Almost a year has passed since Typhoon Ondoy devastated what used to be our home in Provident Village in Marikina last September 26, 2009. We have obviously moved on. However, my wife Cherry and I have come to realize a lot of things during the past year and we would like to share these lessons here. These are in addition to the lessons learned I posted right after the floods last year.

Lesson #1: Fire insurance is not enough

What used to be referred to as Acts of God insurance coverage is now referred to as Acts of Nature or AON insurance coverage. Consider having this to protect your house, its contents, coverage for rental income (for your rental properties if any). I regret not having this because I already had plans to get AON insurance(plus coverage against burglary, etc.) for our house and its contents a few months before Ondoy struck, but I forgot about it.

The same goes for your car. Although my car was spared because I was not in Marikina during the flood, it had AON insurance.

Lesson #2: Properties under a Pag-IBIG housing have typhoon and flood damage insurance coverage

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that our house in Marikina had insurance coverage for typhoon and flood damage. This is one advantage of having a housing loan under Pag-IBIG as compared to other banks or lending institutions. Not to mention they also have Mortgage Redemption Insurance (MRI) which means your loan balance will get fully paid in case something happens to the borrower (terms and conditions apply of course).

Lesson #3: Never store important documents in just one location

We lost a lot of pictures, important documents like transcripts, diplomas, pictures, certificates, and pictures, sigh. Definitely, it’s best to scan important documents and pictures so that electronic copies can be stored safely in different secure locations.

You can have electronic copies with you in your laptop or with a portable hard drive, or you can even store them online. Another idea would be to have duplicates or photocopies which you can store in offsite locations.

Lesson #4: Always have updated offsite backups

It may sound geeky but I really advocate having offsite backups. After all, I was an IT manager once upon a time. During Ondoy, a lot of my important files and documents were not affected by the floods because I did not leave all of them at home. I had with me a lot of important documents, along with my old laptop that had a lot of my important files. I also had a lot of important documents inside my safety deposit box at the bank. I would like to reiterate the importance of having UPDATED copies or backups because I lost about 4 months worth of data in my desktop computer which got submerged at home because I did not sync its data with the data on my old laptop. Actually, I had an external drive that had updated files but I also left it at home, bummer.

Lesson #5: Consider renting a safety deposit box at your favorite bank

This saved all of my postdated checks, contracts, and other original copies of important documents. It only costs about 1,000 a year for a drawer with a depth and width several inches bigger than a legal size folder. Just make sure the bank’s premises is not in a flood-prone area to avoid what allegedly happened to this particular branch of a certain bank.

Lesson #6: Waterproof containers or plastic bags could help save your important stuff

Yes, I know it would not be practical to put all documents in a safety deposit box at the bank and a lot would have to be stored at home. I guess ziplock bags or maybe giant lock-and-lock storage containers would have helped protect documents against floods, although they will be useless for fires.

Lesson #7: Furniture made of plywood turn to pulp when submerged in water

Yes, our cabinets, bookcases, study table, even our bed from EDIA, all turned into pulp. The only things that withstood the floods were furniture made of narra, and the monoblock chairs. I suppose if you decide to live in a flood-prone area, consider using monoblock furniture… hehe.  Right now, we are renting a semi-furnished condo so we still have time to shop around for flood-resistant furniture, which we think are worthy investments.

Lesson #8: Having waterproof stuff is a good idea

The only thing I was able to salvage was my waterproof watch that I left in my cabinet. Even though my cabinet disintegrated and turned into pulp, the watch was perfectly okay as it should be. Now we try to buy stuff that are waterproof, like our digital camera for example. We replaced our flood damaged Canon Powershot A40 with a Lumix TS2 that is waterproof and naturally flood proof.

