Are there condos in Dumaguete

[Dave Hounddriver]

6 hours ago, mogo51 said:

Any property we may purchase when we live in Phls will be in my name,

So you are buying a condo?  I wish I had done that.  Its more secure because you can own it but its twice as expensive (per square meter of living space) as a regular apartment so I have what I can afford.

[robert k]

49 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

So you are buying a condo?  I wish I had done that.  Its more secure because you can own it but its twice as expensive (per square meter of living space) as a regular apartment so I have what I can afford.

I never saw them. What are the condos like in Dumaguete?

[Jack Peterson]

42 minutes ago, robert k said:

What are the condos like in Dumaguete?

We have Condos in Dumaguete?

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, robert k said:

What are the condos like in Dumaguete?

https://ssl.olx.ph/item/dumaguete-condo-apartment-for-sale-unit-only-ID76um2.html?p=3&h=76ca76ddfa#76ca76ddfa

1 hour ago, Jack Peterson said:

We have Condos in Dumaguete?

Yes and more coming all the time.

CAUTION:  The one I linked to was ONLY to answer the question:  What are condos like in Dumaguete.  I know someone living a couple doors down from that one listed for sale and have visited when there is a band playing in Freedom Park.  Its HORRID for noise so a foreigner buying that place would be forced to move out every time there is a party in the park.

[mogo51]

23 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

So you are buying a condo?  I wish I had done that.  Its more secure because you can own it but its twice as expensive (per square meter of living space) as a regular apartment so I have what I can afford.

As I said in a subsequent post Dave, I must have had the brain in neutral.  I know the rules there, little difference to here.

Funnily though, we spoke of this over lunch today, about buying a Condo but as you say they are very expensive. They start out expensive new here in Pattaya, but resale much cheaper especially at the moment.

Is it the same there?  Condos that were 4m bht plus are selling for around 3m here everywhere. There is an oversupply plus the Russians have gone (most of them) and they were big buyers.  The walked on many condos they had paid deposits for, off the plan.

So I am hoping that if we can find one at the right price it will be a possibility - but have to sell house here which is not easy either. Otherwise Rent.

[Gratefuled]

I'm sure you know the benefits and the downfalls of owning a condo. You also have to pay association fees every month. That usually increases every year. You live in very close proximity to your neighbors good or bad.  I might add that condos in the states are a thing of the past. They lose their value very quickly. Many who bought condos were speculators and did it hoping the market would improve. It didn't. It went down. So, unless you have a lot of money to gamble with, be careful. 

Good Luck. I wish you well. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, mogo51 said:

resale much cheaper especially at the moment.

Is it the same there?

I wish!

In truth they want more for used ones.  The developers give out a cock and bull story about how the condo is being 'presold' as an investment so you buy it before its built and it will be worth more once its built and once you have done all the finishing work (the developer gives you a concrete shell with nothing in it.

So by the time someone has bought a 3 million peso condo and has it RFO (ready for occupancy) they have the idea that it is worth 4 million and won't sell it for less.  A lot of condos stay on the market for a long time without coming down in price because "a" they were often paid for with cash so no hurry to sell and "b" they are usually rentable so no need to take a loss

[robert k]

That condo that Dave so helpfully the link for doesn't fit my idea of condo. Not just because it is small, I expect that. That dining table looks to be a meter square though. The bed looks like a queen and it practically fills the bedroom. Rough calculation the asking price looks like about $1,000 USD per square meter. Not sounding good. The purchase price was 25 years worth of rent at my apartment, part of a walled gated triplex and they paid for the maintenance. My apartment had about 60% more room inside and probably another 10 sq meters outside as a laundry area. Parking for 2 cars also. I doubt there was an elevator in those condos so you would be carrying everything upstairs.

The thing that turns me off about a condo is maintenance. You pay for maintenance. I have heard all the horror stories about maintenance delayed and when the funds reach a high enough amount, someone embezzles them and buggers off, condos and subdivisions both. I didn't go to look at the condos in Cebu but I have read that some of them look scabrous after a few years. Maintenance in the Philippines is probably catch as catch can anyway but with a condo, you are probably waiting on other people to decide something needs to be repaired.

