Don't buy a condo!!! The market is about to collapse... Rent. You won't regret it.

Read the market. Don't buy. Just rent... Don't lose your money, especially on a US-based loan.. Just rent... There's an eight-year oversupply of condos right now. When BI (immigration) kicked out the Chinese gambling operations, a glut of high-end condos opened up. The owners refuse to lower rents to current market rates, so the units sit empty while they keep paying their mortgages, dreaming of the day some sucker pays that same rent. Don't get caught up in that either. There are plenty of good rentals at reasonable prices.

Don't get an SRRV unless you're comfortable losing control of $15,000. Don't buy a condo until you find a unit in a building you know well. Personally, I don't trust that money would come back without a lot of hassle and heartache. Stay on a tourist visa; it's minimal hassle. If you can buy a condo with cash, that's the way I'd go. High interest rates and weak consumer protection on loans make me cautious.

Sounds like you're set on buying a condo here. Odds are very high you'll wish you hadn't before long.

The condo market is going to collapse soon. The worst financial decision you can make right now is buying a condo in PH. Even without a collapse, you can find people selling condos in the same building for less than the developers charge. The PH condo market is INSANELY overvalued right now. I saw a story the other day saying Manila has something like a 36% condo vacancy rate and they still aren't lowering prices. Cebu has to be about the same.