Living in the Phil?

[Admin]

Just being nosey, but if any of you decided to go off and live in the land of sexy babes, where would you live, and would you buy a property or build your own?

Maybe when I get older, and Cebu can guarantee 110% broadband, we may get a house on the beach. The place is protected from tidal waves, typhoons, etc, plenty of Westerners, and having property by the beach, means they can't build in front of you

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by admin@Jan 17 2006, 09:50 AM
Just being nosey, but if any of you decided to go off and live in the land of sexy babes, where would you live, and would you buy a property or build your own?

Maybe when I get older, and Cebu can guarantee 110% broadband, we may get a house on the beach. The place is protected from tidal waves, typhoons, etc, plenty of Westerners, and having property by the beach, means they can't build in front of you

Quoted post

I reckon I'd live just outside Angeles city, Pampanga. Not the greatest place on earth but for the stuff I'm interested in, cars and drag racing, it makes the best of what's available.

If the price was right we'd probably buy a patch of land with a house on, to save getting caught in the rising rent trap. Mind you, land prices have tripled in the four years since we left there

You're right on the nail about the broadband deal. It's hard to live without it when you've had it already. I tried dial up for several years when we were there before, and had to have two systems, so I could use one when the other died, or was shut down, or went bankrupt etc. Pitiful.

[Gingwa]

We have a house in Laguna Bell Air, Santa Rosa. Its a lovelly area.
Close to Tagaytay (I love that place&#33 so we can go and feel the breeze abit.
I know what you mean about the broadband situation there, its crap, its expensive there, but its growing. Hell, come retirement age...No problem.

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by Gingwa@Feb 12 2006, 01:37 AM
We have a house in Laguna Bell Air, Santa Rosa. Its a lovelly area.
Close to Tagaytay (I love that place&#33 so we can go and feel the breeze abit.
I know what you mean about the broadband situation there, its crap, its expensive there, but its growing. Hell, come retirement age...No problem.

Quoted post

Great to hear that, tell us more !!

Gina and I are buying a lot in September at Town and Country Developments, in the Town of Talisay, its a nice subdivision just out of city of Bacolod, it has clubhouse, Gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, tennis, squash, jacuzzis, gated security, the house we have already got the plans and artists impression, we should be able to build that ourselves, as its much cheaper to engage your own architect and builders, you can of course buy a house and lot already, but its less in cost to have your own builder come in and carry out the work for you.

We hope to complete that by 2008.

Pete

[Eljohno]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Feb 12 2006, 08:08 AM
Great to hear that, tell us more !!

Gina and I are buying a lot in September at Town and Country Developments, in the Town of Talisay, its a nice subdivision just out of city of Bacolod, it has clubhouse, Gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, tennis, squash, jacuzzis, gated security, the house we have already got the plans and artists impression, we should be able to build that ourselves, as its much cheaper to engage your own architect and builders, you can of course buy a house and lot already, but its less in cost to have your own builder come in and carry out the work for you.

We hope to complete that by 2008.

Pete

Quoted post

Hi Pete,
wow i did not know you were builing your own place. Is it going to be like a holiday home?
And i was wondering what other places i was going to take Rhea.
Just let me know the address and i will bring a crowbar to get access when it is ready

John

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by Eljohno@Feb 12 2006, 10:14 AM
Hi Pete,
wow i did not know you were builing your own place. Is it going to be like a holiday home?
And i was wondering what other places i was going to take Rhea.
Just let me know the address and i will bring a crowbar to get access when it is ready

John

Quoted post

John,

Not really a holiday home John, I am hoping that we will be returning for good within 5years, I have a 5 year plan, to return to Philippines, I am starting an internet cafe, and Gina is buying farming land in the province, we are going into Sugar Beet growing so she will have that, and I will have the Internet Cafe, once the house is built, we will be concentrating on the 2 businesses, Negros is famous for sugar, we will grow it, 3 hectares of land is around 50,000 pesos for 3 years to rent, but most of the owners, simply cannot pay you back after 3 years, so you continue on with the land, we are also looking to buy a couple of caribous, they are around 15,000 each, so we hope the 2 businesses will support us in the Philippines, when we return, we are looking to return by the time I am 50.

Thats the plan, obviously lots of saving to do, the land will be completed this year, by Setpember, and the house by 2008, in 2 years, we will have saved to build it, so we are well on track at present, if you are around then, you can always come and stay with Rhea at our place as can any forum member who knows me.

