As a foreigner I know that I can't legally buy a house and lot so for my young son I decided to put a downpayment of 1.5m for a property for him and he was the one that signed the property contract. After Covid things got bad and I was made redundant, but I maintained payments on the property till it become too much to handle so I informed the developer that I needed to withdraw. Part of the reason to withdraw was my son was still in school, and my daughter is special needs. Imagine my reaction when the developer stated that the contract signed had a clause that stated they could keep all the money that had been paid up to that point. I have never come across such an antiquated condition in my home country and in shock that the Philippine government allows what can simply be the legalized financial rape of their own people. As a foreigner my advice to another foreigner is do not buy property in the Philippines, it's a horror story.
