“Death is not the end,” said American journalist Ambrose Bierce. “There remains the litigation over the estate.” This applies, whether the decedent or owner of the estate died with or without a will. The Supreme Court has consistently held that from the moment of the decedent’s death, the heirs become absolute owners of his property, subject to his rights and obligations thereon, and even before judicial declaration of their being heirs in the corresponding proceedings. Where the decedent died intestate, or without a will, his heirs shall inherit in the prescribed order under the Civil Code ..read more

Understanding the jargon of home loans can be confusing, overwhelming and a wee bit frustrating at times. But you don’t have a choice: if you’re bent to make the most out of your loans and savings, you will need to at least make an effort to fully understand these terms commonly used by your bankers and brokers. This way, you won’t feel cheated or forced into taking that huge leap as you work on your dream home. Remember, ignorance is not and will never be an excuse—more so in this day and age when it’s much easier to do research and look up banking jargon via the internet, whether through y ..read more

The use of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services among Filipinos increased in the first quarter from the previous year amid limited access to credit and lending products, according to a study by TransUnion. TransUnion’s Consumer Pulse Study showed that among the Filipino respondents who said they have heard of BNPL, which was at 82% of the total, 63% said they made at least one BNPL transaction in the past year, up from 61% in the first quarter of 2023. The survey was conducted from Feb. 6-14 and covered 977 Filipino consumers aged 18 years and older. Gen Z’s drove the increase in the use of B ..read more

This year is set to be a turning point for commercial property markets in the US. A gradual easing in inflationary pressures alongside a steady, if unspectacular, year for GDP and employment growth should help to ease the market through the final leg of the post-COVID adjustment. We shall delve into four areas which are likely to have a bearing on returns, funding markets and the differing demand by property types. Can we expect rate cuts in 2024? Despite current speculations and recent inflation showing a modest re-acceleration, as well as growth in the economy remaining resilient despite ..read more

Concierges in luxury developments lift the lid on the demands of their super-rich clients — but have we reached ‘peak amenity’? A bath full of honey? No problem. A fleet of sports cars transported by jet overseas? Sure. A Hermès Birkin bag in less than 24 hours? Leave it with me. The requests that the concierges at the UK’s most expensive residences have to deal with are unusual, to say the least. “We are their pocket PAs,” says Lydia Varaona, the director of residences at the Peninsula, a luxury development next to Hyde Park where apartments are reported to cost up to £100 million. “It is ..read more

House prices in the richest nations may be overvalued by about 10 per cent after a decade-long boom that’s one of the strongest since 1900, Oxford Economics says. The British research firm identified the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden, Germany and France as the most risky property markets, basing its findings on long-term trends and price-to-rent ratios. It estimated that values across 14 advanced economies have rise 43 per cent in 10 years. The current boom is on course to become the second-longest and third-largest in terms of price rises in 120 years, rivaled mainly by the last peak in 200 ..read more

The Philippines plans to boost the share of solar in power output to 5.6% in 2030 from 2.4% in 2024, and wind to 11.7% from 3.1%, according to a government presentation, potentially making the archipelago’s grid among the cleanest in the region. The southeast Asian nation expects higher share of solar and wind to offset a decline in the share of other clean sources such as hydropower and geothermal energy, helping non-fossil sources account for 35% of power generation by 2030. Hydroelectricity’s share is set to fall from 10% to 9.1%, while geothermal energy is expected to account for 7.7% of ..read more

Amid the reinvigorated alliance between the Philippines and the United States, economic ties between the two countries have now reached a “golden spot,’’ according to New York Consul General Senen Mangalile. “We’re really in that golden spot,” Mangalile said in a recent press briefing at the Philippine Center in New York. This developed as Philippine companies are expanding in the US while American private equity firms and other funding institutions are on the lookout for investment opportunities in Manila.   Benedict Uy, trade commissioner and head of the Philippine Trade and Investmen ..read more

(Updated for 2018 TRAIN Law) Yes, a foreigner can inherit Philippine assets (with some restrictions). If you are a foreign heir to a Philippine land inheritance, this post is particularly for you. This post answers common questions as to whether you can inherit, how much you can inherit and the process and payments to put the title in another person’s name (this is needed when you sell the property). It also goes through a common real life example of a person who died without a will, but left behind: a family home; a bank account; unpaid real estate taxes. A few notes: Be prepared ..read more

Filipino families living in Metro Manila believe they need to earn P25,000 to keep them from being considered poor, according to the latest survey results of the Social Weather Station (SWS). Based on the Self-Rated Poverty (SRP) data, SWS said a Self-Rated Poverty Threshold of P25,000 is a new record. This is the highest threshold recorded by SWS in the past three administrations or since 2010. The data also marked a threshold poverty gap of P10,000, the third quarter that this gap was recorded by SWS. This is the eighth time this gap was recorded in Metro Manila in three administrations ..read more