Condominium or precious yellow metal for investment?

Wrong spelling "done members and done income" it should be 'some' for both corrections. This food  business is good but generally most working class Filipino will look for economy food to eat. Unless it is a salary day then they will bring their family out to mall to eat.

If posh or pricier food then some may not willing to spend on it. Unless they are from rich family or managerial levels. I have a friend from Malaysia who is a Filipino citizen started a fast food business here in Makati, I mean 'local Filipino' fast food business. He just concentrate on selling lunch only take-away foam box food at a very reason price. He told me it is the volume that make his day.

He earned 11% to13% profit after deducting the food and expenses cost and daily t he can sell 140 to 170 of foam box food. He also say if he has a restaurant with maybe 20 tables, the table turn over during lunch time cannot cover the running cost and it has to open for dinner also to cover up the cost. Now his foam box food stall sells only lunch and he can go home by 3:30 pm.

I wish I can be like him doing this type of business and he himself is the cook and he do all the cooking. His wife is the cashier and his brother-in-law is the food server...very hard working guy and he also said he isn't here to retired yet....!

michael3 wrote:

Sir, I sincerely apologize for making you and fellow member confused. I'm here to retired and I've acquired my Filipino citizenship already. My meaning of "I'm not really here to retire" means that even I am retired I still carry on working and look for good opportunity to earn some money.

We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises. We believe that even if we have a pot of gold, it will eventually finished if we don't produce done income. I'm sure some member will agree with my saying.

So whether washy or not, I am here to stay and still will look out my windows of opportunity if I am given this chance. I think I've make you and done members confused of what I'm saying. Please accept my apology on this. My old man also teaches me to be humble and always ready to apologize if I have make a mistake. Thank you.

Hi Sir, dont be offended by how this people would say or what not, they can't define you as a person or as how you think or do, theyre not you. I very much understand and agree that you want to put your money in a good use for the better future of your offsprings and generation, and Mr. Ramblingroads here couldnt just take it to comment take it negatively, anyone should be thinking of PASSIVE INVESTMENT even when you retire right? and you should actually should have one and what should be done, to entirely secure not just a providers future but also the future of our kids. I am sure we are all here to help out each other, and not make rubbish comments. probably rudeness really comes naturally with them, or i dont know, im speculating on this..

anyway, I hope you find you've seen all of your option, might also want to take a look at Agricultural business in the Philippines.

shid.buldiman wrote:

michael3 wrote:

Sir, I sincerely apologize for making you and fellow member confused. I'm here to retired and I've acquired my Filipino citizenship already. My meaning of "I'm not really here to retire" means that even I am retired I still carry on working and look for good opportunity to earn some money.

We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises. We believe that even if we have a pot of gold, it will eventually finished if we don't produce done income. I'm sure some member will agree with my saying.

So whether washy or not, I am here to stay and still will look out my windows of opportunity if I am given this chance. I think I've make you and done members confused of what I'm saying. Please accept my apology on this. My old man also teaches me to be humble and always ready to apologize if I have make a mistake. Thank you.

Hi Sir, dont be offended by how this people would say or what not, they can't define you as a person or as how you think or do, theyre not you. I very much understand and agree that you want to put your money in a good use for the better future of your offsprings and generation, and Mr. Ramblingroads here couldnt just take it to comment take it negatively, anyone should be thinking of PASSIVE INVESTMENT even when you retire right? and you should actually should have one and what should be done, to entirely secure not just a providers future but also the future of our kids. I am sure we are all here to help out each other, and not make rubbish comments. probably rudeness really comes naturally with them, or i dont know, im speculating on this..

anyway, I hope you find you've seen all of your option, might also want to take a look at Agricultural business in the Philippines.

**************************************

some suggested that I should keep my monies in the bank, some said why am I in a hurry to lose all my money and I guessed you guys are right? I better keep my monies in the bank and observe how is the market before decide again.

I know property investment is quite stable and safe but the question is when to buy?


Another suggestion from my friends in SG is on Gold... They told me to invest on gold and hold it for four to five years.

Some old timer over at SG told me this isn't the right time to buy property in the Philippines because of the uncertainties in Syrian

. They say two years from now is a good time to buy when the properties market hits rock bottom when foreign investment are slowing down and expats leaving the Philippines due to world economic changes. Any comments on this? As I am looking at a few condo units in the choice area.

Hi, I've a house in Samar & Maasin in southern Leyte and both my house are quite similar to yours. All facing the sea

Last time when I was staying on the Leyte region, I noticed business there are slow and I think by investing in a gas station is a good idea.

The things about the local people here is they don't have much idea. They are good in copying foreigner's idea. But they just copied but didn't improve or revamp it to a better idea.

I've quite a few Filipino entrepreneur friends but they don't have much innovative idea or maybe they doesn't want to share it with me..?

You said buy 'ready-for-occupancy condo' mean that I should buy those condo are already builded and I can rent it out to tenant right away?

I am selling some of my studio units condo in Singapore and I may buy a few units at Makati.

Actually, I'd like to purchase a few units of condo in Ortigas area and I prefer to buy the unit with tenancy. And I don't need any financial assistance cos I don't like the bank to earn my money.

My purchase s solely for investment and not for owner occupied as I have a house and lot already in Cavite which I spend quite a lot of monies on it. Thank you.
Hi sir, we both share the same thinking as I was told by many friends of mine that the bubbles will burst soon and those who buy may be caught on a situation.


The best time to buy a condo is when the market is way down to the bottom and I think it will happen in two to three years time. When the economy is down and many expats will move out and all these condo will be empty without tenants.

THank you very much for your wonderful suggestion and thoughts. I have lived and worked in the Philippines since 1995 and I have seen and experience my share of the good and bad of this country.

I am an Overseas Chinese Filipino and regardless of Chinese or native Filipino, we Asian are very hard working. We worked extended hours to earn a living for a better tomorrow. I am sure most Asian agrees with my saying.

As I have said before in my post, my dad teaches me to invest only 30% of my money for business, another 30% is for bread & butter and the remaining is for rainy days.....! So I only have P15M-P20M to spare. Thank you.

