Subdivisions

Being a foreigner, you cannot buy a home in the Philippines. The only thing you can buy is a condo. If your married, you can buy, under her name. The only way a foreigner can own land and a house is from inheritance. Then, you can sell it but cannot buy something else.
An advantage of a subdivision, and I am referring to gated/guarded subs, has better streets, better sanitation and most have nice amenities. You will have to pay an association fee, but that is small. Also beggars and noisy tricycles are not allowed in.
Disadvantages are rules, just as homeowner assoc's in America.
Also if you do not own a car, you will have to call the guards to send a taxi to your home. This can be hard if you have kids in schools and they rely on public transportation.

Many thanks for taking time to reply.
Just one point I'm trying to clear up - are foreigners actually allowed to own properties within subdivisions? I've heard of 'rent to own' schemes whereby you pay a fixed rent for 10 years or whatever, and then the place transfers into your ownership. Do you know anything about this?

hi, there are systems like that where you can rent to own. But then again its seldom that they offer that scheme. Foreigners usually stay at condo units in makati or buy a place at ayala alabang, and Brent ville in laguna where Manny Paquiao also lives. Usually international students from Brent International school lives at brent ville international, so i believe that subivision is very safe and security is very strict for the safety of home owners.