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  1. #751
    Thailand Expat DrWilly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Topper View Post
    The only thing that I can think of that I don't add onions and chilis to is cereal...
    Agreed. But at those prices I might try without...

  2. #752
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    ^Calm down, there's video instruction on the cooking show Goodfellas that clearly shows how to go about it when vegetable prices are high or supply is limited. With just a little research, nobody needs to go without onions.

    Topper in Bacolod-20230111_073333-jpg

  3. #753
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    Topper, last weekend onions were P400/kg. This weekend it's P280. It's going down, which is good!

    My regular seller said that their highest price was P650/ kg.

  4. #754
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    My regular seller said that their highest price was P650/ kg.
    At the supermarket in Ayala last Friday they were still 780P. Maybe the imported onions haven't made it here yet.

    But there is some good news!!!!!!!!!! Lander's (a Costco/Makro) is going to open in March here. My wife has already got our membership cards.

  5. #755
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    ^I think it's similar to S&R, which is also owned by Costco. There's an S&R branch two towns away from me, and there's another one in Alabang (southern part of Metro Manila). I've been to both branches. I'm not a member, but I know someone who does & I sometimes go with her. SPAM was a bit cheaper there than in SM/ Robinson's. I don't feel the need to become a member, for now.

    Re: onions, I think the highest price was before Christmas. Then after new year, the price has been decreasing.

  6. #756
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    Then after new year, the price has been decreasing.
    Lucky you....the prices haven't come down here yet.

    I saw this on a channel I've been following about Canucks moving to the PI where they went to S&R...I was in awe, because Bacolod has nothing like that here.

    "I was a good student. I comprehend very well, OK, better than I think almost anybody," - President Trump comparing his legal knowledge to a Federal judge.

  7. #757
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    ^that's the advantage of living near Metro Manila. Prices are a bit cheaper if they come from Baguio/ the highlands (for vegs) and from Manila itself. More shopping options too. If I want to go to a physical store - I can reach Alabang in an hour and lots of malls there. Lazada/ Shoppee is fairly fast too (if local sellers). But I get why you reside where you are now.

    Re: S&R, aside from SPAM they have Skippy peanut butter (crunchy & plain), Nutella, and other foreign brands which aren't usually available in local supermarkets. Sometimes the prices are lower in S&R, sometimes the same. The prices get marked down when there's a "members' sale" but in my area it's chaos & loads of ppl.

    I went with my friend once for a member's sale & we had to queue outside for > 1 hour, as they limit the number of ppl inside. While lining up, I thought we were crazy that we were there, waiting, just for a sale. Lol. It was an experience to remember, but one that I probably won't repeat. I think we were 3 other ppl who hitched on her card. It was a win-win; we (non-members) got to buy goods, she got points on her card.

    S&R also has a variety of meat products (sausages, beef, etc), baked goods, alcohol. They even sell clothes & appliances. The vlogger "Philly in the Phils" (based in Angeles city) is an S&R member. I don't follow him but I sometimes visit his channel to see what's about. I find some of his vids distasteful & his titles/ pictures are click bait.

    Headworx told me some tsismis/ chismis re: Philly. Lol.

    Cheers!

  8. #758
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    Topper, for around 3 weekends now, garlic is P90/ kg and red onions at P100/ kg. How about in your hood? Better stock up on the onions!

  9. #759
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    S&R also has a variety of meat products
    I'd kill for some decent deli meat that wasn't fantastically expensive....

    My wife went shopping and bought onions the other day....she was too scared to look at the prices. She got 4 large white onions which we've not had in a while.

    We're off to Cebu next week, but we probably won't leave Mactan, maybe we can find a grocery around there and smuggle some stuff home.

  10. #760
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    I don't know if there's an S&R or Costco sister store in Mactan. But if you know someone who has an S&R membership, you can go shopping with them & "ride" on their card. You get the goods, they get points on their card.

    I haven't been to Mactan island, but I've seen that there's a mall where some vloggers hang out. It probably a supermarket.

