A Thought Experiment in Real Estate (and Daydreaming) The US Powerball—the American equivalent of the Philippine Lottery—has climbed to a staggering USD 1.1 Bn as of December 14, 2025. But as with all lotteries, the headline number is fiction. If you actually win and choose the lump-sum payout, after US federal taxes (and assuming you’re in a no-state-tax jurisdiction), what lands in your hands is roughly: USD 275–340 Mn net or equivalently Php 15–19 Bn Still absurdly life-ch

Once upon a time, a business owner in the manufacturing industry found himself facing a good problem to have: demand was growing faster than his capacity. To keep up, he decided to lease a second warehouse and convert it into another manufacturing facility. After weeks of searching, he struck gold. The warehouse was almost perfect—flood-free, minimal repairs required, low rent, and immediately usable. Paperwork was signed, keys were turned over, and machines were lined up. Ex

Are developers legally required to deliver the title within six months? No. Many people recall a supposed “6-month rule” under Presidential Decree No. 957 (Subdivision and Condo Buyers’ Protective Decree). But that memory is usually misplaced. What PD 957 actually says, under Sec. 25, is this: “The owner or developer shall deliver the title of the lot or unit to the buyer upon full payment of the lot or unit…” Once fully paid, the developer must initiate the transfer and deli

Let’s play a quick zoning-and-tax-base puzzle. In the photo is the iconic house from the animated movie “Up.” For those unfamiliar with the movie, Carl’s (main character) house in Up is a small, colorful wooden home that looks like it came straight out of a storybook. Over time, towering gray buildings rise around it as developers buy out the entire neighborhood. But Carl refuses to sell. His little house becomes the last remaining holdout, a lone splash of color in a sea of

Why do some developers take forever to process title transfers—when an individual doing it alone can wrap things up in 3 months? It’s one of the great mysteries of Philippine real estate...but the reasons, while frustrating, are surprisingly simple: 1. The Batch-Processing Bottleneck Developers don’t process titles one-by-one; they move in batches. If their internal rule is “start processing once 50 units are sold,” and you happen to be Buyer No. 1… congratulations, you’re no

Congress may have passed a bill to revive and extend the Estate Tax Amnesty until 2028—but don’t expect a full surge in estate settlements just yet. Two years ago, we invited Atty. Jojo Mejia to speak on Estate Settlement Taxation and Planning in the Light of TRAIN Law. His talk focused less on theory and more on the uncomfortable truth: the real bottleneck isn’t the tax. It’s the people. In practice, estates remain unsettled not because heirs refuse to pay, but because famil

Once upon a time, a family stood on the brink of letting go of their beloved seaside estate—an ancestral sanctuary stretching six hectares, complete with its own quiet cove where generations of kids once chased tides and built sand castles. A large portion of the land wasn’t even beach real estate at all; they were humble fish ponds that fed the caretaker for years. But when the sale was finally completed and the taxes were computed, reality hit hard: the government assessed

What’s the usual due diligence process—and why wouldn’t it have caught this mess? 1. Secure certified copies of the Title and Tax Dec. a. Everything matched perfectly. The names appeared consistently across the CCT, Tax Dec, and passports. b. No liens or mortgages were annotated. Title was clean. 2. Verify the TINs. a. The TINs matched the numbers provided. 3. No CENOMAR was required. They already submitted a Canadian marriage certificate, meaning they weren’t claiming to be

ALERT: Here’s a red flag your due diligence process probably won’t catch. (We would’ve missed it too if this were our transaction.) A Filipino couple was set to buy a condo from a foreigner and a Filipina partner. No brokers involved. On paper, everything looked clean. Facts: Sellers disclosed: “We got married in Canada.” They presented a Canadian marriage certificate. Title: shows John Doe (foreigner) and Luz B. Reyes — both listed as single. Luz’s passport: Luz Borromeo Rey

Dear LGUs, Paying real property taxes shouldn’t feel like an obstacle course—but right now it does. Here’s why: Taxpayers must personally visit city hall just to get a billing. For those with properties outside Metro Manila, that means entire days lost to travel. Parking is a nightmare, forcing taxpayers to bring a driver just so they can attempt the errand. Cash or Manager’s Check only—except for Taguig and Pasig—means people are literally withdrawing stacks of money just to