Avida Towers 30% Sold Out During Priority Selling Event

[Mr Lee]

I often wonder how people can be that rich or that trusting with their money to pay for a unit in full before it is even built? Would you pay for something in full before it is built? I know that I would not even in the US no less in the Philippines and while this development is supposed to be by Ayala land, I seem to remember that another one Tower Palace that is being built right next to Ayala Mall in Cebu was also said to be a partnership with Ayala Land, and it went bust and now is being built by a Korean company and called Avalon. I wonder if anyone who paid in full for their units in advance lost their money? Anyone know anyone who did and what the outcome was? Anyone know if there are any protections to prevent a buyer from losing all or most of their money?So here is an article that says "Even before its formal launching in Cebu, Ayala Land Inc.’s condominium brand Avida, already enjoyed a strong take up of the condominium units of the Avida Towers with 149 of the total 518 units sold within three days."  So I have to wonder how there can be so many trusting people living in Cebu and probably with so much money that they can easily afford to lose that much money.Avida story here and below is the way they are selling it and while it looks very nice, I have found that actual buildings never look like artist renditions when they are finished. I found this on This real estate siteReservation Fee   Ph 20,000.00 (Non-refundable,deductable from Total Contract Price)  Payment Options   Spot Cash   95% of the total contract price payable in 30 days after reservation,with the 5% balance payable upon completion.   In-House Finance   20% of the total contract price payable in 30 days after reservation,with the 80% balance payable in 23 equal monthly installments,beginning 30 days after the full down payment,interest free.   Bank 20/80 Finance   20% of the total contract price payable in 30 days after reservation,with the 80% balance financed by the Bank.(subject to Bank approval and arrangement)Oh I forgot to mention, two bedroom units 52 square meters.   :th_interesting:  :SugarwareZ-037:  

[Jollygoodfellow]

I often wonder how people can be that rich or that trusting with their money to pay for a unit in full before it is even built? Would you pay for something in full before it is built? I know that I would not even in the US no less in the Philippines and while this development is supposed to be by Ayala land, I seem to remember that another one Tower Palace that is being built right next to Ayala Mall in Cebu was also said to be a partnership with Ayala Land, and it went bust and now is being built by a Korean company and called Avalon. I wonder if anyone who paid in full for their units in advance lost their money? Anyone know anyone who did and what the outcome was? Anyone know if there are any protections to prevent a buyer from losing all or most of their money?So here is an article that says "Even before its formal launching in Cebu, Ayala Land Inc.’s condominium brand Avida, already enjoyed a strong take up of the condominium units of the Avida Towers with 149 of the total 518 units sold within three days." So I have to wonder how there can be so many trusting people living in Cebu and probably with so much money that they can easily afford to lose that much money.Avida story here and below is the way they are selling it and while it looks very nice, I have found that actual buildings never look like artist renditions when they are finished. I found this on This real estate siteReservation Fee Ph 20,000.00 (Non-refundable,deductable from Total Contract Price) Payment Options Spot Cash 95% of the total contract price payable in 30 days after reservation,with the 5% balance payable upon completion. In-House Finance 20% of the total contract price payable in 30 days after reservation,with the 80% balance payable in 23 equal monthly installments,beginning 30 days after the full down payment,interest free. Bank 20/80 Finance 20% of the total contract price payable in 30 days after reservation,with the 80% balance financed by the Bank.(subject to Bank approval and arrangement)Oh I forgot to mention, two bedroom units 52 square meters. :th_interesting: :SugarwareZ-037:

Well I think that as always its best to not believe everything you read,even in Australia its common practice to try to sell by advertising only x amount of lots/units left when in fact they seem to come back on to the market later and the truth is they were never sold in the first place.People feel better when they think something is selling fast so as a market ploy why not push it by making people believe what they want to hear.Incidentally and not meaning to hijack this thread,I have decided to sell two of my islands,the countless offers on the other 5 pushed me into thinking; why hold on to them any longer.For more info please send me a PM before its to late to secure your very own piece of paradise.:SugarwareZ-037:

[Art2ro]

Lee,I didn't read all of your links. I just want to throw in my 2 centavos of my experience with Avida! Avida is an off shoot from LPHI, Laguna Properties Holding Inc, which is a subsidiary of the Ayala Corporation and BPI, Bank of the Philippines Island, which says something about their company and subsidiaries. We purchased our home through LPHI in 1999, paid our 20% deposit and full payment of the balance after 12 months at the total selling price of P2.6 million without a garage or interior finishing. Construction of our home started when they received 30% of the selling price. We spent an additional of P800,000 for the interior/exterior finishing and added 2 car garage, laundry, entertainment room and 2nd bathroom downstairs. We've now been living in our home, phase I with 300 homes for 10 years now and the 2nd phase with an additional of 350 homes has been concluded by Avida when about 95% was completed, but management was turned over at 70% phase, to our HOA. I'm just saying, Avida is a reputable company to do business with even in Cebu, but I don't guarantee anything about the quality of their present projects to date because I've noticed that some of their projects hasn't been up to par to my likings when we've seen some of their other home projects of lately which their construction standards has gone down and the lots and floor plans got smaller! But they do have other projects in Batangas that are pretty good with larger lots! Avida projects are everywhere!