Pete

[Gingwa]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Feb 12 2006, 08:08 AM
Great to hear that, tell us more !!

Gina and I are buying a lot in September at Town and Country Developments, in the Town of Talisay, its a nice subdivision just out of city of Bacolod, it has clubhouse, Gymnasium, indoor swimming pool, tennis, squash, jacuzzis, gated security, the house we have already got the plans and artists impression, we should be able to build that ourselves, as its much cheaper to engage your own architect and builders, you can of course buy a house and lot already, but its less in cost to have your own builder come in and carry out the work for you.

We hope to complete that by 2008.

Pete

Quoted post

Hi,
Yeah, Rose and I were thinking of having one built but we fell in love with this house.. We are currently in the process of having it extended.
When we bought it, it was a 3 bedroom, we are increasing it to 5.
The estate, sounds alot like yours...
Gated security, club house (which I have yet to venture into), school etc.

[Admin]

I think if we all clubbed together we could buy the Philippines. I'll be Minister for Sport

[Gingwa]

I'll just be a major profitering share holder and kick back

[Admin]

That's Mr Marcos then?

[Eljohno]

Originally posted by admin@Feb 12 2006, 04:46 PM
I think if we all clubbed together we could buy the Philippines. I'll be Minister for Sport

Quoted post

I will be the minister for special entry taxs that must be paid at the airport

John

[truelove26]

i wonder what would be my part,mmmm :unsure: maybe i could replace gloria hahhahahahah!!!

[fred]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Feb 12 2006, 11:29 AM
John,

Not really a holiday home John, I am hoping that we will be returning for good within 5years, I have a 5 year plan, to return to Philippines, I am starting an internet cafe, and Gina is buying farming land in the province, we are going into Sugar Beet growing so she will have that, and I will have the Internet Cafe, once the house is built, we will be concentrating on the 2 businesses, Negros is famous for sugar, we will grow it, 3 hectares of land is around 50,000 pesos for 3 years to rent, but most of the owners, simply cannot pay you back after 3 years, so you continue on with the land, we are also looking to buy a couple of caribous, they are around 15,000 each, so we hope the 2 businesses will support us in the Philippines, when we return, we are looking to return by the time I am 50.

Thats the plan, obviously lots of saving to do, the land will be completed this year, by Setpember, and the house by 2008, in 2 years, we will have saved to build it, so we are well on track at present, if you are around then, you can always come and stay with Rhea at our place as can any forum member who knows me.

Pete

Quoted post

Its good to have dreams about finding a sustainable way to live in the R.P but you need to do some serious research if you plan to make it a reality. I have never met a foreigner that has made a living yet from a local business but who knows..You could be the first!!
Personally,I would say that the internet cafe is a non starter..I know a few expats that have tried it and have all failed. There are Filipino run cafes that I use charging me only P15.00 an hour for general browsing..They all run their machines on pirated software.
Foreign expats doing this are exposing themselves to PNP raids that became more frequent last year and operations that are running licenced software are just not profitable. The cost of a single station will cost around the 40/50,000 mark unless you buy Taiwanese refurbishments..
If you still decide to go ahead,I wish you luck.. I think you will need it in this case.

What you say about "renting" 3 hectares of land doesn`t add up.. If they "rent" the land to you for 3 years for 50,000,why will they need to pay you the money back after 3 years?
Perhaps you mean that the 50,000 is a loan to them with the land as your collateral for the capital sum plus interest?? Is the interest based on 5/6 system?
Keeping the land after 3 years because of mounting interest can also lead to problems as the NPA or even the law could regard you as a land grabber with consequences best not mentioned here..Especially for a white "Kano" lol.
Much better to simply lease the land for a specific period IMO. Again..I wish you luck with the sugar beet business..
You obviously know what you are doing.

There are some less risky investment options available in the Philippines but they require a larger capital start up.
Rental Property (apartments) in a good location is one...The major risk is that the property will be in your wifes name and if seperation at some stage occured the "puti kano" is entitled to nothing..
Oh well...cest`la vie eh?.

[Admin]

I notice Gloria was talking her usual crap the other day after the disaster. 'All the help they need....blah....blah....' When are they going to buy more helicopters that are of use? Every time they have a disaster they have to 'borrow' them!