Actually, I don't only come here to retired, my retirement is only my second plan. My main reason is to come here to earn more money for my next generation to spends.

Sir, I sincerely apologize for making you and fellow member confused. I'm here to retired and I've acquired my Filipino citizenship already. My meaning of "I'm not really here to retire" means that even I am retired I still carry on working and look for good opportunity to earn some money.

We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises.



You've told all that would listen that your net worth is 60Mphp, or 1,500,000.00 usd, that you've earned as an Off Shore Worker,  and (as best as I can tell) from real-estate investments. Meanwhile you're flipping and flopping like a fish on the dock, about where to put your money....Hum, I don't think so....

Dance with the one who brought you....

Buy low and sell high. My Advice...

shid.buldiman wrote:

michael3 wrote:

Sir, I sincerely apologize for making you and fellow member confused. I'm here to retired and I've acquired my Filipino citizenship already. My meaning of "I'm not really here to retire" means that even I am retired I still carry on working and look for good opportunity to earn some money.

We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises. We believe that even if we have a pot of gold, it will eventually finished if we don't produce done income. I'm sure some member will agree with my saying.

So whether washy or not, I am here to stay and still will look out my windows of opportunity if I am given this chance. I think I've make you and done members confused of what I'm saying. Please accept my apology on this. My old man also teaches me to be humble and always ready to apologize if I have make a mistake. Thank you.

Hi Sir, dont be offended by how this people would say or what not, they can't define you as a person or as how you think or do, theyre not you. I very much understand and agree that you want to put your money in a good use for the better future of your offsprings and generation, and Mr. Ramblingroads here couldnt just take it to comment take it negatively, anyone should be thinking of PASSIVE INVESTMENT even when you retire right? and you should actually should have one and what should be done, to entirely secure not just a providers future but also the future of our kids. I am sure we are all here to help out each other, and not make rubbish comments. probably rudeness really comes naturally with them, or i dont know, im speculating on this..

anyway, I hope you find you've seen all of your option, might also want to take a look at Agricultural business in the Philippines.

*********************************

"I wish I can be like him doing this type of business and he himself is the cook and he do all the cooking. His wife is the cashier and his brother-in-law is the food server...very hard working guy and he also said he isn't here to retired yet....!"


This is not PASSIVE INVESTMENT, I think you (meant) passive income, which this is not either...

michael3 wrote:

Sir, I sincerely apologize for making you and fellow member confused. I'm here to retired and I've acquired my Filipino citizenship already. My meaning of "I'm not really here to retire" means that even I am retired I still carry on working and look for good opportunity to earn some money.

We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises. We believe that even if we have a pot of gold, it will eventually finished if we don't produce done income. I'm sure some member will agree with my saying.

So whether washy or not, I am here to stay and still will look out my windows of opportunity if I am given this chance. I think I've make you and done members confused of what I'm saying. Please accept my apology on this. My old man also teaches me to be humble and always ready to apologize if I have make a mistake. Thank you.

************************************

"My old man also teaches me to be humble and always ready to apologize if I have make a mistake."

When you are referencing your "old man" does that mean your father or your dad? I am unfamiliar with Asians calling or making reference to their father, as "the old man".



"Now I'm looking for a good business in Manila but I need good idea from our fellow member. The things about the local people here is they don't have much idea. They are good in copying foreigner's idea. But they just copied but didn't improve or revamp it to a better idea.

I've quite a few Filipino entrepreneur friends but they don't have much innovative idea or maybe they doesn't want to share it with me..? Anyway nice talking to you and we shall chat again. Thank you"

"We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises."


Hum...

This is not PASSIVE INVESTMENT, I think you (meant) passive income, which this is not either...

My mistake, and thank you for correcting me. yes what i meant was passive income, but at the same time, was also thinking of investing not only on a single basket but multiple ones.

michael3 wrote:

Hi, I've a house in Samar & Maasin in southern Leyte and both my house are quite similar to yours. All facing the sea. I loved the country and beach life as I have stayed there for a few years. But doing business there isn't a good idea cos the people there lack of spending power and they like 'utamg' credit or they don't patronize your shop.

I also have stayed in Luzon & Manila area for a few years. I've stayed in Bulacaan, Quezon City and even Pasay. Now I live in Cavite. I like Cavite cos its just outside Manila and things are slightly cheaper there. I know property in the province are very cheap but the infrastructure ain't up to date. Always have power black out if typhoon come and Internet & mobile signal sometime not strong.

But it's very safe in the province compare to Manila. Have u heard of Tagatay? Many expats lived there and it's very cooling up there. But the properties prices isn't cheap. Maybe u can visit there and take a look at the volcano.

Last time when I was staying on the Leyte region, I noticed business there are slow and I think by investing in a gas station is a good idea. How many gas station in your area? If there is only one in your area then by investing another gasoline station is a good choice.

My village only have one small gas station in a 20 Km radius do wveryone patronize this station. That Chinese owner have many business just by selling petrol & diesel. But not in Manila cos too many completion.

Now I'm looking for a good business in Manila but I need good idea from our fellow member. The things about the local people here is they don't have much idea. They are good in copying foreigner's idea. But they just copied but didn't improve or revamp it to a better idea.

I've quite a few Filipino entrepreneur friends but they don't have much innovative idea or maybe they doesn't want to share it with me..? Anyway nice talking to you and we shall chat again. Thank you.

****************************************


"We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises. We believe that even if we have a pot of gold, it will eventually finished if we don't produce done income. I'm sure some member will agree with my saying."

****************************************

Dear Mr. Michael3,

I am not familiar with this idea, of your take on "Caucasian's", perhaps this is (your) take of an Asian stereotype that the rest of the world is not familiar with? Your own statement here is you look for ideas from people of the West... I didn't say it you did.  But then you turn around,  and say "they" Caucasians are brain dead and lazy. Which is it? Do you know? Or are we back to the  (flopping and flipping like a fish on the dock).  Maybe you are talking about the hard working Chinese as in China? Doing all that hard work with the long hours and making all those "dollars". Well maybe, but if we take a closer look at things like say [ per-capita income ] and therefore discretionary income, the "real story" of (real money), behind all the bullshit, it is again a horse of an entirely different color... Isn't it!!

