The housing market and the underlying prices that go with it can be somewhat grouped into Expat and Local.  The Expats that come here are usually prepared and equipped to pay Western standard rent but also expect quality and amenities of Western-style housing.  Most are supported by their companies so money is almost not an issue to them.  Some expats are just people who are retiring (or snow-birds) here or here on business. Locals are usually professionals, usually upwardly mobile who are looking for places close to work.

The major tool I used of course is the internet.  Specifically I go to sites such as sulit.com.ph, craigslist, 88db, olx.com, adpost.com, buysell.ph.  Around 60% of listings here are from brokers or real estate agents.  As a rule of thumb, you should prefer listings that come from owners themselves.  Brokers charge one month rent so the rents will be much more inflated if you go with brokers.  Never forget that brokers act for the benefit of the landlords.  Because of this, we tried to look for agents that could help us look for places — and don’t work for landlords but in the end we couldn’t find one in our area.  If you find a trustworthy one, I am sure it’s all worth the fees you’d be paying.  First of all, the brokers that I mentioned earlier that work for landlords, even if you tell them your requirements, they almost always ignore it and push you to view the property anyways.  Some of them don’t even look at the property at all before listing them.   They show you so many properties that are in bad shape and not even in your price range!  They are a complete waste of time. 

However, if you are in such a hurry, you have no choice but to work with them at times.  Surely, they will be sending you listings often but they are not upfront or honest not to let you avoid properties that are not for you.  The secret here is to emphasize what you don’t like and if  that’s a dealbreaker and what you prefer just to be sure you don’t waste each other’s time.  We were lucky to find our house without a broker.

Houses in or near a certain CBD such as Makati, Ortigas, or Fort Bonifacio are the most expensive and the quality of the houses are not usually matching the price.  Also, most rentals are condominium units.  Before you go further you have to decide whether you want to live in a condo unit or a regular house or townhouse.   Among high-rise condominiums, there’s the older ones and newer ones.  The newer ones are usually from the 30sqm (studio) to 80 sqm range (2 bedrooms). If you go with older ones you can get bigger units from 50-100+ sqm.  Of course, if you are already in the 80k and above per month range you can find good ones near GreenBelt, Fort Bonifacio and Rockwell.  However in Fort Bonifacio, all are less than 5 years but most are really small.  However, I think in Serendra there are bigger units.  With this price range you could also get a 4-bedroom plus in exclusive gated communities like Valle Verde, Corinthian Gardens, White Plains, Forbes Park.  Below 80k, in these areas are usually rundown, musty and unloved/forsaken big houses with uncaring or uninvolved landlords.

In the 30k to 70k Range lies, middle level condominium units.  You need to ask whether Parking is included or not included because usually residential condominium parking is limited if you have a car or choose to have one later.  Also, ask if association dues are already included in the rent.  Ideally the rent should already include the dues and parking.  It’s less hassle that way. Try to observe security and staff.  Are they there 24 hours? Are they attentive or just playing poker most of the time? Are they strict about visitors?  Are elevators secured?  Finally, ask about the terms.  Usually, they require a one year lease but some might be flexible to give you 6 months.  Also, check for cleanliness of public areas and lighting.  You do not want to walk into dim-lit hallways with cockroaches jumping on you. Trust me, I’ve seen it.  If the unit is not in good condition forget it.  It is a sign that the landlord is not involved and you won’t be sure if you’ll get help if you have trouble with the unit.   In my experience, they would usually want to ask for a deposit and contract before they actually fix the unit.  Do yourself a favor and avoid them.

At around price ranges below 30k are condominium units that are 1 bedroom and studios.  If you are young and single you can also save money by finding roommates and share a condo or apartment unit.  There are also boarding houses where you rent a small room or share a room with 4 other people.  The rents are in the below 10k range but amenities are very basic (bed, cabinet and electric fan).  This is ideal for someone coming from the Provinces and have a tight budget but don’t know anyone yet in the city.  If you’re a lady, of course it’s easy to find ladies dormitories all around the city.  Most of these dormitories prefer only ladies.  The landladies usually look after you.  Also, at 30k and below, are low-rise apartments (no elevators) and townhouses/rowhouses (outside of CBD, may or may not have good security). For example places like GA Tower (Mandaluyong), Cityland (Makati/Ortigas) and Palm Towers (Makati) offer more affordable rents suitable for young professionals.