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by fred@Feb 19 2006, 04:08 PM
Its good to have dreams about finding a sustainable way to live in the R.P but you need to do some serious research if you plan to make it a reality. I have never met a foreigner that has made a living yet from a local business but who knows..You could be the first!!
Personally,I would say that the internet cafe is a non starter..I know a few expats that have tried it and have all failed. There are Filipino run cafes that I use charging me only P15.00 an hour for general browsing..They all run their machines on pirated software.
Foreign expats doing this are exposing themselves to PNP raids that became more frequent last year and operations that are running licenced software are just not profitable. The cost of a single station will cost around the 40/50,000 mark unless you buy Taiwanese refurbishments..
If you still decide to go ahead,I wish you luck.. I think you will need it in this case.

What you say about "renting" 3 hectares of land doesn`t add up.. If they "rent" the land to you for 3 years for 50,000,why will they need to pay you the money back after 3 years?
Perhaps you mean that the 50,000 is a loan to them with the land as your collateral for the capital sum plus interest?? Is the interest based on 5/6 system?
Keeping the land after 3 years because of mounting interest can also lead to problems as the NPA or even the law could regard you as a land grabber with consequences best not mentioned here..Especially for a white "Kano" lol.
Much better to simply lease the land for a specific period IMO. Again..I wish you luck with the sugar beet business..
You obviously know what you are doing.

There are some less risky investment options available in the Philippines but they require a larger capital start up.
Rental Property (apartments) in a good location is one...The major risk is that the property will be in your wifes name and if seperation at some stage occured the "puti kano" is entitled to nothing..
Oh well...cest`la vie eh?.

Quoted post

Thanks for that Fred, as the NPA dont operate in the areas I travel around, I assume you are talking down on Mindanao, as I have travelled extensively around Negros, the NPA is not an issue, your correct about, if you spend money and then its in your wifes name, agreed on that one, if she does a dumping act, your buggered, the land is true, you give them the money, the land is your security, of course its unlikely they can afford to pay back, so they cant redeem it, then you continue on using the land, but you make a valid point.

Internet cafe's seem to work quite well in the places I go, I dont see it makes one bit of difference who the name is in the frame, I wouldnt run it anyway, a Filipino would, 15 an hour is cheap, 25 is more the norm, I have done quite a bit of ferreting around when in town, but as you say, all localazied business are a risk, Im not interested in pirated software, I want it to be legitimate if I do it at all, but in truth Fred, if you dont trust your wife to be honest and straight about these things, then there is little point in building a house in her name only to find later on, she does the shitty and bank mortgages it, or sells it, as has happened previously, I feel sorry for any guy who gets caught like this, you put your trust in a woman, then she does this, its not nice I agree with you.

The Sugar Cane idea is good Fred, provided you have the land to do it, the loaning of money against land is great provided you are not expecting the owner to come up with it at the end of the redeemable period, if you are, I agree with you, you shouldnt hold your breath.

[fred]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Feb 19 2006, 08:34 PM
Thanks for that Fred, as the NPA dont operate in the areas I travel around, I assume you are talking down on Mindanao, as I have travelled extensively around Negros, the NPA is not an issue, your correct about, if you spend money and then its in your wifes name, agreed on that one, if she does a dumping act, your buggered, the land is true, you give them the money, the land is your security, of course its unlikely they can afford to pay back, so they cant redeem it, then you continue on using the land, but you make a valid point.

Internet cafe's seem to work quite well in the places I go, I dont see it makes one bit of difference who the name is in the frame, I wouldnt run it anyway, a Filipino would, 15 an hour is cheap, 25 is more the norm, I have done quite a bit of ferreting around when in town, but as you say, all localazied business are a risk, Im not interested in pirated software, I want it to be legitimate if I do it at all, but in truth Fred, if you dont trust your wife to be honest and straight about these things, then there is little point in building a house in her name only to find later on, she does the shitty and bank mortgages it, or sells it, as has happened previously, I feel sorry for any guy who gets caught like this, you put your trust in a woman, then she does this, its not nice I agree with you.

The Sugar Cane idea is good Fred, provided you have the land to do it, the loaning of money against land is great provided you are not expecting the owner to come up with it at the end of the redeemable period, if you are, I agree with you, you shouldnt hold your breath.

Quoted post

No problem Pete.. I hope you can pull the internet cafe thing off..
One thing is for sure..If you dont try,you will never know.
Over the last 22 years I have had piggeries,poultry farms,rice production,jeepneys,you name it ..None of them earned me a living and they cost me 1000`s of pounds in hard earned cash..
Nobody could have convinced me that any of them were not worth trying and I had to learn the hard way for myself..
In theory,some of them should have worked but in the P.I things have a way of cropping up and and making well laid plans go pear shaped..

