Yes, I must admit it does look like an old east Berlin apartment block. Very ugly on the outside. I wonder why permission was granted to deface the boulevard in such a way.
As usual, it depends on what you like or want. If you want to be able to lock the door and travel with no worries, buy a condo unit in an ugly building. Or you could buy or build in a gated subdivision, or you could buy a small house on a small lot, or you could buy a big house on a big lot. Or you can rent, but be careful of the reputation of the landlord, some can be really cranky. Others are true sweethearts (like ours for four years), who might even split the costs of a new fridge or other improvements, or readily pay for repairs. What does it say in the lease? Nothing is worse than not knowing who does what, that's what a lease is for. Your landlord should NOT be offended if you get a comprehensive lease, ours was four pages... Good luck... It's YOUR decision...
Have you been to Duma? or Pi and if so how much time have you spent in the Phils? sorry if I missed it before. Really want to spend a fair bit of time in a place before investing in something like a house and rent is cheap as chips. Took me a fair few years / trips and I have only just brought a scoot last trip.
Just noticed your qualifier "...stay in a rental unit for a couple years first." Excellent idea. We traveled here for a month in 2015, stayed at MarPas in Valencia, GREAT place with Maria and Pasqual. Moved here in 2016, staying in rental in Dumaguete, with a small yard for the dog (pic). Spent a lot of time looking at places / lots for sale for over a year before we settled on a nice lot up the mountain. Would never have found it without looking for years....
I think it is mostly rental units on Airbnb and buy a parking space because they don't come with the unit.
I believe the property owner was a politician at one time. But lets face it. There is very little architectural intellect here in Dumaguete. Boxes are best is the design protocol.
Excellent advise. Rented at Amparos Village, Bawayan. Nightmare of barking dogs and roosters by the hundreds. Neighbors decided they would raise piglets in their front yard. We went to look at a beach near Basay at low tide. Glad we did. Nothing but rocks hundreds of meters out from the sandy beach. On the way back we found a hectare of paradise sitting on the cliffs of Nagbo Alao. Bammm!!!
Looks like they are made to look cheap, they certainly did that alright. It gets worse by building a mall in front of the hotel and the beach front, that's in their plans.