stevewool Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 Can anyone recommend sites where I can see rental properties for long term rental , or is it the case you have to be in the Philippines to best view them, also how long does it usually take from viewing a place to actually moving into the property Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 I had a really awful experience with attempting to rent a house in Lipa. I responded to the ads for the house, and I was taken on a tour of the house for rent. It seemed like there were enough rooms for everybody, but after we agreed to the price, the owner refused to let us use more than the kitchen, the Sala, and only one bedroom. The other 2 bedrooms were off-limits, and they even placed barricades in front of the doors… almost looked like a crime scene. Needless to say, I didn’t rent that place. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollygoodfellow Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 2 hours ago, stevewool said: Can anyone recommend sites where I can see rental properties for long term rental , or is it the case you have to be in the Philippines to best view them, also how long does it usually take from viewing a place to actually moving into the property Best to say what area you are looking. There are Facebook groups and marketplace searches, but you need to put in location. And yes looking online from another country is only for a guide or feel of prices or what's available. Often listings are old and not removed but if you contact the contact person they will usually have something else to offer. Mostly if a place is available and you sign a lease you can move in anytime. https://www.lamudi.com.ph/ https://rentpad.com.ph/ 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewool Posted January 25, 2023 Author Posted January 25, 2023 52 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said: Best to say what area you are looking. There are Facebook groups and marketplace searches, but you need to put in location. And yes looking online from another country is only for a guide or feel of prices or what's available. Often listings are old and not removed but if you contact the contact person they will usually have something else to offer. Mostly if a place is available and you sign a lease you can move in anytime. https://www.lamudi.com.ph/ https://rentpad.com.ph/ Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hounddriver Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 (edited) Yep. See the place in person. Agree on a price. Sign a lease. Confirm that the person signing has authority to lease it. THEN quickly pay the money and move in. Reasons: 1. The look and conditions of the property are almost never the same as portrayed in an ad. 2. Often the price changes from what is in the add. Downward if you are an excellent negotiator and upward if you believe "price increases since ad posted". Sign a lease, even a temporary piece of paper until the "official" lease is ready. OTHERWISE you are just their baseline. They know what they can get from you and will spend the rest of the week "preparing the lease" which is code for seeking a renter who will pay more than you. 3. It is a common scam for a friend or relative to rent a house they have no authority to rent. They keep the money and move back to the province. You can go the to the PNP and they will "look for her" but you are out the money you gave and have no right to move in. 4. If its all good then move in fast. Sometimes they "forgot" they rented it to you and also rent to another person. First one moved in gets to stay. The other fights for return of his money, Situations 1, 2 and 4 have actually happened to me. Situation 3 happened to a very close and personal friend. I cannot say how often these things happen except: At least once. Once should be enough to realize you need to take extreme care when renting in the Philippines. Edited January 25, 2023 by Dave Hounddriver 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingpin Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 4 hours ago, stevewool said: Can anyone recommend sites where I can see rental properties for long term rental , or is it the case you have to be in the Philippines to best view them On 1/18/2023 at 10:41 PM, Kingpin said: Lamudi, dotproperty, even facebook. Check for 'serviced apartments' where you can stay for a month or less. Once you're here, then you can start searching for rentals which generally require a 12 month contract, and actually visiting them to see what your money gets. With experience, you'll be able to recognize a good deal 4 hours ago, stevewool said: also how long does it usually take from viewing a place to actually moving into the property As soon as you pay the deposits and sign the contract. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingpin Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 Nearly everything online is overpriced, often even more so because of agents, so when you find a good deal, you need to figure out why. Often it's just because the owner wants many potential clients to visit the property, and then 2 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said: "price increases since ad posted". to see which one bites. Another reason, if it's a big house, is that one area will be reserved for the owner's relative. All of that BS happened with me, but this is what finally worked: ignore the price and just visit properties you really like. Once you're there, charm them, lowball them, now you're the one looking to see who bites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum Support Mike J Posted January 25, 2023 Forum Support Posted January 25, 2023 I was going to reply but I think the previous posters have covered it all. You just need to be here to see actual places and prices. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 Boots on the ground is the best way. I’ve found the price of many of the online rentals to be inflated for “rich foreigners“ and what you can’t see in the pics is the area or neighbors. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer to not live next to a pig farm, karaoke bar or a place that you can’t access when it rains. It might also be a good idea to have your Filipino partner / friend make first contact to help avoid long nose tax. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettGC Posted January 25, 2023 Posted January 25, 2023 We found our place in Dumguete in a local Facebook property group. Asking price was 15k, wife talked them down to 13.5. We looked at dozens of places and yes, as others have said, 95% of the time the photos were vastly different to reality. Overall our rental was great; on-site manager was a champion and fixed any issues within 24 hours, quiet area (Sto. Rosario, Junob, for those that know the area), good neighbours (I was the only westerner in both apartment blocks) and our deposit was returned in full with no issues despite us breaking the lease early. In Dumaguete at least, the idea that the price goes up as soon as they see a foreigner is a bit of a myth. AM would go check out a place first, and if she thought it was up to par, I'd go with her on the next visit and the price wouldn't change. We were lucky but there's hundreds of stories of rental horror shows. Having said that, most of the people I know in Dumaguete had/have similar experiences to ours though. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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