The Process of Buying Real Estate in Valenzuela City

The process of buying real estate in Valenzuela City is very structured on paper but can be confusing in practice. There are different rules on foreign ownership, buying condominiums, and buying land, and it may be hard to remember all of them especially if you aren’t practicing law or brokerage. This article aims to help clarify some of the most important points when it comes to buying real estate.

If you’re a foreigner looking to buy property in Valenzuela City, know that you generally cannot own land in the Philippines, unless you are married to a Filipino or you are the legal heir of one. You are allowed to own condominiums or apartments as long as total foreign ownership of the whole building does not go over 40%. If you are looking at owning a house, this, too, is possible, provided that you don’t own the land that the house is built on.

If you are a Filipino, it should be very simple to acquire property. All you have to do is to sign a Deed of Sale, which is a binding document that shows the agreement between the buyer and the seller, and obtain the Certificate of Title, which is the legal document proving your ownership over the property. What makes it complicated is the requirements needed in order to obtain these documents. For this reason, you will need to look for a reputable real estate broker to help you arrange everything and guide you in finishing the process.

A brief background of the process looks like this:

• Agreement of seller and buyer on sale. Create and notarize a Deed of Absolute Sale with the help of a lawyer.
• Secure a Tax Declaration from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and submit to the Assessor’s office.
• Pay real estate tax.
• Someone from the Assessor’s office should assess the property’s market value.
• Pay transfer taxes, Capital Gains Tax, and Documentary Tax.
• Obtain the new Certificate of Title from the Register of Deeds. Make sure that the property is named after you.

These steps are just the basic steps when it comes to buying property in Valenzuela City. It usually takes a little more than a month to complete them all but once you do, then the property is all yours.