Renting In The Philippines

[Dave Hounddriver]

I have rented 5 long term residences in the Philippines.  They were all good deals.  The first one I found on the Internet and I got lucky.  It was a shot in the dark but I only planned to stay there for a few months and it was a great choice (I will not pass on the info as the place has gone WAY downhill since I was there).  The second place was through looking for signs.  I found a very nice 3 bedroom place.  But because I did not ask anyone in the neighborhood, I did not know that there was a gang of thieves operating right outside my back door.  The daylight robbery of my laptop more than made up for the good deal on the rental.

 

Since then I ONLY take rentals that I have discussed with expat neighbors in the area.  The next 3 places I got were 2 fantastic deals and 1 good deal but the main thing was I was happy.  When you talk to the local expats first you have to find someone who is compatible with you and you with them.  Do you want them for a neighbor?  Do they want you for a neighbor?  An expat neighbor may live 1 km down the street in a rural area or live next door in a condo but the concept is important.  If the expat you have met likes you and wants you for a neighbor he will not only tell you of what is empty but he likely knows the gossip about what is coming up.  Not every expat will know of a place.  You have to be sociable and get to know lots of people.

 

Anyway, that works for me.

[Jake]

Congratulations TRF!

 

I could not believe they have such a clean, quiet and secured community like that near Manila.

I took the liberty of attaching this Youtube presentation of your new residence.  I hope it's the

right one (own and operated by DMCI):

 

http://youtu.be/Xcn4Ds11nqU

 

I'm coming over by the way to be your personal dri-bear, maid and booty guard.....he, he. 

[Thomas]

Decide what I want in available foods, medical care and medicine availability, security, shopping, law enforcement, air quality, water quality and availability, electical availability and cost, minimal noise pollution, as a US citizen how close is the embassy or consolate, available banking institutions, transportation availability and costs, available living conditions of housing, cleanliness of the area, how freindly are the locals.

How can your answer to the red ones be Manila???   :)

 

I think no problem having some distance to things, which are needed seldom (except hospital which can be needed hasty. BUT I don't count kilometers, I count minutes needed  :)  Many minutes can be needed for a short distance where it's much traffic...)  

I think better living somewhere where it's best 99 % of the time  :)  even when that mean it's a longer travel to seldom needed things as embassy. And much cheaper estates if staying out of the crowded areas. I find it more interesting to get hectares instead of a few squaremeters for same money   :)

[i am bob]

 

Decide what I want in available foods, medical care and medicine availability, security, shopping, law enforcement, air quality, water quality and availability, electical availability and cost, minimal noise pollution, as a US citizen how close is the embassy or consolate, available banking institutions, transportation availability and costs, available living conditions of housing, cleanliness of the area, how freindly are the locals.

How can your answer to the red ones be Manila???   :)

 

I think no problem having some distance to things, which are needed seldom (except hospital which can be needed hasty. BUT I don't count kilometers, I count minutes needed   :)  Many minutes can be needed for a short distance where it's much traffic...)  

I think better living somewhere where it's best 99 % of the time   :)  even when that mean it's a longer travel to seldom needed things as embassy. And much cheaper estates if staying out of the crowded areas. I find it more interesting to get hectares instead of a few squaremeters for same money   :)

 

 

Now Thomas, you're just being grouchy...   Not everybody wants the same as you want but the opposite! There are parts of Manila that have excellent air quality (in comparison) and the price sounds really great!  TRF found a gem, I think.

 

:thumbsup:

[Thomas]

 

 

Decide what I want in available foods, medical care and medicine availability, security, shopping, law enforcement, air quality, water quality and availability, electical availability and cost, minimal noise pollution, as a US citizen how close is the embassy or consolate, available banking institutions, transportation availability and costs, available living conditions of housing, cleanliness of the area, how freindly are the locals.

How can your answer to the red ones be Manila???   :)

 

I think no problem having some distance to things, which are needed seldom (except hospital which can be needed hasty. BUT I don't count kilometers, I count minutes needed   :)  Many minutes can be needed for a short distance where it's much traffic...)  

I think better living somewhere where it's best 99 % of the time   :)  even when that mean it's a longer travel to seldom needed things as embassy. And much cheaper estates if staying out of the crowded areas. I find it more interesting to get hectares instead of a few squaremeters for same money   :)

 

 

Now Thomas, you're just being grouchy...   Not everybody wants the same as you want but the opposite! There are parts of Manila that have excellent air quality (in comparison) and the price sounds really great!  TRF found a gem, I think.

 

:thumbsup:

 

Yes, I know different people want to live different.  (Good for me, because then the costs stay low in places where I want to live :)

 

But I comented the parts I made RED. Are you sure it can be BOTH nice air and low cost in SAME place anywhere in Manila??   I know it's low living costs at the famous Manila garbage dump, but I doubt it's nice air there  :)

[MikeB]

There are parts of Manila that have excellent air quality (in comparison)

In comparison to what? Other parts of Manila? The words "Manila" and "excellent air quality" don't belong in the same sentence unless separated by "not".

[jojones]

How did you find Cypress Towers? Good enough to stay long term? I looked at that and Rosewood Pointe a few months ago and preferred Cypress as it was next to shops and we were shown better units. Were there always taxis waiting outside at night? We were shown around various units at both by a DMCI agent who was clueless, it was a big waste of time as he was opening doors with people inside or showing us units that were awful. We decided on a really nice unit in Cypress which turned out had been sold. In fairness we didn't give him anytime to prepare a list of properties as we just showed up. Might give them another chance as Mandaluyong isn't working out for us.

