will buying a place fix our cost of living

[Travis]

looks like a great deal for Cebu city & most people might take even less for cash. I had wanted to buy 1 of Mr Tropics units but I could not borrow the money so I am happy it worked out that way or I might have been stuck there but had it happened it also would have been less expensive for me to live once it was already paid for. If I come back then I would like to look at this condo but for now houses cost less here Taken from THIS classified ad

Edited November 8, 2011 by Mr. Lee
add link and remove actual classified ad

[Old55]

Travis, this was my thinking too. If a guy was on a budget it maybe a good way to go. Buy the place from savings then your monthly buget would be managable. This kinda condo at that price would be easyer to sell later down the road. Those condos are far from high end but would be safe and comforatable.

[Mr Lee]

I split this from the classified because I feel that possibly it is worth discussing, and the classifieds is for classifieds, so we can expand more on it here. I am not sure that buying would be a way to fix costs because even when you own, costs can still go up. Since buying our condo years ago, the monthly condo dues have gone up a little, the water cost has gone up a little, and the taxes have gone up a little, so while buying a condo will prevent rent increases, and the increases we have had so far are minor, owning means being locked into whatever costs end up getting pushed our way, so a major expense might mean an assessment or a raise in monthly fees. So while I enjoy owning, I would tell anyone who is living on the edge that they should probably not buy unless they put themselves into a position where they can possibly sell off if they have to. In the above condo for sale, it might be possible with some renovation to sell one of the units and then live in the other one, but selling is never a guarantee anywhere in the world and certainly not in the Philippines, so therefore could take time, so if a person does not have a reserve fund, then IMO they should also not buy a place because they might find themselves locked in.

[Old55]

When my wife and I were thinking of living in Cebu full time buying a place seemed the best choice for us. The security of owning a home or condo and fixing it up just how we wanted and not having rent payments worked for us.

[Mr Lee]

When my wife and I were thinking of living in Cebu full time buying a place seemed the best choice for us. The security of owning a home or condo and fixing it up just how we wanted and not having rent payments worked for us.

I agree and it works for us as well, I am just suggesting that a person who has no reserve might not wish to get locked into a place. What might have happened had Travis owned instead of rented, might he had to just give it up. I have been told by the management of our condo buildings that there are some people in the first building that just walked away from their units and thus have not been paying condo fees for quite a while, which hurts the rest of us in the long run. So I wonder if the laws in the Philippines do not allow for foreclosure by a condo association, or if it is just too much trouble for the builder to go to, or if some of the second hand units in that building are being sold to recover money owed. :unsure: Getting information is often difficult and I know things are not the same in the Philippines as in the US, so costs for those of us that pay, may have to make up for those who refuse to pay, thus my above post saying the costs of owning may not be totally fixed. I prefer to own but not enough time has passed to see if I was correct in my decision, yet I do enjoy being able to go home to the same place each time, instead of living out of a suitcase in a hotel every time we spend time in the Philippines. Mortgages will also be an issue for some of us who have to pay over time.

[Art2ro]

When my wife and I were thinking of living in Cebu full time buying a place seemed the best choice for us. The security of owning a home or condo and fixing it up just how we wanted and not having rent payments worked for us.

It worked for my wife and I because we were committed to stay here for the long haul, because we don't have anything left in the U.S. to go back to, except for only a few relatives! So, we just bought us a new home, built from the ground up and with a small monthly mortgage! Now, it's paid off and only have our HOA dues and property tax to contend with which is only HOA at P13,000 and Property Tax at P9,000 = P22,000 a year! Our home is low maintenance, just need a new coat of paint once every 3 to 4 yrs! We are now on our 3rd paint job! The value of our little home has double in price, now at about P5 million after 10 yrs, because we do live in a nice area that's in demand and our area is still expanding and developing nicely every year! So, location, location, location is a big factor as to where people will shell out their hard earned millions of pesos! The price of homes in our area ranges from P5 million up to P40 million on the average, but there are a few homes between P60 million to P150 million just within a 25 mile radius which also covers parts of Cavite and Tagaytay!