In regards the NPA..These communist groups have operated throughout the Philippines for years in rural areas from Luzon to Leyte going back to the Marcos era..
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and NPA have around 200 armed men in Negros so that might be worth knowing..
The link below illustrates a small skirmish in 2005
http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl103131.htm
I have never known them to target expats but they do frown upon "land grabbing" capitalists .. Again..Its worth knowing.
I was once questioned by NBI in a small barrio in the Bicol region when I was 21 yrs old for being a suspected communist sympathiser..For months my UK mail was diverted to the NBI for scrutiny..Pretty scary stuff at the time.

My eldest son is 16 now and doing his A levels here in the UK.. He wants to join the RAF this year which means Me,the Mrs and our two youngest can move back to the R.P full time hopefully next year to live on Panglao island...I was there last year for 3 months and think the area is amazing..We always lived in Luzon in the past but I must admit that the Visayas take some beating..
Beats Hertfordshire,thats for sure.

[Eljohno]

Originally posted by fred@Feb 19 2006, 11:08 PM
hopefully next year to live on Panglao island...I was there last year for 3 months and think the area is amazing..We always lived in Luzon in the past but I must admit that the Visayas take some beating..
Beats Hertfordshire,thats for sure.

Quoted post

Hi Fred,
just recently i have been to Panglao island before my wedding with friends and then for the Honeymoon, and it is paradise for sure. Would you be thinking of catering for the tourists for income or just somewhere to stay for a while?


John

[fred]

Originally posted by Eljohno@Feb 19 2006, 11:45 PM
Hi Fred,
just recently i have been to Panglao island before my wedding with friends and then for the Honeymoon, and it is paradise for sure. Would you be thinking of catering for the tourists for income or just somewhere to stay for a while?
John

Quoted post

Hi John..
I bought a hectare of my bro in laws land on the island..P160 per sqr mtr..
thinking of starting a small country club over the next few years more as a hobby than anything else..
We have been building an 18 door apartment block in Cavite for the last two years..ground floor finished and rented..2 floors still to finish off...
This will hopefully provide about 3/4 of our required income needed for our new life in Panglao sometime next year (or so)..
Cant bloody wait!!

[deepete]

I agree with you Fred about starting a business in P.I.

I was just about to start a taxi service around Angeles with my Korean partner some 8 years ago when he was mysteriously killed in a motorbike accident around Tarlac. Something was not quite right and I didnt wish to push on with the idea.

Then I set my Brother-in-law up with a pet and animal food shop in Fields ave, Angeles. That survived for a year but too much credit was given ( to my Father-in laws friends) and that folded, also as soon as a business looks like its doing well competition will swamp you.

One of the best places for starting a business is right here in the U.K. Then go spend your profits in P.I. Not sure about buying property there, may have missed the boat for a while as they are now talking about a 65 pesos to the pound rate compared to 106 pesos last year. At the moment its 80 odd and still going down.

Peter

[fred]

Originally posted by deepete@Feb 20 2006, 02:16 PM
I agree with you Fred about starting a business in P.I.

I was just about to start a taxi service around Angeles with my Korean partner some 8 years ago when he was mysteriously killed in a motorbike accident around Tarlac. Something was not quite right and I didnt wish to push on with the idea.

Then I set my Brother-in-law up with a pet and animal food shop in Fields ave, Angeles. That survived for a year but too much credit was given ( to my Father-in laws friends) and that folded, also as soon as a business looks like its doing well competition will swamp you.

One of the best places for starting a business is right here in the U.K. Then go spend your profits in P.I. Not sure about buying property there, may have missed the boat for a while as they are now talking about a 65 pesos to the pound rate compared to 106 pesos last year. At the moment its 80 odd and still going down.

Peter

Quoted post

Not sure about buying property there, may have missed the boat for a while as they are now talking about a 65 pesos to the pound rate compared to 106 pesos last year. At the moment its 80 odd and still going down.

Yes Peter..
The £/peso rate does not look good..I thought I would need another £20,000 to finish my units but that just went up by 15% !!
Not looking as bad today though at a tad over P90 to £ from PNB website..
Regards..
Fred.

[Eljohno]

Originally posted by fred@Feb 20 2006, 12:04 AM
Hi John..
I bought a hectare of my bro in laws land on the island..P160 per sqr mtr..
thinking of starting a small country club over the next few years more as a hobby than anything else..
We have been building an 18 door apartment block in Cavite for the last two years..ground floor finished and rented..2 floors still to finish off...
This will hopefully provide about 3/4 of our required income needed for our new life in Panglao sometime next year (or so)..
Cant bloody wait!!

