Does investing on a condominium still a good idea?

[oliver1013]

Bili ka sa Trump Tower...may itatayo sa makati, pero uber high end..Alam mo naman mga pinoy basta sikat kakagatin.

[_Qwerty_]

hindi naman lahat nang condo sa fort may restaurant sa baba.. tsaka kung maayos ang pest control treatment.. wala dapat daga..

Bro get one at rockwell, meron 2 bago tinatayo don one rockwell and edades. One rockwell december na turn over, edades 2013 ata. Condo prices in rockwell just keeps rising, meron binebenta sa akin last year sa amorsolo 27M but nag back out owner tapos ngayon he decided to sell it again 33M na ang price. Imagine sa one rockwell december pa turnover but konti na lang ang units for sale karamihan pa studio type ang natira. Sa edades naman 3 bed rooms konti na lang ang natitira pero kelan lang sila mag start mag benta.

From what i see in the fort condos, just last year then while i was in the hunt for a new place to live dagain mga condos don. Kaya siguro di tumataas ang value. Actually dapat don ako bibili instead of rockwell but i have 2 friends who lives in the fort and they say the same thing na dagain nga daw since dami restaurant sa baba ng mga condo.

[foresterx]

hindi naman lahat nang condo sa fort may restaurant sa baba.. tsaka kung maayos ang pest control treatment.. wala dapat daga..

Feedback lang yon from people who lives there. It's up to you if you would risk it. If i was purchasing something worth 20M+ ayaw ko makaka rinig ng kahit anong bad comments.

[nic]

Bro get one at rockwell, meron 2 bago tinatayo don one rockwell and edades. One rockwell december na turn over, edades 2013 ata. Condo prices in rockwell just keeps rising, meron binebenta sa akin last year sa amorsolo 27M but nag back out owner tapos ngayon he decided to sell it again 33M na ang price. Imagine sa one rockwell december pa turnover but konti na lang ang units for sale karamihan pa studio type ang natira. Sa edades naman 3 bed rooms konti na lang ang natitira pero kelan lang sila mag start mag benta.

From what i see in the fort condos, just last year then while i was in the hunt for a new place to live dagain mga condos don. Kaya siguro di tumataas ang value. Actually dapat don ako bibili instead of rockwell but i have 2 friends who lives in the fort and they say the same thing na dagain nga daw since dami restaurant sa baba ng mga condo.

Thanks will check Rockwell. Pero hindi naman sa 30M range ang tinitignan ko, hehe.

Folow up question: If you had the money, would you pay in cash or financing? Pros & cons? (note: di ko titirahan yung condo, pang invest lang)

Medyo old-school and conservative kasi ako kaya if I had the money, I prefer to pay in cash. Pero may mga nagsasabi sakin i-finance nalang and "play" with the money or get more units for the same money. Nasasayangan lang ako sa interest na babayaran.

[CVT]

Mayroong nagbibigay lang ng 3% interest, and you pay in 3 years. I'd suggest you grab this.

And your cash,- invest it to earn more than that interest.

This is what we're doing....

14.0K:bike3:

[_Qwerty_]

if you have the money why pay for interest?? maraming condos nag offer nang zero interest ngayon.. so i guess that's the best way to go.. pay in installment but without interest kung ayaw mo nang isang bagsakan..

Thanks will check Rockwell. Pero hindi naman sa 30M range ang tinitignan ko, hehe.

Folow up question: If you had the money, would you pay in cash or financing? Pros & cons? (note: di ko titirahan yung condo, pang invest lang)

Medyo old-school and conservative kasi ako kaya if I had the money, I prefer to pay in cash. Pero may mga nagsasabi sakin i-finance nalang and "play" with the money or get more units for the same money. Nasasayangan lang ako sa interest na babayaran.

[foresterx]

Thanks will check Rockwell. Pero hindi naman sa 30M range ang tinitignan ko, hehe.

Folow up question: If you had the money, would you pay in cash or financing? Pros & cons? (note: di ko titirahan yung condo, pang invest lang)

Medyo old-school and conservative kasi ako kaya if I had the money, I prefer to pay in cash. Pero may mga nagsasabi sakin i-finance nalang and "play" with the money or get more units for the same money. Nasasayangan lang ako sa interest na babayaran.

cheapest in rockwell is around 6-8M studio type, but the treatment and the crowd is totally different compared to other community.

depends on the interest rate, if you can get a low interest rate then go with finance. para nga naman magamit mo pa yung pera some where else but make sure na kaya mo bayaran if you go with finance. a lot of times kasi if you know how to play with money properly kaya mo ma-bawi agad yung interest rate bago pa matapos yung finance mo.