Way on down at number 120th in the world, of nations in the world... is "China" with a per-capita income of $9,100/year  2012 est. What about the Philippines? How do they stand/rank in the world of earning income,  they are on down farther still... at number 162nd in the world, the Philippines $4,300/year  2012 est.  What about India, another "power house" an Asian Giant... Well, no, not really, they are farther down still at number 164 in the world is India $3,900/year. So the envy of the world.. hardly, the big incomes of the world from hard working Asians no, not even close.

There is really little reason to dig on into this, the bigger picture is usually confusing for most of the Asians I've met, and I've met and worked with lots...

But if you just look locally and forget the big picture, i.e. geo-political world economy, just look around you, and you'll see right before your very own eyes, that Expat Caucasians work hard in the Philippines... In general, and this is not a sweeping generalization, they work far harder than their Philippino counterparts.... They are an investment class of people, who greatly enrich the average working Philippino, because they give them jobs...  Investment types work hard... and think a lot... look around, who in the 60 years + crowd is still working, running a business in the Philippines, you have to take note of foreigner's the Expats, they've invested their monies and are working hard, they talk about retirement but most keep working and they generally keep working until they die...In the Philippines.

You do understand that it takes brains and hard work to accumulate wealth. Most of the world's wealth is concentrated in the West.... There's a few oil producing Middle East countries with abnormally inflated wealth due solely to oil in the ground... without it there's a few camels, and a couple of date trees with a whole lot of sand. But that's all about to change too, the USA is projected to be the largest oil producing nation in the (world) in 2020. So the extraneous bumps on the per-capita income graph of Mideast countries won't be there long. The other high earning countries of the world are almost all in the West. Technology, education, innovation, you name it...

It's ok that you "ramble" on about investment speculation and make all kinds of statements such as buying gold as an "investment", at 1328.90/ounce, or land, or a bill collecting company, or three houses on the sea, and tens of millions of peso. But it's just plain Bulabula, that you cast or call out Caucasians as being lazy and unthinking... "They" lead, and the world follows... much like pulling a caribou around with a nose ring. If you don't understand this you've not been paying attention, and you surly better keep your money in the bank.

HI Dophened,

Thank you for your advised and I have checked on what you have told me. I find the funds provided by the insurance companies quite interesting. As for you what and which insurance company have you invested in? Please tell me which fund yield the best return? Thank s again

Prudential Plan Insurance just collapsed. Took out a lot of investors life savings. If they pay out a higher rate than their peers, its risky.

Sir, I also read Bout their incident and what about Sun Life? I read thSt they Re sound and they are No.1 in the philippinesarket now. Thanks.

Hi, Just to share to you guys,

Best time to invest in PH

Misleading article. Best improved, meaning it moved from 46th place to 21st and still ranks worst among ASEAN with exception of Vietnam.  Philippines is still a laggard.

dhnindc wrote:

Prudential Plan Insurance just collapsed. Took out a lot of investors life savings. If they pay out a higher rate than their peers, its risky.

***************************

From a friend of a friend.

How did you make it in the downturn? Sing, baby sing. Here is how the invisible hand slings its blade for me: about the GE culture. The GE culture does not seem to work for the individual investor. On 05/20/2008, I invested $3432.91 in “GE” stock and now with the dividends re-invested that sum is now worth $2,679.07 as of 08/31/2013. But wait, it gets even better, during this same time a $3,036.93 investment in Wachovia is now worth $996.47 in “WFC” stock! Meanwhile, during this same time – how do you think the “High Performing & Insightful” management at GE or WFC made out financially during this same time.

*************************

GE is General Electric, a big famous company. Somehow they make billions and still pay no taxes even in a police state like America.

How goes the Philippine stock market?

The Philippines as everyone knows is extra-ordinarily corrupt. Then again, so are many other countries, money surely brings out the worst side of many cultures, and governments. What has shielded (me) from most of it, the corruption in the Philippines is the relatively small moneyed investments I've made. Approximately 3Mphp, over several years. No reason to talk of return.... Maybe in thirty years, maybe? Theoretically I could still be alive then.

The echo of one needs a large fortune, to make a small fortune in the Philippines, keeps ringing...

Perhaps starting a thread on the Philippine stock market, might be useful. But I thought I'd throw this one out there...

I am no better in investing, I put quite a lot into Lehman bonds and thought it was a safe investment with a 7% yield and would be bought out. Actually still have them and slow getting back up to 50% of the original value. And I also have WB bank, not Wells. As for GE, I actually am doing ok with them. My best holdings are reits and now I focus on dividend payout. I am about even with my pre 2008 amounts.

I dont follow the Phillipine stocks nor hold much in pesos. Just enough to pay the bills and buy beer.

dhnindc wrote:

I am no better in investing, I put quite a lot into Lehman bonds and thought it was a safe investment with a 7% yield and would be bought out. Actually still have them and slow getting back up to 50% of the original value. And I also have WB bank, not Wells. As for GE, I actually am doing ok with them. My best holdings are reits and now I focus on dividend payout. I am about even with my pre 2008 amounts.

I dont follow the Phillipine stocks nor hold much in pesos. Just enough to pay the bills and buy beer.

*******************************

Which are you using, residual, stability or hybrid dividends? if you use them all... is there a "workhorse" dividend you "bank on" in your portfolio? I spent several hours yesterday reading about dividends and the major thrust of the conversation was / is, they are more stable, and less risky than capital gains work, ie the stock approach. But one still has to buy stock, ie shares in a company?  But with a different intention than actually selling the shares as in buying low and selling high. The intention is keep them and allow them to earn "interest". And for the most part it is better for the fledging dividender, to go with the larger stable companies that have matured ie reached more or less their top stock value, and do not expect a lot of slipping and sliding volatile growth, or decline. Examples being General Electric, Microsoft, Google, Apple, IBM, to name a few big guns, and others that have stabilized, after stock values have tapered off, or companies on the move but with a "solid stable growth history", that is positive incrementalization movement, at more or less consistent levels, not the volatile stuff. I do "see" the differences of dividends verses stocks, ie capital gains. But it's still a bit fuzzy. But I am a quick study, meaning by the time I read something five or six to seven times or so, I begin to understand it OK. How does tax factor into all of this, I read capital gains are taxed at a higher rate, than dividends. How does dividends investment fair on the tax end?

