Manila

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1970212]

2) She's shy about her lady penis.
[/QUOTE]I shall be stealing this unique turn of phrase, because it's simply bloody brilliant.

[QUOTE=CaptainSolo;1969183]You should go to China, Thailand, the Philippines and visit some internet shops to see how these chat girls operate, spending all day on line selling alleged love and sex for big money.
[/QUOTE]Spot on Captain. I will give an example the lady I hired to be my Manadin teacher was a high school teacher that left teaching high school to become a "tranlator" for a couple of the popular "paid" Asian dating / marriage sites because it paid better. She got one amount for every customer that she could get to download the pictures and for each message that she "translated". So all she does day in and day out is send messages to foreigners Chances are most guys will not actually communicate with the girl in the photo until they express interest in going to China. Do an experiment subscribe to one of the *cupid sites and see how many messages you get from girls that have not even looked at your profile.

What ever you do, do not get scammed into paying for the girl to fly to the US / Europe etc. A girl might arrive and it might be the girl you though you were chatting with, but probably not. However, knowing that the sites can also be used effectively, contact the manager of the site. Tell them you will be visiting China and are interested in a handful of the girls but do not know who to choose as your wife. The manager will arrange day long dates with the girls you identify if they are available thereby allowing you to fully sample the menu.

Froggie.

Froggie made a damn good suggestion.

How much do those day-long dates costs in Chang Mai, Bangkok or other towns?

[QUOTE=Froggie58;1970949]However, knowing that the sites can also be used effectively, contact the manager of the site. Tell them you will be visiting China and are interested in a handful of the girls but do not know who to choose as your wife. The manager will arrange day long dates with the girls you identify if they are available thereby allowing you to fully sample the menu.

Froggie.[/QUOTE]

How much do those day-long dates cost in Manila or Cebu or Davao or China?

[QUOTE=Froggie58;1970949] However, knowing that the sites can also be used effectively, contact the manager of the site. Tell them you will be visiting China and are interested in a handful of the girls but do not know who to choose as your wife. The manager will arrange day long dates with the girls you identify if they are available thereby allowing you to fully sample the menu.

Froggie.[/QUOTE]

Possibly a little off topic.

But I,m thinking of buying a condo in Manila for rental-and holidays.

Any thoughts or advice from members.

Both good and bad comments very much appreciated!

2 mil pesos plus budget.

Has anybody here been down this road and what were the results.

Cheers.

[QUOTE=LostWithinDays;1971013]

Has anybody here been down this road and what were the results.

Cheers.[/QUOTE]You will need to give more information on how you arrived at this idea.

In my experience from the friends that have purchased property is that there is close to ZERO resale market. You might feel you get a bargain but how will you ever sell it.

Can reference you to two people currently with wonderfully priced properties, lots of tyre kickers and no offers.

BD.

[QUOTE=LostWithinDays;1971013]Possibly a little off topic.

But I,m thinking of buying a condo in Manila for rental-and holidays.

Any thoughts or advice from members.

Both good and bad comments very much appreciated!

2 mil pesos plus budget.

Has anybody here been down this road and what were the results.

Cheers.[/QUOTE]Plenty of discussion on this topic if you RTFF enough you will find references galore to answer your simple questions.

Also in the Cebu thread as well I think.

So try RTFF as many had views on this.

[QUOTE=LostWithinDays;1971013]Possibly a little off topic.

But I,m thinking of buying a condo in Manila for rental-and holidays.

Any thoughts or advice from members.

Both good and bad comments very much appreciated!

2 mil pesos plus budget.

Has anybody here been down this road and what were the results.

Cheers.[/QUOTE]I own my own condo and have used it as my residence since 2006.

It is one of the "older" units so it has larger rooms and higher ceilings.

It is a very well-run building, quiet and attractive, and is situated in the midst of Ortigas.

It cost more than 9 M to purchase.

At least one-quarter of the units in my condo (in the center of Ortigas) are empty, because the rent is possibly too high.

My condo is surrounded by other condos, also with low current rates of occupancy. These newer condos are like shoe-boxes and incredibly small and unattractive.

If you want to buy as a residence, then you will save money in the long run over rental costs / hotel costs.

If you want to rent it out, it will need to be significantly better than the plethora of units available for renting. Thus, LOCATION is a key factor, which suggests to me that your 2 M php budget will be much too small, since renters do not wish to be too far away fro the centers of Makati Ortigas, Alabang, BGC, Cubao etc.

You will be very lucky to buy a condo for 2 M in a desirable area; you might find a 1-br or a loft-style.

Remember also that there are monthly condominium running costs (security, water, insurance etc) which you, as the owner, have to pay.

For me, that is around 10 K per month.

Probably better to have posted this in Living in the Philippines. Agree with the advice from RK. My builds.

Good thing is that forefingers can own condos legally and so no hurdles there. Having bought property in Thailand and almost bought property in Manila, I can give you some views. First, property generally high-priced in Manila, especially for the better-located properties by the higher reputation developers (e. G. Ayala developments in Greenbelt or Fort Bonafacio). If PHP2 m is your cap, you will find a selection that is faulty in some element (size, location, amenities, etc.). Check out [URL]www.olx.ph[/URL] and do some searches and you will see what I mean.

