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[QUOTE=Bill Buxton]I have many frends in Subic and they have permanint redicence, not a citicenship.My mistake.Please forgive me for the mix up.They have info for having investors visa?or simmilar reference so you post so much in a bank and can prove the required amount through the bank and somehow be able to own a piece of property.I never was that interested in staying more than 6 months at a time.
B.B...[/QUOTE]
Ah, ok, that's a different story, though Permanent Residency doesn't give you the right to own land, it simply means you can stay forever without any further visa renewal and you acquire a bunch of documents to make various financial transactions easier (though those are things you can do anyway). You can own anything else, just not land, according to the letter of the law you need to be a citizen to do that. Of course as many have pointed out, there are various ways around that restriction.
My earlier question about acquiring citizenship still stands in case anyone has some answers.
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Unsure
I have ben told about an anti dummy law that prohibits anyone using a person,resident of this country to purchase land,or houses.The deal as I understood it was that many guys would buy and do buy properties here and put them in another persons name.You can tigh it up with power of attorneys and such but that is a court thing.You can also put property in a corporation and proceed that way.That looks smarter to me and rent the property back to yourself at a per month fee.Paper shuffel.This must be done with a wife,girlfrend,and the other person must have a certain amount of shares in the corp.
Different ways and different styles for what ever you like.Better off renting and not getting caught with your pants down.
B.B...
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Thanks...
[QUOTE=Bill Buxton]You can find a gal almost anywhere to do all of the above for you.Figure out where you want to live and I am sure within one day you will find a gal that fits the bill.Yes some or most bar gals will do what you request.Just because they boom boom guys from the bar does not mean they will not want a domestic situation with extra benefits.The count is endless.
Play safe, B.B...[/QUOTE]Having spent more time RTFF I am starting to understand your point all the better. Thanks, sounds no different than the Filipinas I've met working as expats.
What about short-time bungalow or condo rentals, for say 30-60 days? Can one simply pick up a paper and find one, or is there a better resource you can recommend? It turns out I am stuck here in Baghdad until at least October, but I want to start planning now if only to give myself something to look forward to and not toss myself under a hummer.
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where to stay
First thing STAY SAFE OVER THERE.Where do you want to stay in the P.I.? You can find many gals that can do the looking for you and you can follow up by making the final decision.Makes them feel wanted and useful.They will also get a better deal than you or I will because of the skin tax we are expected to pay.Many hotels give rates by the month,week and I have some info on the Subic area on those places.There are many condo's apartments available everywhere depending on price.I saw a post on the Angelis board about a rent today infact.Please anyone jump in here if you can give a heads up.
B.B...
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[QUOTE=Bill Buxton]First thing STAY SAFE OVER THERE.Where do you want to stay in the P.I.? You can find many gals that can do the looking for you and you can follow up by making the final decision.Makes them feel wanted and useful.They will also get a better deal than you or I will because of the skin tax we are expected to pay. ... Please anyone jump in here if you can give a heads up.
B.B...[/QUOTE]
Um, maybe. Maybe not. Yes there's seemingly a "skin" tax, but depending on how well you can negotiate in Tagalog (meaning once they believe you're as Pinoy as they are despite your looks) then it's down to your skill vrs their skill vrs their hunger for some of your money. Depending on the area, one might discover that having the girl negotiate for you gets you taken as the foreigner fool unable to make his own way in a strange country, and gets you a higher rate not lower.
If you have the skills to establish a level playing field with whoever you're negotiating with, you might just come out ahead doing the talking. If what you hear isn't what you need to hear, don't be shy about saying so (in clear Tagalog), thank them politely for their time and wander away. You might suddenly be offered a much better deal if the landlord is hungry, as is often the case. Of course if you're not up to it, then let the girl take your reigns, maybe she knows more than you do, or maybe not. Maybe you got off the place for the first time today, but is your girl fresh in "from the province" with grade6 education, still more capable than you? Maybe, you decide. Yes, I let my (now) wife do all this when I was completely green here. Your girl might not have the same education, experience, and maturity, so factor that in.
Needless to say, I rarely need to rent a place these days unless my wife's NOT with me. Otherwise now it's up to me to find the real deals, and if it's something she needs to know about I'll pull her into the negotiation if that seems prudent at the time. Pinays seem to be more willing to settle for higher prices when it's your money and not theirs. I'm "koriput" at the right times and don't mind being told so at all, since there's a fine line between being tight with one's money and being alternatively labelled as a "wise spender".