Ok back to my original question...

I was asking about your (preference) of types of dividends, I know / suspect that if I took an interest, I should push toward the more safer type, probably with lower interest, as always, or almost always, safer means lower payout.

I guess; in general, the greater the risk the greater the payout can be; take robbing banks for instants, the risk is great, but the payout is big when pulled off successfully.

Finally I understand the beer thing quite well, peso = beer = necessities. Much like the oil in an engine. Something's are almost irreplaceable. Beer and food, I'll leave off the other very important third....but it's not money.

Have a great day.

I pretty much stick to large market cap companies, MCD, TGT, GE, etc that pay dividends, so around 2-4 % would be ideal. And then reinvest the dividends. I am not sure how they are classified, but if its a mature company with good cash flow, then its a more stability as they can continue to pay those dividends for the foreseeable future. A company that is winding down will be returning the capital investment, so unlikely you would do well in those unless were in at the beginning. REITS are a different matter and pay out almost all income as dividends due to tax reasons. I have held KRC forever and have a low cost basis so its good to find one that you can stick to. I also have some penny stocks like FTR that pay 8%, but only a small position as I dont expect it to be around for long. Since its in my IRA, not taxable until I need to withdraw. I do have a sizeable bond portfolio that acts in the same way, reinvest interest income.

There are plenty of mutual funds that do the same and have the benefit of automatic dividend reinvestment.

If you're buying a condo, check first if it's on shaky ground, as in literally. It's really disturbing that high rises in "i-will-not-mention-it-here" city are very near if not on top of fault lines.

There was a not so long ago explosion at an expensive condo unit which blew off a huge chunk of concrete wall, sending it off across the street, killing the vacationing FilAm occupant and 3 people in a delivery van. (I had a project in that area a week earlier, and our truck with 5 of my workers go through that same road and at around the same time every day for a week. Gosh! That could've been us crushed under that flying wall!)

A certain politician, who probably has financial interest in the development, really tried hard not rule out an explosive device (or the "b" word that must not be mentioned in an airplane.) But all the evidence points to a gas leak. (The building had piped-in gas.)

The occupant was complaining of headaches, and dizziness just before the explosion, but didn't smell any gas. I guess the gas company didn't put odorant in the gas.

Be careful where you buy.

FilAmericanMom wrote:

If you're buying a condo, check first if it's on shaky ground, as in literally. It's really disturbing that high rises in "i-will-not-mention-it-here" city are very near if not on top of fault lines.

There was a not so long ago explosion at an expensive condo unit which blew off a huge chunk of concrete wall, sending it off across the street, killing the vacationing FilAm occupant and 3 people in a delivery van. (I had a project in that area a week earlier, and our truck with 5 of my workers go through that same road and at around the same time every day for a week. Gosh! That could've been us crushed under that flying wall!)

A certain politician, who probably has financial interest in the development, really tried hard not rule out an explosive device (or the "b" word that must not be mentioned in an airplane.) But all the evidence points to a gas leak. (The building had piped-in gas.)

The occupant was complaining of headaches, and dizziness just before the explosion, but didn't smell any gas. I guess the gas company didn't put odorant in the gas.

Be careful where you buy.

Here are 3 good reasons not to buy a condo finished or unfinished:

1. Just go around and check out existing condos which are over 20 years old...The majority of them are in need of extensive maintenance, cracks in floors and walls, electrical / plumbing problems inside of floors and walls, rats, cockroaches, the list goes on...

2. Buying a unit in a unfinished building can become a financial nightmare...Hidden fees, parking / guard fees, association fees, etc, etc.

3. The market is now in a bubble and could burst at anytime...When that happens the value of the property could plummet as much as 50% or more...

A better option would be to invest in land and build..In the meantime just do long term leases...Not near the headaches...

Yet another reason not to buy without checking EVERYTHING out quite well.  The Philippines is located in Seismic zones 4 & 5.  Building requirements for these zones are quite strict and costly, yet most construction I have seen here would not meet these requirements due to cost cutting , so buyer beware. 

I watched a two story apartment being built near here and they had no where near the required steel reinforcement in the construction to meet codes.  The steel that was used was placed on footings filled with contaminated water reducing the strength of the concrete considerably.  The ground was soggy and had no compaction to it at all, contributing to settling when the house is finished.  There was no positive lateral connections at the base of the footings to other pillar footing in the structure.  Lateral support to the walls were not anywhere near the 40 times the diameter of the rebar being used and wrapped.  The second floor reinforcing rebar was not woven in the floor or tied properly for positive connections.  The connection of the horizontal cross beams were just tied to the vertical supports with no lateral corner ties or supporting, just a tie wire connection.  The cantilevered deck and full height wall block wall were only supported by the end support and there was no 2 to 1 ratio in the deck support for the rebar.  The freshly pored deck was loaded with the wall weight the next day, no 28 day waiting period for proper strength.  Now for the best part, the concrete.  There were no uniform monolithic pores.  The concrete was mixed by hand in small amounts on the ground by hand and shovel.  The water used was dirty and contaminated, the sand and gravel used were round river rock, not crushed rock of structural strength.  The concrete was pored bucket by bucket by hand with no uniformity in concrete mix strength.  The concrete block installed had improper overlap distance between rows.  The rebar was marginal and was not tied to the previous rebar in the wall during construction.  Window and door opening were free formed block with no structural support at the top of the opening to prevent collapse.  The plumbing was laid in the floor with little or no drop to help drainage.  Most plumbing is pushed together and not glued, or if glued they use a rubber based glue that fills the gap and it may or may not seal.  When all this is done they are really nice by mixing a hot batch of mortar mix and coating all the visible areas of the structure to a smooth finish concealing everything.

