Things to Know in Buying Memorial Lot for Sale Investment

Most people still find talking about death as being morbid and unacceptable.

They would become deeply emotional and easily brush off such conversation.

Unfortunately, death is one of the most inevitable event in our lifetime.

When it happens, it is the loved ones left behind that will shoulder both the emotional and financial costs associated with it.

Fortunately, we can do something about it now and be prepared when it comes.

In this blog post, let me help you decide why you need to invest in memorial lots and what you need to know if you are already decided to buy one.

We will also share our own step by step experience in buying pre-need memorial lot investment.

Why Invest in Pre-Need Memorial Lot

Here is an alternative, unconventional and unusual investment: Pre-need Memorial Lot Investment.

Buying Memorial Lots is considered as an alternative investment.

Here are some reasons why you should also consider investing in pre-need memorial lots.

Advantages of Buying Memorial Lot and Why is it a Good Investment

There is always someone who will need to buy a lot.

Reality is death will always be inevitable.

Someone will always be in need to buy a lot especially those that are in At-Need circumstances and weren’t able to buy one beforehand.

Memorial Lot value appreciates over time.

Investing in memorial lots can be rewarding as its value is currently estimated to appreciate by eight percent per year.

The appreciation rate also defeats inflation and bank savings account interest rate.

Here is an example of the old price list. This is in 2015 and 2017 while the 2019 price list is available as you read this post further.

Perpetual Ownership.

Depending on the Memorial Park developer, you can permanently own the real estate property.

Perpetual Care or Maintenance.

Most memorial parks offer this.

You only need to pay once and they will take care of the maintenance of your memorial land lot for life.

Can be used as a collateral.

This type of lots can be used as loan collaterals.

This tangible asset are being accepted by lending institutions as collateral payments.

Term Insurance versus investing in Memorial Lot.

Some people prefer getting term insurance coverage instead of buying memorial lots.

They would reason out that the proceeds that you will be getting from term insurances are already sufficient in buying memorial land lots and paying for the internment services when the time comes.

Well, I do not discount the fact that getting term insurance can be a viable alternative but only to a certain degree.

Unfortunately in the Philippines, term insurance coverage is only up to 65 years old.

After that age, you can no longer be covered.

On the other hand, buying a lot now will ensure that you are already covered for life as you own the lot forever.

Also remember that the price of memorial lots tend to increase with time due to scarcity.

So the lot price in the future will surely be much higher than it is now.

Disadvantages of Memorial Lot Investment

Shift from Traditional Burials to Cremation.

Although, majority still favors traditional burials, there is a growing momentum shift from traditional burial practices to cremation.

They consider cremation as an alternative as it tends to be cheaper.

There is a risk of you relocating.

If you buy a lot now, there is a possibility that you will be relocating in the future in a place far from the memorial lot.

Memorial Lot for Sale: Things to Know when Buying Memorial Land Lot Investment

Are you already decided in buying memorial lot as investment?

If so, check out the details we have listed below that you might need to know when buying Memorial lot for sale.

Memorial Lots do not have land title – only lot titles.

One key difference with other type of real estate is that memorial lots do not have land titles.

Although, they do have lot titles.

Lot titles specify where the lot is located.

It also includes the lot’s measurements.

Records of lot owners and their corresponding memorial lot details are kept on record by the memorial park’s developer / property manager or by the local government for public cemeteries.

Make sure to buy only from legitimate agents or memorial lot owners.

With the internet, it is now much easier to find memorial lot for sale online.

Although, always be vigilant with who you transact with as there are a lot of scammers out there.

Try to look for legitimate memorial lot agents from your chosen memorial park.

There are also some memorial lot owners who sell their lots due to several reasons such as change of location or for profit.

If you will be transacting with lot owners, make sure to verify if they are really the true owners of the memorial lot.

Memorial Land Lot prices varies according to their sizes and location.

Prices for memorial lots will surely be high for urban areas as land is pretty much scarce.