Edited June 12, 2010 by Pinoy Art

[Mr Lee]

Lee,I didn't read all of your links. I just want to throw in my 2 centavos of my experience with Avida! Avida is an off shoot from LPHI, Laguna Properties Holding Inc, which is a subsidiary of the Ayala Corporation and BPI, Bank of the Philippines Island, which says something about their company and subsidiaries. We purchased our home through LPHI in 1999, paid our 20% deposit and full payment of the balance after 12 months at the total selling price of P2.6 million without a garage or interior finishing. Construction of our home started when they received 30% of the selling price. We spent an additional of P800,000 for the interior/exterior finishing and added 2 car garage, laundry, entertainment room and 2nd bathroom downstairs. We've now been living in our home, phase I with 300 homes for 10 years now and the 2nd phase with an additional of 350 homes has been concluded by Avida when about 95% was completed, but management was turned over at 70% phase, to our HOA. I'm just saying, Avida is a reputable company to do business with even in Cebu, but I don't guarantee anything about the quality of their present projects to date because I've noticed that some of their projects hasn't been up to par to my likings when we've seen some of their other home projects of lately which their construction standards has gone down and the lots and floor plans got smaller! But they do have other projects in Batangas that are pretty good with larger lots! Avida projects are everywhere!

Hi Art and thank you for the information. I guess I am a chicken and will never see the upside of a place like that unless I got in at the bottom but I just cannot trust any builder even here in the states since sh*t happens over time. Example, the people who built the home we are now in did a pretty good job IMO but of course not perfect for the price. They then went on to build some twin towers in south Florida and both towers are already up but not finished inside the units and they went bankrupt and then to make matters worse, the bank that took over the project went bankrupt and it seems most people lost their money. We did not buy in that project because it was way over what we can afford with the units we would have wanted running about $600,000 and they are now taken over by a new group who supposedly intends to complete the sales and are now selling for less than half of that with the units needing just tile for completion. It seems everyone either closed on the unfinished units or lost their money and only about 50 units are sold out of approx 400. While I am tempted to buy at the new low price, there is still no guarantee that the building will get sold out anytime soon in this down market.  As a second example, my former wife and I almost bought a condo not far from the home we owned in a good neighborhood and it looked to be a good investment and was being built by a reputable builder. Then came the downturn in the market and the builder went bust, so twice it has happened in my life and both times I was lucky enough that circumstances prevented me from losing my hard earned money. Just call me chicken Lee.    :SugarwareZ-037:  As I said, I am afraid to lose what I know that I can never earn again at my age, so I only invest "in hand I trust." type of things so I will most likely never see the big loss or big gain because of that and you are a braver man than I am.  :th_interesting:

[Art2ro]

You're not chicken Lee! You're just smart with your money! I too would not do today during this recession, what I did 10 years ago in purchasing our home! It's more risky at this day in age in just handing over your hard earned money just to anybody that you don't know even with a signed contract and promises made that may be uncertain or just blow in the wind! Bye bye money!

[UZI]

Guys,This reminds me of 2 sayings;If you are not standing on the edge, you are taking up too much spaceandWhen was the last time you did something for the first time.Life is all about taking risks, we do that every time we cross the road or drive a car or board a plane. We can't stay behind walls & grills at our windows, all the time. The difference is CALCULATED risk. Knowing what the risk is and whether it is high or low.We too bought from Avida, 7 years after Pinoy Art, in the phase 2, for just over a million Peso more. Our house is a larger model too. The reason I point this out is to show that there was little advantage in taking all the risk of being first to buy on a development, 7 years later & only a little more than P1 mil saved wasn't worth the risk IMHO.Before we bought we visited a lot of developers projects in Tagaytay & Sta Rosa. We were shocked to see one that had never got further than roads being built (one like this in Naga Cebu too) and 2 or 3 that had some run down houses there but nothing new built. These were also failed projects where people had bought AND got their houses but not enough to sustain the services of a gated community.When I saw the Avida development, phase 1 was complete & they were pre selling Phase 2. Calculated risk = low as there was a thriving sub division already in place built by one of the countries top companies. Our house in just 4 years is worth over P2.5 mil more than we paid for it. Not a bad return (those that rent take note).So my advise is don't be afraid to take a risk but weigh the advantages or disadvantages of being 1st in. If the return is high then perhaps the risk is worth it but I would never be the 1st to buy an I-Pad for example, let others have the initial problems. How many rushed to buy the Edsel ......and to follow on from Lee's 'Old TV' thread....to quote Hill Street Blues........"Let be careful out there" UZI

[Mr Lee]

Here is a post that not only makes my point but the couple is now being sued by the developer for defaming their name.     :th_noproblem: CEBU, Philippines - MSY Holdings Corp., owner and developer of Bayswater Subdivision has filed before the Regional Trial Court in Cebu City a P5-million damage lawsuit against an Australian and his Filipina wife for slandering and defaming the name of the corporation.  Based on the 11-page complaint filed by the corporation against spouses Vincent Paul Logan and Jaye Logan, the couple talked with prospective buyers telling them that they were not satisfied with their services.The complaint said that Vincent even wrote malicious e-mails to the corporation’s clients living abroad.The spouses, who held a press conference sometime last April, allegedly said that they were harassed by the corporation when they sought for a refund and that they were given a contract that was not notarized instead of a deed of sale.The spouses went on saying that they paid their house and lot in full last November and hoped to move in this year only to learn that the house was not finished and that the lot number has no record before the Registry of Deeds.The spouses, sometime in 2009 signed a reservation application for two pre-sold housing units to be constructed on two parcels of land and were apprised that the entire project was still in the horizontal development phase and that construction of housing units will commence after the completion of the horizontal development on June 2010.The complaint further stated that the spouses cannot seek refund as the corporation was not at fault as to their obligations in delivering the housing unit.The complaint added that the contract to sell, though not notarized, remains a valid and binding contract between the parties and that only upon full payment of the contract price will the corporation issue a deed of absolute sale in favor of the buyers.Aside from the P5 million damaged suit, the corporation also asked for P100,000 as exemplary damages, P200,000 in attorney’s fees and to reimburse the corporation the cost of the lawsuit. —