[oliver1013]

Yep may zero interest payment schemes, ang mga developer. Yung mga straight payments. Minsan nga may discount pa.

[nic]

Mayroong nagbibigay lang ng 3% interest, and you pay in 3 years. I'd suggest you grab this.

And your cash,- invest it to earn more than that interest.

This is what we're doing....

14.0K:bike3:

Wow ang baba ng 3%! Sa bank ko 9.75%.

Yep may zero interest payment schemes, ang mga developer. Yung mga straight payments. Minsan nga may discount pa.

After I visited my doctor in Megamall, sumilip ako sa showroom ng Empire East kasi halos katapat lang ng clinic. Meron din sila 0%, pero sa downpayment lang pala yun na payable in 2 years yata. After nun, yung balance, financed din. In-house nila is 11%. Sa Grove (by Rockwell) and SMDC ganun din daw according sa friend ko na bumili.

[pup2]

I dont think so. Look at the finished condos recently in the metro. Notice how few lights are on, say, after dinner? Those are the units actually occupied. The rest are absentee-owners or investors like you who will likely also want to rent out or sell. This means there are way fewer people who actually want to LIVE in the condos than those who are willing to INVEST in them. Meaning there is much more potential supply than there is demand.

Perhaps a few years ago, the market for units were much more than the supply. Students, half-way houses of rich folks from the province, OFWs, retirees, etc were a large market. This resulted in prices going through the roof. Nowadays, the only indication of price increase you're likely to get is from the developer. Sadly, when it's actually time to sell, you will get a selling price NOWHERE NEAR what they quoted you.

Remember, as it is with normal investing, by the time you spot a trend, it's usually too late. Or it was just a bubble that's going to burst. IMO, that's what our condo market is right now -- a big fat bubble.

[ab_initio]

With the sprawling condominiums being erected all over metro manila nowadays, does investing on one of them still a good move? I am eyeing the Fort Bonifacio area as I believe location should be one of the main consideration.

Or my other option is to just look for a lot somewhere in QC and put up maybe a small apartment.

Appreciate any of your thoughts on this. TIA

consider the developer's reputation, location (accessibility to whatever you basically need), because if you want it leased, at least you have better chances of getting lessees...

but i'd like building apartments or townhouses on a parcel of land i own so i have control...i can choose which security agency and maintenance crew to hire.

[keithdb]

good article on the inquirer today. caveat emptor.