Aside from the location, lot size also plays a factor in the price point.

12% VAT applies to Memorial Land Lot investment.

Memorial lots are also subjected to the 12% Value Added Tax or VAT.

Be sure to include this in your computation.

Internment fees are not included in memorial land lot purchase.

Internment service or “paghuhukay/paglilibing” has a separate fee from the memorial lot.

Most of internment service already include the grave stone or “lapida.”

Prices also vary depending on the memorial park developers but the last time we checked in the nearest memorial park from our place it is around 32,000 pesos.

Senior citizens have a special rate of around 23,000 pesos.

Additional charges for At-Need cases.

Memorial Parks imposes additional charges if you purchase memorial lots during circumstances that “gagamitin mo na yung lot” or “may ililibing na.”

These circumstances are called At-Need cases.

Most memorial park developers also will not give you any discount that they normally provide if it is already for At-Need cases.

You will also be required to pay in full cash days prior to internment.

There are other fees that you need to be aware of.

Some memorial parks also have perpetual care or maintenance, administration and transfer fees.

These fees vary depending on the memorial park developers/ owners.

If you are not able to purchase via spot cash, most memorial park developers include additional interest in their installment payment plans.

Make sure to clarify the rates with your lot agents or with the developer prior to paying the initial down payment deposit.

Interest rates can go as high as 20 percent for longer terms.

Carefully plan which payment option best suits you.

Memorial Parks and cemeteries are regulated by HLURB.

The government institution that regulates memorial parks and cemeteries is the HLURB.

HLURB stands for Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board.

If you are curious about the implementing rules and policies set by HLURB, check out this link from the HLURB official website [http://hlurb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/laws-and-issuances/policies/MemorialParksCemeteries.pdf].

Key Site Criteria Policies:

• Cemeteries or memorial parks shall be located on the periphery of the town center or in areas sparsely inhabited and where little hazard to human life or health could result.
• The number of cemeteries/memorial parks to be allowed within each municipality/city shall be based on the needs or death rate in the municipality and future catchment areas as well.

Taking into consideration these two site criteria policies and the growing Philippines population, we can foresee that prices for memorial lots will continue to rise which is attractive if buying it as an investment.

Our Own Experience Investing in Memorial Lot

It all started when a sales agent in the neighborhood approached us and asked us if we were interested in buying memorial lots.

As we didn’t have any, we entertained the idea.

Actually, one of the primary reason why we were open to the idea was due to the location.

Our subdivision was near the memorial park being offered.

We scheduled a site visit and when that day came, together with the sales agent, we went to the location.

The first stop was the information office at the memorial park.

We had to wait for the onsite personnel as they were still assisting other clients.

They showed us the location of the memorial lots that were available.

They also showed us this price list.

Most of the lots were already sold.

The ones that were left was a set of 8 memorial lots, a twin lawn lot, a single lawn lot and several mausoleum lots.

The mausoleum lots were out of reach for us as it cost millions.

Although we also went to the mausoleum section just to check out the place:

Taking into consideration our budget, we finally settle with the twin lot.

For the signing of contract and payment, we went to a branch office nearby.

They had us fill up and sign their contract form.

For the requirements, they asked for a valid ID and a photocopy of it.

In my case, I provided my UMID/SSS ID.

They also asked for my TIN number.

As we don’t have spot cash ready for the payment, we opted for one year to pay installment plan.

Here is the breakdown of the installment plan.

We issued post-dated checks for the installment payments. Although, you can pay in cash monthly by visiting their branches.

We also paid the initial downpayment in cash.

Here is an image of the Forest Park development plan.

We were told that only the lower portion of the development plan was fully developed.

The other sections are still being built.

For our lot title, we were told that they’ll be issuing it after we have fully paid the remaining balance of the memorial lot.

List of Memorial Parks in the Philippines

If you are wondering what memorial parks are present in your location, we have compiled some of the memorial parks in the Philippines: