The Philippines is becoming a favorite retirement haven for foreigners

How to acquire real property for less

By Venie Rañosa

Michio has worked in the same Tokyo company for 34 years. He now looks forward to retirement, but then, at the rate the standard of living is going up, he sometimes wonders whether he can enjoy the remaining years of his life the way he hopes to, since he will be depending solely on his pension.

The Philippine Leisure and Retirement Authority (PLRA) might just have the answer to problems like the one Michio is concerned about.

According to PLRA, more than 10,000 retirees from 70 countries including Japan, South Korea, and China are now registered residents of the Philippines, and people like Michio may very well join them.

To qualify, retirees are required to maintain a US-dollar account in an accredited bank for six months. After that period, the dollar deposit may be converted into a peso account, or withdrawn for purposes of investments in the country.

All PLRA-registered retirees may invest in five areas: condominium units, new or existing corporations in the country, long-term lease of land and construction of a house, golf shares, and stocks traded in the Philippine Stock Exchange.

PLRA works closely with lawmakers, crafting a bill that, when enacted into law, would grant more incentives to non-Filipinos who wish to retire in the country. Among the additional incentives is the grant of exemption from inheritance taxes for the retirees and their beneficiaries.

Non-Filipinos may be delighted to know that real property is among the safest investments in town, and the most affordable. Prices are low, compared to other Asian countries. It is possible to acquire a big house located a few kilometers from, or a condominium unit within, Metro Manila’s business/commercial district at a cost of just P5 million, or less than US$100,000.

Foreclosed properties are much lower, of course. There are many such properties, and the banks that acquired them are offering them at very low prices. And a good number of them should appeal to the high-end buyer.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is one such institutions. It has a list of real properties that investors can choose from, in Metro Manila and all over the Philippines.

Vice President Yvonne Lih of BPI Property Management and Sales Division says the bank assign caretakers and guards to look after them. It also keeps tax payments updated and documents in order to facilitate sale.

For buyers from Japan—Filipino or Japanese or Filipino-Japanese—Laguna is an ideal place to enjoy their retirement. These provinces have good hospitals, private and public, that offer excellent health care. And they have less pollution problems, or none at all. So do Cebu in Central Philippines, which Japanese love to visit anyway, and a host of other cities.

Only four hours by plane, the Philippines offers so much excitement with its mixture of Western and Eastern cultures.

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