Frequently Asked Questions
Agents FAQ's
We mostly focus on real estate assets in Davao City, Philippines, though we also have presence in nearby cities like Island Garden City of Samal, Panabo City, Tagum City and Digos City as well.
We provide you with a high level of individual service while also providing the best Davao City Real Estate Service and Experience. We are committed to presenting only the most current real estate investment options on our website, and we have designed it to be user-friendly so that you can easily select your preferred home investment.
Buying, selling, and renting out a home is a serious business, so we want to help first-time investors and seasoned investors alike in any way we can at no extra charge. Going above and beyond for all of our clients to ensure that the transactions at hand are completed quickly and without hiccups.
We are composed of licensed real estate brokers or realtors, and accredited real estate salesperson in Davao City, Philippines, who can help you with your real estate investment needs. As part of our commitment and concept to serve your best interests, we are happy to assist and advise you on any aspect of real estate transactions in Davao City. We’ve come to show you the several Davao City residences that are now available.
Previously, agents were the only source of information for house buyers and sellers. Agents are now changing. Expertise and skill are becoming more vital since today’s house buyers and sellers are better informed than in the past.
We may act as your agent and provide you with information and support in order to help you buy, sell, or rent a home. Even if you may find data on listings on the internet, there are times when you need the most up-to-date information on what has sold or is for sale, and the only way to get it is through an agent.
The real estate agent is becoming more of a “guide” than a “salesperson” — your personal representative in buying or selling a home.
A Real Estate Broker is a PRC duly registered and licensed professional who earns his professional fee or commission from the sale, purchase, exchange, mortgage, lease, or joint venture on real estate transaction. He/she acts as an agent in a real estate deal, who is legally authorized to offer, advertise, solicit, list, promote, mediate or negotiate the meeting of the minds of both parties, property buyer and seller.
A Real Estate Salesperson or Agent, on the other hand, is a duly accredited natural person who performs service for and on behalf of a Licensed Real Estate Broker for or in expectation of a share in the commission, professional fee, compensation, or other valuable consideration. No PRC examination is required, but the board issued a PRC Accreditation ID to practice real estate service in the Philippines under the real estate broker PRC license.
A real estate salesperson (Agent) shall be under the direct supervision and accountability of a real estate broker. With that, they cannot by themselves be signatories to a written agreement involving a real estate transaction unless, with the full knowledge of the Licensed Real Estate Broker who has direct supervision over them, is also a signatory.
Lastly, without accreditation from a Broker, an Agent cannot in any way practice Real Estate Service in the Philippines. Otherwise, they will be considered Colorum or illegally practicing real estate service in the Philippines.
Yes, we do accept full-time or part-time agents. We guide and train those interested with the following qualifications:
- Filipino Citizen
- Must have completed at least two (2) years or 72 units of college education
- Must be honest, with good moral character, and have not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude
- Willing to attend training and seminars called by the Realty Broker
Question about Buying
It’s non-refundable, especially if the buyer fails to exchange contracts within the period specified usually 28-30 days, also, developers or sellers use it to process the sale and it all costs money.
The most common is a 20% down payment, but it can also be as low as 10% which is also accepted. This is payable up to 5 years if pre-selling depending on the developer and 6 months or less if Ready For Occupancy (RFO). The 80-90% balance is loanable to a financial institution like Pagibig or Banks. If you have available cash, you can pay the 40-50% in 3-5 years without any interest and also with appealing discounts from the developer. The remaining balance will be bank finance or you can pay it also in cash.
Yes, as long as the Developer’s Real Estate Project has a Certificate of Registration (COR) and a License to Sell (LTS) from DHSUD.
And you’re buying a home from a PRC Licensed Broker or Accredited Salesperson who’s registered with DHSUD.
Pre-selling refers to the sale of a home or condo unit before it is completed, while it is still under construction, or even in the planning stages.
No, a tax declaration is not proof of ownership; it is merely a reference point for calculating taxes. You can save money by purchasing a property under a tax declaration rather than a titled property, but it could become a subject of future dispute.
With the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Administrative Order No. 2003-06 lifting the moratorium on the disposition and granting of any title, concession, permit, or lease on all small islands nationwide, certain tax-declared islands can now be titled for as long as they are classified as alienable and disposable. Certain types of land, however, may never be titled.
Question About Selling
Contact us, to offer your property for sale in our database and website as well.
Appoint a trusted person in the Philippines to be your attorney-in-fact.
