My Apartment Project is Finally Completed

Done with my project….

Here we are, after fifty one days of construction, my two door apartment is finally completed.

This will be my last post of series regarding my project.

Looking on my excel sheets, and a box of shoes of receipts, total expenses for this two door, 27sqm each door, two room apartment is P324,430.

Total building materials – P254,785.

Food and Labor – P66,500.

This includes payment for the Meralco fixer, P12,000 (P6,000 each) electrical meters installation, municipal application and inspection.

Ribbon cutting by one of the sponsor, Lola Ruby

Father Fransisco presiding

A bucket of coins, anyone?

Prepping on blessings day

Progressive Village Lot Property

After a month of hectic negotiations, I finally closed the deal on the 360 square meters lot property located in Progressive Village. This is approximately two kilometers away from my current apartment project. The owner was previously asking for P3,500 per square meters but I was able to lower down to 2778/sqm… of which will cost my wallet an even P1M. Good thing no there is no real estate agent involved.

I noticed that lot property prices around this city varies so much that if you are not careful in doing your homework well, could drive you nuts. As a matter of fact, there is just this neighbor of that said property who is unknowingly selling their 180 sqm lot for P900k. Added to this, just two months ago my sister purchased a 180 sqm lot for P830k in Celestino area. That’s P4,400/sqm! Way up from the current zonal values! You may find your areas zonal values thru this Bureau of Internal Revenue link.

For now, my plan is to hold on to this property and see if I can sell for a higher profit. Divide this lot into two and sell the other half to my sister. My third option is put up another apartment project. Oh well….

A Quick Guide to Buying Property

I recently made my purchased on a property (this is how I conceived my blogsite), although a realtor agent took care mostly of the processing, as I went along with it, every now and then I learned something new. As everyone is aware of, buying property is not easy as we thought would be. You may think of a simple piece of property that look idle and abandoned for years with clean documents, but still we need to be careful and do our research since we don’t want to have that hard earned money blow up in the air.

Here are some tips that I would like to share with you:

1. Ensure that the title, also known as TCT “Transfer of Title Certificate” is real. One way to find out if it is authentic is by getting a “Certified True Copy” from the Register of Deeds. This office is usually located at the city or municipal hall where the property is located. In my town of Bacoor, I have to go to the provincial capital of Trece Martires City. Request from the seller of the property for a photocopy of the title. You will need the title number and the name of the owner to get a certified true copy of the title from the Register of Deeds.

2. Verify that the title is clean, that the property is not mortgaged, no liens and encumbrances of whatsoever on the said property. Read each pages of the Title and watch out for additional typewritten documents. Read the back page title with the heading “Encumbrances”. Sometimes the space is for the technical description of the property on the front page of the Title is not enough and the description of the property is continued on “Encumbrances” page, which is of course fine.

3. You want to make sure that the land described on the Title is really the land that you are buying. You can validate this at the Register of Deeds or by hiring a private surveyor or geodetic engineer. Land Titles don’t have any street name and number to pinpoint such property. You must confirm that the actual property you are buying matches the technical description on the Transfer Certificate of Title.

4. Make sure that the sellers are the real owners. If you are buying from an individual property owner, ask for identification papers like passport or driver’s license. It is also a good idea to talk to the neighbors to confirm the identity of the sellers as well as some history of the property. When I paid the seller, I made an unannounced visit to their residence, but then I changed my mind that I made the payment to their bank account instead.

5. Verify that the yearly real estate taxes are paid. Ask for a copy of the Tax Declaration to confirm that real state tax payments are up to date.

Good luck on your buying.

You may want to check these other sources:
http://real-estate-guide.philsite.net
www.islandsproperties.com
www.philippine-real.info

Family’s One less Worry

Finally I sold my two wheels, my scooter, Sym Jet 100. I bought it new in 2000 at a cost of P45,000. Odometer registered 18,043 kilometers on it. There were lots of repairs and maintenance that were done. The main battery was replaced twice. I had the muffler overhauled twice, too. I replaced the brakes five times. And lately at the time I sold it, the auto start shut down, I had to manual start it. The used to be loud high pitch horn surrendered its volume. The shiny waxed paint had faded and lost its appeal. And the right tail light cracked due to getting bumped by passersby.

I sold it for P20,000 from an annoying buyer that after the sale transaction, kept bugging and begging me for another P1,000 discount harassing with text messages that lasted three days.

It has become so risky driving a two wheel transport in my area. The narrow streets, congested traffic, lots of passerby, too many standbys, and the commuters’ attitude towards each other. The thought of being too prone to accidents has been a worrisome that I decided to sell it.

I am going to miss the scooter, my main companion for the last five years commuting between home and business. I have to get rid of it for heaven’s sake and rather be safe, that I stopped driving it for awhile....

A one less worry from the family.

