Finding a Reliable Real Estate Broker in the Philippines | Tips you need to know.

It is hard to come by in finding a few good professionals among a hundreds of thousands of real estate practitioners in this country where he/she can help you in finding the right home or selling a property in order to liquidate it into cash. Remember that real estate is not an easy to sell asset wherein the cyclical business is in effect (it may be boom or bust) wherein it still rely on the market and economic conditions. Also selling off your property may take time from weeks, to months or a year before it will turn to profit or cash depending on the state of the economy, demand and other factors such as how reliable and efficient is your real estate broker.

However the gains on selling the property is enormous with the current buyer's market for the OFWs and affordable segments of Class D and E with seller's market of segment A, B and C (Upper Society or Upper Middle to Low Middle Class). There has been a slow down in the demand however people are still dreaming of owning a property either for immediate need as a home or as profitable rental business.

Anyways, here are some tips in finding a reliable real estate broker:

1.) Set an Appoinment - It would be wiser for sellers / buyers to get to know first the person you are negotiating with. Make an interview him or her and get to know him/her well.

2.) Qualifications: Is he/she a licensed real estate practitioner? He can show his qualifications on hand with a resume, a calling card with license to practice on it. Plus the contact numbers or he / she has a website it will have plenty of information about him/her on his short bio etc. As of today, most Filipino real estate broker / realtors follow the Republic Act 9646: Real Estate Service Act of 2009 on which the Implementing rules and regulations plus the code of ethics is still on the process. The Philippine Regulatory Board on Real Estate Services under the Professional Regulations Commission (PRBES-PRC) overseers all the regulations in the practice of the Real Estate Profession. Other suggestions for sellers is to further investigate and research about the person you want to contact by reaching the following websites for real estate practitioners as bona fide members of good standing through www.rebap.com.ph for Certified Real Estate Brokers (CRBs) who are members of Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines (REBAP) or www.realtors.org.ph for Realtors or members of Philippine Association of Realtors Board (PAREB) and contact their organizational secretariats to verify.

3.) Knowledge and expertise - he/she must know the current condition or state of the properties he would be selling off. Sometimes will ask for a meet up with a seller and make an ocular inspection on the said property. Also must be updated with current tax laws and property zoning and valuation especially for commercial properties. Don't forget to ask what his / her real estate specialization to narrow down your interviews and the person you are looking for. There are real estate practitioners who are very good in general brokerage, others may be focused only in project selling and marketing on newly developed markets, others maybe engage in raw land or farm land selling.

4.) Marketing experience - A reliable real estate broker / realtor would ask questions ranging from the size of the lot area, the price you are selling your property and any terms or conditions from modes of payment, other pertinent information like history of the home, the tax declaration and also ask for the photocopy of the transfer of title certificate. A buyer should be open to some suggestions of a reliable real estate broker on payment terms for example. A seller should also be flexible with some terms as long as it is feasible and would all the benefit the party in liquidating the property.

5.) Network - A reliable real estate broker / realtor must be connected with clients looking for properties and at the same has built a large network among fellow brokers from within the organization he or she is a member of. Real Estate Brokers / Realtors have Multiple Listing System (MLS) for Realtors (members of Philippine Association of Realtors Board or PAREB) and Property Listing System (PLS) for Certified Real Estate Brokers (CRBs) for members of Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines (REBAP) wherein they can post online within their organization website or show the listing during organization meetings in order for the broker to get help in marketing and selling off your property immediately.

About the Writer

CRB Benedict Baluyut is an associate real estate professional of C. F. Baluyut Realty with PRC REB License No. 8358. He is the current Vice President for External Affairs with Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc (REBAP) - Pampanga Chapter.

Articles or blog post associate with this:

Real Estate Professionals: New Changes will be happening soon!

Passing of the Republic Act of 9646: Real Estate Service Act of the PhilippinesC. F. Baluyut Realty | Pampanga Real Estate

PRC Appoints new Chairman and Board Members for Professional Regulatory Board on Real Estate Services
Banks urged to be vigilant verification of titles

Copyright 2009-2010. Pampanga Real Estate Guide, Trend and Review TV. All Rights Reserved.

Real Estate Professionals: New Changes will be happening soon!

Well I am not hiring but I would to share some great news on recent email sent to us by our National Chairman Mr. Julius Topacio. There will be some changes happening within the ranks of real estate professional in the whole Philippines.

A New Curriculum for new Real Estate Program

In the anticipation of placing a curriculum in major colleges and universities on a program leading to a Bachelor 's degree in Real Estate Management Services in the coming years as Commission on Higher Education Technical Panel are crafting the said new curriculum available in the next few years. The development of the new program is in progress and no updates yet for the public.

