Suggestion The Boulevard Residences

The Boulevard Residences is the name of the high rise condo units that are supposed to be built near the end of the boulevard (at the end where the public washrooms are).

It has been 3 years and they are still only working on the foundation. They have had such good, dry weather the last year that they should be well beyond the first floor by now (in my layman's opinion).

Its a high priced condo building with 1 BR units going for almost 4 million pesos and 2 BR units going for over 5 million. So what is holding it up? Not enough units sold? Scam? Permits? Engineering difficulties?

Is there anyone here "in the know" about what is really going on behind that fence? They are still offering units in the 'preselling' phase and it would be nice to know if they are going broke or what is going on.

Anyone?

 

No idea, maybe as you suggest. When I was there last July they were pumping water like crazy. I'm guessing that they are below the water table and the ocean water keeps permeating through the dirt and filling the hole. Easy enough to check, just take a peak in the hole and see if it's dry. If wet, maybe they should start using that water to replenish the reservoirs.

 

Foundations would have to be very deep, same as Robinson's that took a long time too. Concrete needs to cure over a long time when there's a problem with wet ground.

 

Besides what others have said they had a heck of a time getting permits and getting all the land they were after as some were not wanting to sell out at first.

 

Perhaps the "real" development plan is exactly what you see, a money pit. A good story and just enough progress to continue convincig investors to throw money in, which they promptly take out. Sort of an upside-down money tree.

 

d*mn, how can they sell condo's for that much? Who would be dumb enough to buy one? Or rich enough that 4 million is no big deal? And if you're that rich you're probably going to do something more productive with your money just out of principle.

It's land and demand which sets the prices.

Dumaguete seems to be a rental market. Prices for buying are crazy here when you can rent so cheap.

 

Location. Location. Location

As for price, a 'studio' which is the size of a hotel room, is advertised at 2.5 mill and that may work for price conscious buyers.

As far as the wet ground goes, it may be that the first year of building was too rainy as they were always flooded and pumping water but they have been doing SFA for the last 6 months to a year and it has been dry as a desert around there.

Whereas I would like to have a condo there, I doubt I could come up with that kind of money so its likely just a fantasy of mine.

 

I know at least a couple of people who are certainly neither rich nor dumb who are interested in purchasing unit(s) in this development. A lot of foreign retirees, who have had their fill of places like Manila and Cebu are looking at these. Being a condominium, they can own them in their own names, without having a 'local in between', quite handy for hanging on to, in case of conjugal strife I'd imagine.
(The Condominium Act of the Philippines, R.A. 4726, expressly allows foreigners to acquire condominium units and shares in condominium corporations up to 40 % of the total and outstanding capital stock of a Filipino owned or controlled condominium corporation.)

 

I suppose I should include my thought process behind my post. Someone check my math.

(4000000 / 46.67) * .08 / 12 = 566.67

That's taking that 4 million pesos and putting it in an S&P 500 index which has historically returned 8% interest. That's not accounting for inflation. You would be generating $566.67 in interest every month. With that interest you could afford to rent a nice house today (or a d*mn nice apartment.)

When it's time for an exit plan (Wrye83 style) then you put in your notice and flee. You don't have to bother with selling a condo.

Your money isn't tied up. It's liquid. If you need it for something better, then you can get immediate access to it.

Buying would have to be a long term option to be worth it. With rental prices today, I'm not sure it is. X years from now, buying may have been a better option. But X years from now Dumaguete may be a **** hole and I'm long gone. X years from now I may have a family which has outgrown a 1BR condo. X years from now the condo may be worth more, or the building may go to **** and the money I have tied up into it is gone. This isn't land that you can build on, it's a box in a mystery building.

When I say rich, I mean I can jiggle my balls and $80K falls out. And I would have had to make that money from the lotto, professional sports, inheritance or some other source which doesn't require for me to have acquired that money by being a good money manager.

Yes, there's a possibility you could make that money back as an investment. But lets not go there because that's an entirely different argument. Real estate investing requires expertise in that field and that's not what we are talking about here. Let's also leave renting the place to others out of this because it's the same thing.

There may be some convenience, but that's too much money to dish out on convenience. Making 80K sure as **** wasn't convenient as I probably busted my *** to make that. And having that money in a liquid form earning interest is also convenient.

People have an emotional attachment to buying a a pad. It's part of that BS we were brainwashed with in the marketing of the American Dream. I get that.

Still a dumb decision.

 

Oh, and look here. The company behind this project has to deal with the same BS rules as any other business. I have no confidence in staking anything here for anything but consumption (hi, San Miguel). And even that's questionable. Duterte is looking to reform these laws to increase foreign investment. That's because foreign investors think these laws are bat **** crazy. Why should we think any different?

Wait, let me try something...

*@TheDude jiggles his balls*

Nope, no 80K lying on the ground. I guess I'm out.