Lesson #9: Consider having a fireproof and waterproof safe at home

Now this can be quite expensive but the cost could be negligible compared to the cost of replacing lost documents. Reconstituting owner’s duplicate copies of Transfer of Certificate of Titles (TCT’s) or Condominium Certificate of Titles (CCT’s) would cost at least PhP50,000(based on what I heard) so this might be worth considering, if you really don’t want to opt for a safety deposit box. We opted for a safety deposit box, even before Ondoy.

Lesson #10: Have an emergency plan

Basic things like having an evacuation plan, what to do, where to meet, what things to have(like a rubber boat?), preparing a grab and go bag in the event that calamities like Ondoy would happen would be a big help. My wife is developing this for our family.

Lesson #11: Be proactive with where you buy properties

I’ve heard people say that Ondoy affected just about everyone and if we insist on finding a flood-free place to live or invest, we might end up with no options. But my point is, not everyone experienced 16-ft floods that could have drowned anyone that got trapped in the first and second floors. This is the reason why we are not rushing into buying a property as we need to carefully consider this aspect.

Others say that the flood brought about by Ondoy was a 100-year flood and we would be long gone before the next one is upon us a hundred years from now. But think about it, climate change is evidently already here, so how sure are we that the next 100-year flood would not come tomorrow, next week, or even next year? God forbid!

While we cannot stop typhoons like Ondoy, we can always be proactive and choose to live or invest in flood-free locations or at least a location that did not experience killer floods in terms of flood height. The Typhoon Ondoy Maximum Flood Height interactive map in google maps can help us with this.

Typhoon Ondoy Maximum Flood Height interactive map(Click to visit)

Lesson #12: Just because a property is near a river, it does not follow that it will get flooded

It may be hard to believe for some but there really are areas that were beside or very near a river but were not flooded at all by Ondoy. One such place is Riverfront residences in Pasig where we almost bought a unit.

Lesson #13: Just because a property is far from a river, it does not mean it will not get flooded

There were apparently a lot of places in the Metro that also got flooded even though they were far from any rivers or waterways. I guess this could also be one reason why they got flooded, water had nowhere to go to.

Lesson #14: Don’t forget to consider elevation, sufficient drainage or waterways, and actual flood height during Ondoy when evaluating properties

Consider these factors when evaluating properties before you buy. I do my best to keep this in mind when I come across potential properties. And the importance is magnified if you are looking for a property where you intend to live.

Lesson #15: Listen to your gut feel, spider sense, instincts, intuition, etc.

I still vividly remember when my wife and I passed by the Riverbanks Mall last September 26, 2009 at around 7:30am and I noticed the river’s rampaging waters which I found to be odd and very out of the ordinary. We have lived in Marikina since 2004 and this was the first time I noticed the Marikina river to be this strong. However, I just shrugged it off, even if it didn’t feel right, and I drove my wife to her office (she had a whole day seminar on a Saturday… GRRR!) and I proceeded to the DAP building in Pasig City to attend a public auction of foreclosed properties by RCBC Savings Bank.

I was never able to make it back to our house that day, even if I tried to right after the auction(that was around 11:00am). The closest I could get was up to Green Meadows but I had to turn back as floodwaters were already as high as the top of the tires of my car. Fortunately I was able to reach SM Megamall, and I waited there, not knowing what to do. Later I picked up my wife from Makati when she was finally dismissed from their whole-day seminar at around 4pm (GRRR!), and we desperately tried to reach Provident Village. We were able to park at the foot of the flyover in Aurora Blvd, and we started walking. We had to stop just before Riverbanks Mall as barangay tanods stopped people from going any further.

I’m just glad that everything turned out well, our son CJ was safe and sound thanks to her Yaya and also thanks to our neighbors.

Lesson #16: Calamities can bring out the best in people

Our son CJ was saved by his yaya Em, and we shall forever be grateful to her. I still remember talking to Em over the phone when the flood was just rising while I was stuck at SM Megamall and I just told her to leave everything in the house, including my new laptop, and stay with our neighbor next door. Not only did Em save CJ (would you believe CJ never got wet with flood water, yes its true!), she also saved our dog Stacy, by pulling her up to the roof of our house, and also to the roof of the 2-story apartment behind our house (Stacy is an adult golden retriever so imagine how heavy she is), and Em also managed to save my new laptop, with laptop bag and all, even if I told her to leave it in the house.

