Metro Manila Condo Rental Questions

[yosho]

Hi everyone,I'm new to the forum, nice to meet you all.I'm a young Canadian guy who previously lived/worked for a year in the Philippines, and, in the process, met a wonderful Filipina woman. I went away now for a year to complete a Master's degree, but am planning on returning to the country for her and hopefully for work again in May, potentially for a long-term work engagement and marriage?Last time, we rented out an ugly basement suite of a local's house in QC, which was fine for us at the time since it was close to the office I was working at, but this time around, I'm hoping to upgrade to a rental condo/apartment, as I will be doing a lot of work from home and need a reasonably comfortable environment to do so in. I'm hoping to find a place for under 25,000 per month, probably in/near Ortigas/Fort Boni/Makati.Thus, having not had direct experience in the Manila rental market, I'm hoping you can answer a couple of my questions!Firstly, what is the policy on pets for rental places, in your experience? We have a cat that I'm quite fond of that I would like to bring with us to the unit. Do the higher-end places tend to have a blanket ban on this, or is it negotiable if I'm friendly and persuasive?Secondly, I've been trolling through a variety of condo rental websites looking at units, but have not seen anything written about whether units are internet-ready or not. Many of them say "phone line ready" or "cable TV ready", but I haven't seen any (at least in my price range) saying "internet ready". I definitely need steady internet service, wherever I stay. Surely these modern condos are capable of providing it? Or does everyone just use those wireless sticks? But surely those are much slower? I'm willing to pay a lot for good internet!Thirdly, on these rental websites, is the quoted price literally all I will have to pay, other than utilities? (Assuming it says "inclusive"). i.e. If it says "25000 inclusive", does that literally cover everything (condo fees, etc.)? Also on this topic, if I book a condo through an online agent from one of these websites, what type of fee can I expect them to charge, and is it negotiable? I saw one site where they said the rate was 15000, which is almost a month's rent! (Too high for me!) If it's too steep, I'd rather just show up in the country and try and find a place myself. Is this possible? i.e. Will I be met with any success by just walking into condos and asking if they have availabilities? Or am I better off trying a buy-sell site like Sulit?Fourthly, when I am signing a rental agreement for a condo, what kind of terms can I expect? e.g. Who is usually responsible for paying any maintenance costs that might arise? , How many months rent are expected up front? , etc.Lastly, do you have any advice for how I can distinguish between a 'risky' condo and a good one? i.e. Surely some of the condos built in the city have shoddy construction / would fall apart in an earthquake / have poor security / have frequent power outages / etc. - Are there certain property developers I should avoid whose buildings have a bad reputation?Lots of questions here! Hopefully some of you have some answers! :)Thanks in advance for the support and Best Regards,J

[i am bob]

Hey Yosho! Welcome to your future home in Canada South... I mean the Philippines... Hehe!Most of our members are located in the Cebu area though there are a group up in the area you are looking at... Listen to their words closely because every time you change locations, it seems like a lot of the rules you should follow will change! There are also some fairly recent posts on here that have covered a lot of what you will need to know... Boss Man (JollyGoodFellow), yes, our glorious forum leader (translation - he owns this place,... hehe!) recently posted the name of a contact in your area-to-be who could help with a lot of your questions. Perhaps he will be gracious enough to give her name again if you can't find that post... One of the things it appears you are doing is trying to find a place before you arrive... I can tell you up front that you probably don't want to do that - the odds of finding a good place online that you will like and get the best price is pretty slim... Now if a forum member mentions that they know of a good place, that might be a different story but still it is a good idea to at least visit the place before signing on the dotted line... Here in Canada I have looked at many apartments that I thought looked great online to find out that they are 1) located in a really bad neighbourhood; 2) very very noisy from the traffic outside - such as hosptitals (sirens), firehall next door (sirents), main intersection (horns honking), popular bars (party noise at 4 am) and so on... If you wait until you have your boots on the ground, you can avoid all these problems before you sign on the dotted line! One other option to look at... Sometimes the housing in one area will be cheaper than a cheap condo in the same or another area... And much more enjoyable! This is not easy to find out until you are there as well... Now, as I'm still stuck in the Hammer for a couple more months before I get to do my big move to Cebu, I won't pretend to be an expert on the real estate market in Manila... But I hope you do enjoy your time there and also to hear more about your upcoming big move as it's happening... Perhaps what you can tell us here will help some other poor unfortunate soul who wants to move to the wrong part of the country not named Cebu... Hehe! Just kidding of course!!!Oh, almost forgot! Can you make a post and tell us a bit about yourself? Because we seem to become like family on here very quickly! Just add it under the post welcoming you to the forum... :)

