YOUNG COUPLE Louie Bacani and wife Eve, both in their 30s, had been looking around for a small condominium unit that would fit just right for them and their 6-year-old boy Gio. They spotted a 28-square-meter unit in Makati City, literally a few steps from their place of work and a mere five minutes from Gio’s school.
Furthermore, the unit was still in its pre-selling stage, and was being offered for just below a million pesos. After doing some math, Louie and Eve decided to buy the unit. The proximity of the condo to their workplace and Gio’s school, and the obvious savings that resulted from using less fuel to use the family car, made them decide to go for it.
For professionals and busy couples like Louie and Eve who live and work in urban areas and don’t have the time and means to maintain a bungalow or a single-detached home, they choose affordable condominiums.
For this unit, Louie drew his housing loan from Pag-Ibig. His monthly amortization today does not exceed P12,000, and is payable in just 10 years—well within the limits of the couple’s combined income.
Property loans experts urge condo buyers, and all other buyers of various forms of property for that matter, to develop financial intelligence on their intended investments, such as what Louie and Eve did.
It is always best to research first on the loans your income bracket can avail of. Pag-Ibig housing loan packages, for instance, fall in the following amounts: up to P400,000 (with 6 percent per annum interest rate); over P400,001 to P750,000 (7 percent per annum interest); over P750,001 to P1 million (8.5 percent); over P1 million to P1.25 million (9.5 percent); over P1.25 million to P2 million (10.5 percent); and over P2 million to P3 million (11.5 percent).
After exercising some financial common sense, choosing a condo unit is your next challenge.
Make sure to pick “breathing” condos. Biochemist and molecular oncologist Romy de Villa warns condo buyers that the metropolis is full of establishments built with poor ventilation. Poorly ventilated spaces risk accumulating hazardous fumes from cooking and other indoor activities. Furthermore, during hot weather, these spaces can become lethal furnaces.
Inquirer Property recently featured a construction system integrating natural light and ventilation. Engineers call it Lumiventte (Lumen referring to light, and ventus wind), which could be seen foremost in all DMCI Homes’ vertical communities. The Lumiventte system was first seen in 2006 in its high-rise Tivoli Garden Residences near the boundary of Mandaluyong and Makati.
DMCI, a seasoned contractor, prides itself in offering good investment values on its buildings, being both a builder-developer with 300 architects and engineers and hundreds of laborers who have been with the company for at least five years. It has built the Dansalan Gardens at the corner of Boni Avenue and M. Vicente Street in Mandaluyong, the Ohana Place in Alabang, Muntinlupa; Magnolia Place in Tandang Sora Extension in Quezon City; and East Raya in Pasig City.
A typical DMCI two-bedroom condo unit would cost between P2.4 million and P3.2 million.
No to pigeon-hole units
Condominium experts explain that an ample-sized condominium home not only provides freedom of movement, but economy of space with the way the utilities and areas are laid out.
Engineer Elmer G. Civil, head of design and construction of DMCI Homes, assures that the developer has a commitment not to force-fit families into “pigeon holes or mass housing.”
Alfredo Austria, president of DMCI Homes, said it has been the developer’s goal to uplift and maintain a respectable and dignified living space for middle-income Filipinos, especially young families.
He added that privacy and spaciousness may also be defined in many other ways. “For instance, in Dansalan Gardens there are only a maximum of 12 units per floor, spelling privacy, exclusivity and quietude for its residents and neighbors.”
Resort-like ambience
Green and open spaces must be prominent. This translates to the condominium having a resort-like ambience. This is the best vertical community feature to consider for young and growing families. This means more space for children to safely play and explore. Most condominiums in the city are molded after traditional building types where you step out directly onto the street.
Facilities that encourage physical activity such as pools, ball courts and the like are important to encourage fitness and health-consciousness among the family.
Convenient, thoughtful facilities for families include social halls where one can hold birthday parties for children, and other functions, without having to leave home.
Location is relative to one’s needs.
Prime location may not necessarily be important, but a good location for you and your family is essential. Thus, for families just starting out, a condominium unit close to schools, place of work and commercial centers is often the first consideration.
“For starters, a good central location is important, even more perhaps than being in the middle of a prime location. This may mean less traffic, or less congestion,” Austria said.
For details on DMCI Homes particularly Tivoli Garden Residences, please contact Reby Ramirez @ +63 916.4044.555 / +63 922.883.9308 / +63 919.699.3572 or e-mail her at reby_ramirez@yahoo.com.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 September 2010
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