Best Posts in Thread: If you are going to buy, what's the sweet spot?

I can only suggest that you try to have a new house built for the same price as the used house is selling for. The reason I suggest it is because a "finished" new house in Philippines often costs the same again to make it livable. I am thinking of my own personal experience as well as the experience of a few close friends. What they originally thought their new house would cost turned out to be half the actual cost when you start adding things like a wall around the property or a car port or putting tiles on the floor etc.

Another thing to realize is that used houses are often "asking" double what they expect to put in their pockets once the house is sold. This is to give them room to negotiate or to find the "rich foreigner" who sometimes shows up. There are also taxes, legal fees, and commissions to be paid from the sale price so it comes down to: if they can't get a certain amount of money they cannot pay the fees and thus they cannot sell it.

 

The sweet spot for me is not as described, it is how much money do I want to donate (plan on zero return/recovery) vs amenities I want. Once the house is built I will live there until I am gone, whether that is 6 feet under or just walking away. Looking to live here, not invest here.

 

If you are ever going to sell a property you will want to have the largest possible market, and that would be the 100 million filipinos rather than the few foreigners.

So ask how much an average filipino can pay. The answer is simple when you realize that the vast majority of filipino home buyers finance through pag-ibig. What is the average house price financed through them and what is the maximum?

Aha! Mr Google provided those answers for me here How Much Is The Maximum Loan Amount?| Pagibig Housing Loan Amount

But I was already well aware that the average middle class filipino (call center agent, teacher, police officer etc) can comfortably afford a 1 to 2 million peso house using pag-ibig financing so that is the price of house I own. When I sell it later this year I will try to remember to come back to this thread and reply if my theory turned out to be correct :-)

Actually, its not much of a theory as a given. I have known more than a few foreigners who make a living here building new houses in that price range to sell to filipinos. And before you ask, no these foreigners never actually own the property. Many buy the property through a corporation and the odd one I know who bought everything in his filipina wife's name got horribly burned when she left him and took all the money.

 

Have so far negotiated "Right of Way" with the adjoining neighbour for 20,000php but fully intend on getting that in writing in the contract we will get our Land Attorney to write up for us at the time we settle and gain the Title...

I bought a Tricycle for Private use and one of the neighbours got 'clever' and fenced their lot so only Motorbikes could pass through and chuckled to other neighbours about how we would have to sell our Tricycle or park it around 400 metres away on the Highway...
Soon after soon after selling our Tricycle, they bought a Tricycle, and THEN we bought the Lot between THEM and the road... Guess what? Karma is a Biatch! hehe

 

I believe that is because the listed DI Properties are REALISTICALLY priced compared to what you often see posted on other pages, I have been looking at a lot of Real Estate lately trying to gain a better idea of the local market and am blown away by some of the asking prices for absolute Turd offerings... They say "you can't polish a turd but can roll it in glitter" but most here don't even bother with the glitter, just an unbelievable sales pitch with the straightest of faces!

 

Crazy but true stories here..... Been here 8 years and had 3 businesses and 4 homes. Many are happy here (or terrified of their wife and pretending to be happy lol) and many have lost their @ss (and all their money) to the "only true love that ever understood them" . I have been lucky and have sold everything I had (invested here) during the last year and all I have (cash wise) is thank merciful Jesus back in Canada.
I am glad to know many who are happy here but I strongly suggest not to invest 1 peso more than you can afford to walk away from in this country.. I am so happy and lucky to get back in a safe bank all I ever invested here, pity on my friends who might not outlive the greed of their wives, gf's or their family's... DONT BUT sh*t HERE!!!!

 

Proof of no common sense - land, yes land only, in Valencia common asking price is p1,500/sq meter. That is over $120,000/acre WTF!!!!!!!! The Hindenburg was a tiny bubble gum bubble compared to this one...