Buying a Condo in the Philippines as a Foreigner: A Step-by-Step Guide for 2026

A foreigner can buy a condominium unit in the Philippines, and the transaction, done correctly, is straightforward. The mistakes happen at predictable points: paying before verifying, skipping the title transfer, or misunderstanding which taxes fall on whom. This is the sequence from first viewing to a Condominium Certificate of Title in your name, with the checks that belong at each step.

Step 1: Confirm you are legally eligible to buy this specific unit

Before anything else, confirm two things. The asset has to be a condominium unit, not land, because foreigners cannot own land in the Philippines. And the specific project has to have room under the 40 percent foreign ownership cap set by the Condominium Act. Ask the developer or seller for the building's current foreign ownership percentage in writing. If the project is already at the ceiling, no amount of paperwork will let it issue you a title.

Step 2: Verify the title and the seller

For a resale unit, get a Certified True Copy of the Condominium Certificate of Title directly from the Registry of Deeds where the project sits. Confirm the seller named on the title is the person selling to you, and check the annotations for mortgages, liens, or adverse claims. For a pre-selling unit bought from a developer, confirm the developer holds a License to Sell from the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development for that exact project. Ask for the LTS number. A developer collecting payments without one is operating illegally.

Confirm the agent is licensed too. Under the Real Estate Service Act, only brokers and salespersons licensed by the Professional Regulation Commission may legally transact. Ask for the PRC license number.

Step 3: Reservation and the contract

Once you have verified the unit, you pay a reservation fee to take it off the market, usually a modest fixed amount. This is followed by a Contract to Sell for pre-selling units, or a Deed of Absolute Sale for ready units bought outright. Read what you sign. The Contract to Sell sets the payment schedule, the turnover date, and the penalties on both sides. Have an independent Philippine lawyer review it rather than relying on the seller's. The reservation fee is typically credited toward the price but is often non-refundable, so verify the unit before you pay it, not after.

Step 4: Pay according to the structure

For a ready unit, payment is usually the full price against the Deed of Absolute Sale. For a pre-selling unit, you pay a down payment in installments during construction, then settle the balance through cash, bank financing, or in-house financing on turnover. Foreign buyers paying from abroad should bring funds in through the banking system and keep records, which matters for repatriating proceeds later when you sell.

Step 5: Pay the transfer taxes and fees

This is where buyers get confused, so be precise about who pays what. On a resale, the seller is liable for the Capital Gains Tax of 6 percent on the higher of the selling price, zonal value, or fair market value, due within 30 days of notarization on BIR Form 1706. The buyer customarily shoulders the Documentary Stamp Tax of 1.5 percent, the local Transfer Tax of roughly 0.5 to 0.75 percent depending on the locality, and the registration fees. On a brand-new unit from a developer, the tax treatment differs: the developer's sale may carry value-added tax and a creditable withholding tax rather than the 6 percent CGT, and developers often fold certain fees into the price, so get the breakdown in writing. Whoever pays, these taxes must be settled to move the title.

Step 6: Register the transfer and get your CCT

After the Bureau of Internal Revenue issues the Certificate Authorizing Registration confirming the taxes are paid, the transfer is registered at the Registry of Deeds, which cancels the old title and issues a new Condominium Certificate of Title in your name. Do not stop short of this step. A signed deed and possession of the unit are not ownership. Registration is. Leaving the title in the seller's name is what exposes buyers to double sales. The whole process from sale to new CCT commonly runs three to twelve months depending on the parties and the local offices involved.

Step 7: Register with the condominium corporation and settle ongoing obligations

Once titled, register as a member of the condominium corporation, which manages the building and the land beneath it. Going forward you owe annual Real Property Tax to the local government, association dues to the corporation, and income tax on any rental earnings. Foreign owners are taxed on the same basis as Filipino owners.

A note on pre-selling risk

The largest variable in a pre-selling purchase is whether the developer actually finishes and turns over the unit as promised. The contract gives you legal remedies, but litigation is a poor substitute for a developer that delivers. Checking the company's track record before you commit is the cheapest insurance available. Bektu (https://bektu.com) tracks developer delivery histories so a foreign buyer can see whether a company has completed and handed over its past projects on schedule before paying for one still under construction.

Done in order, with verification at each step, buying a Philippine condominium is a clean transaction that ends with a title the courts will protect. The buyers who run into trouble almost always skipped one of these steps to save time.