 |
| One Bedroom Specifications |
 |
| Studio Specifications |
The day after my visit to U.P., I had made an appointment to
meet with a real estate agent in Cubao. Since everyone at home was working that
day, they suggested that I try Grab Taxi or Grab Car which is an Uber or Lyft
type service. I opted for the Grab Car since they charge a flat rate instead of
the Grab Taxi where the regular taxi meter is used. Since I wasn’t familiar
with the streets in the Philippines anymore, it was in my best interest to have
the flat rate in case I got an unscrupulous taxi driver who might drive me
around in circles. I downloaded the app and ordered a car to my location, it
gave me the driver’s name, license plate number, and cell phone number. As soon
as he arrived, we were off to Cubao. Since I was about an hour early, it gave
me a chance to explore the surroundings and try to get my bearings. Cubao was a
frequent hangout when I was still studying in U.P. I walked around Araneta
Center and SM (Shoe Mart) before I got a call from the real estate agent whom I
arranged to meet in front of Rustan’s Department Store across from the Kia
Theater. Two of them showed up and they were going to take me to see two
buildings but I said one was enough. We took a taxi and I was shown the
building which was still being constructed, then we went some other place to
look at the floor models. There I saw a bare studio, dressed up studio, a one
bedroom, and a combined one bedroom and studio option. Well, the studio was so
tiny that if you were claustrophobic, you would not even consider it. The one
bedroom was slightly larger but the bed and sofa still had to be positioned
flush against the wall to create more space. The combined one bedroom and
studio was only about 2/3 the size on my current 1 bedroom condo in Long Beach.
I took pictures and videos but since it’s one dimensional, it’s hard to really
discern the smallness of the units. Next I found out that the price quoted was
only for the condo unit and didn’t include a parking space. The realtor said
the parking space costs almost as much as the condo itself. Nevertheless, we
went to the business office to look at available units and do calculations on
costs and amortizations. I had to keep using my calculator to convert pesos
into dollars. I told the realtor that I would consult with my family later that
day and decide whether it was feasible for me to buy a condo in the Philippines
or not.
Studio Condo - bare and staged
One Bedroom Condo - staged
The two realtors brought me back to where we started from
and upon getting my bearings, I walked towards the construction area of the
condo building. It was only about half a mile at most from the Araneta Center
and was close to a supermarket, eateries, entertainment areas, and most
importantly, a gym, not to mention not too far from Larry and Ninette’s home.
Cubao also has nice sidewalks to walk on which was a plus. It was also very
close to the light rail system. Suffice it to say, I really liked the area.
 |
| Amaia Skies construction site |
Over the next few hours, I kept on walking around and went
in and out of several stores and malls. At SM, I even found pastillas candy
which I had planned to taking back to the U.S. for presents. In the end, I
bought a few bags of those plus a wallet for myself. I fired up the Grab Car
app again and a car picked me up in front of the Kia Theater and drove me back
to U.P. Professors Subdivision. The cost of the ride back home was cheaper because
it was not peak time.
 |
| Grab Car ride |
That evening, I told Larry and Ninette about the condo and
discussed the pros and cons of buying one. The condo company required a
reservation fee of about $300 after which I was supposed to make a down payment
within 30 days. If I failed to make a down payment, the $300 would be lost
forever. In recent years, I’ve always been cash poor since most of my savings
are in retirement plans in which if I withdrew money before I turned 59 and a
half, I would be penalized by paying a surcharge. Not only that, whatever I
withdrew would be taxed. I had given this information to the realtors earlier
too. If I decided to buy, I would also need to give Larry my Special Power of
Attorney so he can sign papers for me and make payments on my behalf. There was
also an added pressure of time. The condo company said that on April 1st,
which was only two days away, the prices of the condos and possibly some other
fees would be going up and they said this occurs every quarter of the year.
After so much consideration and in spite of liking the
location of the condo which was going to be ready by 2017, the negatives
outweighed the positives. I could not get over the terrible traffic, the heat,
the mostly bad sidewalks in most places, and the lack of a parking space with
the condo price. The added pressure of having to decide within two days didn’t
help either because I don’t like to make rash judgments like that specially
that costs a lot of money. I don’t think the Philippines is a cheap place to
live in anymore if you want to live in an urban area. I spend much less here in
the U.S. than what I would in the Philippines if I retired there. I already had
second thoughts about retiring there when I wrote about it a year or so ago. Perhaps,
I, like a lot of people have taken living in the U.S. for granted until we
experience living somewhere else. It has made me appreciate my humble abode in
a not so very good part of town more, where the sidewalks are much better and
the drivers are mostly more disciplined and follow lane lines.
No comments:
Post a Comment