Pre-selling is the local risk, and PD 957 is the answer to it
Buying off-plan means paying for years before there is a unit or a title. PD 957 exists for exactly that exposure and gives the buyer rights the contract usually does not mention:
- The project and the licence to sell must be registered — verify the developer's Certificate of Registration and Licence to Sell before paying anything;
- The developer must deliver the title free of liens upon full payment, and cannot mortgage a unit without the buyer's written consent and the regulator's approval;
- A buyer who suspends payment on a developer's failure to develop according to the approved plan, after due notice, is protected rather than in default;
- Under the Maceda Law, a buyer of residential real estate on instalments who has paid at least two years is entitled to a grace period and to a cash surrender value on cancellation — and cancellation requires a notarial act.
Turnover delay: what you can actually demand
Where turnover is materially delayed, the buyer's options are rescission with a refund, or specific performance with damages — and the choice is the buyer's, not the developer's. Complaints against a developer go to the regulator that succeeded the HLURB in its adjudicatory functions, not to the regular courts, and filing in the wrong forum means dismissal. Keep every official receipt, the contract to sell, the approved plan, and the turnover correspondence: these cases are won on documents.
Titles and registration
Registration is with the Register of Deeds of Taguig. BGC titles are comparatively new and clean, so the reconstitution and overlapping-title problems common in older cities are rare here — but the 40 percent foreign ownership cap in a condominium project applies with full force in a district with heavy expatriate demand, and it must be confirmed with the condominium corporation before payment.
Frequently asked
The developer is late on turnover. What can I do?
You may seek rescission with a refund or specific performance with damages, at your election, before the regulator that succeeded the HLURB in its adjudicatory functions rather than the regular courts.
Can a developer mortgage my unit before turnover?
Not without the buyer's written consent and the approval of the regulator. PD 957 prohibits mortgaging a unit without that consent and requires delivery of a clean title upon full payment.
I have been paying instalments for three years and want to stop. What do I get back?
Under the Maceda Law, a buyer who has paid at least two years is entitled to a grace period and, on cancellation, to a cash surrender value. Cancellation requires a notarial act.
What should I check before buying pre-selling in BGC?
The developer's Certificate of Registration and Licence to Sell, the approved plan, and, for a condominium, whether foreign ownership in the project is already at the forty percent cap.