Reservation fee scams in pre-selling, and the rights you already have

A reservation fee holds a unit while you complete the paperwork for a pre-selling purchase. Legitimate developers use them. So do people selling units that do not exist, units already sold, or units in projects that have no right to sell at all. What a legitimate reservation looks like. It is paid to the developer (or its accredited marketing arm) against an official receipt in the developer's name, for a specific unit in a specific project that has a DHSUD License to Sell. You receive a reservation agreement that states the unit, the price, the payment schedule and what happens to the fee if you do not proceed. You are told which bank the developer's project account is with. What a scam looks like. The fee is paid to a personal account or in cash to an agent "to secure the slot today". The receipt is the agent's own, or there is none. The project cannot be found in DHSUD's records. The same unit is being reserved by several buyers because the agent is paid per reservation. Pressure is the tell: a genuine unit will still be there tomorrow. Check the project's license first. Presidential Decree 957 requires a developer to hold a License to Sell before selling subdivision lots or condominium units, and makes selling without one an offence. REACTIVE.PH shows a project's License to Sell status on its page and lets you filter for verified projects at /projects?lts=1. The guide at /insights/how-to-check-a-license-to-sell explains how to confirm it with DHSUD directly. Know your rights under the Maceda Law. Republic Act 6552 protects buyers of real estate on instalment. After two years of instalments you are entitled to a grace period and, if the contract is cancelled, to a cash surrender value of at least fifty percent of what you paid. Before two years, you are entitled to a sixty-day grace period. A contract that waives these rights is void on those points. Reservation fees are usually non-refundable by contract — but only where a real contract with a real developer exists. If you are dealing with an individual, check them at /verify and check whether the developer on REACTIVE.PH lists them. Report suspicious listings from the listing page, or write to us at /contact.