Hi all, just wondering if it would be worth its while choosing a good size apartment in a good location to a lot and house after reading about all the aggro concerning neighbors' disputes, property ownership, title/tax forgeries, noisy neighbors (guess it might be worst in a condo), safety issues..... I do not know of any condo in a 2-3 storey apartment block in central Dumaguete for sale but would be interested to hear. I would like most of all forum members sharing their experiences, positive and negatives about living in a condo, comments on which pitfalls to look out for especially appreciated, sharing the maintenance cost, cleaning of common areas, water and electricity bills, disputes with neighbors, building/fire insurance cover, ground rent (guess it's freehold), rubbish collection, you know, this sort of things.....looking back at the list it seems almost as bad as owning a lot...eh..eh.. Cheers, Marco.
Hi Marco, hope you doing fine, I still like my/our own House and Lot, it has changed a lot since we bought our property back in 99' but I would not want a "Owner" to deal with, if you are a capable Handyman than go for your own place, if you are a Guy with two left Hands than rent the place and have the owner taking care of everything concerning maintenance, all the other stuff you will have to look after your self anyway...
I heard there are condos currently being built near South Seas Resort in Daro but I have not been there to check it out, I will try to get some info and post it.
Its a bit hard to say as I have also pondered whether to buy,rent or build. It depends if you are looking at a semi permanent stay or as a investment. I have a house in Tandayag in which I built a MAIN house with facilitites for a office, etc. The rear will house three Balinese themed villas with their own paths leading to a secluded spa. Due to so many standards in workmanship, I was a little disappointed and let the project go for awhile while I pursue other interests. I just recently bought a two bedroom townhouse in the Carmella subdivision in Palinpinhon. Its approx 1.4Million Pesos but everything is done by the company. All paperwork are done by their lawyers etc and I am ready to move in in November. I did this as there are too many people at the house I had built and I really like my privacy, plus it is closer to Dumaguete. It is for a investment also as I may rent or sell it in a few years time. We also have a small farm which needs tending to in Pamplona due to the damage caused by the last flood. I think a subdivision is OK as there are less houses in the area, the people who also own these will be hard working and help keep the areas safe. Security is 24 hours and cost only 700 pesos or less a month. There are no other hidden fees. Unwanted guests will be less inclined to visit and you will have a safer area to walk around in. I think investing wisely in the Philippines is not such a bad idea if you are careful. It certainly beats investing in Australia where I come from where the risks are greater and tenants give you more grief than actual productive revenue that you make out of them Hopefully other expats can share their views and give you a 'pooled' idea on what your expectations are.
A foreigner may own a condominium. The limit however is 30 % of the building may be owned by a foreigner. Nobody ever controls this and sellers of condominiums will never tell you if the limit of 30 % has been reached or not. This may not be a problem until someone is going to use this law for whatever reason there may be. The law is the law and for a foreigner there is always a little bit more law. In Manila there is an oversupply of apartments and condominiums, so it may not be a good investment unless you can get a very good deal. Cebu right now is building apartments like crazy and in the near (or far) future there may be an oversupply also.. As of now it is still a good investment to buy an apartment on paper before the start of building and sell the unit by the time the building is finish. Dumaguete is far behind on supply of apartment blocks and this situation may go on for several years. If it is a good investment depends on the discipline of the other occupants of the building and management. Winland towers in Cebu near Capitol one of the first high rise buildings in Cebu city was ones a very nice place to stay, however it took them more than 10 years to finish the planned swimming pool and by then the whole building was already deteriorated and is a dump now. Monthly cost for security, electricity and maintenance of the common parts of the building is very different from building to building. In an apartment block with over 50 apartments, garage and swimming pool the cost may be around 2,500 pesos a month.
Really? Never heard of South Seas Resort in Daro, I have lived near a 'certain' South Seas Resort, in Piapi, for the last 20+ years though.
And i know a South Sea resort in Bantayan, there must be 3 South Sea resorts in Dumaguete then: South Sea Resort Hotel Dumaguete City - Philippines