    As to prices of goods, I don't know how it is in your hood but I've noticed that many veggies have decreased in price, but that's common since it's summer/ harvest season. Tomatoes are now P40/ kg - it can go as high as P120 to P140 during the "colder" months. If you like tomatoes, you or your wife can buy in bulk now & preserve them for the cooler months. I buy from my "suki" (regular store) in the wet market. If you buy vegs from supermarkets, prices are usually higher.

    Have fun in Mactan! Take pics!

  11. #761
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    you or your wife can buy in bulk now & preserve them for the cooler months
    Ketchup?

  12. #762
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    Have fun in Mactan! Take pics!
    Of course!!!!!

  13. #763
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    But if you know someone who has an S&R membership, you can go shopping with them & "ride" on their card. You get the goods, they get points on their card.
    No need to even go with them. My partner has an S&R card, I often use it without her being present... and I look nothing like the photo on the card!!

    She also often lends it to her cousins and friends to use.

  14. #764
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    ^Tiz, I think it depends on the branch & how strict the staff are. I've been to 2 branches of S&R (Alabang & another one) with the same friend. Both times, they checked the card & verified the identity/ face of the owner of the card.

    I think Topper & his wife got a membership card for something similar - he mentioned it in an earlier post. Not an S&R, though. Don't know if S&R is present outside of Luzon - I could Google, but I'm lazy.

  15. #765
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    Here's what their website says:

    LUZON
    Bonifacio Global City
    Congressional
    Alabang
    Aseana-Baclaran
    Pampanga
    Shaw
    Imus
    Nuvali
    Commonwealth
    Dau
    Paranaque
    Cabanatuan
    Lipa
    Libis-Bagumbayan
    New Manila
    Circuit Makati
    Sucat
    Marikina

    VISAYAS
    Cebu
    Iloilo

    MINDANAO
    Davao
    Cagayan de Oro

  16. #766
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    We're getting a Lander's superstore and an S&R coming soon...I'm guessing towards the end of the year. Lander's was supposed to open last month but the building is only about 20% complete.

  17. #767
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    ^Hopefully the Landers & S&R will open soon.

    I was watching home renovation vids (APEC homes, Lumina homes which are row house developments in Luzon; Lumina is owned by the Villar family. Manny Villar is/ was the richest person in PH or he's in the top 5; he ran for president but lost) when the algorithm came up with this. You might be interested. It's a "row house" (because the houses are in rows) and is probably the same size as your apartment now.

    The difference is, this is a "rent to own", while for your apartment, it's only rent. Many Filipinos opt to get such units since they don't need a large amount of cash at once - it can be paid in installment/ monthly amortisation. I think it can be paid via PAG-IBIG or bank loan. (I don't know if your wife was/ is a member of PAG-IBIG. It's like Freddie Mac/ Fannie May in the US). Bank & PAG-IBIG loans are also age dependent, so there's that consideration.

    To build a decent house now, you'd need at least 1M pesos (around 18,200 usd, for those interested; P55 = 1 usd). You'd also need land. It now costs minimum of P22k per sqm (quotation from my future contractor & YT sources: architects & engineers with YT channels). You could probably build it for lower but you won't be following the standards/ building codes.

    Anyway, here's the vid. You could probably arrange a tripping with the vlogger/ realtor if you're interested.

    Last edited by katie23; 21-07-2023 at 07:09 PM.

  18. #768
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    Thanks Katie, there's tons of rent to own stuff around here as well. I just don't want to live in one of those tiny little townhouses, I want a detached home, I'm done with the next door neighbor keeping a dog tied up on his patio as a thief deterrent with me getting to listen to the dog bark all day as well as the noise, gossip and the general flimsiness of the construction (from what I've seen).

    I also want a provision for a deep well and a generator to be on the property so I'm self sufficient during blackouts.

    By the way, how's the internet there? I'm on PLDT and it has absolutely sucked for the last couple of days.

  19. #769
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    ^the vid that I linked is from South Bacolod.

    Yeah, the rent to own rowhouses are generally OK but are made with cheap materials so that developers can have huge profits. It's how Manny Villar got rich. He (or his company) bought lots of farmland and converted them into subdivisions with rowhouses. Filipinos buy them bcos they usually don't have 1M or even 500k spot on, and can get the units on installment.