I also remember how our neighbor, who I’ll just call El-Kapitan, who helped save everyone that ended up at their house (including children, adults, and a few elderly people) by leading them all to safety. Everyone got to the second floor of El-Kapitan’s house and then they moved to the roof of our house temporarily (our house was a bungalow and it eventually got totally submerged).

From there, El-Kapitan gave instructions to everyone so that they can use an airbed to cross the floodwaters and reach the 2 story apartment at the back of our house. They managed to do this successfully before the airbed got punctured and lost air. From the roof of the 2-story apartment building, they used a ladder to cross-over to another 3-story apartment building, which was the safest place to be, and everyone was able to reach it safely.

I also can’t help but share how my brother-in-law faced just about everything to reach their house to ensure Mama and Papa were safe. He did this with the help of a group of men from a vulcanizing shop, and they used inner tubes and ropes. Imagine going through up to 20ft deep flood waters, in total darkness, while it was raining, and with very strong water currents.

They used the Meralco posts throughout the village as waypoints. My brother-in-law eventually reached their house although at times some homeowners from Provident Village threw rocks at them. They mistakenly thought they were burglars or looters that were apparently all over the place, even at the height of Typhoon Ondoy.

I’m also very thankful for all of the people who helped us with the cleanup and also with rescuing our dog that got stranded on the roof of the 2-story apartment. We rescued our dog a day after the flood receded with the help of some teenage boys who offered to help clean our house. It wasn’t easy to get a full-grown golden retriever (imagine how heavy she was) from a roof 2-stories high. I’m just glad those boys came out of nowhere and helped me, even if they were quite scared of our dog. After all, she was very big and could bite them anytime if she wanted to. This was a day after some thieves tried to steal our dog(more on this later).

By the way, my wife and I felt pleasantly overwhelmed with a lot of people who wholeheartedly wanted to help us. There were people offering their homes as a place where we can temporarily stay, we also received help in cash and in kind and a lot of moral support. There was even this one internet shop in Katipunan Avenue where they allowed us to recharge our phones for free. Calamities can really bring out the best in people…

Lesson #17: Calamities can also bring out the worst in people and everything in between

As stated above, there were a lot of looters and burglars running around Provident Village at the height of Ondoy, and this continued up to the weeks that followed. These thieves were targeting houses that were temporarily abandoned by their owners. Even before Ondoy, a lot of burglaries have been happening in Provident Village, I just never thought these thieves would actually take advantage of the floods caused by Ondoy to steal from the flood victims.

Remember our dog that got all the way up to the roof of the 2-story apartment building at the back of our house? She got stranded there when the flood waters receded the next day, and would you believe some people went there claiming she was their dog? The nerve of those people! Good thing the people who lived at the 3-story apartment building where my son and his yaya and our neighbors stayed knew we were the owners and told the impostors and would-be thieves that they knew the real owners of the dog.

One last thing. I remember a friend of mine who shared to me how frustrated she felt because she learned that instead of directly helping employees like her that got affected by Ondoy, the company she worked for just gave a donation to the ABS-CBN foundation, and they even e-mailed this to everyone, including the employees that were directly hit by Ondoy’s wrath. Although it was very commendable to donate to the ABS-CBN foundation to help Ondoy victims, I couldn’t help but ask myself “What the heck were they thinking?!”. I guess they didn’t love their own.

Lesson #18: Calamities help family and friends get closer to each other

We eventually stayed at my sister’s condo before we found our own place. A natural result of this was we got real close. I guess this was one blessing in disguise that happened because of Ondoy. My son CJ got to know his Tita beyond the weekly family dinners that we regularly had, and as expected, his Tita’s fondness and love for him also grew each day we lived with her.

