Renting In The Philippines

[earthdome]

Look locally. Drive or ride around looking for signs, or ask people. There are almost no bargains in advretised properties.

 

I was following this advice. I would find an area I thought would be nice to live in then walked around the area. When I saw an apartment or condo building I would walk up and ask if there were any vacancies.

 

I had actually walked past and thought "there is a nice building" for the building I ended up renting in. Brand new 4 story building with half a dozen units for rent that was not advertised and had no for rent signs. I didn't know that at the time, I found out that it had units for rent later that night while I was visiting a local watering hole and met one of the renters in the new building.

[Mike S]

Look locally. Drive or ride around looking for signs, or ask people. There are almost no bargains in advretised properties.

 

We have had just the opposite experience when looking for a place to live ... we have found the majority of signs months or even years old as people never take down signs here ... we also tried the asking people and was sent in circles trying to hunt all these places we were told about ..... one guy laughed and said he never had a place to rent ...... when going through an agent they will know exactly what you are looking for and not waste your time on wild goose chases ..... when we lived in Cebu we used the Cebu classifieds ..... sure they might be a few pesos more to rent but I figured if they took the time to list their place (especially with pictures and address) you could weed out an awful lot of garbage ...... JMHO ......

 

Where we live now the agent showed us this unit first but i thought it would be to small ..... but it is up and down where all the others we rented were single story ..... it turned out to be a bit larger than we had thought ..... Johnny found this unit as we only had 7 days to look for something and two of those we spent on our own running down leads from people we talked to and one or two signs ..... had we taken this place first we could have saved ourselves 5 days of aggravation ..... :thumbsup: :cheersty:

[i am bob]

As you can see by the posts above, there are many ways to look for and find a place to live.  One may be right for you at one time and then the other at another time.  So...  If one isn't working for you, try the other. And the place you want so much may just not be available just yet so you may have to accept something else for a year or so...  Gee, that sounds just like anywhere, doesn't it?  

 

:mocking:

[TexasRangersFan]

We are back in Cebu now.

 

Manila was Fantastic !!!!

 

We loved every minute of being there.

We found a wonderful Condo Unit at a price well within our budget.

We could not be happier with our choice.

 

What we rented.

We found a 2 bedroom Condo Unit above the second floor and below the top floor (building is 5 stories tall ), in a Mid Rise Condo building facing away from the pool and basketball court with a balcony that gets the morning sunshine for just a couple of hours and NO DIRECT SUNSHINE in the afternoon. The Condo buildings are built in such a way that the entrance to the unit is on the inside of the building and yet the inside of the building is open on the sides to the open air for better air ciculation. Both bedrooms have a place for Airconditioners. There is a water and drain connection for our washing machine. There are enough cabinets and cupboards in kitchen area to provide ample space for all our dishes and pots and pans. One of the bedrooms is large enough for our King Sized bed. The Living Room and Dining area is large enough to accomidate our oversized dual recliner couch and recliner as well as our entertainment system and table and chairs set. The unit also has double pane sliding insulated windows which does include sliding doors to the balcony. The unit is also close to the elevator, stairs and fire extinguisher hose. The stairways are wide with a gradual slope so they are not very steep. The steps are deep enough to fit even my big feet. The door to the unit is sturdy strong and has good locks on it along with a screen door. The designer of the buildings in my opinion did a good job in their design of the building.

 

As for the Ammenities.

Swiming Pool, Basketball Court, Badminton Court, Childrens Playground, Clubhouse, Convinence Store, Skylounge Resteraunt, Gym, Internet Cafe, Koi Pond, Audio Video Room, Billiard Hall, PIcnic Area, Gate and Roving Security, Constant presence of Employee's from the Development Company as Security monitors so to speak. As well as maintanence personel for the Units and grounds keepers. They also have Electrivied perimeter fence at the top of the regular hollowblock wall fence. They also have a shuttle bus to and from the supermarket area.

 

The security was very strict and yet not overly aggressive.

 

The monthly rental included the Condo Association Dues.

 

The Monthly rent was well within our budget plan so it worked out very well for us.

 

I will write more later.

[i am bob]

Always good to see another happy customer!!!

