Warning about Manila condos: 90% are empty. Don't buy it.

Expose or warn others about scams and scammers, or shady business practices. Expose those that have cheated you or ripped you off. Caution: Before naming specific individuals or groups, make sure that they really wronged you and that there was no misunderstanding. Otherwise your post may constitute slander or libel if it contains false information.
Taco
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 5382
Joined: July 9th, 2011, 9:30 am

Re: 90% of the Condos in Manila are empty. WARNING. Don't bu

Post by Taco »

OutWest wrote:
Taco wrote:
OutWest wrote:
starchild5 wrote:
Taco wrote:
Everything in the Philippines is a lie. You need to change they way you think if your going to survive here.
How true...Philippines and other third world countries offer more ways to go to the dark side....I could also marry a filipina even if I don't love or like her and get permanent residency and then fool around her back...Most guys I know are cheating on whatever they are doing in Philippines to make quick money...BUT they are completely missing the plot on their existence itself...Yeah...I'm quite high on Philosophy and all that to come to terms being shady :) ..I cannot change the way I think now..Its too late...even though I know.If I change life will be lot more easier...:)

Manila is basically a scam city with good souls aka women around...Outsiders mostly Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indians completely exploited it with now Filipinos joining the fun...All the greetings and smiles are basically to buy their crap...I shouldn't complain as I'm from a much worse place...where both outside and inside is rotten...its just the observations....

I know about Cebuexpatservices..its good

It will be incredibly hard for a good guy to do anything here unless he makes compromises in quality of services
My father-in -law calls it an "honest built house". Unfortunately, that is hard to find in the Philippines. I have seen some German expat built houses here that were of high quality also...again, I am sure they managed the construction of it themselves.
If you want your house to be built correctly in the Philippines you have to manage the construction yourself or hire an engineer. Its the engineers job to make sure the workers don't screw anything up. Also, you need to tell the Filipino workers if they don't build the house correctly they won't be getting paid. Maybe 1 out of 10 Filipino construction workers does good work. I'll also mention there's hardly any cement mix in the hollow blocks they use in the Philippines which means the rebar and cement poured inside the blocks is what's holding up the walls not the hollow blocks themselves.

I think your estimate of 1 in 10 workers being good is on a very lucky day...1 in 50?
Important safety tip. If you fire a Filipino guy for doing a bad job he might come back later to kill you because you made him feel bad. That's why the Pinoy workers are so bad because no one is brave enough to tell them the truth.

I just heard about a German expat that had a business in Cebu. He made the mistake of firing his Filipino security guard for doing a lousy job. The fired employee came back later and shot him dead.
Rock
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 4206
Joined: April 21st, 2010, 9:16 am

Re: 90% of the Condos in Manila are empty. WARNING. Don't bu

Post by Rock »

Taco wrote:
OutWest wrote:
Taco wrote:
OutWest wrote:
starchild5 wrote: How true...Philippines and other third world countries offer more ways to go to the dark side....I could also marry a filipina even if I don't love or like her and get permanent residency and then fool around her back...Most guys I know are cheating on whatever they are doing in Philippines to make quick money...BUT they are completely missing the plot on their existence itself...Yeah...I'm quite high on Philosophy and all that to come to terms being shady :) ..I cannot change the way I think now..Its too late...even though I know.If I change life will be lot more easier...:)

Manila is basically a scam city with good souls aka women around...Outsiders mostly Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indians completely exploited it with now Filipinos joining the fun...All the greetings and smiles are basically to buy their crap...I shouldn't complain as I'm from a much worse place...where both outside and inside is rotten...its just the observations....