I also got a lot of calls and text messages from friends who wanted to help in any way that they could, and the mere thought just helped raise our spirits. In a way I found out who my friends really were, and  those who really cared. I guess that’s just how Filipinos are. Having a calamity like Ondoy was a perfect opportunity to reconnect and help one another, and show that we really care.

Lesson #19: Calamities like Ondoy is the great equalizer

Everyone was a victim and there was no distinction between the rich and the poor, educated and not so educated, everyone was at the same level, and everyone needed help.  

Lesson #20: Getting attached to material possessions is futile

While material possessions are things that we all need to help us go through our daily lives, being attached to them is really not a good idea. It is a lot easier to move on without being attached, all material things can be replaced anyway. We lost just about everything we had inside our house and we were able to move on quickly. It helped that most of our appliances and stuff were gifts to us on our wedding, which means they were more than 5 years old already . Seriously, I believe this whole experience reminds all of us not to be too materialistic and attached to worldly possessions.

Lesson #21: Home is where the heart is

As real estate investors, we are often reminded not to fall in love with a property as it may cloud one’s judgment. I just never thought that this would also help when it comes to one’s own home, at least in our case. I realized that I myself was never really attached to our house in Marikina, I never had a problem leaving it as I knew that what’s important to me is my family and loved ones and wherever my family is, that is my home.

Lesson #22: Be careful with what you wish for

A few months before Ondoy, I also distinctly remember this thought of mine where I wished that there was an easier way for me to get rid of the clutter in our house because “junk” kept on piling up. Yes, I wanted to get rid of a lot of our stuff and with one fell swoop, everything was gone! Oops.  To be honest, I also wanted to dispose our house itself, not just the clutter in it, for a lot of reasons, but I never thought my wish would be fulfilled like this. So be very careful when you wish for something, and be very specific.

Lesson #23: Life is short so don’t waste time on things that are fleeting and unimportant

Things like too much work, too much TV, being pre-occupied with things that do not matter much if you think about it, are such a waste of time. Imagine if you were about to die, do you think you would have thoughts that would go like “If I had only spent more time at the office…”? I don’t think so!