    Can't blame you for wanting a detached house. If that's your plan, then you'd better buy land (and build) soon. By the time you get to build, it might be 30k per sqm and you'd need a lot more than 1M pesos. Pre-pandemic, it was 15 to 20k for a standard finish (minimum/ apartment style finish). If you want semi-elegant or elegant finish (like Steve Farang's palatial house) it would be maybe 40k++ per sqm. The prices of construction materials have increased so much since 2020 (pandemic, Ukraine war, etc).

    Re: my internet, it's been the same, no change. There was no typhoon, so it was as normal - same as the electricity supply (no brownout the past week).

  20. #770
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    Quote Originally Posted by katie23 View Post
    Yeah, the rent to own rowhouses are generally OK but are made with cheap materials so that developers can have huge profits.
    My partner's brother bought one of those rowhouses in Batangas a few years ago.
    I only went there for the first time recently to drop her nephew home after we went sailing on Taal Lake.
    In just a few short years, the place has decayed quite badly.

  21. #771
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    ^yeah. I've visited some rowhouses of friends/ colleagues over the years. In one of them (2-storey townhouse), the subdivision was severely flooded (waist deep in some parts) during 2 consecutive strong typhoons in 2 years (1 each year). The drainage system made by the developer was severely lacking. The homeowners made many complaints to the developers but they fell on deaf ears. In general, developers/ contractors make a huge profit in these pre-made houses.

    In Tagalog, there's an expression "tubong lugaw", which translates to "profit congee/ porridge". (lugaw = congee/ rice porridge) Meaning, one puts in little investment but makes huge profit. In my area, one cup of steamed rice is 12 to 15 pesos. A bowl of plain of congee with egg is P30, if w/o egg it's P20. You use less rice to cook congee (compared to steamed rice) but your profit is bigger.

    Re: the wear & tear of rowhouses, it also depends on the care taken by the homeowners. However, I've also seen vids of ppl complaining about leaks from the roof or faulty drain systems in these rowhouses and the house is still new. It's a hit or miss.

    I've also visited an Amaia development (owned by the Ayalas). The houses were single detached. I think the houses were generally built better but they're also more pricey. Security was intense - we had to pass three guard houses. (My friend lived in Phase 3. You can't get past the guard in Phase 1 unless you have permission from the homeowner & the driver of our vehicle had to leave an ID card.) The subdivision itself was more pricey/ hi-so. Ayala Developments & malls are generally more upmarket than SM malls.

    The Ayalas, the Gokongweis (Robinsons malls & Cebu Pacific airline), the Villars (realty & malls), the Sys (SM group), the Tys (Metro Bank grp), the Yuchengcos (RCBC grp), the Tankaktiongs (Jollibee grp), the Lopezes (ABS CBN grp), Manny Pangilinan (PLDT, TV-5), etc - these are the super rich in PH.

  22. #772
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    The first house we rented here was in one of the newer low cost developments. After the first heavy rain, we noticed the roof was leaking along the edge of the wall in the kitchen. We had a guy come out and take a look, he said the gutters hadn't been cleaned in years and the roof was heavy rotted. He took a quick sweep around the house and the gutters were full all the way around the house and the roof along the edges was basically gone.

    I asked the neighbor how old the house was..he told me it was around six years old. The owners live in Quezon and could be assed to maintain, much less repair the house.

    One the opposite side of the coin, our water heater died Friday a week ago. Monday, the maintenance dude was here with probably the most expensive shower water heater that is available here. I was honestly expecting a cheap Chinese one, but the landlord bought a German model.

    My wife and I are honestly considering making an offer on our apartment here. It's the perfect size for us, it's got a genset and well and food and drink are next door.

  23. #773
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    ^Yeah. The one that I've watched was a rowhouse from APEC Homes - they have several projects all over Luzon. The unit had been "turned over" to the owners but they were not living there yet. The owners visited after a day of strong rains and they found water seeping from the roof and pooling onto below the stairs. The stairs were near the front door. There was also a problem with the drainage outside. So the unit is still essentially new (no occupants yet) and there were already problems.

