# Need Real Estate Agent and Lawyer near Santa Rosa, Calamba, Los Banos



## mrmichaelrb (Aug 9, 2019)

Hello, I am a United States citizen who is currently living in the U.S., but would like to purchase/lease a house and move to the Philippines in the next year.

I’ve already visited Calamba City several times and feel that this is a place that I would like to live. In particular, I’m looking at places between Calamba and Los Banos, Mount Makiling and Laguna Lake. I am not interested in a townhouse or a condominium.

I need a buyer’s agent, real estate lawyer, and other assistance to help me with the process of acquiring and moving into a home near Calamba. I am already aware that directly owning property in the Philippines as a foreigner is not really possible, although there are alternatives such as long-term leases and forming corporations with minority ownership. I do not speak Tagalog, and will need help dealing with the legal, logistical, and local cultural issues.

I would appreciate a referral to someone who might be able to help me in these matters.

Thank you,
Michael


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

Micheal welcome to the forum and I hope somebody can help you on this and it appears you've done your homework.

Try using Facebook they have realtors on their and be cautious of working out any deals and I wouldn't send any money here what so ever, the realtors in our area are located next to the highway, most offices aren't that big, I live in between Los Banos and Sta Cruz Laguna. 

You would also want to check out the various high traffic area's, I like Los Banos Laguna but they have this bottleneck area that at times like a parking lot that can slow you up about 30 -45 minutes traveling mainly North so I guess if you lived in the northern part of Los Banos Laguna you'd be okay. Calamba has a lot to offer but now I'm seeing two more large malls nearly completed one in Sta Cruz Laguna and the other just south of the Los Banos bottle neck area, Sta Cruz is a large city and I do my banking there.

What about your immigration status are you prepared in this area, it's a pain doing it from here, are you going for the SRRV or 13A status? Good luck and hope to hear more from you.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Michael, from me also welcome and hope you enjoy and gain info here. M.C.A. offers good advice and is on the ground for your chosen area. I am up north in La Union so have no Idea there but I will offer my experiences from my neck of the woods, relative perhaps. Firstly do your homework then do it again and again, visit/spend time in the locale you chose, definitely boots on the ground helps. OMO but trust no one, sellers, agents nor attorneys, if you are looking at investing your hard earned cash here, invest wisely and as others say only invest what you are willing to lose.

The biggest realestate agent in San Fernando City told many mistruths to both the seller and us, the attorney that they recommended and yes we appointed, while yes a good price disappeared halfway through the sale (relocated to Manila and couldn't be contacted) and another had to be appointed and we made the agent pay for that to finalise as we already paid her fees upon his recommendation, I could go on and on as many here could; simple things like the value of the property to BIR for capitol gains taxes (seller pays) the agent told both us and the seller the taxes due for the seller, though both us and the seller questioned their low appraisal for taxes we were assured that all was good and would be accepted for capitol gains taxes, put into a contract and 2 months later the agent was chasing us for the extra revenue as the BIR valued it more than he advised, some PHP 150K more in extra taxes, a dozen or more emails and ethical arguments the agent bore the cost out of his commission from the seller. Yes I am rambling but we did stand our ground on these issues, the long and short is boots on the ground and savour the flavours, find your own attorney that is recommended by expats in your area and not one recommended by a realestate agent, never trust a realestate agent or private seller, due diligence. (we had dealings with others that saw a white man and asked us to invest in their misery, no thanks). Michael, doing business in PH. is 500% different to western countries.

I wish you luck but advise extreme caution.

Cheers, Steve.


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## mrmichaelrb (Aug 9, 2019)

M.C.A. said:


> Calamba has a lot to offer but now I'm seeing two more large malls nearly completed one in Sta Cruz Laguna and the other just south of the Los Banos bottle neck area, Sta Cruz is a large city and I do my banking there.


I don't have any experience in Santa Cruz, but it just feels a bridge too far (from Manila) for my comfort level. I'd like to be away from Manila, but not too far away. Honestly, Los Banos is stretching it for me.

I also have a dual-citizenship U.S./Filipino friend living in Calamba, and thus feel like I may have a bit of a safety net there, if necessary. Plus, I am familiar with the Calamba area after several multi-week long visits. I actually hoped my friend would help me with the purchase/lease/move, but he is too busy with his own issues to help me for the foreseeable future.



M.C.A. said:


> What about your immigration status are you prepared in this area, it's a pain doing it from here, are you going for the SRRV or 13A status? Good luck and hope to hear more from you.


I'm planning to apply for SRRV and put some money down due to my "youth". I haven't applied yet, but it's on the list. I'm still dealing with selling some properties over here in the U.S. to make my situation more fluid.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Groan, some members deserve. Refraining from biting my tongue.

Cheers, Steve.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

BTW you should badger your mate (that is too busy) to get the lowdown, thanks to the forums contributions including a moderator, forum opinions and input obviously mean little. I still have a lot to learn and my eyes are frequently opened here with Filipino culture but I have to admit often perplexed with supposed compatriots mind sets asking info and not acknowledging to the nth degree. 

Find your way.

Cheers, Steve.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Welcome to the forum Michael, by the sounds of your introduction you still have plenty of homework to do. If you do go the SRRV route I beleive you need to have it in place before you can utilise the deposit for a condo or long-term lease. Regarding owning land, using a corporation is illegal so be very wary of anyone offering to set one up for you.


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