Once upon a time, a property owner discovered that the boundaries on his land title overlapped with those of the neighboring property. To resolve the issue, he hired a geodetic engineer to conduct a survey and establish the correct tie points. Once the survey was completed, only one step remained: have the Municipal Assessor update its records. So he went to the Municipal Assessor's Office. The assessor told him, "Before we can process this, you first need to pay your real pr

The more responsibilities you have, the less you should rely on memory. I was reminded of this while reading about the Harvard Business School case method. Unlike a traditional lecture, professors facilitate discussions among roughly 80 students, where class participation forms part of each student's grade. That raises an obvious question. How do they remember who made a thoughtful comment? One tool they use is a seating chart with student photos. By matching faces to names a

Lately, I've been seeing videos promoting pre-selling properties because of the attractive discounts and flexible payment terms. The usual pitch is simple: pay the down payment over several years, then just finance the balance through a bank. But here's the question nobody asks: can you actually qualify for the bank loan when turnover comes? As a general rule, banks prefer that your total monthly debt obligations—including your housing loan—do not exceed about 40% of your gro

(This is an update to an old post.) Once upon a time, a real estate broker discovered... ...that his own sister had bought a pre-selling residential lot. Through another broker. A project that–he himself was accredited to sell. 😐 True story. Don't worry—he wasn't upset. ... ... ... Okay, maybe just a little. 😂 Lesson: Don't assume your relatives, friends, or acquaintances know that you can help them with their real estate transactions. Sometimes they simply don't know, or i

On July 8, the BIR issued RMC No. 75-2026, answering FAQs on taxation, including several that affect RE transactions. I find this memo particularly useful because it gives practitioners a written basis for challenging interpretations that are inconsistent with official BIR policy. Here are some that caught my attention: 1. The spouse's TIN is not required. It is generally needed only if the property is conjugal property. So take note of the headings ("Sps. A and B" vs. "A mar

Once upon a time, a new broker had a residential lot listed in Tagaytay. Another broker called and said she had a buyer interested in viewing the property. They agreed to meet on a Saturday at 9:00 AM. Knowing traffic to Tagaytay could be unpredictable, the broker left early and arrived at 7:30 AM. He messaged that he was already there and that they could take their time. Apparently, "take your time" meant arriving at 12:30 PM. Fortunately, he had Mobile Legends on his phone.

Last week, I wrote about AI’s potential impact on the Philippine IT-BPM industry after IBPAP lowered its best-case 2028 revenue target by 14%. Someone familiar with the industry shared an important observation: although hiring growth may be slowing, some IT-BPM companies are requiring more office space per employee. The traditional BPO setup prioritized compact cubicles and maximizing the number of seats on each floor. But as the industry shifts toward more complex and higher

If you're involved in RE transactions, take note. A relatively recent change in the BIR's filing process for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) can create unexpected delays and expose taxpayers to penalties. The Old Process 1. Accomplish the CGT and DST forms using the offline eBIRForms application or by encoding the PDF forms. 2. Print the forms. 3. Pay at the bank. There was no need to wait for any electronic confirmation before payment. The New Process

The IT-BPM industry has just lowered its targets for 2028. IBPAP now expects the industry to generate around $50.5 billion in revenue by 2028, down from its original target of $59 billion—a 14% reduction even under its best-case scenario. According to IBPAP, the revised projections reflect the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, changing client behavior and intensifying global competition. Personally, I believe AI is the biggest concern. As I’ve mentioned before, I hav

Once upon a time, a property sale was finally nearing completion. The sale was financed by a bank. Although the Deed of Absolute Sale had already been signed, the seller would receive the balance only after the title and tax declaration had been transferred to the buyer’s name and submitted to the bank. After several weeks, everything was finally done. The title and tax dec had been transferred and the docs had been submitted to the bank. Only one task remained: collect the s