The Torii Residences is a TOWNHOUSE - CONDO. What does that mean?

Ok, so I'm writing this to make sure people know that The Torii Residences is a townhouse - condominium project.  Sure, it looks like a townhouse, designed as a townhouse, and for all intents and purposes, it IS a townhouse.  At least as far as the type of housing, it is.  But as to type of ownership, it's a condominium.  THAT'S NOT A BAD THING!  I'll explain at the end of this post.  I just need to make sure that it is understood that a condominium is both a type of housing AND a type of ownership.

In other words, The Torii Residences is a "townhouse" type of housing, but it's a "condo" type of ownership.

Huh?  What does that mean, exactly?

It should be made clear that the type of ownership in a townhouse is the same as owning a house, in that if you own a townhouse, you own both the structure as well as the land it's built on.  The condo type of ownership means that the condo owner owns the unit itself (not including the land the unit is built on), which is taxed as an individual entity, as well as a percentage of the common areas of the whole project.

As an owner of a unit in The Torii Residences, your percent of ownership is calculated as your unit's total floor area over the total floor area of all the units combined.  You will see the percentage for each unit in The Torii Residences when you request for the price list.

Again, what does that mean???

It means that, among other things, being a Torii Residences owner means that you will pay annually for your unit's real estate property tax, plus you will also pay a portion of the common areas' real estate property tax based on that percentage.  Additionally, your condo dues will also be computed based on that percentage.

Hmm... Maybe an example would be easier to understand?

Here's an example to make it easier to digest.  Please bear in mind that peso amounts are just examples:

You bought a unit at The Torii Residences, with a floor area of 281.06 sq.m.  The overall floor area of the whole project is 10,648.98 sq.m.  Therefore, your percentage of ownership of The Torii Residences is 281.06 over 10,648.98 which is roughly equal to 2.64%.

So, let's say for example that annually, your unit's real estate tax is P10,000.  Of course, the common areas will also be charged a real estate tax.  Let's say for example that the common areas' tax is P50,000.  Therefore, 2.64% x 50,000 is P1,320.  In other words, you will pay a total of P11,320 annually for real estate tax.

I see...  What about the monthly homeowner's fee or condo dues?

Let's use another example for the homeowners' fees or condo dues in this case.

If the total condo dues assessed is P100,000, since your percent of ownership is 2.64%, your monthly dues will be 100,000 x 2.64%, which is P2,640.  Condo dues are for the maintenance of the common areas*, as well as funds for the condo corporation, and other expenses as the condo corporation may deem necessary.

The Torii Residences has a jogging path, clubhouse, and a swimming pool.  These are just some of the common areas that have to be maintained for your exclusive use and enjoyment.

Lastly, it needs to be emphasized that the percentage of ownership does not affect the weight of your vote in the condo corporation.  Except in cases where Republic Act 4726 (condominium act), as amended, requires the vote of owners owning a specific interest in the common areas as a condition precedent for the approval of certain corporate acts, each owner of a residential unit in The Torii Residences automatically becomes a member of the condo corporation and shall have only one (1) vote. 

*All condo owners share title to common areas. Common areas include land, the exterior of buildings, hallways, roofs, swimming pools -- any area used by multiple owners.

What about ownership itself?

Now we go into the main difference between types of ownership: house/townhouse vs. condo.

As I mentioned, the house/townhouse type of ownership means that you own the structure as well as the land it's built on.  For this type of ownership, you have a TCT, or a Torrens Certificate of Title.  The TCT is proof that you own the land and everything else on that piece of land.  The land is the one titled by the TCT, not the house or structure.

In a condo type of ownership, since you own the unit and a certain portion of the common areas, you get a CCT, or a Condominium Certificate of Title.  This title is for the unit and/or common areas, not the land that the condominium is built on.

Another advantage to the condominium-type of ownership is that foreigners are allowed to purchase a unit, as long as the total percentage of foreign-ownership in the whole project does not exceed 40%, since a condominium project is treated as a corporation.