Go ahead, try imagining the thoughts that would run through your mind if the end is near, you will surely think of those which matter most, then focus and give more time for them NOW!

~~~

After almost a year, I’m happy and thankful that our family has moved on and things have turned out quite well. My wish and prayer for all of those also affected by Ondoy is for them to have the strength and courage to do so just in case they have not yet moved on, and I hope that everything will be better.

I know there are a lot more stories out there along with more lessons learned from Ondoy. Please share them here, I’m sure a lot of people would love to read them, me included. Thanks for sharing!

To our success and financial freedom!

Jay Castillo
Real Estate Investor
Real Estate Broker License #: 20056
Blog: http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com
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Text by Jay Castillo and Cherry Castillo. Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved.

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23 lessons learned from Ondoy is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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This is the second part in my series on the reflections of a real estate investor(that would be me!) after Typhoon Ondoy’s wrath. If you missed the first part, you may want to read it before reading this. You can find part one here – Reflections of a Real Estate Investor: Ondoy’s aftermath

Next I try to share what I’ve learned and become aware of as a licensed real estate broker, homeowner, and as a real estate investor in Provident Village, Marikina City, Philippines. Here goes…

This banner was placed on a wall at the entrance of Provident Village, Marikina City

Yes, I know we can!

Last Monday, I went back to Provident Village to see the situation and to check if we can already go back to our house to try to salvage what can be salvaged and assess the extent of the damage. As I turned right to the entrance of Provident Village, I saw the banner above and  tears rolled down my face immediately. No, they were not tears of despair but rather tears of hope. The banner reads “Bangon Marikina, kaya natin ito (Get up Marikina, we can do this!)”. I say yes, I know we  can!

I was also pleasantly surprised that there were a lot of bulldozers and trucks that were being used for the clearing up operations. Last Monday, the front of our house was still full of mud and debris which made it not passable to small cars like my Hyundai Getz but I can see that our entire street will be cleared before the end of this week.

Suggestions from Mayor MCF

After a quick visit to Provident Village, I then proceeded to the Marikina City Hall to attend a meeting between Mayor Marides C. Fernando (also known as MCF to her constituents in Marikina City) and the Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines – Marikina River City Inc. (REBAP-MRCI) chapter which I was a member of.

REBAP-MRCI President Malou Llado(left) speaks as MCF(center) and other REBAP-MRCI members listen

Meeting adjourned. I’m the guy at the back but in the middle of the picture, with glasses.

As real estate brokers (and also as a real estate investor in my case), members of REBAP-MRCI wanted to know how we could help the Marikina City Government after the City of Marikina was badly hit by Typhoon Ondoy. We were also interested in finding out what plans the Marikina City Government had for Marikina after the devastation. Obviously, the floods will have a big impact on property prices and demand for such, which in turn would affect the livelihood of real estate brokers that focus on the City of Marikina. I’ll try to summarize what I learned from the meeting below:

1. MCF suggested that houses in those areas that experienced very high floods should seriously consider using their first floors exclusively for garage or parking purposes and houses should at least have a second floor. A roof deck is highly recommended. It would be more like a house built on stilts.  I personally have thought of the same in case we do decide to push through with plans to have a major renovation done on our house. More on this later.
2. During the conversation, one member of REBAP-MRCI asked if there were any plans to put up more water pumping stations in Marikina. MCF answered with another question, “Where would the flood waters be pumped to?” I guess the real problem is that the flood waters are not really from Marikina itself but rather from the surrounding areas. That’s the problem with being a valley.
3. With regard to reports that some homeowners are selling their houses at ridiculously low prices and yet still have no interested buyers, MCF advised us that maybe we can find opportunities there. Of  course as licensed brokers we may help those that want to sell and also help find houses for sale for real estate investors.
4. Another suggestion from MCF was to use low lying areas exclusively for non-residential purposes which are okay to get submerged by flood waters.

Our meeting got cut short because of an unplanned but very welcome healing mass with healing priest Father Suarez which was just about to start at the Marikina City Hall. The meeting was adjourned and  we just attended  the mass. This was just what we all needed, healing!

Father Suarez during the healing mass at the Marikina City hall

Lessons learned and observations of a homeowner in Provident Village

1. Always have your house insured with coverage for Acts of God. Though a lot of people have said that what had happened was actually an act of man(ex. the alleged releasing of water from dams, climate change, etc.), it would not hurt to have Acts of God coverage. The higher premiums would have been well worth it. Unfortunately, our house only had fire insurance. I’m quite certain insurance premiums would sky rocket after the floods and I also won’t be surprised if insurance companies would start refusing to give such coverage to areas hit by the floods.

