Selling property below zonal value? Your VAT might be higher than you think. First, a quick reminder on when VAT even applies. Not every property sale is subject to VAT. If you're selling a personal residential property that isn't part of a business, VAT generally doesn't apply. But if you're selling a commercial property, a unit you rent out, or any real estate held for sale or lease in the ordinary course of business, VAT comes into play. That's when the next part matters.

If you’re a foreigner buying property in the Philippines—or a Filipino property owner planning to migrate abroad—here’s something you should think about before you leave: your Philippine bank account. Buying the property is only half the story. Someday, you may need to sell it. And that’s where having a local bank account can save you a lot of headaches. Real estate transactions in the Philippines are still commonly settled through manager’s checks. This becomes especially im

In this week’s episode of what can go wrong in real estate... A deal was practically ready to close. The seller was a financial institution, the documents appeared to be in order, and the next step was routine: secure a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the title from the Registry of Deeds. Except there was one problem. The Registry of Deeds couldn’t find the title. Yep. The copy that was supposed to be on file was missing. Suddenly, what looked like a straightforward transaction

Once upon a time, an ex-banker left finance and built a catering business. He was a go-getter. Filipino food? Sure. Chinese? Italian? Japanese? Whatever the client wanted, he would find a way to serve it. Then one day, his son came home from marketing class with an idea: “Why don’t you specialize? Offer fewer things so people will remember you for something.” The father disagreed. Why limit the business when you can cater to more clients, more occasions, and more tastes? So w

Last week, we faced a huge problem fixing a property whose backyard kept flooding. The owner had replaced the water pump a year ago, so when flooding came back, our first assumption was that the pump had failed again. We preferred to wait for the old plumber because he already knew the house and how the drainage system was laid out. That delay taught us something simple: keep your plumbing and drainage plans. Years later, when something breaks, the original plumber may no lon

Once upon a time, a broker was hours away from closing a sale. The night before, he followed his usual routine and reminded the seller what to bring the next day. IDs. Documents. And, most importantly for this transaction, the owner’s duplicate copy of the title. Weeks earlier, the broker had already asked the seller to prepare everything. The title was there. The seller placed it inside an envelope together with the rest of the documents. So when the broker called the night

People still get confused about how Apostilles work, so here’s the simple version. Let’s say the seller is in South Carolina, USA, and you need him to sign an SPA authorizing you to sell his property in the Philippines. The nearest Philippine Embassy is in Washington, D.C., several hours away. Going there just to execute or authenticate the SPA can be a major hassle. So instead, you can have the document Apostilled. 1. Have the SPA notarized. The seller signs the SPA before a

If you're selling a property, should you rent it out while waiting for a buyer? My advice: if you're serious about selling, keep it vacant. Yes, leaving it empty means giving up rental income. But a tenant can make the property significantly harder to sell. The biggest problem is viewings. A serious buyer messages your broker: “Can I see the unit tomorrow at 2 PM?” Your broker now has to coordinate with the tenant. “I’m not available tomorrow.” “I work from home. After 5 PM o

Once upon a time, a couple owned a house in a posh village and a high-end condo. They were in that stage where they simply wished to see the world. So, they decided to lease out their house and stay in their condo. They got their trusted broker friend to look for a tenant. Their friend showed their house multiple times until one day, they got an offer. The prospective tenant was a top executive of a multinational company. Since the company wanted to declare the rent as an exp

In business, a “hatchet man” is someone brought in to do the unpleasant work: cut costs, restructure, and yes, sometimes fire people. Someone who can terminate ten employees before lunch, eat normally afterward, and move on—like George Clooney’s character in Up in the Air, whose job was literally firing people. Some people are built differently. Firing one person can drain them for the entire day. One of the worst corporate stories I've heard was about a manager who was pirat