Entry and exits from the structure.  Most, if not all windows here are some type of decorative iron grate over they to prevent break-in.  There is no exit thru them in an emergency.  The doors are two if you are lucky to exit the structure.  Some are easily accessed, others are difficult to get too.  If there is a fire between you and the door, your toast.

Also, insure the roof has multiple positive connections to the structure so it won't blow off during a storm here.

If you want a safe structure to live in I would recommend you have an architect design the structure meeting the IBC Codes, and then personally observe and inspect the construction to insure the structure will be safe if you experience an earthquake or typhoon here in the Philippines. 

I read an article about an architect a few years ago that purchased a highrise condo in the Philippines, and the day she moved in, was the day she moved out after seeing the construction of the condo.

I would say, buyer beware.  Know what you are buying before you invest in property here, unless you don't care about personal safety and the safety of others.

TC All.

PS: never saw a building inspector checking the construction progress either.

If there ever is a 7 to 8 on the earthquake scale; I bet half the sky rise condos in the Manila area will have walls and floors come crashing down...Like you say there seems to be very little inspections or supervision as to the building code construction...

rcampsr wrote:

Yet another reason not to buy without checking EVERYTHING out quite well.  The Philippines is located in Seismic zones 4 & 5.  Building requirements for these zones are quite strict and costly, yet most construction I have seen here would not meet these requirements due to cost cutting , so buyer beware. 

I watched a two story apartment being built near here and they had no where near the required steel reinforcement in the construction to meet codes.  The steel that was used was placed on footings filled with contaminated water reducing the strength of the concrete considerably.  The ground was soggy and had no compaction to it at all, contributing to settling when the house is finished.  There was no positive lateral connections at the base of the footings to other pillar footing in the structure.  Lateral support to the walls were not anywhere near the 40 times the diameter of the rebar being used and wrapped.  The second floor reinforcing rebar was not woven in the floor or tied properly for positive connections.  The connection of the horizontal cross beams were just tied to the vertical supports with no lateral corner ties or supporting, just a tie wire connection.  The cantilevered deck and full height wall block wall were only supported by the end support and there was no 2 to 1 ratio in the deck support for the rebar.  The freshly pored deck was loaded with the wall weight the next day, no 28 day waiting period for proper strength.  Now for the best part, the concrete.  There were no uniform monolithic pores.  The concrete was mixed by hand in small amounts on the ground by hand and shovel.  The water used was dirty and contaminated, the sand and gravel used were round river rock, not crushed rock of structural strength.  The concrete was pored bucket by bucket by hand with no uniformity in concrete mix strength.  The concrete block installed had improper overlap distance between rows.  The rebar was marginal and was not tied to the previous rebar in the wall during construction.  Window and door opening were free formed block with no structural support at the top of the opening to prevent collapse.  The plumbing was laid in the floor with little or no drop to help drainage.  Most plumbing is pushed together and not glued, or if glued they use a rubber based glue that fills the gap and it may or may not seal.  When all this is done they are really nice by mixing a hot batch of mortar mix and coating all the visible areas of the structure to a smooth finish concealing everything.

Entry and exits from the structure.  Most, if not all windows here are some type of decorative iron grate over they to prevent break-in.  There is no exit thru them in an emergency.  The doors are two if you are lucky to exit the structure.  Some are easily accessed, others are difficult to get too.  If there is a fire between you and the door, your toast.

Also, insure the roof has multiple positive connections to the structure so it won't blow off during a storm here.

If you want a safe structure to live in I would recommend you have an architect design the structure meeting the IBC Codes, and then personally observe and inspect the construction to insure the structure will be safe if you experience an earthquake or typhoon here in the Philippines. 

I read an article about an architect a few years ago that purchased a highrise condo in the Philippines, and the day she moved in, was the day she moved out after seeing the construction of the condo.

I would say, buyer beware.  Know what you are buying before you invest in property here, unless you don't care about personal safety and the safety of others.

TC All.

PS: never saw a building inspector checking the construction progress either.

***********************************

In other words a damned disaster.

I used to rent in 1 Serendra and the unit that exploded is 2 Serendra, both built by Ayala Corp, which is supposedly the best developer in terms of quality and safety. Megaworld is the worst.

Ayala tried to claim it was a bomb and then that it was the unit owner's illegal modifications. There was a gas leak and Bonifacio Gas claimed they added the oderant, but Boni Gas is also owned by Ayala.  Ayala;s solution is to turn off gas to all units in Serendra (1, 2 and 3) of which there are probably over 600 units. Ayala says they would install new equivalent electric stoves. But this has been over 6 months ago and still no replacement, so no cooking. 

For the premier developer and development, the owners/tenants still get screwed. So be careful if you buy, you have no control over the property.

dhnindc wrote:

I used to rent in 1 Serendra and the unit that exploded is 2 Serendra, both built by Ayala Corp, which is supposedly the best developer in terms of quality and safety. Megaworld is the worst.

Ayala tried to claim it was a bomb and then that it was the unit owner's illegal modifications. There was a gas leak and Bonifacio Gas claimed they added the oderant, but Boni Gas is also owned by Ayala.  Ayala;s solution is to turn off gas to all units in Serendra (1, 2 and 3) of which there are probably over 600 units. Ayala says they would install new equivalent electric stoves. But this has been over 6 months ago and still no replacement, so no cooking. 

For the premier developer and development, the owners/tenants still get screwed. So be careful if you buy, you have no control over the property.

The evidence just keeps mounting and mounting...Even the most reputable developers are so corrupt as to try to blame their shortcomings on terrorists...LOL...Cant hardly believe in an area like FT Bonfacio they would allow the tenants to go without stoves for 6 months or more...WHAT A JOKE..LOL...

With this knowledge why would anyone want to invest in any condo unit when at anytime it might blow up, come crashing down or on a new development there are not enough takers and the current tenants have to take the brunt of expenses...