I know about Cebuexpatservices..its good

It will be incredibly hard for a good guy to do anything here unless he makes compromises in quality of services
My father-in -law calls it an "honest built house". Unfortunately, that is hard to find in the Philippines. I have seen some German expat built houses here that were of high quality also...again, I am sure they managed the construction of it themselves.
If you want your house to be built correctly in the Philippines you have to manage the construction yourself or hire an engineer. Its the engineers job to make sure the workers don't screw anything up. Also, you need to tell the Filipino workers if they don't build the house correctly they won't be getting paid. Maybe 1 out of 10 Filipino construction workers does good work. I'll also mention there's hardly any cement mix in the hollow blocks they use in the Philippines which means the rebar and cement poured inside the blocks is what's holding up the walls not the hollow blocks themselves.

I think your estimate of 1 in 10 workers being good is on a very lucky day...1 in 50?
Important safety tip. If you fire a Filipino guy for doing a bad job he might come back later to kill you because you made him feel bad. That's why the Pinoy workers are so bad because no one is brave enough to tell them the truth.

I just heard about a German expat that had a business in Cebu. He made the mistake of firing his Filipino security guard for doing a lousy job. The fired employee came back later and shot him dead.
The provinces are generally dangerous. I've known of several people (all filippinos) who've been killed because they either angered someone who later got revenge or started some kind of business which created competition for incumbents. Also land ownership and titles are very iffy out in the sticks and that's for Filippinos. If you're a foreigner, forget about it. Makati, Global City, Ortigas - those are much more benign. Buy or rent a nice condo and relax. Security is first rate. Heck, you can't even walk into the lobby of Gramercy without an owner bringing you in. In my building, there's guards and cameras throughout and you can't access a floor without key card. When you walk out and about, you see guards and people everywhere. I see a lot more violence in central Bangkok than I've ever witnessed here.

When you are in the middle of a secure area of the capital, you have some security. When you are lying low out in the provinces, you are a sitting duck. In latter case, better not make any enemies or make yourself in any way more valuable dead than alive.
OutWest
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2429
Joined: March 19th, 2011, 12:09 am
Location: Asia/USA

Re: 90% of the Condos in Manila are empty. WARNING. Don't bu

Post by OutWest »

Taco wrote:
OutWest wrote:
Taco wrote:
OutWest wrote:
starchild5 wrote: How true...Philippines and other third world countries offer more ways to go to the dark side....I could also marry a filipina even if I don't love or like her and get permanent residency and then fool around her back...Most guys I know are cheating on whatever they are doing in Philippines to make quick money...BUT they are completely missing the plot on their existence itself...Yeah...I'm quite high on Philosophy and all that to come to terms being shady :) ..I cannot change the way I think now..Its too late...even though I know.If I change life will be lot more easier...:)

Manila is basically a scam city with good souls aka women around...Outsiders mostly Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Indians completely exploited it with now Filipinos joining the fun...All the greetings and smiles are basically to buy their crap...I shouldn't complain as I'm from a much worse place...where both outside and inside is rotten...its just the observations....

I know about Cebuexpatservices..its good

It will be incredibly hard for a good guy to do anything here unless he makes compromises in quality of services
My father-in -law calls it an "honest built house". Unfortunately, that is hard to find in the Philippines. I have seen some German expat built houses here that were of high quality also...again, I am sure they managed the construction of it themselves.
If you want your house to be built correctly in the Philippines you have to manage the construction yourself or hire an engineer. Its the engineers job to make sure the workers don't screw anything up. Also, you need to tell the Filipino workers if they don't build the house correctly they won't be getting paid. Maybe 1 out of 10 Filipino construction workers does good work. I'll also mention there's hardly any cement mix in the hollow blocks they use in the Philippines which means the rebar and cement poured inside the blocks is what's holding up the walls not the hollow blocks themselves.

I think your estimate of 1 in 10 workers being good is on a very lucky day...1 in 50?
Important safety tip. If you fire a Filipino guy for doing a bad job he might come back later to kill you because you made him feel bad. That's why the Pinoy workers are so bad because no one is brave enough to tell them the truth.

