Manila Apartments OPC

I have been successfully investing Manila since 2014 and am a Marketing Partner for one of the largest Developers. + Why Invest Outside Your Area?
“Stick with what you know”, is the conventional wisdom. However, there is no point with sticking with what you know if what you know is not working. A lot of wannabe investors buy a property near where they live, as they feel comfortable with the area a

nd can “keep an eye on it”. As an investor landlord, you should be looking at where is best to invest from the global, not local market. How do you manage Property remotely? As many businesses and individuals have found from the Covid 19 lockdown in 2020, as long as you have a Device and Wifi, you should be able to manage the property from anywhere in the World. The key things are Contacts, and Organization. Develop your own team of reliable tradesmen/agents/advisors who should also be organized and responsive. Organization of both the Property and Tenants are also crucial. Look after and keep good quality tenants by always responding quickly to their questions and concerns.

+ How do you identify a good market? What kind of direction is the Country moving in? Is the Economy growing, declining, or going sideways. Likewise population. What is the Currency history, how strong is it currently and how much is it likely to strengthen in the future? How high are Taxes? Does that Government want investment, i.e is it keeping taxes low? Ditto Regulation. How business friendly is the Government. And is the law pro Tenant or Landlord. Can Foreigners even legally own? Is there a certain ratio, and is Freehold possible? Is it possible to get Mortgages for Non Resident Foreigners? And/or do Developers offer developer finance? All of the above will determine how liquid the market is and this will in turn be reflected by the Tenant/buyer demand. How do you compare markets? When crisscrossing and traversing through countries it is important to compare Apples with Apples, and not Oranges. The classic example would be someone who lives in a major Capital City going on holiday to somewhere rural in Eastern Europe and commenting “its so cheap compared to where I live”. Only compare Capital Cities with other Capital Cities. Likewise, only compare a Developed market with another Developed market, (or an Emerging Market with another Emerging Market).

+ Yield, or Capital Gain? Both! Take the holistic approach. First and foremost the property must make some sort of profit (however small) each month after all expenses. Normally this will be between 5-7% but this can be slightly higher or lower. Once you have filtered through yield, Capital Gain should be the most important consideration as long term it will make you the most wealth. Always prioritize location over property type, as land will always grow in value, whereas the building ultimately depreciates. How long until Financial Freedom? How long is a piece of string! Normally this is a long term game and on average takes around 10 years. But like anything it ultimately depends on the individual, how much time, effort, discipline, and dedication they are prepared to put into it. There will always be difficult times and you will have to be prepared to get out of your comfort zone. But if you persevere, ultimately you will get there.