Condo buyers encounter more woes in PH

By: Tessa R. Salazar
Philippne Daily Inquirer

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BUYING condo unit that’s literally a stone’s throw away from your workplace? Choose a company and agents with real estate experience and proven track record. Photo by Tessa R. Salazar

Second in a series

Condominiums are no longer the exclusive domains of the moneyed. They have also become financially attainable by the working class. Consider the competitive prices of condominiums at P45,000 to P80,000 per square meter in the city, and one can understand how tempting it is to buy a place to live in and be literally a stone’s throw away from the workplace.

However convenient condo living may be, buying a unit can be frustratingly difficult, as Inquirer Property started revealing last week, based on the experiences of actual buyers who e-mailed their buying “woes.” This series started by citing the first three of the eight most-ranted-about issues: condos with no parking slots; lost deposits; and overseas Filipino workers taken advantage of.

Before proceeding to the next rants, let’s expound a bit more on the overseas Filipinos’ complaints, particularly on payment forfeiture. A disgruntled reader/buyer wrote Inquirer Property online, “As a result of an OFW’s ‘absence,’ paperwork does not matter to selling agents, as they do not help you out. They just forfeit your payments.”

National Real Estate Association chair Alejandro S. Mañalac shed light on this issue. Most developers, he said, make “forfeitures their last resort. However, in most cases, this is not done without due process. Notices and reminders are sent with ample time/grace period for settlement before a final demand or notice of forfeiture is served (via registered mail).”

Mañalac stressed that the most important action in situations like these would be to communicate with the developers and “never ignore” their notices.

“If they have valid reasons and are not in habitual default of their payments, considerations and even restructuring of payments are accommodated. The problem is that some buyers ignore these letters and use the lame excuse that they are not receiving these notices (that is why it is very important to indicate the mailing address in the buyer’s info sheet that they fill up because this will be the same address used for the contract. Also, make sure that in case they decide to use their local address here, the people residing in the local address are responsible enough to inform them about such notices. There are many cases where relatives do not inform the buyers that the account is already delinquent),” Mañalac said.

Veteran real estate broker and educator Enrico Cruz of Marikina said OFWs should seek out reliable salespersons and brokers (before buying). Cruz said he always taught his students at Urban Institute that brokers and salespersons should always remember that the buyer is their principal, even if the commission fee they receive comes from the developer.

4“Multiple ownership leads to manipulation of condominium units.” A reader lamented that “Koreans, Chinese and Filipino politicians who own a number of units are renting out their units to ‘balikbayans’ for the duration of their vacation… Are they (unit owners) even paying income tax for renting out?”

Architect Edilberto J. Morcilla agreed with the observation. “Since foreign nationals are not allowed by Philippine law to own land, but allowed to own condominium units, these enterprising foreigners opt to buy several units for their investments. I am not sure, though, whether it will be easy for them to evade paying taxes as we now have stricter rules on taxation,” Morcilla said.

Mañalac said: “I am not sure whether the reader is referring to the ‘co-development/comunidades/Build-your-Own’ set-up where all the buyers are considered ‘coowners’ or ‘codevelopers.’”

SEEK out reliable salespersons and brokers before buying a condo unit near your office. Ask around. Investigate. Photo by Tessa R. Salazar

He added, however, that it is true that “some units were sold to investors to be operated as condotels where the investors enjoy monthly returns through short- and long-term leasing of their units without personally managing it since it is being done by professional hotel operators, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.”

5 No price regulation of association dues. Enrique M. Soriano, Ateneo program director for real estate and senior adviser for Wong+Bernstein Business Advisory, said: “Again, it’s a balancing financial act played by the developer in the initial stage prior to the turnover. Then, another challenge will come from the facilities manager managing the condo using as baseline variables like security, staffing, cost of maintenance, brand value and competitiveness.”

Mañalac said rates for association dues really depend on several factors: a) who manages the condo (in-house or professional building managers?); b) number of units/residents (to share in the operating expenses); and, c) size of common areas, amenities to maintain and to secure. “Thus, comparisons should be done apples to apples,” he stressed.

Morcilla said the varying rates would be due to “project cost and package prices of condominiums differing greatly, depending on location, amenities, specifications and of course, target market.” Cruz said such wildly varying dues happen “especially if the condominium corporation is still controlled by the developer.”

“However, for condominium corporations already in the hands of the unit owners, all dues and assessment emanates from the boards after thorough discussion with the members. Besides, any excess becomes property of the corporation, which is owned by unit owners,” Cruz said.

6 Some developers don’t reveal the “geological background” of the location. “I agree (with this rant). There should be full disclosure,” quipped Soriano, while Manalac said, “Buyers should always exercise due diligence before buying a property, especially if a particular area has a recent history of problems like flooding, faultlines, landslides and the like.”

Morcilla said such geological data would be “too technical for most buyers, but for those who would want this particular information, the local government is the best entity to solicit documents from.” Cruz discloses that “development permits are issued by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board for the condo projects. The LGU issues building permits. These two should be able to prevent such an occurrence where a condo project is located in geo-hazard zone.”

7 No clear policy for discounts on bare or damaged units. Soriano agreed with this complaint, observing that “buyers must catch up on a lot of issues before investing or buying a condominium.” Morcilla explained “This is also dependent on package prices of condominiums. Damaged units also differ on extent, thus, discounts cannot be encapsulated in the form of policy.”

Cruz agreed, saying discounts on bare/damaged units are the prerogative of the developer.

8No clear policy on accountability when man-made disasters occur. The unfortunate incident involving unit owners of the West Tower Condominium Building in Makati and the busted gas pipeline of First Philippine Industrial Corp. comes to mind. In such cases, Soriano said “legal remedies are provided through the condo corporation, but then again unit owners must contend with the Philippine legal system.”

Mañalac said “this problem would already be outside the developer’s concern and control.” Morcilla explained that “this falls on a different law of the land called ‘Writ of Kalikasan,’ where the Filipino people are empowered to assert their rights for a healthier environment.”

Cruz said building codes, structural codes, fire codes and development permits pinpoint responsibilities. “In the case of the pipeline leak, this is not the responsibility of the developer,” he said.

Next: Do the 8 rants have basis?