[Jollygoodfellow]

Personally I think it would not be a good idea to rent anything online, wait until you can look for yourself. Many things are just not what you might expect, inclusive might mean anything minus this and that.I believe if your looking at condos then no pets will be the normal thing.To answer any other questions would just be a guessing game because so many have different experiences from good to bad and down right disaster. Rent a hotel room,look around and investigate everything before signing up.

[Call me bubba]

here is a previous topic/post it has links to the various sites that can assist you in your searchhttp://www.philippin...rent-in-manila/quote from yoshoMany of them say "phone line ready" or "cable TV ready", but I haven't seen any (at least in my price range) saying "internet ready". I definitely need steady internet service, wherever I stay. Surely these modern condos are capable of providing it? Or does everyone just use those wireless sticks?When it states its "phone/cable tv ready" . it already has the LINE established but you would need to Establish service,the "wireless sticks" , you just need to buy & load them .your ready to use, yes at times the speed is slow. At least you have service and not Stuck into a "CONTRACT"wish you the best living experience in MM :thumbsup:regarding info about "computer" connection here is another link on a past topichttp://philippines-expats.com/index.php?/topic/11265-computer-connection-for-my-home-in-the-pi

Edited March 28, 2012 by Call me Bubba

[joeatmanila]

HelloJust come to Philippines, go to the areas you are interested to rent, look the big condo buildings, go ask the guard for info or contacts for renting a unit there.The owner or the assiociation of the unit/building will tell you all you need to know.Beyond that...look for a townhouse too.If it has phone line it has internet too...just pay the fee :hystery:

[santos.phil]

Those are really long replies to the questions mentioned above. I really guess that things would work out well if you would be able to make things work out and that you'll see all the factors and things in between this one. I really just hope that everything work out well and it would be for the better.

[Jonathan]

I am returning to the Philippines after a ten year absence and am alarmed to see the increase in landlords asking for 12 months advance rental (not post dated cheques, cash) in addition to the security deposit. This is driven by inexperienced landlords desperate to reclaim the money they paid for their investment properties (or perhaps just greed). To me, a 12 month advance rental as completely unacceptable. It is unethical, inequitable and, in most countries, illegal. (Even in the Philippines, the Republic Act 9653, Section 7, already constrains landlords of less expensive properties to 1 month rent plus 2 month’s deposit.) Apparently, there are moves in the Senate to extend the deposit regulations to include more expensive residences.

I am a landlord myself, with tenants in the UK and Malaysia, and would never consider (and would not be allowed to) request such an advance. I was looking for an apartment in Rockwell and was was asked for a 12 month advance on an apartment. I declined and chose my current apartment because a landlord (in the same building) offered a more reasonable and conventional 1 plus 2 months advance rental.

So, just shop around. Incidentally, to the weak and disengenuous argument about the cost of fittings etc., which may be stolen, haven't these people heard of insurance?

I will not be a party to this unreasonable practice.

[Call me bubba]

This is driven by inexperienced landlords desperate to reclaim the money they paid for their investment properties (or perhaps just greed)

YES THATS SO TRUE

inexperienced?= could be that they lack certain developemental skills understanding the true meaning of owning real estate

and like you said JUST WANT THEIR MONEY BACK

So, just shop around. Incidentally, to the weak and disengenuous argument about the cost of fittings etc., which may be stolen, haven't these people heard of insurance?

Yes I agree too that SOME PEOPLE dont know what insurance is or they dont want to spend the money on it, or not knowing that ist even available

Thank you for your posting :th_thbestpost:

you have told us things that others may have been aware of but just forgot to share.

[Jollygoodfellow]

I am not so sure a landlord can get insurance in the Philippines for such things as fittings going missing. Someone know better?