PhilArmen Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 Indeed, when I compare condo prices in Manila with those here (in Canada) I can only be amazed how that can be possible. However all I saw are pictures on the web of superbe high rise ultra-modern projects with swimming pool(s), gym(s), multi-purpose court(s), gardens etc... Any comments from those who have had any exposure to this will be greatly appreciated: How is the reality in comparison with pics on the web? What is the maintenance situation of the common areas? Soundproofing (or a lack of)? and, by the way, what are the maintenance (or condo) fees? THX for any input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJReyes Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) The primary market are Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Filipino-Americans (Fil-Ams) who are buying for their future retirement. There are also a few impulse buyers from China, Korea and Japan. Many units are empty awaiting their owners future arrival. The construction by reputable developers like the Ayala Corporation is quite good. For some properties, it is Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware. I would wait to physically visit an existing unit, not a developer's model. I noticed the swimming pool pictures on the brochure were different. It turned out the brochure designer had used photographs taken at another building. At the time, the property we were visiting was still under construction. My wife, son and I own a real estate company in Honolulu. The three of us were tempted to buy an investment property during a visit. What dissuaded us is the tax system. The Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue(BIR)assumes you made money in the resale. The tax is a percentage of the transaction price. Loss or gain is not their concern. The BIR also assumes that the Buyer/Seller undervalued the purchase price. The high tax rate reflects this. On the plus side, the property was the type foreign corporations rent for their executives. The system for the high end market is they pay rent one year in advance. If your plan is to "buy & hold" as a lifestyle decision rather than investment, it is worthwhile to consider making a purchase. Be aware that developer prices at the present time are 5% to 8% higher than a similar property in the resale market, assuming you are buying a unit in a building that is already constructed. Fair market value is also very difficult to determine using comparative market analysis because there is no Multiple Listing Services (MLS). The real estate agent or property owner will look into your eyes and come up with a price. It took me weeks of research to determine the fair market value of our family farm located close to Manila. My wife or son would have accomplished the same within an hour using MLS databases that are proprietary to the real estate industry. Edited June 23, 2012 by JJR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billten Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 I would wait to physically visit an existing unit, not a developer's model. I agree with this point. I recently saw a situation where a customer had bought a condo off a floor plan and being shown a model suite in the building. When it came time to take the keys of the unit (he paid in advance of course), it was a lot smaller than the model he was shown. After numerous complaints, the condo company told him in a letter that they accepted no responsibility for an 'over-zealous' salesman who may have misled him regarding the size and layout of his unit, he was stuck with the unit. Caveat emptor is the word... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike S Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 Also word of caution make sure everything they tell you about the condo is put into writing especially if you buy a condo under construction ..... I have a good friend who just went through this nightmare when he was told and shown a completed unit only to find when his was complete that it was only a shell ...... EVERYTHING had to be installed at his expense ..... and that my friends was a shocker and very expensive .... the ceilings weren't even finished just corrugated tin ... no tile ... no fixtures .... NADA ..... and he is no newbie to the Philippines having been coming and living here off and on for over 20 years ......buyer beware ....... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilArmen Posted June 23, 2012 Author Posted June 23, 2012 Thank you people for your very useful posts; my skepticism was called for indeed. Another ''cloudy'' area is the lack of infos regarding condo maintenance fees. No mention of those anywhere I looked. Any input on this? THX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike S Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 The maintenance fees for the condo vary as to what types of amenities there are available ..... your gonna pay for them wither you use them or not (no different than in any other part of the world) ..... but don't expect your building to be repaired .... that will be the last thing that gets done and on the bottom of the list (if it is on the list at all) ..... the reason that so many of these condo's after several years begins to look like crap ..... just ride around Cebu and look at some of the older condo's ...... some can be rally ratty looking .... paint peeling ...... old paint not being scraped just painted over .... floor tiles in lobby's cracked and broken .... not what you originally paid for in your maintenance fees ..... IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me bubba Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 I have read about 1 yr ago about 1 person who was really Piss with Robinson here in manila, some reason I cant find that topic or link, (was written by a french man i believe) it was a very good post on how to be wary of these" people" should some one be able to find this link/topic, please repost it,(its a closed post) at least the link will help this person & provide info to this topic, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyAway Posted June 24, 2012 Posted June 24, 2012 Last year we looked at some of the in construction condo's. At one place the salesman crossed out the price on his handouts and wrote in a new higher price. My brother in law has an older condo in the Taguig area that has been under "Renovation" for years. The whole building was gutted and now no one is willing to shell out the extra money to repair it all. It would really suck to own a condo then have other residents vote to renovate. Suddenly you have a shell of a building and are lucky to have some sort of markings showing where your walls used to be. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilArmen Posted June 25, 2012 Author Posted June 25, 2012 Again, regarding the condo fees, does anyone know what formula is used, if any, to calculate the payable monthly condo fees? If no formula is available/known, does anyone know what should be expected in terms of condo fees for an apartment of, say, 330 square feet (roughly 30 square meters)? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike S Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 The maintenance fees for the condo vary as to what types of amenities there are available Again as quoited above ..... as far as I know there is NO SET fee per say it all depends on the amenities and the building itself ...... more expensive condo building have larger fees ...... I personally have never heard of a formula for determining the maintenance cost for all condo's so it will pretty much depend on where you wish to buy ...... IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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