Breaktime
Trust condo
By: Conrado R. Banal III
Philippine Daily Inquirer

By now, that 35-year-old presidential decree—issued during the Marcos dictatorship, entitled “The Subdivision and Condominium Buyer’s Protective Decree,” known as PD 957 in the real estate business—must be terribly outdated.
For one, its implementing rules and regulations are skewed toward subdivisions, and hardly anything in them pertains to the fast-rising sector in the real estate business—those high-rise buildings called “condo.”
Let us say that you bought a condo unit, and you have complaints against the developer, who do you call? Well, according to the present rules, you go to the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, or the HLURB. I checked with the office. They hardly have any rules regarding condos.
At one time, of course, military rebel turned lawmaker Sen. Antonio Trillanes filed a bill seeking to amend PD 957, similar to a bill filed in the House of Representatives by the lawmaker from Tarlac, Rep. Susan Yap. That was it.
In the real estate business, as thousands of condo units are being sold even before the developers can dig the first hole in the ground, they are saying it is time for us to have a comprehensive law on condo development. Amen.
* * *
Nowadays, we see the name of New York-based real estate magnate Donald Trump plastered all over the condo development project at the former site of an international school on Kalayaan Avenue in Makati.
It is called “Trump Tower Manila,” and Donald Trump has nothing to do with it except the use of his name. The owner is Century City Development Corp., under the umbrella of Century Properties Group. It seems that, based on news reports, Century Group uses the “Trump” name under license from Trump Marks Philippines. Perhaps the Trump name can help the Century group in selling the condo units. I guess it was a marketing coup of sorts for the Century group.
But what if, by some quirk of fate, Donald Trump decides to withdraw his name from the project, which the Trump group can very do. The agreement between them and Century, from what I heard, contains stringent terms and conditions. Failure by Century to meet them allows the Trump group to withdraw the use of the Trump name.
Now, the Internet teems with horror stories about certain condo projects, and a number of them involve projects of Century. I read one story about a bridge way that, as a solemn promise by the developer in the marketing stage, was supposed to connect one of the many Century condo projects to a commercial complex across the street. The bridge way is still missing up to now.
* * *
Everywhere you find sales promos for condo units. We are also besieged by text messages, offering to sell lots in new “luxurious” subdivisions in Laguna or condo units in Metro Manila. You may also have received this message: “the best priced Rockwell Condo for as low as P16,000/mo. No down. 0 interest! Call Acqua Residences 09178880274.”
Now Rockwell is the posh real estate development project of Rockwell Land, which belongs to the Lopez group (Meralco, ABS-CBN etc.), at the former “Rockwell” power plant in Makati. That text message about the easy payment terms for a “Rockwell” condo could really grab your attention.
Now, if you check with Rockwell Land regarding such an offer, you may be in for a big-time disappointment. It did not come from the Lopez group. As it turned out, the “Rockwell Condo” referred in the text message is a project of Century Properties, the one named Acqua. It only happens that the Acqua project is located at Mandaluyong City, along Pasig River, right across from the posh Rockwell Center, which is in Makati.
From what I gathered from the promo people of Century Properties, the group has also started the “pre-selling” (i.e. even before the first hole was dug) of the third condo in the project. Again, that’s already the third building, meaning, the first two buildings must have been pre-sold already.
And what assurance can buyers of the pre-sold units hold on to, except perhaps the reputation of the Century group, which promised buyers that the Acqua model units would be ready by this month. There is not a single one ready as of last week.
If you check the Century group’s website, you may indeed get a good impression of the Acqua project. The site showed tall buildings surrounded by trees, bordered by road structures similar to the “Skyway” at the South Luzon tollway. It looks like an oasis. The only thing is this: It is not real. It is all computer generated graphics, an artist’s representation of the project, a cyber-table model.
In the promo materials for the project, the Century group has this disclaimer to offer: “The images and details shown herein are artist’s renditions and are intended for illustration purposes only. While the information are based on present plans, which have been created with great care and effort, the developers reserve the right to change the proposed project features, amenities, prices and terms without prior notice. It is then recommended that the client confirm their accuracy and subsequent changes, if any. Further, the client holds the developer free from any legal and financial claims resulting from the information contained herein.”
Look at that: Nobody can hold Century Properties liable for “legal or financial claims” whatever the Acqua project turns out to be.
* * *
As part of its mandate under the 35-year-old PD 957, the HLURB issues licenses to both subdivision and condo developers. Thus HLURB acts a quasi-judicial body in cases filed by consumers against the developers.
Among the penalties that the HLURB can impose on cheating developers is the cancelation of their licenses.
Did the HLURB ever cancel the license of any condo developer, even just penalized the company with some stiff fines? Well, let us just say that, for their protection, after spending millions of pesos on a condo unit, the buyers must have innate trust enough to rely purely on the developer’s flowery marketing promise.
I just thought there ought to be law on that kind of thing.

[vinj]

good article on the inquirer today. caveat emptor.

All condo developments give a false rendering of the surroundings of their project. When were buying one, before deciding on the unit to purchase and all, i drive around the area and stake it out real well. Observe for any possible new buildings that may be erected and block my view, properties where there are squatters, sunlight angles to my unit of choice, etc.

[_Qwerty_]

nag roadshow na nga sa US yang Century Properties.. at blockbuster yang Aqua Condo nila.. rendering lang pinakita.. parang malaking golf course yung mandaluyong.. di alam nung mga bumili puro squatter yung nakapalibot sa kanila..

[vinj]

nag roadshow na nga sa US yang Century Properties.. at blockbuster yang Aqua Condo nila.. rendering lang pinakita.. parang malaking golf course yung mandaluyong.. di alam nung mga bumili puro squatter yung nakapalibot sa kanila..

Tsk tsk, pinamukhaan na katabi lang niya yung Wack Wack? Pero in reality, daming squatter sa tabi ng condo, kuha pa yun amoy ng ilog Pasig and the evening traffic coming from the bridge.

Up to now, naglalaban yung Ateneo, Miriam, Loyola Heights Community against SM and the former QC council in the Katipunan area with regard to the height restrictions/zoning exemptions granted to SM Blue. Dami rin developers naasar sa biglang pag-discount ng SM on it's projects (20%-40%, depending on the project) as they distorted the market and projected a bad image for how the industry is doing.

[oliver1013]

Ayala is the safest bet imo. Safest ha im not saying it is immune to anything negative.

[CVT]

Bigla na lang nagsulputan iyan na parang kabute.... Dito, si Paris Hilton pa yata ang endorser...

14.5K:higop:

[shadow]

why did SM lowered their condo prices by as much as 40%?

[uls]

why did SM lowered their condo prices by as much as 40%?

baka may oversupply highrise condos sa MM

[_Qwerty_]

malaki ang over supply.. sabi nang mga analysts.. 10 years ago.. ang inventory nang condo units ay nasa 3000 units per year lang.. ngayon daw nasa 30,000 units na..