[scott h]

I would like some thoughts on this, condo vs home. We own a house (heriditary home) but I would be concerned about buying a condo becuase of some of the buisness practices I have observed. Example, a water theme park was built near our home several years ago, 1st rate establishment, lots of fun. A couple of years later we visited again, it was starting to appear run down and a feature or two was out of order. On the next visit, most of the features were out of order and it was basically just a swimming pool and picinic facility for families. When I asked about it my bro in law said that when the developers got their investment out of it. They stopped covering overhead maintenance costs and just raked in profits. BLUF(b) (bottom line up front or bottom, lol) I would be concerned that a property owner would not upkeep common areas of a condo complex once the units were sold or the initial investment is realized. Baseless concerns?

[Mr Lee]

Scott I believe you have a valid concern. I have watched some of the gym equipment go into disrepair in our condo building as well as the hot tub no longer being used, and the first building needs a paint job badly, so yes there are issues, but I also find there are other issues when owning a home, where we have no control of what our neighbors do with their homes, or act, or as you pointed out, what might end up built near us. So possibly a home in a homeowners association controlled area might alleviate some of my concerns, yet builders often take many years to finish a development and they and their workers are often a major part of the problem besides neighbors. I have found there is no perfect answer, so we just have to do what we feel is best for us, and hope we made the correct decision. I guess it is all about what a person expects to get out of a home or a condo, so while I feel neither is perfect and living within rules can also be a pain, owning has advantages and disadvantages that we each have to balance towards our own wants and needs. In our case the units have just about doubled in value since we bought them, but could we sell them for that much, I seriously doubt it, but I know we would not lose any money if we did decide to sell and did not have to have a rush sale to do it. Another thing to take into account would be earthquakes, so if a person did wish to buy a condo, then they should look at the area they wish to buy that condo in, and see if it might be earthquake prone. I did that before buying and it appears there have been no direct hit earthquakes in the Cebu City area so far, so I have my fingers crossed there never will be. The monthly condo fees cost us approx p2,050 on our 2/2 unit and our taxes are about p9000 a year, so with the hotel fees we have saved by having a place to live, and also a place to keep our personal belongings while there, so far it has been a good situation for us, and since some of the units in the building have resold within a reasonable amount of time, and since it has been my intention that my wife end up with them to either sell or rent out for income once I depart this planet, so far so good. Maybe ask me 20 years from now, or ask my wife if I am gone and we might have a more astute and definitive answer by then,but for now we have lived in both and I would say a condo is for us and it has fixed our living costs within reason.

[Art2ro]

We've bought, sold and lived in town homes, condos and timeshares in the past long ago and found them to be money eating properties, because their board of directors and or property management seems to be always asking for supplemental assessment of one time payments for repairs and or renovation projects for the entire complex and HOA maintenance dues were constantly on the increase by 7% to 10% almost on an annual basis! We had enough of that and avoid buying town homes, condos or timeshare properties! We now live in a gated community with about 700 track homes that has HOA dues with CC&R by laws which keeps homeowners in check as to what they can do to their property construction wise, but at least the majority of home owners participate in our monthly HOA meetings to have their say in the meetings to keep the property managers and Board of Directors in check to make certain funds are being used properly and no unnecessary assessments are being imposed on the homeowners! Our Home Owners Association dues have only increased on an average of 3 pesos per sq meters annually, which our HOA dues on our 187 sq meter lot went from P75 to P78 per sq meters last year coming out to only a P561 increase for the current year and our property tax is pretty reasonable at P8,900 annually! I did the math and we can surely live with that comfortably for a long time to come! So, each to their own what type of home one lives in! It's all about what lifestyle anyone wants!

[Braddo]

We could never afford to buy a house now in Australia so buying our house in the Philippines was a good decision for us as we both want to retire back there one day and we visit every year some times twice So far I have found that not much has increased with water or electricity mind you we live in the province town not in Cebu city where this may change more often I have found that owning the house it gives us now a good prospective of what cost and money we need to be able to retire comfortably but not over the top my wife and I are both down to earth people who like a party but not to the extent as to make others feel uncomfortable to come ( I mean the locals ) Yes I feel the same each to their own every one is different and different life styles in the city prices change regularly but in the outer suburbs maybe not so much