Securing a loan to girlfriend

[jj17]

My girlfriend wants me to pay the 50% deposit on a house, and then she will pay the monthly mortgage repayments. But I want to try and make this a loan to her secured against the property. Has anyone had any experience of such arrangements and if so can you recommend a lawyer to put it together for us ?

[hitekcountry]

Just be prepared to say good-by to the money, because that’s more than likely what’s going to happen. If you can afford to lose that amount of money and it’s no big deal than go right ahead.

They can tell you that you can have your name on the property which for all practical purposes will make no difference at all.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg2S8VZHa_I

[Lee2]

My girlfriend wants me to pay the 50% deposit on a house, and then she will pay the monthly mortgage repayments. But I want to try and make this a loan to her secured against the property. Has anyone had any experience of such arrangements and if so can you recommend a lawyer to put it together for us ?

I cannot and will not tell you how to spend your money but I will ask you a few questions,
how can we answer your lawyer request if you do not tell us what part of the Philippines the house is in?
How long do you know the lady?
If you met a lady in your home country and knew her just as long, would you loan her the same amount of money?
How do you know the value of the home she wants you to put money down on?
Have you seen the house?

There are more questions but I think you should get the general idea, and the post above mine basically says what you need to know about Philippine law, a foreigner cannot own land, so if you were to loan her the money, how would you expect to get it back and do you know that most cases in court can take 10 years or more and for a very small price, it is often cheaper to have someone killed than to repay money owed, it happens all the time..

Anyway, the best of luck if you decide to go forward with this.

[BudM]

Oh yeah.  I am waiting for this one.  This should be real good.

[bigrod]

Not saying the GF is aware of the Maceda Act, but she maybe.  Possible return of 50% of all payments including deposit, monthly payments, etc.  In this situation she would come out way ahead of any amount she has invested.

https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1972/ra_6552_1972.html

Chuck

[suzukig1]

1. You definitely need a lawyer.

2. So that you can set up the mortgage to be able to foreclose on the mortgage, if necessary.  It's complicated by the fact that as a foreigner you cannot actually take possession of the land.

3. Supposedly you can set up a mortgage so that if you have to foreclose, the property will go to auction and you don't actually take possession.  Then the problem is getting a bidder that will give you a reasonable price. 

[FastWalk]

My girlfriend wants me to pay the 50% deposit on a house, and then she will pay the monthly mortgage repayments. But I want to try and make this a loan to her secured against the property. Has anyone had any experience of such arrangements and if so can you recommend a lawyer to put it together for us ?

I can not think of any way to really secure your loan in this situation (based on the available info). 

Not sure if your in country for long and already know all about most of the way things work or if your out of country or really new and just learning.  Either way maybe you and her can just rent for some more time until you feel comfortable to do this without any worry.  It is sort of like asking for a prenup in a wedding.  If you feel like you need it,  you probably will.

For me,  I waited till we had kids and many years of marriage before the big house (owned by the wife).  And then did it without even a second thought.

Will be interested if you share later how you solve this.  I believe there are many that end up with a similar situation/question.

[jj17]

SuzukiG1 is on the right track (I know I can’t own land but had understood I can still have a loan that acts as a foreclosure if need be, and also the auction route is one option but I wanted to see if there are others). I would also have thought the foreclosure thing is a threat, as the loan is ‘only’ 50% of the initial value, so she could in theory take out an additional loan depending on how much had been paid off. There is no way I am parting with the dosh without some form of security on it.
it will be disappointing if nobody has cracked this one, so let’s see what else comes in (apart from the usual keyboard warrior crap).

[cogon88]

SuzukiG1 is on the right track (I know I can’t own land but had understood I can still have a loan that acts as a foreclosure if need be, and also the auction route is one option but I wanted to see if there are others). I would also have thought the foreclosure thing is a threat, as the loan is ‘only’ 50% of the initial value, so she could in theory take out an additional loan depending on how much had been paid off. There is no way I am parting with the dosh without some form of security on it.
it will be disappointing if nobody has cracked this one, so let’s see what else comes in (apart from the usual keyboard warrior crap).

Chances are she will never make the first house payment but may get a commission from the seller more then likely one half of your 50% deposit. As to have a legal document here its possible to have anything drawn up but Jesus will be back before you can get it enforced in a court. Plus the land owner has the right just ask you to remove the structure from their land. If its financed through a local bank or land development company forget ever getting it re-financed  Best keep the money in your pocket or you will never see it again better just put the Money down on black or red at least you have a 50/50 chance. Take a cold shower and forget this whole idea

[JoeLP]

Gonna beat the broken drum.  Every law in this country is pretty much written to protect the local and screw the foreigner.  She'll have full control and you'll have none.  Even if you can read a law as protecting you, the judge, lawyers and everyone else will take her side before yours.  As the story goes..."you can be parked in a parking lot and a local will drive into your car...and you'll get the ticket."

It's that mentality, but in every part of the legal setup.  You really want safety in buying something to live in?  Get a condo.  That's the only option that has any safety to it.

[suzukig1]

I’ll agree with the premise that the loan probably should not be made in the first place but you don’t have to go to court to foreclose on a mortgage.

[Gray Wolf]

Still waiting to hear how long you've known this lady. Have you seen the property? Who is the down payment being made to? A bank? A real estate agent? There are many pitfalls and none of them give you recoarse to recover your money.

A short story: There was a house and piece of property across the street from our family in Metro Manila. The property was owned by a cousin. My wife visited the Philippines by herself to see the house and we decided to make a down payment to secure the house until we could return with the remaining cash to purchase the house and property. My wife spent weeks cleaning and painting the interior. Within 2 weeks the owner had decided she didn't ask enough for the property (since Gloria made it look much, much better) and sold it to another person. The owner then left Manila to return to the Visayas. We lost every centavo of our down payment. Even the family said they had no idea where the cousin was and that they never liked her anyway   

Be very careful with laying out money for property. The laws do not favor foreigners

[jj17]

I’ve been with her for 3 years and she has always been great on the money side (very frugal and in many cases refused money I’ve offered, so the length of relationship and character of the girl is not my concern - which is why I didn’t answer). My concern is simply that even if she was Joan of Arc how do I protect my investment.

[Peter]

......................................
. My concern is simply that even if she was Joan of Arc how do I protect my investment.

The short answer is: you can't! Not 100%. As others have said, no matter what "legal" papers are signed, sealed and delivered, Philippines' Law favours Filipinos; first, second and last.

Peter

[Lee2]

I’ve been with her for 3 years and she has always been great on the money side (very frugal and in many cases refused money I’ve offered, so the length of relationship and character of the girl is not my concern - which is why I didn’t answer). My concern is simply that even if she was Joan of Arc how do I protect my investment.

First of all, I apologize if my questions insulted you. Many of us have a lengthy relationship with the Philippines, myself over 27 years, I have been married to my wife for 24 years and have known her over 27 years and therefore interacted with many Filipinas and Filipinos during that time, thus why I foolishly tossed some questions your way.

The Philippines is nothing like we know back home, we are outsiders and thus hardly ever protected, I wish you the best of luck should you decide to go ahead with your plans and I agree with the post above from all I have personally seen and read over the years. One friend is dead, died in his sleep in his early 40's, possibly of natural causes but possibly not, I will never know since there was no autopsy, just a quick burial, it happened not long after moving to his wife's hometown and setting up the building of a home for them, they were married for a couple of years, thus some of my cynical nature.