Creation of PHILRES

So far there the passing of implementing rules and regulations of the RESA Law is still at work and the elected officers of the newly formed Philippine Institute of Real Estate Services is now open for membership in the coming months. Details of membership of real estate brokers, appraisers, consultants and government assessor and accredited salesperson are not yet available. The proposed code of ethics is still for approval by the PRC.

CRESRs and CPEs will still be given.

While the Implementing Rules and Regulations are still on draft, The Professional Regulations Commission will conduct Real Estate Broker Licensure Examination for 2010 which will be happening on December 4 and 5 of this year.

There will also be also Continuing Professional Education (CPE) for Real Estate Brokers who want to enhance their practice and for personal advancement in the coming months in which it will conducted by the Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines (REBAP) - National Chapter for the benefit of their members in Metro Manila. Same as with provincial chapters of this organization can organize and inform the national chapters on their plans of conducting seminars in the next few months for their members.

For interested people who want to real estate brokers and certified professionals with REBAP - Pampanga Chapter. Send me a message and will keep you updated if any new things happening in the next few months.

Related Posts:

The Passing of Republic Act 9646: Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines
PRC Appoints New Chairman and Board members for Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Services


Copyright 2009-2010. Pampanga Real Estate Guide, Trend and Review TV. All Rights Reserved.

How to find the right financing for your Real Estate Property!

Making after making a wise decision in finding the right home for you and your family takes worthwhile of amount of time and effort. It require careful research on the key elements mentioned previously in this blog. One is LOCATION, Second is SECURITY and the lastly NEIGHBORHOOD.

However, before taking the next step, you should fund the three key elements. Now, you need to plan your finance on buying that wonderful dream home you have in mind. Leveraging is accepted in buying a property. It requires a down payment or equity of at least 10 to 20% before the you can moved in for Ready for Occupancy homes or 30% down payment before the construction of the home if it is not readily yet in which it takes about 5 to 6 months to build your new home. There are other schemes available like Rent to Own which is has become rampant on Class C to D segment market of property buyers.

These are five generally available financing schemes with most Philippine developers offer to end-buyers of properties:

1. CASH Payment - You buy a house outright with 0% interest. The good thing about this is that the developers can give you discounts and other promotions to satisfy you as a client. This one is recommended for buyers who have extra money to buy in order not to worry about monthly amortizations.

2. DEFERRED Payment - Same as Cash but with extended time frame of about 6 months, 12 months and sometimes up to 60 months depending on the developers promos. It is one of the best deals if you don't have enough cash to pay outright but on an extended payment at least with no interest to worry about. The downside is that sometimes builders or developers don't offer incentives or discounts on this scheme.

3. BANK FINANCING - Generally, the bank pays outright for the property to the developer and the buyer/lending party will be the paying the property through the lendee or banking institution where they loaned to. Philippine Banks can offer from 9% to 12% interest rate per annum. It can be a fixed rates from 5 to 25 years depending on the banks prevailing rates. The downside of lending through bank is that they will scrutinize your finances by their credit investigators if ever you are acquiring a loan from them. Just be ready with your needed official documents, documents of where your source income comes from and interviews wherein they will ask you alot on how you will finance your dream property other than the income from paycheck you received.

4. IN-HOUSE FINANCING - In this, the buyer will be lending and paying the monthly amortization directly through the developer or builder itself. The average prevailing rates maybe at 14% to 18% for about 5 to 10 years payments or more depending on the available financing scheme for buyers. This is advisable for people who don't want to scrutinized with credit investigation from banking institution. Less talk indeed.

5. PAG-IBIG OR HOME MUTUAL FUND FINANCING - Lending some amount of money from this government agency in order to acquire their dream home. However the buyer member of PAG-IBIG should have made payments of at least 24 months to his account in building an equity for his/her dream home. It can be accelerated if ever the buyers intend to buy it no time as long as he/she is bona fide member of the PAG-IBIG Fund with no outstanding debts or balance with this agency.

I have written some notes about the schemes available at Slideshare. You may click the link below to enlarge and view it clearly.

Comparative Study on the different Philippine Real Estate Financing Schemes.

View more presentations from Benedict Baluyut.

Some Related Articles or Blogposts.

Getting Ready in investing on your first real estate
Why invest in Pampanga?
Steps in making Cashflow through Real Estate
BIR issues new rules concerning one-time real estate transactions
Updates on PAG-IBIG Loan (Home Mutual Development Fund) for 2009

Copyright 2009-2010. Pampanga Real Estate Guide, Trend and Review TV. All Rights Reserved.