How Foreigners Buy a Condo in the Philippines: The 2026 Step-by-Step Process

Buying a condominium in the Philippines as a foreigner is a defined, document-driven process that moves from reservation to a Condominium Certificate of Title in your name. Get the order right and the steps are straightforward. Skip or rush one, especially title verification or the 40 percent foreign-ownership check, and you can lose money on a unit you were never able to register. Here is the full sequence.

Before you start: confirm what you can legally buy

A foreigner can own a condominium unit, evidenced by a Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT), but not land, which carries a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT). And foreign ownership across a whole condominium project cannot exceed 40 percent of the units or floor area. If the building is already at that cap, you cannot register your purchase even with a signed contract and full payment. So the first move, before any deposit, is to get written confirmation from the developer or condominium corporation that foreign-ownership capacity remains for your specific unit.

The 40 percent ceiling comes from the Condominium Act, Republic Act 4726, and a transfer that breaches it is void, not merely unregistrable.

Step 1: Set your budget and assemble your team

Decide your budget and how you will pay. Financing is possible but limited for foreigners; a handful of banks lend to foreigners with long-term visas at lower loan-to-value ratios than locals get, so many foreign buyers pay cash or arrange funds abroad. Engage a real estate broker licensed under the Real Estate Service Act (RA 9646); only PRC-licensed brokers and their accredited salespersons can legally handle the transaction. Retain an independent lawyer who represents you, not the seller or developer.

Step 2: Verify the title and the developer

Pull a Certified True Copy of the title from the Registry of Deeds. For a resale unit that is a CCT; for a pre-selling unit, verify the developer's master title and project documents. Your lawyer should review the title, tax declaration, and any annotations, and confirm the condominium corporation keeps proper foreign-ownership records and is under the 40 percent limit. For any pre-selling project, confirm the developer holds a valid License to Sell from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) for that exact project and phase. Checking the developer's actual delivery history matters as much as the paperwork, which is what platforms like Bektu (https://bektu.com) are built to let foreign buyers do before committing.

Presidential Decree 957 is the statute behind the requirement: no condominium project may be sold before the developer obtains a License to Sell. The developer should also hold a current DHSUD Certificate of Registration for the project. Verify both numbers with DHSUD directly rather than accepting a photocopy handed to you by the seller.

Step 3: Reservation agreement and reservation fee

Once you have chosen a unit, you sign a Reservation Agreement and pay a reservation fee, commonly a small percentage of the price. This takes the unit off the market and fixes the terms for a set window, often around 30 days, within which you must complete the next documents and payments. Get an official receipt. Read the reservation terms for what is refundable if the deal does not proceed.

Step 4: Contract to Sell

For pre-selling or installment purchases, the next document is the Contract to Sell (CTS). This is not yet a transfer of ownership; it is the developer's binding promise to transfer the unit once you complete payment. Read it closely for the turnover date, the payment schedule, penalty clauses if the developer is late or the project stalls, and what happens to your payments if either side defaults. This is the document that protects you through the years of a pre-selling timeline, so have your lawyer review it before signing.

Step 5: Complete payment and due diligence

Pay according to the schedule. If financing, this is where the bank's process runs in parallel. Your lawyer completes final due diligence: clear title, paid real property taxes, zoning and building compliance, and confirmation the unit can be legally owned and used by a foreigner.

Step 6: Deed of Absolute Sale

When payment is complete and checks pass, both parties sign the Deed of Absolute Sale (DOAS) before a notary. This is the binding instrument that transfers ownership. It must be notarized to be registrable.

Step 7: Pay the transfer taxes

Taxes come before registration; the Registry of Deeds will not act until they are paid and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issues tax clearance. Typically the buyer pays the Documentary Stamp Tax, transfer tax, and registration fees, while the seller pays the Capital Gains Tax (commonly 6 percent on a resale) and any arrears. On a purchase directly from a developer, confirm in the contract who bears which costs, as practice varies.

The specific rates matter when you are budgeting. On a resale, the seller's Capital Gains Tax is 6 percent of the higher of selling price, zonal value, or fair market value, due within 30 days of notarization on BIR Form 1706. The buyer customarily pays Documentary Stamp Tax at 1.5 percent, local Transfer Tax at roughly 0.5 to 0.75 percent depending on the locality, and registration fees on a sliding scale of about 0.25 to 0.5 percent. A brand-new unit from a VAT-registered developer is treated differently: value-added tax at 12 percent may apply to units above the current price threshold, and the developer's sale may carry creditable withholding tax rather than the 6 percent CGT, so ask for the breakdown in writing before you sign.

Tax clearance takes a specific form. Once the taxes are settled, the BIR issues a Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR), and without it the Registry of Deeds will not act.

Step 8: Register and get your CCT

With taxes cleared, submit the documents to the local Registry of Deeds and pay the registration fee, which scales with the unit's value. The Registry then issues a Condominium Certificate of Title in your name. Registration commonly takes a few weeks. A properly issued CCT has no expiry, can be inherited, and can be sold whenever you choose.

Step 9: Handover

Finally, take possession: keys, turnover inspection, homeowners' association clearances, and transfer of utility accounts. For a pre-selling unit, inspect carefully against what the contract promised and document any defects for the developer to correct.

Two administrative steps close out the purchase. Update the tax declaration with the local assessor's office so future real property tax is billed to you, and register as a member of the condominium corporation, which manages the building and the land beneath it.

Then budget for the holding costs. Annual real property tax runs about 2 percent of assessed value in Metro Manila and 1 percent in the provinces, plus the special education fund levy, on top of monthly association dues. Rental income is taxable, and foreign owners are taxed on the same basis as Filipino owners. If you are funding the purchase from abroad, bring the money in through the banking system and keep the records, which is what allows you to repatriate the proceeds when you eventually sell.

The two checks that prevent most disasters

If you remember nothing else, remember two things. First, confirm the project is under the 40 percent foreign cap in writing before you pay, because a contract on a maxed-out building cannot be registered. Second, verify the title at the Registry of Deeds and the developer's License to Sell before money moves, not after. Everything else is sequencing. These two checks are what separate a clean CCT in your name from a costly dispute.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Engage a PRC-licensed broker and an independent Philippine lawyer for your specific purchase.