2. Houses should be built like houses on stilts. In this configuration, the ground floor would be just a wide open space that can serve as parking or a basketball court, etc.  At the very minimum, houses should have a second floor that has an exit that won’t be hampered by flood waters (more on this below). There were a lot of reports of people being trapped at their second floors and they only got out by destroying the ceiling and the roof.

3. Functionality of doors and windows and their locks should not be affected by flood waters. One thing in common I found with most houses that got submerged by the floods was the doors and windows(including fire escapes) could not easily be opened. Either the door mechanisms/padlocks got jammed or the wood of the door itself expanded and got stuck with the door jamb. I’m not sure if there are water resistant door mechanisms and locks out there but I guess keeping them well lubricated would help. As for doors, I guess using high quality wood would help prevent the “pamamaga(expanding)”. Obviously, if the rising water had force and pressure, this would also hamper opening them.

4. Have rubber boats, air-beds, life-jackets, life-savers or inner tubes, or any acceptable “floatation” device handy. These would at least give you a fighting chance in case you needed to move to higher ground. When my son and Emily, his nanny, eventually had to transfer from roof-to-roof to reach the 3-story apartment building a house away, they used an air-bed from one of our neighbors. I’m so thankful for the courage and quick thinking of Emily, and Edgar, one of our neighbors. It turns out Edgar was a ship captain and was prepared for such situations. Thank God!

5. Have some sort of alerting mechanism in place that would warn against floods, etc. Here in the office, I implemented an automated monitoring system on critical servers which automatically sends SMS alerts which I receive on my cellphone in case conditions that can lead to problems occur. For example, if the free space on the system drive of our e-mail server goes below a threshold we have set, all concerned I.T. staff including myself will receive an alert through a text message. I just wish that someone can come up with a similar system that would alert the City Government just in case an unusually high amount of rain fall occurs or if flood waters or water released from dams  are detected from surrounding areas that would eventually end up in Marikina City.  The City government can then alert residents or even evacuate them. Maybe I should forward this idea to PAGASA, they already have equipment that measure rainfall right?

6. The flood receded very fast so the problem is really with the source of the floods. Would you believe that the flood that reached levels as high as the ceilings of the second floor of houses in Provident Village receded by the next day? Yes, it receded that fast. In fairness to the efforts of the Marikina Government, I believe that the drainage systems are functioning as they should, but it just so happened that the flood waters, wherever it came from, was just too much. What if there was a way to at least control the source of the floods? Another  challenge, how can the drainage systems be cleaned of the mud (that will eventually harden) left behind by the flood waters?

7. Just sell the house and live in a flood free area! I know a lot of you have this in mind just like me. This would be the ultimate solution for me and my family unless someone finds a permanent solution that would result in a flood free Provident Village. I just wish selling the house would be easy. We could then move to another place in Marikina that was not affected by the floods. In case I decide to, I would have to wait for the village to be cleared of all the mud and debris before I can sell the house. Let’s wait and see…

Points to ponder from the point of view of a real estate investor

1. Do I renovate the house and construct a second floor and a roof deck or do I repair the house at its present configuration (our house is just a bungalow)? The obvious things I should consider would be the cost involved and if these can be recovered if I have our house rented out or sold down the road. For the same cost of constructing a second floor plus roofdeck, I could already have a new house constructed somewhere else that is flood free, which I can definitely sell for a profit or rent with positive cashflow in the future.

2. Do I sell the house now (after doing some repairs to make it ready for occupancy) or wait for property prices to stabilize after a few years? As mentioned above, property prices in Marikina have surely been affected by the recent floods. Demand is also very low while supply is very high as I’m sure a lot of homeowners already have their Provident Village houses for sale while there are very few people interested in buying properties in areas affected by the floods(except maybe for investors). If I decide not sell the house now, I should be able able to find tenants to at least cover part of the monthly amortizations for our house.

3. As an investor, I really should avoid flood prone areas! I’m just lucky that all of my investment properties were not affected by the floods and only my primary residence was hit. Just the same, I should also treat my home as an investment as I have mentioned in my recent post:  Why not treat your first home as a real estate investment?. As early as now, the implications I see are getting a negative cashflow if I do decide to have our house rented out, the difficulty of finding tenants/buyers for a bungalow in the middle of  Provident Village, the time it would take for the clearing up operations to finish(I estimate this to finish around Christmas time), and more importantly, the safety of those who would be living in our house.