On Valentine's Day

You're the best thing that could ever happen to any man. I consider myself to be the luckiest man alive to be part of your life. No words can describe what I feel when I'm with you and I know that no words will describe what I'll feel if I'm ever without you. May we spend the first and last of our Valentine's Day together...your Botche

More photos of my two door apartment project

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Window installation on 25th day

Started concrete wall finishing on 31st day

This is the fourth of a series of my posts on building my two door apartment project. I’m on the 36th day of construction now and with staggering expenses of P275,000 and counting…and ouchhh, when will this end…
Construction is on its final stages, concrete wall finishing, electrical and plumbing layout, bathroom and kitchen and sink tiling.

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Looking on details of ceiling

More on bill of materials:

Quarter “C” round x8ft = P47
Quarter “C” round 10ft = P58
Quarter “C” round 12ft = P70
Paint 1 Pail Roof Sheen, Spanish Red = P1750
Bathroom and Kitchen Sink, Tile 8” x 8” = P9.50
Paint, 1 Pail, Latex Flat (Nation brand) = P1150
Paint, 1 Pail, Latex Gloss (Nation) = 1600
Paint, 1 Pail Latex with color = P2100
Faucet Plastic = P80
Shower shut off valve, Plastic = P250
Electrical, one half Pvc Pipe, Orange, Neltex brand = P85
Ordinary, non brand, Electrical PVC Pipe = P55
Electrical Switch box 30 Amp Rating = P220
Electrical Wire Stranded #8 = P46/meter
Electrical Wire Stranded #10 = P39/meter
Electrical Conduit pipe three fourth size = P495
Electrical G bushing rod 1” x3/4” = P33

and on 34th day.......

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A Simple Way of Improving One's Health

I’m in my mid thirties, pretending to be in shape, with a curvy shape, for a quick look, but a little extra padding in front of me. As I get older, I have notice that I am not only gaining weight, with my shoulder arms keeps growing and more eye bugs in the morning. The more I stare at the mirror the more I feel uncomfortable. Every now and then I feel my physical well being is slowly deteriorating. Why did I say that? When the clock rings in the morning I tend not to get up. And when I do, it feels like I am falling apart, a crack in my back, a pain in my lower joints, a fainting headache as I stand up for a walk. I’m stress out for no apparent reason, and unable to sleep. With my previous routine, where waking up late after watching late night shows, and surfing the net, rushing up in the morning, smelling the aroma of that fresh coffee to dip that pandesal, and speeding up my motorbike to auto supply to beat that 9 o’clock tick. There, I would get stuck in my chair with the internet and phone buried in front of me for hours. Or sometimes laying out in my couch listening to those sleepy tunes. The only time I get out of my chair was when a customer knocks in.

Lately, I decided to change my course. I have to do something before it gets worst. I was reading some health magazines and found out that with an extra time and a little effort, we can make a difference, physically and mentally.

Like staying outside for at least an hour a day helps us boost out health. Health experts state that just being outside brings a welcome calm and perspective to our busy lives.

By becoming active. Thirty to sixty minutes of activity per day is good enough. Good health depends on daily exercise. So jump on that stationary bike or do the exercise of your choice, and watch our mood goes up, our stress decrease, and maintain our weight.

What about getting enough sleep. Sleep is as important to feeling great as diet and exercise. So if you feel tired, take a nap. Also, try and set up your bedtime as a relaxing time. Sleep helps rejuvenate our body and plays a crucial role in our health.

Relax our mind. Many experts suggest we should meditate for at least ten minutes a day to help beat stress. If you don’t like to meditate, find a quiet place to relax.

Eating a healthy diet by incorporating the “5 a day rule” of fruits and vegetables to ensure we receive essential nutrients, think of our body like a high performance vehicle having a quality fuel will prevent as from breaking down.

My Frugal Way of Communicating With My Love One

Other than regular email and post office letters, these medium of communicating with my hubby has been a part of my daily life:






Text messages – we use Smart for sending text messages. My hubby carries with him two cellphones. One with the local number here and has been set up for international roaming. This is the cell number where I send text messages and cost to me is only P1.00. Every two or three months I have to load his cell for the minimum amount. In this case, the Smart will not disconnect his roaming number. The other cellphone is his regular cell he carries with him at his job. This is where he sends his response to me. His text messages cost him approx. $.25 per text.



Yahoo messenger – this is our regular way of chatting.




Skype – a lot better for voice chatting, clearer webcam and way faster in sending large files.




Chikka Text – we seldom use this kind, only when he is online and wants to send text messages to me. For us to continually use it, I have to reply thru Chikka text after three free messages and it cost me P2.50 per text.

We are quite satisfy with this system, and of course as you had experienced, too, during holiday season were receiving text messages are delayed sometimes for an hour, often disconnections on chats, and intermittent voice chats.
I am still looking for other free alternatives if not cheaper ones... I do not even recall if we ever resorted to phone cards.
So, goodbye phonecards and expensive land line charges, hello internet!