner will winn in court even if you were suppoused to winn 100% if the court would follow the laws, so in Phils there are no secure investments for foreigners. (But I'm doing one myself anyway  but with an interesting share of the incomes, but a good share to the Filipino too.)

Alternatives where you get SOME protection:
*LOCK UP! so officials don't believe you break "The Anti-Dummy law".* By that yoiu can't have demand right to get the land sold anytime you want, but possible if a loan deal is broken by her by being very late in paying the loan. Otherwice if the loan time has *expired*.
A. You lend her money made official loan with the land as collateral. At TITLED land Official noted at Register of Deeds, then it can't be sold without paying to loan. You will need to pay tax at the interest.

B. Starting a company together where you own 40 % share. Then lend some of the money to the company to get some ballance to you put in much more money. TERRIBLE high tax by double taxing IF get pay by dividents - if geting good results 

C. By marriage you have legal right to half of the values at separation but you CAN¨T have the control as foreigner. But without prenup she will have right to half of your other assets too 
NOTE! By marrying a foreigner she will LOSE some rights Filipinos have because you will be counted as ONE unit (=foreigner) in some laws point of view. So you can't make legal deals with your wife (except a prenup in advance.) I don't know if this make she can't own land as a full Filipino, most say can, some say can't by counted as one. But it would be odd if a Filipina owning land before marriage, would have to sell by marriage.

D. Joint Venture. Some similar to company but a deal between organisations/businesses/individuals where each tax for it's own share. Specified in the deal, who pay what, who contribute with which assets to use and who do which parts of work. The normal for such is they are timelimited, but I suppouse can be extended/made new similar if both agree. 


Btw - It's possible a *bank *can lend her the big part of the money  (I believe max 80 % is common) with the land as collateral, so you can put in a much smaller amount. Common interest in banks for such has been 6.5-12 % per year (before covid). I don't know if it has changed. Ask for instance Landbank, or good real estate agents have often bank contacts so they can solve geting loan to finance part. 

A successful Filipino (before covid) own only some land but *LEASE most of the land *he use to get the crops, which he transported to Manila. By (partly) lease can perhaps her business idea be tested before making it big? (Except if big investment is needed for refining manufactory.
OR isn't her business idea short time to harvest type crops (as e g fruit trees) ?

5 % is very low, specialy if part of the loan isn't covered by official collareral. Up to 2 % per *month *is sure legal. If writing in a loan contract the interest can be renegotiated you can put a high interest at the cointract, but agree to less if you want to - BEFORE it become so you will have to pay tax at the part you don't get 

If the business idea is so good as she say, then she can pay back the loan amount step by step too  I don't know if Phil law demand an end date at loans (but US do to be legal according to Judge Judy  But you can want an end date anyway, which can be long, so you get an exit right to use if you will want to when geting to that time. (E g banks in Phils have often up to a bit over 10 years when it is real estate.)


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## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

Lunkan said:


> without prenup she will have right to half of your other assets


She will only have the right to half of a) anything purchased after the marriage, and only then if b) it was paid for by money that is _not _exclusively his.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Shadowman said:


> She will only have the right to half of a) anything purchased after the marriage, and only then if b) it was paid for by money that is _not _exclusively his.


 Correctr. I mixed up with how it is in normal countries


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## amygdalas (Dec 27, 2020)

Lunkan said:


> Even if buying land for the whole amount it would be just 25 hectares, which is a *small *farm in US/Europe messure. (Expect at least 40p/m2 if it is for fertile flat *field *farmland. If other "Agricultural" land the price can be much less.
> 
> *BUT if I have understood correct it's a max 5 hectares rule concerning "rice land" *(except for them who had it before that law.)
> That I wonder too  to see if her business mind is as good as you think, amygdalas. It's possible it is, a few earn good, but most earn bad at farming. Which island? =Is there any big market in city within same covid region to get less problem with transports?
> ...


Thank you for this phenomenal response, I continue to come back and read it. I think many others will find it helpful as well.


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