BUYING PHILIPPINE REAL ESTATE? PLAN FOR THE DAY YOU SELL

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 important when the buyer is financing the purchase through a bank, since loan proceeds are typically released locally and may be issued as a manager’s check payable to the registered seller.

Without a Philippine bank account, receiving and eventually moving those proceeds abroad can become more complicated.

Yes, funds can be remitted overseas. But a large outward remittance involving proceeds from a property sale will require proper documentation and bank compliance checks. You may need to show documents establishing the source of the funds and the underlying transaction.

There’s also a practical closing problem.

If payment has to be remitted directly overseas, when does the seller release the title and signed documents? Before the funds arrive? After? And when does the buyer authorize the transfer?

A manager’s check deposited into the seller’s Philippine account makes the mechanics of closing much cleaner.

One more thing for married sellers: check how your names appear on the title and how the buyer’s bank will issue payment. If the manager’s check is payable jointly to both spouses, depositing it can require an appropriately titled joint account and compliance with the receiving bank’s rules.

So if you’re buying Philippine real estate and expect to live abroad someday, don’t think only about how you’ll BUY the property.

Plan how you’ll eventually sell it and receive the money.

A Philippine bank account may look like a minor detail today. Years later, it could make a major difference.