What do you think?

To be continued…

*Photos of MCF and Father Suarez are courtesy of Cora Uy of REBAP-MRCI: http://www.rebapmarikina.com

**I would also like to thank all REBAP-MRCI and REBAP-QC members for the relief goods given to fellow REBAP members affected by the floods, including me and my family.

Lessons learned by a real estate broker, homeowner, and investor from Provident Village is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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I have been compiling a list of reflections from the point of view of a real estate investor that I want to share here in Foreclosure Philippines but after Typhoon Ondoy’s wrath, a lot of them have changed. Mike, a fellow real estate investor, said it best when we met the other day and mentioned to me that “You must have a million things on your mind Jay…”. Mike was right. There are just so many things running through my head right now.

Although it’s true that a lot has changed after Ondoy’s deluge, there are also things that cannot be changed even by such a calamity and I want to share these thoughts first. Don’t worry, I won’t be babbling about a million things, I’ll just include coherent thoughts and reflections.

Whatever happens, always count your blessings

During the past days, I sometimes find myself with a blank stare and teary eyed during moments of feeling overwhelmed with all the challenges I face in the aftermath of typhoon Ondoy. I have yet to fully assess the damage to our house in Provident Village, but I’m quite sure that just about everything inside it got ruined or destroyed.

Our kitchen… or what’s left of it.

Our house and our stuff. Notice the make-shift tent on the roof?

This used to be my son’s toyland

One of our wall clocks that all stopped a little past 2:30pm. This one hangs on the wall 8 feet from the floor. Anyone left inside the house at that time would have surely drowned.

No need to feel sorry for me as I have found a way to get through these moments. All I have to do is just look at my son if I am with him or I just have to think about him and I am able to snap out of it. My 4 year old son along with Emily, his nanny, were spared by the rampaging floods brought about by Typoon Ondoy, thanks to the courage and quick thinking of Emily. They were both staying at our 1-story house on that fateful day while my wife and I had to attend to some matters which we normally don’t do on Saturdays.  Maybe I’ll write about this sometime when I’m ready to do so.

My wife and I feel that we are still very blessed and luckier than most who not only lost property but also loved ones. When we first entered our house and saw just about everything ruined and destroyed by the muddy flood waters, we didn’t feel such a big loss. What’s more important is all of us are alive and well. It also helped that we lead simple lives and we are not really in the habit of buying doodads. When I say that my ultimate goal in becoming financially free is to have the freedom to do what I want, when I want to, and with who I want, It’s quite obvious that I am referring to my family and loved ones as the “…who I want”. The bottom line is we know what is truly important in life which is why we still feel blessed in spite of all that has happened. What ever happens, I shall always remember to count my blessings.

My advocacy remains the same

My advocacy still remains the same and it is to help as many people as I can to learn about financial literacy and achieve financial freedom. I believe that financial literacy is a prerequisite to financial freedom and that financial freedom can really be achieved through real estate investing, with focus on bank acquired assets and foreclosed real estate. As a real estate investor, my mission is to be financially free with the ultimate purpose of helping people and my community. I advocate financial literacy with the goal of making a difference in the lives of people around me by sharing what I have learned in my journey to financial freedom. I want to help as many people as I can to achieve the same in the process. I am more focused on acquiring investment properties that generate passive income and when I surpass my passive income goal before the end of 2009, I shall retire from being an employee and go full time with my advocacy.

Some of you may be asking, “Sounds good Jay but how can you do it now when you have this major challenge that will cost you lots of money?” Actually, that’s a question I often find myself asking these past few days but the answer still remains the same. Real estate investing is still one of the best ways for ordinary people to gain financial freedom.  If you knew what I know, you’ll know what I mean. It’s hard to explain but I shall be doing my best to do so. I guess I may not have been doing a good job explaining the very basics which is why I also have plans to focus on sharing stuff that would be more beneficial to newbie real estate investors.

Let me put it this way, If I was to do it all over again, what information would have helped me conquer my fear of the unknown when it comes to real estate investing and start with my first deal? That’s the information I want to share.

Coming up next…

I try to share what I’ve learned and become aware of as a licensed real estate broker, homeowner, and real estate investor in Provident Village, Marikina City, Philippines. Read on to Part 2 of this series – Lessons learned by a real estate broker, homeowner, and investor from Provident Village

Reflections of a Real Estate Investor: Ondoy's aftermath is a post from: Foreclosure Investing Philippines

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