 

It just goes to show - no matter what the city, town, province, what-ever!  If you just go and look, sooner or later you will find exactly what you want and for a price you can be happy with.  

 

Actually, it does sound rather good...  I wonder if they have others like that in Cebu I can afford...  soon....

 

:thumbsup:

[MacBubba]

Manila was Fantastic !!!! We loved every minute of being there.

 

So glad Manila left you with a favorable impression.  I often see it disparaged in posts here. 

 

There are pockets of Manila that are deplorable, many that are less than desirable, but there are enclaves that are grander than you would typically see abroad.  And, if you have the inclination and the proper network, Manila society offers intellectual stimulation that no other city in the Philippines can rival. 

[oinkoink]

 

Manila was Fantastic !!!! We loved every minute of being there.

 

So glad Manila left you with a favorable impression.  I often see it disparaged in posts here. 

 

There are pockets of Manila that are deplorable, many that are less than desirable, but there are enclaves that are grander than you would typically see abroad.  And, if you have the inclination and the proper network, Manila society offers intellectual stimulation that no other city in the Philippines can rival. 

 

I was glad to move away recently  from Alabang, its near Manila ,  like Manila I rented there a short while it just did not fit me at all . just saying ..

[Jollygoodfellow]

We are back in Cebu now.

 

Manila was Fantastic !!!!

 

We loved every minute of being there.

We found a wonderful Condo Unit at a price well within our budget.

We could not be happier with our choice.

 

What we rented.

We found a 2 bedroom Condo Unit above the second floor and below the top floor (building is 5 stories tall ), in a Mid Rise Condo building facing away from the pool and basketball court with a balcony that gets the morning sunshine for just a couple of hours and NO DIRECT SUNSHINE in the afternoon. The Condo buildings are built in such a way that the entrance to the unit is on the inside of the building and yet the inside of the building is open on the sides to the open air for better air ciculation. Both bedrooms have a place for Airconditioners. There is a water and drain connection for our washing machine. There are enough cabinets and cupboards in kitchen area to provide ample space for all our dishes and pots and pans. One of the bedrooms is large enough for our King Sized bed. The Living Room and Dining area is large enough to accomidate our oversized dual recliner couch and recliner as well as our entertainment system and table and chairs set. The unit also has double pane sliding insulated windows which does include sliding doors to the balcony. The unit is also close to the elevator, stairs and fire extinguisher hose. The stairways are wide with a gradual slope so they are not very steep. The steps are deep enough to fit even my big feet. The door to the unit is sturdy strong and has good locks on it along with a screen door. The designer of the buildings in my opinion did a good job in their design of the building.

 

As for the Ammenities.

Swiming Pool, Basketball Court, Badminton Court, Childrens Playground, Clubhouse, Convinence Store, Skylounge Resteraunt, Gym, Internet Cafe, Koi Pond, Audio Video Room, Billiard Hall, PIcnic Area, Gate and Roving Security, Constant presence of Employee's from the Development Company as Security monitors so to speak. As well as maintanence personel for the Units and grounds keepers. They also have Electrivied perimeter fence at the top of the regular hollowblock wall fence. They also have a shuttle bus to and from the supermarket area.

 

The security was very strict and yet not overly aggressive.

 

The monthly rental included the Condo Association Dues.

 

The Monthly rent was well within our budget plan so it worked out very well for us.

 

I will write more later.

 

 

By looking at the description above the cost of the condo would be high, where one is happy and what they can afford certainly would make a difference as to where to live. Glad you found your piece of paradise.  :thumbsup:

[robert k]

I'm almost afraid to ask, how much was all that per month? I'm also curious how much it would cost for a simple place, only one strand of barbed wire, a few mines, moat full of crocodiles and a shotgun toting guard? Just kidding about the mines, I think. :1 (72):

[TexasRangersFan]

I have read many posts on this website and other sites debating on weather one should buy or rent here in the Philippines.

 

I believe it to be a personal preferance. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. To be honest both have their problems. For me, its rent.  In my opinion its the lesser of the two evils.

 

Now the problem is where, what, how, when to rent.

 

What I have done is this.