STAY AWAY FROM CONDOS PERIOD...

Scott Adams' Secret of Success: Failure
What's the best way to climb to the top? Be a failure.


If you're already as successful as you want to be, both personally and professionally, congratulations! Here's the not-so-good news: All you are likely to get from this article is a semientertaining tale about a guy who failed his way to success. But you might also notice some familiar patterns in my story that will give you confirmation (or confirmation bias) that your own success wasn't entirely luck.

If you're just starting your journey toward success—however you define it—or you're wondering what you've been doing wrong until now, you might find some novel ideas here. Maybe the combination of what you know plus what I think I know will be enough to keep you out of the wood chipper.

Let me start with some tips on what not to do. Beware of advice about successful people and their methods. For starters, no two situations are alike. Your dreams of creating a dry-cleaning empire won't be helped by knowing that Thomas Edison liked to take naps. Secondly, biographers never have access to the internal thoughts of successful people. If a biographer says Henry Ford invented the assembly line to impress women, that's probably a guess.

But the most dangerous case of all is when successful people directly give advice. For example, you often hear them say that you should "follow your passion." That sounds perfectly reasonable the first time you hear it. Passion will presumably give you high energy, high resistance to rejection and high determination. Passionate people are more persuasive, too. Those are all good things, right?

Here's the counterargument: When I was a commercial loan officer for a large bank, my boss taught us that you should never make a loan to someone who is following his passion. For example, you don't want to give money to a sports enthusiast who is starting a sports store to pursue his passion for all things sporty. That guy is a bad bet, passion and all. He's in business for the wrong reason.

My boss, who had been a commercial lender for over 30 years, said that the best loan customer is someone who has no passion whatsoever, just a desire to work hard at something that looks good on a spreadsheet. Maybe the loan customer wants to start a dry-cleaning store or invest in a fast-food franchise—boring stuff. That's the person you bet on. You want the grinder, not the guy who loves his job.

For most people, it's easy to be passionate about things that are working out, and that distorts our impression of the importance of passion. I've been involved in several dozen business ventures over the course of my life, and each one made me excited at the start. You might even call it passion.
The ones that didn't work out—and that would be most of them—slowly drained my passion as they failed. The few that worked became more exciting as they succeeded.

For example, when I invested in a restaurant with an operating partner, my passion was sky high. And on day one, when there was a line of customers down the block, I was even more passionate. In later years, as the business got pummeled, my passion evolved into frustration and annoyance.

On the other hand, Dilbert started out as just one of many get-rich schemes I was willing to try. When it started to look as if it might be a success, my passion for cartooning increased because I realized it could be my golden ticket. In hindsight, it looks as if the projects that I was most passionate about were also the ones that worked. But objectively, my passion level moved with my success. Success caused passion more than passion caused success. So forget about passion. And while you're at it, forget about goals, too.

Just after college, I took my first airplane trip, destination California, in search of a job. I was seated next to a businessman who was probably in his early 60s. I suppose I looked like an odd duck with my serious demeanor, bad haircut and cheap suit, clearly out of my element. I asked what he did for a living, and he told me he was the CEO of a company that made screws. He offered me some career advice. He said that every time he got a new job, he immediately started looking for a better one. For him, job seeking was not something one did when necessary. It was a continuing process.

This makes perfect sense if you do the math. Chances are that the best job for you won't become available at precisely the time you declare yourself ready. Your best bet, he explained, was to always be looking for a better deal. The better deal has its own schedule. I believe the way he explained it is that your job is not your job; your job is to find a better job.
This was my first exposure to the idea that one should have a system instead of a goal. The system was to continually look for better options.

Throughout my career I've had my antennae up, looking for examples of people who use systems as opposed to goals. In most cases, as far as I can tell, the people who use systems do better. The systems-driven people have found a way to look at the familiar in new and more useful ways.

To put it bluntly, goals are for losers. That's literally true most of the time. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds, you will spend every moment until you reach the goal—if you reach it at all—feeling as if you were short of your goal. In other words, goal-oriented people exist in a state of nearly continuous failure that they hope will be temporary.

If you achieve your goal, you celebrate and feel terrific, but only until you realize that you just lost the thing that gave you purpose and direction. Your options are to feel empty and useless, perhaps enjoying the spoils of your success until they bore you, or to set new goals and re-enter the cycle of permanent presuccess failure.

I have a friend who is a gifted salesman. He could have sold anything, from houses to toasters. The field he chose (which I won't reveal because he wouldn't appreciate the sudden flood of competition) allows him to sell a service that almost always auto-renews. In other words, he can sell his service once and enjoy ongoing commissions until the customer dies or goes out of business. His biggest problem in life is that he keeps trading his boat for a larger one, and that's a lot of work.

Observers call him lucky. What I see is a man who accurately identified his skill set and chose a system that vastly increased his odds of getting "lucky." In fact, his system is so solid that it could withstand quite a bit of bad luck without buckling. How much passion does this fellow have for his chosen field? Answer: zero. What he has is a spectacular system, and that beats passion every time.

As for my own system, when I graduated from college, I outlined my entrepreneurial plan. The idea was to create something that had value and—this next part is the key—I wanted the product to be something that was easy to reproduce in unlimited quantities. I didn't want to sell my time, at least not directly, because that model has an upward limit. And I didn't want to build my own automobile factory, for example, because cars are not easy to reproduce. I wanted to create, invent, write, or otherwise concoct something widely desired that would be easy to reproduce.

My system of creating something the public wants and reproducing it in large quantities nearly guaranteed a string of failures. By design, all of my efforts were long shots. Had I been goal-oriented instead of system-oriented, I imagine I would have given up after the first several failures. It would have felt like banging my head against a brick wall.

But being systems-oriented, I felt myself growing more capable every day, no matter the fate of the project that I happened to be working on. And every day during those years I woke up with the same thought, literally, as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and slapped the alarm clock off. Today's the day.