Quoted post

Hi Fred,
all the best with your venture at Panglao island, i am sure i will be back sometime again as it is a great place and maybe i will get to see the apartment block when it is finished...


John

[fred]

Just read this post regarding internet cafe setups in P.I.
It contains some of the reasons why this business may not be a good idea!!




_____________________________________________________________________________

Fast Wind in Mandaue can outfit you with used computers for that price but of course all the software will be pirated. As a foreigner, I would worry about my competitors filing a complaint. Plus P12t per seat doesn't sound like enough to handle the setting up of a cafe with seating, wiring, business permits, static IP DSL, etc. I looked at this awhile back and was looking at P30t-P50t per seat so your P120t could setup 4 seats to start. The base costs of static IP DSL (P4t) and electricity (P4t) will run P8t month. (note: that Globe/PLDT etc will require the busuness level service)

Some hours the cafe will have no customers at all and some hours will have at least 1 or 2 empty seats during a 16 hour/day opening time so figure 50% utilization although when there are more seats that will drop to 20-40% with more empties. (note that this does not factor in downtime for H/W problems, viruses, etc)

4 seats * 16 hours * .5 utilization * P20 = P640/day gross income

Assunimg no days off, a 30 day month will generate a very optomistic P19.2t from which we subtract the very minimal utility costs and he has P11.2t as a net income.

Assuming no repair costs, replacement of equipment or room fans. (aircons would add too much to the electric) And assuming that your living costs can be cut from the stated 15-20t down to P10t, then P1.2t would be left to replenish capital. Which would be paid back in about 8333 years.

If you can get P500t to start and build in more seats then the monthly number rises but there are lots of trade offs. For example if you want business from the gamers then you need to upgrade the H/W and go to WinXP so the cost per seat becomes P50-70t.

Lots of other things... if you buy used PIII/550mhz boxes for P5t each then you will have to upgrade more often because you are already starting with obsolete equipment. If you buy high end then your costs are much higher and the capitol will not have replenished before you need to upgrade. (true even with the low end)

An unlicensed setup with dynamic DSL, pirated s/w, home DSL, and no business permits could be done for the P120t, but over time the chance of being caught rises to 100% in just a few years and the penalty is deportation with the likely loss of it all.

Sorry if I am full of doom and gloom but I really did look at this business and its dynamics, even meeting with a board member from the iCafe industry group here. (membership is required for a permit)

[jcjimc43]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(admin &#064; Jan 17 2006, 09&#58;50 AM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Just being nosey, but if any of you decided to go off and live in the land of sexy babes, where would you live, and would you buy a property or build your own?

Maybe when I get older, and Cebu can guarantee 110% broadband, we may get a house on the beach. The place is protected from tidal waves, typhoons, etc, plenty of Westerners, and having property by the beach, means they can&#39;t build in front of you [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]
[/b][/quote]

Maybe I am lucky but last year we did start building our own retiral home in the Philippines which was completed in November just before we arrived for a holiday.
We bought the land about 20 something years ago and used 650m2 for the house and garden with a further 300m2 outside our boundry wall which we will use to grow fruit and vegetables.
The house is located in the town of Talakag in Bukidnon and is about 600 ft above sea level which means it&#39;s hot during the day and cooler in the evening. We are only 20 mins from an SM mall with resturants, cinemas, shopping etc, and the same distance from the airport. Cagayan de Oro is 33Km&#39;s away on a very good road so the beach is available.
I prefer to live within reach of all facilities but not on the doorstep of same as I will retire in 2008 to do the things I want to do not what I feel obligated to get involved in because of the pressure of other westerners.
I hope you also get what you want from life.

[fred]

Nice one JC.
Any pics of the house?

I should be there now but have to wait for my son to finish his A levels..Kidz eh&#33; ..Who would have em?

[scotsfiancee]

Does anyone wants to live in cebu? the best place to stay http://www.marialuisaproperties.com/

[ivor&mel]

Scottie's -ing again!

[scotsfiancee]

Scottie's -ing again!

is it free to say any words here?

[KeithD]

Yes you can say things like "Do you want money from me" ....and post links to such fantastic sites like www.win2win.co.uk

[scotsfiancee]

Yes you can say things like "Do you want money from me" ....and post links to such fantastic sites like www.win2win.co.uk

what if i ask i want water?

[KeithD]

Two options for water, and