Announcing the launch of our properties directory. Where you can post all your houses for sale or any real estate that you would like to sell. The site has been getting an increase in visitors lately and thought about sharing some exposure to other people in the real estate industry.

Post a property NOW!

If you’re a real estate agent, you can benefit by getting exposure when you add your properties. All individuals that wish to sell their properties are also welcome. It’s free and we don’t make money out of it. Just a way of giving back to the community.

If you intend to buy houses for sale Philippines, you might want to get a loan to buy a house. Either for investment portfolio or for your family. Here are some of the main pointers about getting a housing loan in the Philippines.

I intend to share my answers and some actionable items, as inspired by the book “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris, one of the books that inspired me to take a leap of faith (more about this in a future post). Tim’s book has a number of “Questions and Actions” at the end of each chapter.
Beginning with this post, I intend to feature questions from readers from time to time as a way of helping real estate investors in the Philippines.
Of course I will not disclose our reader’s name and e-mail address to protect her privacy and her questions are as follows:
“Hi Jay. I am currently looking for properties and try real estate. (I was an attendee from the Nov. 21, 2009 TRP seminar.) However, most banks have limits like income if you are an employee you must have 25k + salary. I only have 12K. Or must have a steady business. Or must be 2 years or more in a company. How can I start early with all these limitations? How can I apply for a loan and thus finance my first deal? Thank you very much…” – Miss MJ
Thank you for the excellent question Miss MJ. Let me try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge and also share some of my thoughts as follows.
Your capacity to pay
Assuming that Php12,000 is your take home pay, let us first try to determine what is the maximum loan amount you can get based on your capacity to pay. I believe most banks and lending institutions look at a person’s net disposable income or NDI to determine a persons capacity to pay and the corresponding maximum housing loan they can get.
The rule of thumb is the monthly amortization should be no higher than 40% of the NDI. In your case, If you have no existing obligations like loans, etc, and assuming Php12,000 is already yourtake home pay after taxes and monthly contributions like SSS, etc., then 40% of your monthly salary of Php12, 000/mo would be the maximum monthlyamortization that can be allowed for you, which is Php4,800.
Foreclosed properties you can afford
Using the payment terms from Unionbank as an example, Php4,800 would be more than enough as the monthly amortization for a foreclosed property priced at Php350,000 with a downpayment of 10% or 35K, and the balance financed with an interest of 15% per annum for 15 years. With these terms, the resulting monthlyamortization would be Php4,408.69, well within your maximum of Php4,800/month.
Obviously, there are other banks and lending institutions that offer lower interest rates and longer terms so you can definitely still get your first deal through bank financing. That is assuming you can come up with the minimum downpayment required.
How can I come up with the downpayment?
Yes, you will still need to save for the downpayment. I suggest that you start managing your money NOW! I believe learning how to manage money is a prerequisite to starting to invest in foreclosed properties. I would like to reiterate my belief that anyone who wants to get out of the rat race really needs to learn how to manage money and finances and this remains true whether you intend to invest in foreclosed properties or other investments.
Moving forward, let’s assume you manage to consistently save 15% of your salary each month or Php1,800, you will be able to save enough for the downpayment in less than 20 months. If you think 20 months is long, remember the requirement you mentioned that you must be working for a company 2 years or more in order for you to be able to qualify for ahousing loan?
Don’t bite off more than you can chew!
You might be asking why you should limit yourself to foreclosed properties worth Php350,000 and below? Well, I believe there is wisdom in starting small so that in case you do make mistakes (we all do!), you also make small mistakes and failures from which you can easily recover.
You still learn from the entire process but you start gaining knowledge and experience that would help you to get ready to take on bigger deals and bigger success.
What about Other People’s Money or OPM?
I know the subject of OPM is always in the mind in beginning real estate investors but I believe that if you are just starting with your real estate investing career, you should not even consider using other people’s money unless you are already able to prove your worth in managing your own.