[TexasRangersFan]

How did you find Cypress Towers? Good enough to stay long term? I looked at that and Rosewood Pointe a few months ago and preferred Cypress as it was next to shops and we were shown better units. Were there always taxis waiting outside at night? We were shown around various units at both by a DMCI agent who was clueless, it was a big waste of time as he was opening doors with people inside or showing us units that were awful. We decided on a really nice unit in Cypress which turned out had been sold. In fairness we didn't give him anytime to prepare a list of properties as we just showed up. Might give them another chance as Mandaluyong isn't working out for us.

Cypress Towers was too busy for us. Too many people coming and going all the time. Living in a high rise is not my idea of a good time. There are many there who obviously do like it. The Pool was very small. We did not get a chance to see the gym. The so called bar did not exist. Good thing in my opinion. They did have an excellent sky lounge restaurant tho. Cost for food was very reasonable. I will post the pictures today or tomorrow that we took while up there.

 

The unit we rented was fully furnished. The balcony door didn't lock which was a bit of a concern for me, since we were only on the second floor. But using American ingenuity I managed to keep the door from being opened when we were not out there, ( used 2 of my belts and wrapped them around the door handle then tied the other end to the bed). It worked good. The microwave didn't work so the owner brought us another one. Found banquet microwave dinners at market market for 200 pesos each. Bought a couple thousand pesos worth.

 

The elevators were good sized. The stairways were a bit small tho. The storage/drying/laundry  area on the roof deck was rather cramped and small. There was only 1 sink working up there on our building.

 

As to the DMCI person you talked about. Hmmm. Doesn't sound right. Perhaps they were not really a DMCI Leasing Specialist. There were some there who claimed to be but were not. We only found 1 unit available at each of the 5 DMCI Condo places in the Metro Manila area online in the classified ads. All were not what we wanted. The Specialist then made a call to the main leasing office and showed us at least 3 to 4 more empty units at each place. DMCI has a rule about entering a unit that is occupied. They must contact the tenant first before they can show the unit. Supposed to be a 24 hour notice. But not always. We looked at one unit with a woman that claimed to be a DMCI Specialist who didn't notify the tenants and just walked us up to the unit and knocked on the door. I felt badly for the tenants as they were an elderly couple who had no idea they were moving out. We met the real DMCI Specialist at the clubhouses at each place. There were a lot of others there trying to sell or rent units to others. Those who were legit would come up and sit with us and talk to the specialist we were with. Those who were not avoided us like we had some kind of disease. 

 

The way it works with DMCI leasing a unit is like this. According to the Specialist that is.

The owner contacts the management office at the condo building.

The Management office contacts the main leasing office in Makati.

The Leasing office then contacts their own licensed realtors to advertise the unit.

Once a sucker er um I mean a client or potential tenant contacts the Realtor. the realtor then asks when the client would like to see the unit. The Realtor then sets up a Tripping appointment with the licensed leasing specialist and then informs the client what time and where to meet the specialist. 

The specialist will then contact the security at the selected condo and inform them of their arrival. Unless they forget that part. As ours did with East Reyes Gardens. Or maybe she didn't forget and they really are just a bunch of overly aggressive assholes. Anyway. The specialist will then meet the client at the appointed time ( Filipino/Filipina time ) different from real time so you have to add 1/2 an hour at least. Ours was on time each time. NO delay. 

The specialist then checks with the management office and gets the key if the owner has not already gave them the key.

The specialist then shows the unit. if empty no calls, if occupied they call first before showing the unit.

They are paid a salary and have a quota of 80 months a year to fill. Thats 80 month of rent. Such as ours was 12 months. So she had 80 minus 12. Now she is down to needing 68 more months to fill within the next year.

The DMCI rental agreement is very long. Not in words. It uses large lettering so even I could read it without my glasses. The contract is very straight forward with no tiny paragraphs at the end. There are no hidden fees, no illegal statements of any kind. It was the best contract we have seen in the 2 1/2 years I have been here. The Specialist acts as a mediator of sorts between the owner and the prospective client. Ours helped us reduce the monthly rental 1000 pesos and found us a parking space at a reasonable rate. The specialist will then arrange a meeting between the prospective tenants and the owner for signing the contract and getting to know one another. The only documents required is a copy of your passport and acr-I card if you have that. There is an application form to fill out in order to rent from them. The specialist can fill that out as ours did. basically it wanted to know where we were living is all. and how much money I make a month. Nothing more than they would ask in the U.S.

 

You can verify whether or not the specialist is actually from DMCI leasing office by contacting the main DMCI office in Makati as I did. The number can be found by googling DMCI and looking on their website.

 

Anyhow. Thats what I did and we are very happy about it.

[jojones]

Awesome reply, thanks. Yeah it really doesn't sound like we got a proper agent so will try them again in future with more notice beforehand. 

[Adam Lee]

Prior to signing the contract we were allowed to have a copy and take it to an attorney of our choosing to find out weather it was legal or not. IT WAS LEGAL.

 

 

Do you mind if I ask the name of the law firm you used and the approximate cost of checking over a rental agreement?

 

I'm also wondering what the reality is if you manage to negotiate any special terms that aren't covered by the landlords standard contract, i.e., minimum length, especially if you're dealing with the landlord/owner directly. How willing/likely would he/she be to have a new contract drawn up to reflect the changes or am I worrying about nothing here?