I just heard about a German expat that had a business in Cebu. He made the mistake of firing his Filipino security guard for doing a lousy job. The fired employee came back later and shot him dead.
Maybe number one rule in most of Asia: NEVER MAKE SOMEONE LOOSE FACE!!!

There are others ways to deal with everything. Always hire for very short term periods with the very clear understanding that you may not be able to afford to extend the work- in other words you can dump the person with nobody getting insulted. The man was fine...you just could not afford to keep him longer...

In Asia>>> Learn what I call "Side-thinking" Never use the front door...always sneak in
through a window....lol. BTW some of these Germans here are such terminal A-holes,
they tend to treat everyone like $hit...

Oh...did I remember to say, don't make anyone loose face??? LOL

In Asia, the shortest distance between two points is rarely a straight line!

Outwest
PS...Did I remember to say that in the Philippines, never make someone loose face?
OutWest
Veteran Poster
Posts: 2429
Joined: March 19th, 2011, 12:09 am
Location: Asia/USA

Re: 90% of the Condos in Manila are empty. WARNING. Don't bu

Post by OutWest »

The provinces are generally dangerous. I've known of several people (all filippinos) who've been killed because they either angered someone who later got revenge or started some kind of business which created competition for incumbents. Also land ownership and titles are very iffy out in the sticks and that's for Filippinos. If you're a foreigner, forget about it. Makati, Global City, Ortigas - those are much more benign. Buy or rent a nice condo and relax. Security is first rate. Heck, you can't even walk into the lobby of Gramercy without an owner bringing you in. In my building, there's guards and cameras throughout and you can't access a floor without key card. When you walk out and about, you see guards and people everywhere. I see a lot more violence in central Bangkok than I've ever witnessed here.

When you are in the middle of a secure area of the capital, you have some security. When you are lying low out in the provinces, you are a sitting duck. In latter case, better not make any enemies or make yourself in any way more valuable dead than alive.

It depends on what you mean by the provinces. If you are talking about provincial cites like CDO or Davao, I think they are safer than Metro Manila by far.
If you are out in the boondocks, you had better be part of an existing family structure there.
If it's just you, you are an easy target.

Many foreigners cannot resist the power they get by flashing cash...the attention it draws them. They are also setting themselves up.


I don't want to divert the thread...I have not been to Manila in a while, but it sounds like these condo owners are desperate...rent to own...lol. If the quality is so poor though...it could be a landmine...
Rock
Elite Upper Class Poster
Posts: 4206
Joined: April 21st, 2010, 9:16 am

Re: 90% of the Condos in Manila are empty. WARNING. Don't bu

Post by Rock »

OutWest wrote:
The provinces are generally dangerous. I've known of several people (all filippinos) who've been killed because they either angered someone who later got revenge or started some kind of business which created competition for incumbents. Also land ownership and titles are very iffy out in the sticks and that's for Filippinos. If you're a foreigner, forget about it. Makati, Global City, Ortigas - those are much more benign. Buy or rent a nice condo and relax. Security is first rate. Heck, you can't even walk into the lobby of Gramercy without an owner bringing you in. In my building, there's guards and cameras throughout and you can't access a floor without key card. When you walk out and about, you see guards and people everywhere. I see a lot more violence in central Bangkok than I've ever witnessed here.

When you are in the middle of a secure area of the capital, you have some security. When you are lying low out in the provinces, you are a sitting duck. In latter case, better not make any enemies or make yourself in any way more valuable dead than alive.

It depends on what you mean by the provinces. If you are talking about provincial cites like CDO or Davao, I think they are safer than Metro Manila by far.
If you are out in the boondocks, you had better be part of an existing family structure there.
If it's just you, you are an easy target.

Many foreigners cannot resist the power they get by flashing cash...the attention it draws them. They are also setting themselves up.


I don't want to divert the thread...I have not been to Manila in a while, but it sounds like these condo owners are desperate...rent to own...lol. If the quality is so poor though...it could be a landmine...
I was referring to locations outside of major cities, even those in many parts of Luzon.