I'm not convinced of condo as an investment. What is it going to look like in 25 years? Would it be something someone would like to buy at that time? If you decide to not live in it you are going to have to sell it in competition with new units in new buildings or rent it out and take on landlord headaches. Owning in the Philippines just doesn't seem like the path to security that it may be in the west. After watching the housing bubble burst in the US, I'm not convinced it is the path to security there either, really it looks like the stock market with a longer cycle and we all know that the stock market is a sure thing? I read people discussing the Philippine condo bubble, I presume these are people who are doing the legwork and due diligence. I would look at what they say.

[Dave Hounddriver]

8 minutes ago, robert k said:

I doubt there was an elevator in those condos

There is

8 minutes ago, robert k said:

Not just because it is small,

It is about the same size as many 1 bedroom apartments I have rented over the years, but yes, it is small

10 minutes ago, robert k said:

I read people discussing the Philippine condo bubble

I have read people discussing the condo 'bubble' for 10 years now.  They have been wrong so far but if they keep discussing it long enough they may be right one day.  The condo I linked to is, I admit, not worth the money.  But that is only due to location (noisy), age of the unit (its not that old but in an old area so it seems old), and availability of other choices I like better.

In Dumaguete I know of 3 condo units under construction.  The one on the boulevard would be sweet at the 2,500,000 pesos they advertise but I doubt they will ever finish it.  They've been at it for 3 years and aren't even finished the foundation.  The one over near Hayahay is close to completion but I have not seen prices yet.  It may be worth a look.

I agree that renting is consistent and reliable, but you mentioned the real estate bubble in the US and I remember a renter's nightmare in Canada (where rent prices went from about $200 a month to $1000 a month in just a few years on normal apartments).

So there are pros and cons for many different points of view.  I bought a small and cheap townhouse in my spouse's name and I'll let you know in 10 years if that worked for me as none of us have a crystal ball (and thats too bad because it would be quite usefull.

[robert k]

24 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

There is

It is about the same size as many 1 bedroom apartments I have rented over the years, but yes, it is small

I have read people discussing the condo 'bubble' for 10 years now.  They have been wrong so far but if they keep discussing it long enough they may be right one day.  The condo I linked to is, I admit, not worth the money.  But that is only due to location (noisy), age of the unit (its not that old but in an old area so it seems old), and availability of other choices I like better.

In Dumaguete I know of 3 condo units under construction.  The one on the boulevard would be sweet at the 2,500,000 pesos they advertise but I doubt they will ever finish it.  They've been at it for 3 years and aren't even finished the foundation.  The one over near Hayahay is close to completion but I have not seen prices yet.  It may be worth a look.

I agree that renting is consistent and reliable, but you mentioned the real estate bubble in the US and I remember a renter's nightmare in Canada (where rent prices went from about $200 a month to $1000 a month in just a few years on normal apartments).

So there are pros and cons for many different points of view.  I bought a small and cheap townhouse in my spouse's name and I'll let you know in 10 years if that worked for me as none of us have a crystal ball (and thats too bad because it would be quite usefull.

Dave, there are people who make predictions all the time and someone will always dredge up an old prediction that came true from years ago and say "see, see, you never listen to me!". I think recent predictions may have a point about the condo "bubble" because of empty units and more being built. Of course this could be offset by a massive influx of retirees taking advantage of the retirement visa and buying a condo to fulfill the requirements or Filipino standard of living doubling or tripling fairly soon, I don't see it but it could happen. The part of my post about the condo bubble was my opinion and I even recommended that people look at what they say.

Are you saying people should not look at what they say?

As for rent rising rapidly, usually where rent rises rapidly, other things do also. Also you are renting, you can go someplace else. There are many people who are economic refugees from their own country where they couldn't afford to retire. If one needs to move across town or to the next town or city, one does what one must do to balance the household budget. The next person I meet who lives in the exact spot they want to live...will be the first person I have ever met living exactly where they want to live. I won't guarantee anything, whether someone purchasing a condo or renting someplace will be happier, but I will say that the Philippines is a damn good place to leave your options open and it's easier to move if you need to if you are renting.