If you drill down on any success story, you always discover that luck was a huge part of it. You can't control luck, but you can move from a game with bad odds to one with better odds. You can make it easier for luck to find you. The most useful thing you can do is stay in the game. If your current get-rich project fails, take what you learned and try something else. Keep repeating until something lucky happens. The universe has plenty of luck to go around; you just need to keep your hand raised until it's your turn. It helps to see failure as a road and not a wall.

I'm an optimist by nature, or perhaps by upbringing—it's hard to know where one leaves off and the other begins—but whatever the cause, I've long seen failure as a tool, not an outcome. I believe that viewing the world in that way can be useful for you too.

Nietzsche famously said, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger." It sounds clever, but it's a loser philosophy. I don't want my failures to simply make me stronger, which I interpret as making me better able to survive future challenges. (To be fair to Nietzsche, he probably meant the word "stronger" to include anything that makes you more capable. I'd ask him to clarify, but ironically he ran out of things that didn't kill him.)

Becoming stronger is obviously a good thing, but it's only barely optimistic. I do want my failures to make me stronger, of course, but I also want to become smarter, more talented, better networked, healthier and more energized. If I find a cow turd on my front steps, I'm not satisfied knowing that I'll be mentally prepared to find some future cow turd. I want to shovel that turd onto my garden and hope the cow returns every week so I never have to buy fertilizer again. Failure is a resource that can be managed.

Before launching Dilbert, and after, I failed at a long series of day jobs and entrepreneurial adventures. Here are just a few of the worst ones. I include them because successful people generally gloss over their most aromatic failures, and it leaves the impression that they have some magic you don't.

When you're done reading this list, you won't have that delusion about me, and that's the point. Success is entirely accessible, even if you happen to be a huge screw-up 95% of the time.

My failures:Velcro Rosin Bag Invention: In the 1970s, tennis players sometimes used rosin bags to keep their racket hands less sweaty. In college, I built a prototype of a rosin bag that attached to a Velcro strip on tennis shorts so it would always be available when needed. My lawyer told me it wasn't patentworthy because it was simply a combination of two existing products. I approached some sporting-goods companies and got nothing but form-letter rejections. I dropped the idea.

But in the process I learned a valuable lesson: Good ideas have no value because the world already has too many of them. The market rewards execution, not ideas. From that point on, I concentrated on ideas that I could execute. I was already failing toward success, but I didn't yet know it.

Gopher Offer: During my banking career, in my late 20s, I caught the attention of a senior vice president at the bank. Apparently my b.s. skills in meetings were impressive. He offered me a job as his gopher/assistant with the vague assurance that I would meet important executives during the normal course of my work, which would make it easy for him to strap a rocket to my backside—as the saying roughly went—and launch me up the corporate ladder.

On the downside, the challenge would be to survive his less-than-polite management style and do his bidding for a few years. I declined his offer because I was already managing a small group of people, so becoming a gopher seemed like a step backward. I believe the senior vice president's exact characterization of my decision was "[expletive] STUPID!!!" He hired one of my co-workers for the job instead, and in a few years that fellow became one of the youngest vice presidents in the bank's history.

I worked for Crocker National Bank in San Francisco for about eight years, starting at the very bottom and working my way up to lower management. During the course of my banking career, and in line with my strategy of learning as much as I could about the ways of business, I gained an extraordinarily good overview of banking, finance, technology, contracts, management and a dozen other useful skills. I wouldn't have done it any differently.

Webvan: In the dot-com era, a startup called Webvan promised to revolutionize grocery delivery. You could order grocery-store items over the Internet, and one of Webvan's trucks would load your order at the company's modern distribution hub and set out to service all the customers in your area.

I figured Webvan would do for groceries what Amazon had done for books. It was a rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor. I bought a bunch of Webvan stock and felt good about myself. When the stock plunged, I bought some more. I repeated that process several times, each time licking my lips as I acquired ever-larger blocks of the stock at prices I knew to be a steal.

When the company announced that it had achieved positive cash flow at one of its several hubs, I knew that I was onto something. If it worked in one hub, the model was proved, and it would surely work at others. I bought more stock. Now I owned approximately, well, a boatload.

A few weeks later, Webvan went out of business. Investing in Webvan wasn't the dumbest thing I've ever done, but it's a contender. The loss wasn't enough to change my lifestyle. But boy, did it sting psychologically. In my partial defense, I knew it was a gamble, not an investment per se.

What I learned from that experience is that there is no such thing as useful information that comes from a company's management.

Now I diversify and let the lying get smoothed out by all the other variables in my investments. These failures are just a sampling. I'm delighted to admit that I've failed at more challenges than anyone I know. 

As for you, I'd like to think that reading this will set you on the path of your own magnificent screw-ups and cavernous disappointments. You're welcome! And if I forgot to mention it earlier, that's exactly where you want to be: steeped to your eyebrows in failure.

It's a good place to be because failure is where success likes to hide in plain sight. Everything you want out of life is in that huge, bubbling vat of failure. The trick is to get the good stuff out.

Mr. Adams is the creator of Dilbert. Adapted from his book "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big," to be published by Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), on Oct. 22.

***********************************

A grain or (two) of salt is always useful --- but the underlying theme here is "the harder I work, the luckier I get". In other words the baby that keeps trying soon starts to walk. And the other underlying theme, yes, it's usually necessary to crawl a bit first... Think [ process ] as opposed to passion...

vetretreat wrote:

STAY AWAY FROM CONDOS PERIOD...

I agree. And if you want a home you own, better to build (and of course, supervise the building) than buy ready built.

I have a question for those among you who have supervised the building of your house.  Has your architect suggested using steel I beam / bar instead of rebar? Is this safe / safer? My architect said that this is what's used now for building malls and condos (which actually does not offer any vote of confidence in using this material).

dhnindc wrote:

I used to rent in 1 Serendra and the unit that exploded is 2 Serendra, both built by Ayala Corp, which is supposedly the best developer in terms of quality and safety. Megaworld is the worst.

Be thankful that it wasn't you that got hurt / blown up / died.