Mega Manila has lots of higher crime areas where you can get held-up ala Mguy. Big swathes of Quezon City, especially a lot of Tondo for example are pretty notorious. But Mega Manila also has huge oasis areas which are safe to very safe as far as violent crime risk is concerned. BCG around High Street vicinity is probably just as safe as Davao City for pickpocket and snatching risk. And beggars don't generally appear there like they do in central Davao sometimes. I even had a beggar boy approach me on one of the upper levels of Gaisano across from San Pedro College and Hospital in Davao City. A big swath of Makati and Ortigas has very low to negligible hold-up risk but you may get pick-pocketed or even snatched if you are too careless. I think bay area behind Mall of Asia is pretty safe too.

Davao City central areas are extraordinarily safe in the context of Philippines by about all accounts I've heard from locals and from what I've observed there so far going out at 2-3 am sometimes. It's famous for it's tough mayors and very harsh punishments of crimes as small as snatchings and pick-pocketing. Enforcement can include by-stander vigilante justice. You can't even smoke there anymore except in your private residence (not hotels though) or your own car with windows rolled-up.

However, once you leave Davao City, province in vicinity is not too safe for foreigners from what I've heard so far. I had one friend from outlying area who only wanted to meet me in the Davao City area for security. And when I went to GenSan two hours south, I was told by more than one local person including reception not to walk too far away from hotel at night including area along coast. Fortunately, they have 8 peso tricycles there.

Cagayan de Oro did not seem that safe. I stayed there for a good week and my local hosts told me it was not as safe as central areas of Cebu City (IT Park and Fuente) so did not want me out alone. They said the risk was more akin to Colon St. area in downtown Cebu at night (I had first met a couple of them in Cebu City).

What I noticed in general is that in even the first and second class city centers in most of the provinces, be it benign Bicol in Luzon or Zamboanga in one of the more notorious areas of Mindinao, the people you see around and about at night look a lot more dodgy and downtrodden than the ones you see in the oasis areas which make up a significant portion of Metro Manila. That goes for even Cebu City with possible exception of IT Park vicinity.

Rent to own is a gimmick used by certain developers to lock locals who can't afford to buy outright or even put too much cash down as down-payment into high interest rate mortgage type contracts which bind them into 20 years or more of payments of inflated rates. Should they ever fail to make a certain number of payments, property can be repossessed and whatever payments made forfeited. Just another way financially sophisticated exploit relatively simple people. Happens in other countries too in various forms. I don't see it as a sign of desperation on part of developers. It's just their brand of 5-6 lol.
papajoe
Freshman Poster
Posts: 3
Joined: May 13th, 2016, 7:18 am

Re: Warning about Manila condos: 90% are empty. Don't buy it

Post by papajoe »

you say you stay in manila because the only city with reliable fast internet. But Cebu has fiber optic internet. isn't the fiber optic in cebu good enough for your work? can't see the need to stay in the hell hole of the world, MANILA, OMG
User avatar
Jim_Mendoza
Freshman Poster
Posts: 1
Joined: August 8th, 2017, 9:05 pm
Location: Makati City, PH

Re: Warning about Manila condos: 90% are empty. Don't buy it.

Post by Jim_Mendoza »

I really think that there are a lot of condos in Manila that are not empty at all. Some condos in the metro are being advertised on BnB sites so that short term users, especially foreigners can stay there. For the unit owners, the investment was there for them. For consumers, there are a lot of choices, other than the conventional Hotel, that they can stay when they are in the metro.

But owning a condo is a different thing, so to speak. When owning one, expect that things would be very much different. And I think that if Manila is kinda congested or empty, then seek other real estate philippines option. In that way, you'll be able to get something out of it in the long run.

Hope this suggestion or reply helps out!
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Scam Alerts and Ripoffs”