So, who owns the land?  Where is the TCT for the land in a condominium type of ownership?

Well, as far as The Torii Residences is concerned, the land will be turned over to the condominium corporation upon turn-over of the project.  In other words, the TCT of the land will be in the name of the condo corporation.  So as an owner of a unit in The Torii Residences, you will be a part of the condo corporation that owns the land.  It will NOT reflect in the TCT that you're a co-owner, but as a holder of a CCT, your percent of ownership guarantees your co-ownership.

I co-own The Torii Residences???

Yes, exactly!  Let's say you buy a 78 sq.m. unit.  Since The Torii Residences is a condo type of ownership, you don't get a TCT for the 78 sq.m.  However, since this project is ultra low density, there will only be 37 co-owners of the whole 4,560 sq.m.  In other words, if your percent of ownership is 2.64% according to our earlier example, your share is actually worth 120.38 sq.m. (4,560 x 2.64%) of the whole land!  Of course, you can't sell it separately from the whole, but your share is actually worth more than just 78 sq.m.!  This is the secret of the true value of The Torii Residences: SPACE.

In other condo projects where there are literally hundreds of unit owners for a certain size of land, each unit owner actually co-owns a smaller percent of the actual property, aside from literally owning a small unit!  Here's another example: 200 unit owners in a condo building on a 4,560 sq.m. property.  Each unit is 50 sq.m..  That means every unit owner's percent of ownership is just 0.5%.  Then that also means that each unit owner actually co-owns just 22.8 sq.m. of the land, even less than the actual floor area!  This brings us to another advantage of The Torii Residences - it's a townhouse type of housing, not a condo type of housing.  That's why you have more floor area, because it's designed as a townhouse.

Consider what you get: You get a prestigious address in San Juan, with amenities like a swimming pool, a clubhouse and a jogging path; 4 or 5 bedrooms with its own closet, and toilet & bath; the best materials, workmanship and design; an exclusive enclave for you and your family; more value for the size of land your unit is built on, and the space and convenience of townhouse living!

So, no need to worry.  Just because you don't get a TCT it doesn't mean that you are not an owner of the property.  You are a co-owner of the whole project, you co-own The Torii Residences!

That's definitely a VERY good thing.

Wait...  In a condo-type of ownership, every unit owner owns the land the whole project is built on.  That means I can't do whatever I want to do with my portion of the land?

Since every unit owner is a co-owner of the whole land, decisions about the common areas and the land itself are made corporation style, by majority vote.  If you think about it, in townhouse compounds as well as subdivisions nowadays, there exists a master deed that every owner has to follow.  In other words, even if you own the lot your house or townhouse is built on, it still doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.  Let's say you don't want The Torii Residences because it's a townhouse-condo, and you want a regular townhouse where you get a TCT and the lot is yours, you will find that there is a master deed that mandates what you can and can not do, sometimes even down to the color of your roof!  Do you think your neighbors in the other townhouse units will agree if you suddenly want to tear down your townhouse and build a different one?  Nope.  In other words, it's just the same as what you'll get with The Torii Residences, it's the wave of the future!

But...  What if another unit owner or owners fail to pay their property taxes, won't that mean the whole project might be in danger of being foreclosed by the government?

If that were true, don't you think there would be a lot more of condominiums being foreclosed now?  Since condominium ownership is treated as a separate unit, each unit is taxed individually.  So if a unit owner becomes delinquent, only his unit is in danger of foreclosure (Republic Act 4726, Section 25).  As to the common areas, it is the duty of the condo corporation to pay for the property taxes of those.  Guess who the condo corporation is?  That's right, all of you.  Just like in any good neighborhood, everybody has to help out, it's that simple!

Check out the model unit when it's ready, maybe you'll never want to leave.


Own a unit now at The Torii Residences!
Jon