Now if you buy a place, it will probably suit best for personal holidays. But if you are thinking of rental income, if you buy a studio-type place, you will be up against a lot of competition as there are a million other studio and 1 br-type places around. And with AirBnB, the options for renters is plentiful and there is no way they are going to pay much to stay in a hotel-sized room in Quezon City. The other downside is that PH condos have the highest fees for "association dues" because of high electricity and security costs (much lower in Thailand as you don't need a squad of security to guard every access point) as well as there are hefty property tax bills (zero condo property tax for my Thailand condo).

I had considered buying in Manila as an investment because I found a 3 br 180 sqm place in Makati's Residences at Greenbelt (Ayala development), inclusive of 2 parking spaces, on a super high floor with a never-to-be-obstructed 180-degree balcony view of Manila with a crossbridge connection to Greenbelt Mall with an existing single Asian lady tenant who was working for an international organization which pays the PHP150 k / month rent one year in advance. All for a very reasonable PHP28 m purchase price. This would have been a good bet investment property. Why didn't I buy? Because in the end I wanted to keep my option open for buying a property in Bangkok, which I haven't even come close to doing because of the terminally low rental-to-buy ratios here. It is simply too cheap to rent here and keep my options open. Honestly I sometimes give myself a little kick for not have taken the plunge on buying in Manila.

Offhand you might want to take a look at the options in old Manila. My friend stayed by AirBnB in a studio flat in the development attached to Robinson's Malate department store, which I found very functional. The whole Robinson's Malate development is a nice oasis in the urban desert surroundings, but it was a perfect one-stop-shop location for my friend as Robinson's mall had everything, including cute girls to trawl as well as pretty good access to everything. And the girls you meet will think you are King of the World staying in your aircon studio compared with the squalor-ridden places they are living. Hope this is helpful. Enjoy Manila, AsianRain.

[QUOTE=LostWithinDays;1971013]Possibly a little off topic.

But I,m thinking of buying a condo in Manila for rental-and holidays.

Any thoughts or advice from members.

Both good and bad comments very much appreciated!

2 mil pesos plus budget.

Has anybody here been down this road and what were the results.

Cheers.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=AsianRain;1971321]<SNIP>

I had considered buying in Manila as an investment because I found a 3 br 180 sqm place in Makati's Residences at Greenbelt (Ayala development), inclusive of 2 parking spaces, on a super high floor with a never-to-be-obstructed 180-degree balcony view of Manila with a crossbridge connection to Greenbelt Mall with an existing single Asian lady tenant who was working for an international organization which pays the PHP150 k / month rent one year in advance. All for a very reasonable PHP28 m purchase price. This would have been a good bet investment property. [/QUOTE]AR pretty much confirmed everything that I said in my OP.

I bought my condo after being here for around 6 years because for those 6 years I still wasn't sure I was staying despite being "semi-permanently" employed. When I did my sums I realized I was wasting cash by renting (I was paying 85 K per month back in 1998) .

AR's example shows the costs involved in renting near highly-desired places (like Ayala Greenbelt).

After almost 10 years of ownership I have virtually recouped my buying price in "saved" rental costs, give or take a million php here and there LOL.

I can sell my condo fairly easily right now but at virtually the same price that I paid for it 9 years ago. I can live with that as it was never bought as an "investment" anyway.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies to my question.

I realize 2 mill pesos is quite a low price but I simply have other commitments over here.

I was looking actually at a 1 bedroom studio, on a high floor.

In relation to rental income I'm not fussed as a foreigner I understand I will get screwed over by agents and the like over there, so any rental would be bonus.

Are management fees quite high?

I realize that very much depends on the property in question?

Cheers again, LWD.

[QUOTE=CallSignPapa;1970281]I shall be stealing this unique turn of phrase, because it's simply bloody brilliant.[/QUOTE]My Bangkok girlfriend says a small dick isn't a big deal. Still, I wish she didn't have one.

You mean: "Still, she wish I didn't have one".

Or you mean, she does have a big dick?

[QUOTE=SaltyPete;1972179]My Bangkok girlfriend says a small dick isn't a big deal. Still, I wish she didn't have one.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=LostWithinDays;1971845]

I was looking actually at a 1 bedroom studio, on a high floor.

In relation to rental income I'm not fussed as a foreigner I understand I will get screwed over by agents and the like over there, so any rental would be bonus.

Are management fees quite high? I realize that very much depends on the property in question? [/QUOTE]Answers to your points / questions.

In general, units on higher floors are more expensive.

You are starting with a very negative outlook. Why assume you will get screwed by agents (and the like?) just because you're a foreigner. If you do your due diligence like everyone should, then absolutely no reason why you should get screwed. Not every filipino is a crook you know. You won't enjoy living here if you start with that mind-set.

You asked a question and then answered it for yourself. Depends on the size of the unit and the rates per sq. Meter.

Management costs are generally higher than you might expect.

For running costs, remember that electricity costs are the highest in Asia, so expect large expenses if you need air con.

[QUOTE=CaptainSolo;1972182]You mean: "Still, she wish I didn't have one".

Or you mean, she does have a big dick?[/QUOTE]I meant what I wrote. Which implied my Thai girlfriend had a small penis. That was the punchline. Shesh!