Looking for a condo

[Saint Pat]

3 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Although some have already answered this please try to keep the topic on the subject of looking for a condo or place to live. There are many topics on visas in the correct forum. 

Agree. Guess as a newbie I am too eager to get as much info as possible. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Saint Pat

[Dr. Shiva]

Hi Pat

Which budget outside of the condo do you have? Because not every region is suitable on lower budgets. Even if you can buy a fitting condo in Tagaytay, that city is quite expensive in the area of available services. 

As most are recommending to first rent for up one year to check the area if it is suitable for you. 

In Davao or Samal Island are many condos with seaview available in your price range.

[William Michael Collings]

For many years we have advised foreign expats who plan on living here to rent before buying and to travel around a bit to at least 4 or 5 popular tourist destinations staying a few day or few weeks in each place and spend time in at least 2 of the largest 6 to 8 cities as well before making any decision where you might choose to stay longer term. Often you may find 2 places which suit you and it's easy to maintain two places of residence. Next we always advise guys not to stay closer than 2 to 4+ hours from their Filipina wife, GF or significant other's Filipino extended family which helps avoid having a full refrigerator which is magically empty after a few hours, meals and snacks between meals. :-). There are plenty of cultural and international festivals, birthday parties, weddings and funeral events in any given Filipino extended family to have plenty of time to socialize. Buying condos in high rise building at retail prices is one of the worst investments anybody could make no matter where; we advise foreigners to wait fr distressed sales where we expect hundreds of condo will be for sale at distressed prices at 65% to 75% of the original selling price. We have 2 in Metro-Manila, the smaller one bedroom with only 20+ sqm floor area retailed for 1.2M we paid an Australian P519,000 ( in Aus$ ) and our larger 1 bedroom with 45 sqm floor area which retailed for P2.8M we paid P1.8M and another P200T adding floor tiles and furnishing etc. We will be selling the smaller apt eventually even though after 4+ years mostly via airbnb as of this past December have our investment back. If we had paid retail it would have meant 8 to 9 years R.O.I.  You can rent the same condo for P13,000 to P15,000/ month + utilties & P1000/ monthly maintenance dues. The larger 65 to 90 sqm floor area condos are much more difficult to rent for any decent R.O.I. The Filipinos are very similar to Americans in regards to using credit or mortgages so they are buying all these condos all over the Philippines at 10% Down and 10 years to pay and the bank forecloses after 3 to 6 months of no payment. After 3 or 4 years and all the family parties, facebook selfies and brag value has passed hundreds if not thousands of these condos will end up being foreclosed or available as distressed values. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

2 minutes ago, William Michael Collings said:

For many years we have advised foreign expats

By this do you simply mean you and your wife have advised expats?  Or do you run some kind of expat advice giving business?

[William Michael Collings]

No Dave, of course not; we would never have any faith in such a business of trying to collect or charge for advice like some sort of consultants. We trust only prime real estate location rental or real estate income and have been extremely lucky, luckier than we ever dreamed. We have welcomed budget travelers and fixed income retirees from 93 countries since 1986 in Manila and 1991 here in Boracay in our two locations. I did use to joke with some that our rooms and apartments are actually free but they pay for the "free" information, advice and travel tips. 

[popeye72 ]

2 hours ago, Saint Pat said:

Agree. Guess as a newbie I am too eager to get as much info as possible. 

Just be very careful about buying property in the Philippines that you cannot afford to walk away from if shit hits the fan. Selling is not as simple as it is in Ireland. I know of a few nice condos for sale in Cebu that are still for sale after 2 years. The ones that sell are those that take a sever haircut on price. As much as 50%  

The trend is for people to buy the newest condo with the highest bragging rights. But as others have said often going into arrears and having bank foreclose later on when it is no longer as desirable. 

[Jack Peterson]

9 minutes ago, topcat72m said:

The trend is for people to buy the newest condo with the highest bragging rights. But as others have said often going into arrears and having bank foreclose later on when it is no longer as desirable. 

 I would to a degree, disagree with you unless you have any, statistics to  support this I will stay with many if not a very large % renting land and Houses until they have found there Mark here and made a commitment. Can I presume you talk about the larger cities? because in the provinces this is not a Trend certainly on Negros

[popeye72 ]

4 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 I would to a degree, disagree with you unless you have any, statistics to  support this I will stay with many if not a very large % renting land and Houses until they have found there Mark here and made a commitment. Can I presume you talk about the larger cities? because in the provinces this is not a Trend certainly on Negros

I am talking about locals in the Philippines. I have no statistics to back it up other from friends and family of the wife. 

 

I see pinay here in Ireland and UK showing off there latest condo units at parties while the women show off their latest Michael kors or LV handbags. 

[popeye72 ]

My wife (from cebu) sometimes asks me if we will buy a place in Cebu. I tell her the same as I say to Pat. I will live there for 12 months min renting and looking around before I buy anything and I'll be looking for a foreclosure or fire sale. Not the newest and flashest unit. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

29 minutes ago, topcat72m said:

I will live there for 12 months min renting and looking around before I buy anything and I'll be looking for a foreclosure or fire sale

If I knew then what I know now. 

My first few years in Phils were spent renting because I was not comfortable putting a house in my gfs name and I did not want to jump through all the hoops to do any of the "work arounds".  Add to that the story I had been hearing about not putting more into a house than you can afford to lose and I did not buy for many years.

So what happened was, me and my first gf here were renting a house that I would have loved to buy and the owner was asking 2.4 million.  I leased that house for a year while I thought about it and figured she would come down in price when it did not sell.  At that time I did not know how strange the Philippines is.   So one month before my 1 year lease was up the owner still had not sold it.  Using typical Philippine logic and listening to her friends she decided it was because she was not asking enough.  People looking for a 4 million peso home will not bother to go look at a home listed at 2.4 so she RAISED the price to 4 million.  It was sold that week for 3.9 million and I was booted out as soon as my lease ran out. 

So the point is that we foreigners do not know how to buy a Philippine house until we have been here many years and we do not know what the local "fire sale" prices are.  It is very rare to see a foreigner buy a place in his first year here that he can turn around and sell for what he paid for it.  Very rare.

As far as foreclosures go, I've been looking at some and the prices the banks demand for their foreclosures are no less than the market value that anyone else is getting in that market.   Why would they sell for less than market value?  Of course they would not.