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[QUOTE=Tolstoy]What about short-time bungalow or condo rentals, for say 30-60 days? Can one simply pick up a paper and find one, or is there a better resource you can recommend?[/QUOTE]
Without offhand knowing your intended venue, I'll make a general and hopefully useful suggestion. While it's hard to wind up somewhere where money won't get you an ok place to sleep the first night, if you really want a comfort factor then both a room somwhere in your intended venue via an X-pat-operated Phils travel agency. In this situation, if you already know the girl you're coming to see and know her well enough to trust her, let her book your first night here.
Once you've stowed your bags and wake up with your new loved-one the next morning, if you need to extend, you're very unlikely to get kicked out, and if the unthinkable happens then you've got all day to find out about numerous options for your second night. By your second night you should however have already done some local footwork, meeting, and negotiating what you want for you forseeable future residence requirements. Take a long walk your first day, or maybe a short one, pay attention, and you should find what you want. I walked by the place I stayed my first night here for the next year+, it turned out to be that close. That should give you a couple of years to figure out where you want to build your house to retire to.
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Awesome info, guys.
Thanks for the heads up. I've never been to the PI before, but I have heard good things about Cebu. I don't want a polluted city, rather I want something with modern comforts but somewhere I can relax, have no concept of time, and not worry about some dude yelling Allahu Akbar just before he pulls the pin.
And of course, not worry about laundry, cooking, or going blind!
Sounds like I have nothing to worry about... if I spend some more time wading through the reports here between now and then, I should have all the info I need to make this a successful diversion without too much planning.
Thanks guys,
Lev
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Tolstoy, give me a PM
[quote=tolstoy]thanks for the heads up. i've never been to the pi before, but i have heard good things about cebu. i don't want a polluted city, rather i want something with modern comforts but somewhere i can relax, have no concept of time, and not worry about some dude yelling allahu akbar just before he pulls the pin.
and of course, not worry about laundry, cooking, or going blind!
sounds like i have nothing to worry about... if i spend some more time wading through the reports here between now and then, i should have all the info i need to make this a successful diversion without too much planning.
thanks guys,
lev[/quote]
tolstoy give me a pm i can give you some info on rent etc. also check into some hotels such as northwinds (close to sunflower) castle peak, eddies and khan e rhag some of these places are under p1,000. safety wise you are probably safer in cebu than any where else in the pi, even drunk and acting like an asshole on colon street people are likely to let you alone, the mayor and the chief of police take a very dim view of locals harming foreigners, there is currently a davao style vigilante death squad sorting things out (armed robbers, kidnappers, [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url] etc.) to show their displeasure over the local "justice system".
a few places to make "expat" connects are around, the cadillac in lapyu lapu (or is it mandaue) is a great place run by a good ol boy from alabama, treat you like royalty there, great place lots of cuties on the weekend, decent food, decent prices.
spamhog
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i would stay away from "eddies hotel." stayed there a few months ago and the room was terrible, i.e., not clean, broken toilet they repeatedly pretended to fix, while the food in the resteraunt was cold with poor service to boot.
[quote=spam hog]tolstoy give me a pm i can give you some info on rent etc. also check into some hotels such as northwinds (close to sunflower) castle peak, eddies and khan e rhag some of these places are under p1,000. safety wise you are probably safer in cebu than any where else in the pi, even drunk and acting like an asshole on colon street people are likely to let you alone, the mayor and the chief of police take a very dim view of locals harming foreigners, there is currently a davao style vigilante death squad sorting things out (armed robbers, kidnappers, [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url] etc.) to show their displeasure over the local "justice system".
a few places to make "expat" connects are around, the cadillac in lapyu lapu (or is it mandaue) is a great place run by a good ol boy from alabama, treat you like royalty there, great place lots of cuties on the weekend, decent food, decent prices.
spamhog[/quote]
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I stand corrected
[QUOTE=Billpsu]I would stay away from "Eddies Hotel." Stayed there a few months ago and the room was terrible, i.e., not clean, broken toilet they repeatedly pretended to fix, while the food in the resteraunt was cold with poor service to boot.[/QUOTE]
Ok, Bill, sounds like you got a bad expereince, but on that note I would also caution any one that the same is like to happen anywhere at any hotel in the PI, its just how things are here. Actaully most motel 6 or "road apple mote;ls" the kind coast to coast truckers stay at in the US are five star hotels compared to most PI hotels, plumbing doesn't work, hot water is only available half the time, strange odors on the carpet and the cockroaches put on a floor show after 10 PM.