You could also be offered houses “farther away” but nice places such as Alabang, Paranaque, and even Cavite or Laguna.  Only consider them if your daily commute is as far as Makati or Taguig.  Even then it will up to 45 minutes in total.  However, with prices of 20k you could get nicer houses already in these places.  Up North, you can go to Quezon City and see nicer and bigger houses too at around 20’s. Exception of course is Alabang where rents are as high as what you would pay for upscale gated communities like what I mentioned above.

Avoid the Flood prone areas. After Ondoy, everyone knows which places are really bad: Marikina, Cainta, and Pasig, some areas of San Juan  and Cavite are among the most flood prone in the area no matter how nice the houses are and how cheap the rent is.

Is Internet connection important to you? If so, ask immediately what kind of internet providers are available in that property.  If you’re lucky, SkyCable Broadband Cable is available in that area.  As far as I know this is the fastest available for residential internet.

Also, if you need airconditioning discuss early about this with the owner.  Also, try to avoid places next to major highways if pollution bothers you.

Lastly, try to ask neighbors about water situation, and security issues in the area if you can.   Do not rely on what the owner or the brokers tell you.  I guess that is quite obvious.

P.S.  Shameless plug: If you are looking for a Studio Apartment in San Antonio Village, Makati, I own one that is available by January of 2010.  It is 29 sqm and renting for 11,000 inclusive of Association Dues but without parking. Parking can be rented separately.

We are now in the middle of a big househunt.  We are still looking for a new place to rent.  We are not yet in that stage that we can buy a house but we are also not satisfied with living in a condo apartment right next to the big old EDSA.

Last week, we almost signed up on a lease.  We found a nice and spacious house with a nice view of Eastwood and Antipolo and is on a high elevation, about 15 minutes by car from our office.  It is located inside a well-secured and  relatively posh subdivision.   We thought we were getting a good deal but one day before signing up, the deal went off.  We kind of chickened out! Here’s why:

• we didn’t like the landlady, she was extremely arrogant and sometimes way too defensive to say the least and we felt kind of pressured to sign the lease quickly because she claimed that there was another family willing to pay 10,000 more than what she’s offering us.  Of course, she says she likes us because we were just a couple compared to the other one which is a big family complete with elderly inlaws.
• we showed the contract to a friend and we felt that 3 months deposit is just too much.  The normal was only 2 months advance / 2 months deposit.  To say the least, we were not comfortable with the whole agreement.
• my cousin made us realize we are a bit crazy to consider the idea of living in a 6 bedroom house with just the two of us.  it’s just not that simple! reality hit us and we saw the light.  And she said, there are a lot of choices around the area and it is not a good idea to do this hastily.  Also, on a lighter note, she warned us to check if someone recently died in that house or is known to be haunted.. hehe you’ll never know if the house comes with someone from the “other side” watching  it day and night. Brrr!
• we became a bit suspicious that she’s hiding something from us that’s why she’s in a hurry

We already saw a lot of houses.  We are quite surprised at the variety of ugly, old, dingy houses at the price range we are in.  Some houses did not even look livable but they said that someone just left it a week ago and it was even a Doctor.   Maybe it was Dr. Frankenstein that lived there who knows.  It’s really really sad what tenants do to houses they don’t own and is equally sad how the owners don’t even care to clean up the mess, and touch it up before showing it to prospective renters.  There was even a townhouse where dead bugs were scattered all over the place!  One of the landlords wanted someone to signup and put up a deposit before they fix the house. I say, forget it!

Not all houses were bad.  However, only about 2 out of 10 seems to be in acceptable condition.  There were brand new ones where we would be the first renters.  The monthly rent, of course was on the higher end of our budget.

This afternoon, it’s househunting time again.  I have a big list of houses to visit and hopefully I won’t mess up the appointments