Looking for a Real Estate Lawyer

[Lee 17,711]

35 minutes ago, Headshot said:

I have never paid more than 20k for a lawyer to handle a real estate transaction. Paying a percentage of the total cost is ludicrous. There is no more work (on the lawyer's part) for a 20 million peso house than there is for a 1 million peso house. You just need to get the lawyer to agree to a set fee up front. Don't wait until after they have done the work and then try to argue the fee down.

I wrote it was the going rate, I did not write that people have to pay it, everything in the Philippines seems to be negotiable but I would rather pay a good lawyer what they ask rather than get an idiot who would agree with me when I am wrong, just in order to get money. 

You had posted a good lawyer that I had heard about many times but I believe that he is not in Cebu City proper, thus some of us without cars might not wish to use him, thus why I posted what other lawyers have told me. All we can do is answer questions, it is up to the readers to use those answers the way they wish to and if they get screwed then it is on them.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Lee

[Flakes 869]

38 minutes ago, Lee said:

I wrote it was the going rate, I did not write that people have to pay it, everything in the Philippines seems to be negotiable but I would rather pay a good lawyer what they ask rather than get an idiot who would agree with me when I am wrong, just in order to get money. 

You had posted a good lawyer that I had heard about many times but I believe that he is not in Cebu City proper, thus some of us without cars might not wish to use him, thus why I posted what other lawyers have told me. All we can do is answer questions, it is up to the readers to use those answers the way they wish to and if they get screwed then it is on them.

Yes most lawyers very good in avoiding any responsibility.

[Headshot 29,934]

1 hour ago, Lee said:

I wrote it was the going rate, I did not write that people have to pay it, everything in the Philippines seems to be negotiable but I would rather pay a good lawyer what they ask rather than get an idiot who would agree with me when I am wrong, just in order to get money. 

You had posted a good lawyer that I had heard about many times but I believe that he is not in Cebu City proper, thus some of us without cars might not wish to use him, thus why I posted what other lawyers have told me. All we can do is answer questions, it is up to the readers to use those answers the way they wish to and if they get screwed then it is on them.

No, I understand exactly what you are saying. Almost every lawyer will tell you the same thing on going rates. Then, when you start walking out of the door, they will tell you that fees are negotiable if that seems like too much. Many things are negotiable in the Philippines, and lawyer fees are among them. Atty. Vicente Roco's office is just past the Mactan end of the old bridge in the LandBank building. It is readily accessible by taxi or even jeepney for those who don't own their own vehicle. However, I would suggest that just about any lawyer in the metro area would also be willing to negotiate their fee rather than lose it. With any lawyer, you need to set up a contract right up front as to services rendered and price expected. Otherwise, it gets ugly later on.

[rep1 2,163]

8 hours ago, Maldita23 said:

I asked the seller for the title and all she can provide me is the Deed of Sale. So, I called the developer and I found out the seller haven't submitted the title to the developer yet. I also called Amicassa which processes condo titles in Cebu, I found out that the papers for the transfer of title is still in BIR. In short, the condo is still under the developers name. Questions:

1.) What could be the possible issue why it is still under the BIR when the condo has been turned over almost 2 years ago?

2.) Would you advise to still buy the said condo? My lawyer said no, do not.

by Amicassa you mean the document processing company for Ayala Land group?

If you're buying secondhand, the seller should not submit his/her title to the developer. Legally speaking the developer is only responsible for transfering its own title to the first buyer of an unit, but they could do more (not sure about this part; but sending your title to anyone else is risky).

When you complete selling, you send back your own title back to LRA and they will issue an new one to the buyer.

Does the seller have her title or not? Or is it still being transferred from the developer to her? You can verify the current ownership of title in LRA yourself (no need of proof, you can request to read and verify any title you want to) - by trying the developer's title number.

If it's indeed currently owned by the developer, and still in processing according to the developer but already paid in full (ask her the original/official receipts), you can wait until it's done then sign the deed - not before.

You could also sign a CTS now but delaying most payments until the title is under the seller's name. It wouldn't be a serious risk since you'd lose little should any problem arises - lawyer could help you draft a CTS like this.

Edited July 12, 2017 by rep1

[Maldita23 157]

Hello Everyone,

 

           Thank you for all the inputs, it helped a lot. I found a good lawyer recommended by one of the members here. 50 % of the total price has been paid and just waiting for the other party to comply to all agreements then we will pay the remaining 50%.

[UK Mike 0]

On 7/7/2017 at 2:49 AM, Maldita23 said:

Good day,

I am looking for a real estate lawyer for consultation  to help me understand  buying a condo unit in Cebu Business Park. Recommendations are highly appreciated. 

One of my concerns is the Capital Gains Tax.

     A.) Capital Gains Tax (6%)-  I understand that this should be paid by the seller, but our seller said that we should shoulder this. And their broker said that they know how to lower the value so we would pay smaller tax? How is that possible? Is their any legal explanation to this?

Thank you.

 

Did you find a good recommended lawyer?