How the heck would you be able to make good use of other people’s money if you cannot even manage your own?!
Your own money might be small but it should be good enough for one to start. As mentioned in Luke 16:10(NIV), “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…”.  Makes sense right?!
Investing in foreclosed properties is a numbers game
Obviously, it may take some time for a lot of people to save enough money to start investing. I know I did as it took me 3 years before I was able to buy my first property. But that should never stop anyone from consistently analyzing properties to find deals worth pursuing.
You do not need any money to analyze deals as you are investing your time. So go ahead, start analyzing deals NOW, even if you still have no money to invest. Save money while  consistently analyzing properties and make the most of your precious time!
The more foreclosed properties you analyze, the sooner you will begin to see those deals worth pursuing. I’ve read a number of books about real estate investing that mention that on the average, you may have to analyze a hundred properties to end up buying one and I for one believe that these numbers are accurate. The key is to keep on analyzing as muchforeclosed properties as you can.
Don’t listen to the little voice in your head that may say “These numbers just won’t work… foreclosed properties are too expensive… I will never find one that is worth investing in… ” after looking at just a few listings or just a few properties. Remember, that’s the voice of the loser inside of you.
Just keep it up and you will eventually begin to see those great deals that you were unable to see before. When that time comes, I have a feeling you will already have the money to invest.
Happy investing

Some people considers buying houses for sale in the Philippines is just a necessity. Something a person really owns and put the heart and dedication to have his own property. But some people also considers it as an investment. Read the article about these houses for investment opportunity or real estate opportunity to learn more.

MANILA, Philippines - People usually buy houses for sale Philippines for residential purposes but there are those who wisely purchase a condominium unit, which can be rented out or sold in the future, as investment.

Buying a piece of real estate means that several factors have to be considered before even writing your first check. The first factor to be considered is location, so that transportation and communication do not pose problems. Secondly, it is best to choose a property that is easily accessible and near commercial and business districts, schools and hospitals.

Escalades at the 20th, a 1.4 hectare mid-rise housing development is located in the heart of Cubao, Quezon City, is a few minutes away from the Metro Railway Transit, Light Railway Transit 2 and EDSA. It is also very near Araneta Center, which houses Gateway Mall, Araneta Coliseum and many restaurants and shops and less than 20 minutes from schools and universities like the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, Miriam College, among others.

“Property values in Quezon City, especially Cubao, are very resilient with potential for growth. Buying a unit at Escalades is definitely a good investment for the future,” says Marilu Alferez, Robinsons Land Corp. senior vice president and general manager.

“When buying real estate, always inspect the finished product to make sure that it is well made and constructed. Check if the condominium unit and building can withstand the elements and test of time,” she says.

Alferez adds: “Living at Escalades offers would-be buyers a chance to own a piece of property that’s unique in that it is like living in the suburbs in terms of open spaces and safety and security without being too far from the center of things.

A more relaxed lifestyle is attained with the family-friendly amenities available in Escalades at the 20th Avenue. These include over 70 percent of open spaces with a playground for children, a jogging path, a swimming pool for adults and kids, gym, a multi-purpose function room, picnic area with barbeque pits, Gazebo Luna, and an exterior circumferential road.

Escalades is designed by Robinsons Land with its professional design partners, following a method called green architecture where buildings are made to be energy-efficient, allowing more natural sunlight into each unit and hallway, and providing greater air ventilation. The studio units, which are well-constructed, offer 22 square meters of space, the 1-bedroom unit 32 sq m and the 2-bedroom unit 50 sq m

Each unit is hooked up to basic amenities like individual electric and water meter, cable TV line, provision for telephone line, opening for owner-supplied window-type air conditioner, sprinkler system and provision for washing machine connections.

Building facilities include a reception/security counter for every building, standby power generator for common areas and selected outlets in the residential units, automatic smoke detectors and fire alarm, drying cages on every roof deck, individual mailboxes and central garbage room.

In addition, waste water from the residential units passes through a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) which filters the water and will be used to irrigate the vast open space of the development.

by PhilStar