 

Decide what I want in available foods, medical care and medicine availability, security, shopping, law enforcement, air quality, water quality and availability, electical availability and cost, minimal noise pollution, as a US citizen how close is the embassy or consolate, available banking institutions, transportation availability and costs, available living conditions of housing, cleanliness of the area, how freindly are the locals.

 

With all these things in mind I realize that finding such a place will take a while here.

So the first thing I did was read a lot about the current philippines, before coming back here. Then explore the differant areas I hoped would be best.

 

After 2 1/2 years of miserable failures in Davao, Cebu, and Letye. I dicided to look in the metro manila area.

 

The reason : Availability of nearly all the things on my list.

Next comes the type of housing and the cost that I can afford.

House, apartment, or condo?

I decided on a condo with ammenites. Not to buy but to rent.

I then began searching every classified advertisement website I could find.

Then I read the ad's very very carefully. For every 10 I read I eventually found that 4 were fake.

However there were many real ad's. There were 2 types of advertizers, home owner and realtor.

I also investigated in depth the Condo's. The developer, the management company, the condo association, the security company, the city, the political aspect of the area, and the people,

Not an easy task. It has taken months.

 

After months and months of research going with the idea of taking the lesser of two evils, I decided that DMCI was about the best. Some were easy to dismiss from my list, such as, Fly by Night developers and Travel Agency, or We build to suit ourselves Inc. or We didn't biuld this so don't blame us if it falls down development agency. The list goes on and on.

 

The next step was to contact the Realtor or Home Owner about their condo's and ask the following questions.Since I don't speak the language here well enough I had my cousin and girlfreind do the calling.

 

1. What are your contract terms ? ie. Payments, Deposit, Length of contract.

2. What are your requirements for renting? ie, ID requirements, application forms, Fees for filing out forms. ( yes some wanted a form fee )

3. Can I see a copy of your contract prior to signing?

4. What is the location of the Condo Unit?

 

Most didn't get passed these simple questions. 

The biggest proplem was the Post Dated Checks. Second was the refusal to show me a copy of the contract prior to signing, Third was Fees for filing out the application form.

 

After narrowing it down to 15 differant Resort Condo places with DMCI we then made our appointments to look at the Units they had available. We were able to convince some to allow me to make monthly cash deposits into their bank accounts instead of the PDC's.

 

I then purchased tickets on Cebu Air and made hotel reservations via Booking.com.

Purchasing the Airline tickets a month in advance allowed us to travel with the promo fares.

Finding a hotel was a lot harder. We finally rented a condo unit at Cypress Towers. A DMCI Condo. It is a 2 bedroom unit which gave us an idea of what it would be like to live in a similar size condo unit. The cost for 5 days was 11,000 pesos.

Upon arrival and after a good nights sleep we then went and looked at the Condo units we had made appointments to see.

 

Of all the ones we had made appointments to see none worked out for us.

However with the help of the DMCI Leasing Specialist and the Realtor we were able to find a nice unit at Rosewood Pointe at a price I could afford.

 

Everything I wanted is very close by, shopping, foods, medical, and the air quality is fair. Better then where we live now at least. And we got to meet the Owners represntatives before signing. Everything was done by licensed DMCI representatives.

 

Prior to signing the contract we were allowed to have a copy and take it to an attorney of our choosing to find out weather it was legal or not. IT WAS LEGAL.

 

I also spoke with other foreigners who lived there to find out about the place.

 

The total cost of the condo unit was 18,000 a month including condo dues. The parking space was an extra 4000  month. I opted for the free offsite parking area owned by DMCI for now.

 

The Contract terms are 1 year rental, 1 month advance, 2 months deposit in cash.

Monthly payments to be deposited in Owners account.

The contract, while lengthy, was direct, legal, and easy to understand.

The unit was cleaned and all maintenance requirements were completed prior to our signing. Paid for by the owner.

 

Now we are getting ready to take all our belongings to 2go travel to be put into a cargo container and drop off our car then its tourist class on the same boat to manila.

 

I left some things out. As I have a splitting headache from our current neighbors. Its sunday morning here in CEBU and they have been outside breaking up concrete since 5 am.

 

Any questions please feel free to ask.