    I saw this 150k house built in the province (no paint yet and price doesn't include the windows). At today's prices, it would probably be 200k pesos. It's mostly made of Hardieflex (fiber cement board). I think it's OK for generally sunny days and even a signal #2 typhoon. For higher category typhoons, I would worry if this was my house. If you can buy cheap land in the boondocks, this is a very budget-friendly house.



    Just watch it at 1.5 or 2x the speed. It's only ~5 min. The workers put 3 layers of CHB and a concrete floor then thevrest is mostly cement boards. Fiber cement boards are supposedly fire, water and termite resistant. Disadvantage: it's brittle. The thin ones can be punched easily & you'll make a hole in the wall.

    Edit:
    Re: making an offer on the property you're on - cgeck the legalities of it (if it will be easy/ hard) - esp if it has a clean title (no mortgage or encumbrance). If all the property (4 or 5 units of townhouses?) belong to one piece of land and has a single title, if the owner agrees to sell you a portion, he should subdivide the "mother title" into a mother & daughter title (the daughter title would be your portion).

    Land titling is a somewhat long process - takes 3 to 6 months. It would be easy if your townhouse is an end unit - the end part would be easy to chop off. If your unit is in the middle, it's a bit trickier. The owner would have to hire a geodetic engineer to conduct a new survey of the land to see where your lot's boundaries would be vs the owner's part. Land titling (or change of it) is done at the Registry of Deeds in your province and costs a bit. In your case, the owner should pay for the change in measurements/ splitting of the land & the subsequent titles.

    If a sale happens, you should get a notarized Deed of Absolute Sale. You'll use that deed to transfer the title to your names, to get a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT). The transfer of title cost will be shouldered by the buyer.

    Good luck!
    Last edited by katie23; 22-07-2023 at 08:36 PM. Reason: Land titles

  24. #774
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    Thanks Katie!!!!

  25. #775
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    You're welcome.

    If you're considering to buy ANY real property, always ask to see the original title/ TCT. It should be printed on brownish paper & has some colored parts. Ask to see the title, not just the Tax Declaration. If the land is mortgaged to someone/ a corporation like a bank, it should be in the title on a separate page as a Memorandum of Encumbrance. You can check if the title has an encumbrance by requesting (for a fee, of course) a certified true copy of the title at the Registry of Deeds. You'll need a photocopy of the title to do that (as well as ID). You won't get the certified copy on the same day - you'll have to return for it (no surprise, it's the PH!) I've recently done it, so the procedure is still a bit fresh.

    Re: how your names will appear on the title, your name will appear as "married to", but since you're a foreigner, you won't have ownership rights. It will be as: Maria Cruz-Ware, Filipino national, married to Topper Ware, USA national. If the buyers were both Filipinos, it would be "spouses Juan Reyes and Maria Cruz-Reyes, Filipino nationals". It means that the property is jointly and equally owned by Juan and Maria. In the first scenario, the "married to" is just a description/ descriptor. The legal owner is Maria Cruz-Ware, who happens to be married to Topper Ware (a foreigner). Theoretically, since your money was/ will be used, you'll also own the land, but not on paper.

    In cases of separation, if the foreigner can prove through receipts and remittances that his money was used in buying land and/ or building the house, then he is entitled to proceeds from the property. The best option would be to have an out of court settlement (court cases are long & expensive, as you know) and to sell the property so that both parties can share from the proceeds.

    There are many properties (esp farmland/ family land) that have dubious titles so do your due diligence always. In some (or many cases), the land is still on a mother title since pre-WW2 and hasn't been subdivided. When the heirs want to sell a portion, it becomes a problem because the land has to be surveyed & subdivided. All taxes due on the land must be paid before the land can be subdivided. The govt must get its cut, of course! So sometimes it's easier to buy a subdivision lot & build a house on it because you'll get the title from the developer. The developer has staff who will assist you in the process, unlike if you're buying from a single person - you'll have to do the legwork yourself.

    Land matters in PH are oftentimes controversial. There are many families with broken relationships because of it.

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