So you’re house-hunting again.  You just arrived in the Philippines.  You are no longer just visiting, you want to stay here longer, or even for good.  Or maybe you are moving out from your parents for the first time. You  need to find a place near your work at least.  Maybe you come from one of the Provinces and you are moving to another city because of again, work.  You just got married! Congratulations! and you are now moving in together.  Welcome to the wonderful world of house-hunting!

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.

• And the Househunting Begins