As 2008 comes to an end, first and foremost, I would like to say thank you to all of you my dear readers and visitors. I created this blog only recently, last October 31, 2008 to be exact, and I am still dumbfounded by the number of visitors of this blog.

Each time CJ, my three year old son says “Look at those dots, pindot na (click on them now) daddy!” while pointing to my Clustermaps image(at the right side bar near the bottom), it makes me feel good with the notion that you do find this blog helpful.

Read the rest of this entry

In Part 1 of this series, I mentioned that no bank in their right mind would lend money for stock investments. This is simply because the probability of stocks losing much of their value or becoming worthless in a short amount of time is very high and very obvious. Read the rest of this entry

Unionbank shall be having a special public auction of foreclosed properties on January 24, 2009, Saturday, 9:00am, at the Delas Alas Room, 2nd floor, Philippine Columbian Sports Club, Plaza Dilao, Paco, Manila, Philippines. This is the first public auction of foreclosed properties for the coming new year. I also see one bargain property no longer has a lis pendens. More on this below.

Areas covered are Pasig, Makati, Quezon City, Manila , Mandaluyong, Las Pinas, Paranaque, Caloocan, Pasay, Antipolo, Bulacan, Cavite, Tagaytay, Laguna, and Rizal.

Download the Unionbank Special Public Auction Listing Here!

Only 10% Downpayment is required and payment terms can be as long as 15 years.

Interest rates are at 13% per annum fixed for the first 3 years, and 15% per annum fixed for the next 12 years.

If you are concerned with the high interest rates, don’t be! You can always refinance your loan with another bank with lower interest rates after 3 years. Furthermore, Unionbank uses a contract-to-sell which means loan requirements are less stringent than mortgage loans.

If you look at the list as closely as I did, you will notice one particular property has finally got a court decision in favor of Unionbank, finally! Anyway, I already tried to ask if this property can be acquired prior to the auction through a knockout or pre-auction bid but the bank officer told me that all properties shall have to undergo public auction to give all interested parties a fair chance in acquiring the properties they are interested in. I can see as early as now that the bids for this particular property will end up pretty high.

Anyway, I’ll definitely be attending this auction. If you want to attend, just leave a comment here, maybe we can come as a group.

Happy New Year and Happy Investing to all!

I stumbled upon a hot topic at sulit.com.ph about which investment vehicle is better to invest in, real estate or stocks. Of course you would expect me to have a bias towards real estate, but before you make up your minds, let me first try to objectively state the advantages and disadvantages of both real estate and stocks based on what I know. For this first part of a series, I will only be focusing on one aspect, leverage. Leverage generally refers to the use of loans or debt to increase a person’s purchasing power. Let me illustrate further below.

Read the rest of this entry

RCBC Savings Bank has released a new listing of foreclosed properties for their latest Dream Buys Sale. Take note that properties included in this listing are not for auction but rather for negotiated bids.

Areas covered are Makati, Paranaque, Las Pinas, Muntinlupa, Quezon City, Marikina, Antipolo, Caloocan, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Baguio, Batangas, Quezon Province, and Naga.

Download the RCBC Dream Buys Listing here.

Since this real estate foreclosure listing is not for auction, prices are negotiable! Time to find those diamonds in the rough that are great real estate investments and make offers!

Happy hunting!

It was my birthday last December 9, 2008 and I decided to spend a relaxing afternoon at the CBRE public auction of foreclosed properties which happened to be on the same day. Aside from the delicious pasta they served as merienda which I jokingly referred to as my birthday treat, I was also pleasantly surprised when the courteous and friendly staff of CBRE, the auction organizer, recognized me as a successful bidder in a previous auction they had, even though that was more than a year ago.

Read the rest of this entry

“Are you always sending BALIK BAYAN boxes every month or every payday, year after year?
Are you working your head off having 2-3 jobs to just earn enough for you and be able to send money home?

What if you can make your money work for you! Instead of getting 2-3 jobs, you teach how your relatives can earn money from rental properties? Wouldn’t this lighten the load.

Instead of BALIK BAYAN BOXES, why not a HOUSE and LOT, or an APARTMENT which you can rent out. It’s safe since your family can not sell it without your permission, not like a car, computer or any expensive appliances like TV.

You will be surprised to know that the amount you spend to fill up a BALIK BAYAN BOX can actually buy you a rental property that can earn you additional money.” Read the rest of this entry

Unionbank shall be having simultaneous public auctions of provincial foreclosed properties on December 20, 2008, Saturday, 9:00am, at the following venues:

Unionbank shall be having a special public auction of foreclosed properties on December 13, 2008, Saturday, 9:00am, at the Delas Alas Room, 2nd floor, Philippine Columbian Sports Club, Plaza Dilao, Paco, Manila, Philippines.

Areas covered are Paranaque, Makati, Las Pinas, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, San Juan, Antipolo, Caloocan, Pasay, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

Read the rest of this entry