Prepare a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) for your attorney-in-fact, notarized, and authenticated by the Philippine embassy in the state where you are residing at the moment. The SPA can either be general or with limitations.
Yes, the foreign or Filipino spouse needs to sign the deed of sale under marital consent.
The most common Real Estate Broker’s Professional Fee rate for a sale transaction from an individual owner is 5%.
Though there’s this common practice, it can always be negotiated prior to offering the property for sale also.
Photocopy of the Title, Tax Declaration, and Lot Plan.
Signed Authority to Sell document.
Yes, if you don’t have the CCT, you can use the DOAS issued by the Developer upon full payment.
Another way is what we call Assume-Balance, using the CTS you can appoint the continuation of payment to your buyer just coordinate with your developer or using your DOAS coordinate with your bank.
No! If you sell your unit, you are also selling interest, rights as well as membership and share holdings in the Condo Corp. So you will be an outsider after the sale has been realized.
When you are selling a real estate property in the Philippines, either seller or buyer pays the following taxes and fees:
- Professional Fee – 5%
- Capital Gains Tax 6%
- Documentary Stamp Tax 1.5%
- Transfer Tax .5 of 1%
- Registration Fee .25%
- Notarial Fee 1%
The computation is base on selling price or zonal value, depending on which is higher.
Question about renting
The deposit is the landlord’s form of security. It’s meant to answer for unpaid rent and damages you as tenant may cause on the leased premises. It will be returned to you at the end of the lease contract after any charges have been deducted. The advance is just rent paid early.
The landlord can have you evicted by filing a court case. As a general rule, the landlord may file the case only after demanding that to pay, vacate his property, and if you fail to comply within five days or the period stated in your contract.
The landlord. This falls under wear and tear that he must answer for. It’s his job to keep the property safe and fit to live in. (This includes pest control.) If the landlord refuses to make repairs, you may suspend paying rent until repairs are made or make immediate repairs charged to the landlord.
The law doesn’t limit how often a landlord can inspect it, but of course he should do so at a reasonable time.
The buyer can evict you if he wasn’t made aware of the agreement between you and your landlord (to honor your lease contract upon sale of the condo). To prevent eviction, have your lease contract annotated on the title of the property before the Registry of Deeds at the district where your condo is situated.
Other Questions
CTS (Contract To Sell) is a document that simply binds the Seller/Developer and the Buyer on the promise that the Seller/Developer will deliver a specified unit of real estate and the buyer will be required to pay a specific sum within a specific time frame. It also serves as a safeguard for you as a buyer against inflation, raw material price increases, salary increases for labor, project price increases, and so on.
DOAS (Deed Of Absolute Sale) is a legal document that certifies that the transfer of property rights from the Seller/Developer to the Buyer has occurred when the whole selling price has been paid. It must be notarized and contain the following information: the Seller’s/and Developer’s Buyer’s names, TCT numbers, technical descriptions, and the agreed-upon Selling Price. It must also be documented at the Registry of Deeds, which will serve as the basis for the CCT or TCT.
TCT or Transfer of Certificate of Title is legal documentary evidence of the property rights of certain private land.
CCT or Condominium Certificate of Title is the legal document for a condominium unit. It contains the unit’s geophysical location with measurement, floor & unit no., name of the developer, and the owner’s name.
You can check their Registration in Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), in Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) and look their name in HLURB database and ask for the LTS or License To Sell of the project they are selling
You may ask for their PRC ID or DHSUD Accreditation and verify their name in the database, their website may be useful too. And if you’re dealing with an unlicensed Broker or Salesperson they might be penalized by the said government agencies.
Yes, subject to limitations stated in the Philippines Republic Act 8179 (Residential property up to 1,000 square meters of urban land or a maximum of one (1) hectare for rural land) and Batas Pambansa 185 (Business property maximum of 5,000 square meters for urban land or maximum of three (3) hectares for rural land).
Tax Declarations provide proof of ownership, although they are not as desired or safe as Titled property. This is because there is a risk of property boundary and ownership conflicts with tax statements, especially if the property is not owned by a single owner but rather by “Heirs.”
As a result, we thoroughly investigate our Tax Declared properties to ensure they are free of issues. It would be counterproductive for us to sell properties that later experience problems after the sale.
In general it is easier to commercially develop Titled properties than Tax-declared, but there is very little difference involved and not having title is no prohibition on development. It is simply that a bit more process must be completed to commercially develop a Tax-declared property. However, in the instance of the property being used to locate a residence there is virtually no difference between the two.