I dread to think what would happen if 7 or 8 earthquake hit that area. Might hear a sonic boom as far as Quezon City.

michael3 wrote:

We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises. We believe that even if we have a pot of gold, it will eventually finished if we don't produce done income. I'm sure some member will agree with my saying.

What? I'm sure nobody will agree with the second sentence, with it's reference to the 1st.

I'm Filipino and my husband is Caucasian. We both are not going to "shut down our brain" and do those other things you said when we reach retirement age. Why do you think he will? Just because he's Caucasian?

Back in San Francisco, CA, I rode the bus, and a Chinese guy was clipping his fingernails, and the clippings were flying all over the place, including landing on my lap and other people's sleeves, sticking to their sweat shirts. I haven't experienced the same with a Latin-American, Caucasian, African-American, or any other Asian race. But would I assume that all Chinese are inconsidrate, just because that one guy was? Of course not. Do not generalize please. Thank you.

FilAmericanMom wrote:

michael3 wrote:

We Chinese or Asian are slightly difference from Caucasian. Our meaning of retirement doesn't mean we shut down our brain or tied out hands & legs and don't work if there is a opportunity arises. We believe that even if we have a pot of gold, it will eventually finished if we don't produce done income. I'm sure some member will agree with my saying.

What? I'm sure nobody will agree with the second sentence, with it's reference to the 1st.

I'm Filipino and my husband is Caucasian. We both are not going to "shut down our brain" and do those other things you said when we reach retirement age. Why do you think he will? Just because he's Caucasian?

Back in San Francisco, CA, I rode the bus, and a Chinese guy was clipping his fingernails, and the clippings were flying all over the place, including landing on my lap and other people's sleeves, sticking to their sweat shirts. I haven't experienced the same with a Latin-American, Caucasian, African-American, or any other Asian race. But would I assume that all Chinese are inconsidrate, just because that one guy was? Of course not. Do not generalize please. Thank you.

Just wondering; How did you know the guy was Chinese??? Perhaps you are Stereotyping just because the guy had Asian features...If so, Please don't stereotype...

vetretreat wrote:

Just wondering; How did you know the guy was Chinese??? Perhaps you are Stereotyping just because the guy had Asian features...If so, Please don't stereotype...

I'm not stereotyping. My friend who was riding with me, who's Japanese, knows him. She told me she knew him and where he's from prior to his clipping his fingernails. He's her classmate. He's Chinese.

Dear Mr. Michael,

I just saw the forum now, and this was last 2013. What happened to your plans? I'm still in the thought if the plan has been materialise since 2013.

I have been reading all the messages/comments and everyone had a point.

Invest your hard-earned money! We have varieties to offer in the Philippines. This is open to all nationalities whether you want to stay or let your property be rented and have your monthly profit out of rentals under your name. For as low as Php 20,000 monthly, you could have your own property (condominium). I have a property overlooking Manila Bay with a 360 degree of Manila Bay sunrise/sunset. When talking of property investment, I would suggest to check the property developer where I bought my unit. If you are a visionary person, for sure you will be loving to invest of the same project. In that area, they will build the Solar City, the Entertainment City, you can compete with the hotels there when it comes to rentals, the best schools are there, the US Embassy, Japan Embassy, most of the government office are there, and a lot lot more.
***

Way too much development going on. Cheaper to rent. I know many with many properties earning 5%, but have many units going unrented. A big risk. I would not do it. If this Country doesn't change its policies with foreigners in general on ownership in general in anything the economy will tank and then you will be stuck

coreya wrote:

Way too much development going on. Cheaper to rent. I know many with many properties earning 5%, but have many units going unrented. A big risk. I would not do it. If this Country doesn't change its policies with foreigners in general on ownership in general in anything the economy will tank and then you will be stuck

I am seeing this too.  So many vacant condos, and the owners have no income, but still need to pay the high association/management fees.  But people are still building and selling, saying that prices are going up.

But look carefully and we can see condos for sale at less than cost.

There may be bargains out there, but not from the developers.

michael3 wrote:

Hi sir, we both share the same thinking as I was told by many friends of mine that the bubbles will burst soon and those who buy may be caught on a situation.

The best time to buy a condo is when the market is way down to the bottom and I think it will happen in two to three years time. When the economy is down and many expats will move out and all these condo will be empty without tenants.

What you think of the gold market? Is it worth to invest and hold it for 4 to 5 years to get a capital gain? Thank you.

Did you own physical gold or a gold ETF?

One of the main reasons why there are many units going unrented are: (1) the owner who bought the condo did not make any research like who is the Developer, (2) where is the Location, (3) if it's for investment, check what are the development possibilities in the near future, and what are the present development situations.

It's a hard-earned money, it's your money so you have to be very wise. It's not for the sake of having an investment or a property under your name, but you should dig deeper to know what exactly is your reason why you want to invest. Check the credibility of the developer. What is the reputation of the Property Developer? Be smart how the agents present the project. Some agents are telling all the good things about the project even the "too good to be true" sales talk.

Me, my friends, and some expats here in UAE are so blessed to have our condo units. It took us years before we decided to get one. Only from that very concerned agent from a reputable developer. He explained and answered all our questions, and he has an after sales service regarding all our concerns. He would not tell you of things he doesn't know, and he would not give you a guarantee that on the next day, or this week your unit will be rented. Instead, he would give you high possibilities of earning. He knows the projects very well. He is a phone call away, or a chat away (online to serve you).

Even some foreign clients are satisfied.
We have to invest wisely.

Romelle wrote:

invest wisely.

I had someone try to sell me his condo recently, but he omitted one important fact.  The block is being demolished in 2020 !!

Real estate investment will always provide a good ROI over the years. Should you consider this option, just make sure you look for reputable developers. I suggest you also pay Cebu a visit. This province has a lot to offer to foreigners. Shoot me an email if you want more info: xxx Wishing you well!

If you need to get your money back, reselling might not happen.  Expats are also vulnerable. Think and speak to other expats that had similar experiences. 
Buying gold might be a problem when you leave the country.  Speak to reputable people (in person), who bought and sold gold.
We have been overcharged for services when we got here (also medical services), now we are more vigilant.