Most of the hotels I named I stayed at plus a few opthers and I've found faults in everyone of them, probably the worst place is Khan e Rhag, but for peso pinching you can't beat it.
Regards
Spamhog
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Its a shame, in the past Eddies was a place you could count on for a good room at a decent price, and good food.
[QUOTE=Spam Hog]Ok, Bill, sounds like you got a bad expereince, but on that note I would also caution any one that the same is like to happen anywhere at any hotel in the PI, its just how things are here. Actaully most motel 6 or "road apple mote;ls" the kind coast to coast truckers stay at in the US are five star hotels compared to most PI hotels, plumbing doesn't work, hot water is only available half the time, strange odors on the carpet and the cockroaches put on a floor show after 10 PM.
Most of the hotels I named I stayed at plus a few opthers and I've found faults in everyone of them, probably the worst place is Khan e Rhag, but for peso pinching you can't beat it.
Regards
Spamhog[/QUOTE]
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Condo
I'm thinking about purchasing a condo in the Makati area and saw an add for the Makati Executive Tower 2 opening in 2007. Has anyone looked at this condo complex and location? And if you have could you tell me if the one bedroom units there are worth the $34,000 they're asking for? Thanks for any info you can provide.
Yella Man
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[QUOTE=Yella Man]I'm thinking about purchasing a condo in the Makati area and saw an add for the Makati Executive Tower 2 opening in 2007. Has anyone looked at this condo complex and location? And if you have could you tell me if the one bedroom units there are worth the $34,000 they're asking for? Thanks for any info you can provide.
Yella Man[/QUOTE]
I don't know those particular condos but that seems like a fair price for Makati. In general I have found condos developed by Ayala to be more expensive than those developed by Robinson. You might want to see what Robinson Group has in Makati or maybe even in the Fort area - which may still be Makati.
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[QUOTE=Yella Man]I'm thinking about purchasing a condo in the Makati area and saw an add for the Makati Executive Tower 2 opening in 2007. Has anyone looked at this condo complex and location? And if you have could you tell me if the one bedroom units there are worth the $34,000 they're asking for? Thanks for any info you can provide.Yella Man[/QUOTE]$34,000, ok, but *WHAT* $ ? HongKong$ ?, Canadian$?, US$ ?, Ausie$ ? NZ$ ?, something else? We're talking "$" here, ok, not Francs or Kronas or Deutchmarks or Euros or Yen or Rubles or Dinar or domestic Cuban Pesos or something else weird, but *whos* dollars? Obviously the currency will have some dramatic effect on the math.
Making a wild guess at some momentary reference point, at the moment *if*US$ then that's what, about 1.8million PHP? That's between median and cheap for a condo in any decent place in Metro Manila in mid-2006, and at that price I would presume it's at best a "studio", not with bedrooms etc, otherwise one can easily pay between 2 and 8 million PHP for something more luxurious. That isn't meant to imply that better value isn't available elsewhere. You might be able to do better but it will be even harder from afar than from here. You need to do some legwork to determine that. There is no good bargain-hunting substitute for being on the ground in-place, meaning you can't pinch Pesos unless you can touch them. From afar, what's the "square-meter" count? Let that be your basic guide.
Also, current Phils inflation rates induce RealEstate appreciation at the 10-20% range, depending on loction and related factors. That may change tommorrow, but that's the fact over the last few years, basically lock-step with currency inflation, no surprise there.
Don't neglect that currency exchange rates flutuate. Let's put it this way, a few years ago most $ currencies were less than half of what they are now relative to PHP. You can just put up you cash in full on the spot, or gamble while making what I consider high-interest amortization payment and play the game depending on your economic knowledge and how good your personal crystal ball miight be. It made a whopping big difference for me in the last few years, though YMMY.
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CanContrib,
That would be US dollars. I'll probably take you advice and do lots of leg work before I settle on my first purchase. I plan on buying several before I retire there in 2018. Cebu, Batangas, and the Angeles area's are other places I'm interested in. Thanks for the info.
Yella Man