(i will add a link to this document in our family wiki site. from now on, it's much easier to write reports in this blog and just link it to our wiki)
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total payable to ian: P78,229
- P15k (10/1/18 rent , P15k to mama)
- P15k (11/1/18 rent, 15k to mama)
- P15k (12/1/18 rent, 15k to mama)
- P15k (01/1/18 rent, 15k to mama)
- P15k (02/1/18 rent, 15k to mama)
- P10k (3/1/18 rent, 20k to mama)
- P15k (4/1/18 rent, 15k to mama)
- P15k (5/1/18 rent payment 1/2, 12.3k to mama)
+ P6k papa
+ P3k papa
+ P4k papa
+ P2k papa
+ P1k papa
+ P2k papa
+ P1k papa
+ P1.5k papa
+ P2k papa
+P2k papa
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balance: P0
* rental deposit of P30,000 is with me
* mama said to set aside P1k a month for property tax/insurance, but to simplify, i won't create a separate tab for this - i will just pay the tax/insurance and just increase the payable to me
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here is the list of expenses:
transpo:
- ship-motor 2235
- boat-fare 1484
- cebu-pier-fees 325
- manila-pier 150
- boat-fare 1844
- excess-baggage 180
- porter-fee 295
- porter-tip 50
- motor-fare 2087
- taxi 150
- porter 250
total: 9,050
housewares:
- stove 499
- ice-bucket 155
- plate 20
- pillow 235
- elec-fan 600
- frying-pan 161
- hand-broom-dustpan 178
- broom 40
- aircon 4000
total: 5,088
condo bills:
- assoc-dues 6734
- condo-dues-water 4960
- nov2018-oct2019-bldg-painting 7500
- feb2018sep2019-insurance 4035
- property-tax 17911
total: 41,140
repairs:
- scrub 39
- bleach 18
- paint 149
- caulk-gun 89
- wood-glue 219
- paint-brush 32
- 3doorknobs
- wall-putty 179
- silicone-sealant 189
- screen 158
- toilet-fill-valve 350
- 3cabinet-handles 60
- cabinet-stopper 15
- epoxy 200
- toilet-flapper 84
- hinge 29
- cabinet-catches 27
- aluminum-tape 300
- bolts 39
- sand-paper 29
- screws-bolts 65
- muriatic 30
- wall-putty 99
- floor-scrub 74
- bleach 26
- wax 35
- scrub 44
- paint 159
- wax 17
- bulb 179
- screws 24
- wax 51
- muriatic 36
- bulb 179
- paint-brush-roller 994
- paint 554
total: 4,771
after manila:
- ebook-papa 7300
- toilet-hose 250
- duplicate-keys 60
- mama 4000
- mama 1000
- mama 5000
- motor-pier-claim 315
total: 18,025
grand total: P78,229
note the total repair was just about P5k compared to the P150k a contractor would have charged.
i didn't include the meralco electric bill of landmark for august and september because that's my consumption. but it might be useful for you to know the august bill was P1,600 using only .6 hp aircon and 1kw electric stove.
(if you are wondering about the bizarre format, i wrote a personal script that will automatically total this with just a cut and paste from the iphone icloud notes).
i put all the receipts and post-dated checks in an envelope labeled 2018 landmark receipts and put it in our steel file cabinet. i also duplicated the key to the main door and put it in the envelope. however, the new tenant said they will change the keyless lower doorknob into a keyed doorknob so we need to remind the tenant when they leave after the lease is over to not lock the lower doorknob because we don't have the keys.
the association is repainting the building and the contribution is P625 a month until 2020.
i paid the 2018 q2-q4 and entire 2019 property tax. the entire 2019 property tax was only P9k+. i looked at the previoius bills this is what we paid from prevous years:
2016 - P16,963
2017 - P14,284
2018 - P11,074
2019 - P9,486
the higher payments of previous years was due to penalty from late payment. to prevent this i added to my icloud reminder to pay the landmark property tax bill on oct 1 of every year (the bill comes on september) for the next year. i set my iphone to sync my reminders to the icloud, so if my iphone gets lost or i upgrade to a newer iphone my reminders will automatically sync to the new phone. this is how i make sure i pay the yearly insurance bills, property taxes, sewage/trash bills, car registration, driver's license renewal, passport renewal and maintenance tasks such as car oil change, termite inspection, etc ... which can be difficult to track and easy to forget if you just depend on your ability to remember. i suggest you do the same, start with the landmark property tax bill. it just takes a few seconds to set this on your iphone and you only have to do it once. when the reminder alarms, just notify the family on facebook messenger that whoever is in manila or will be going to manila around that time to get the money from whoever is in charge (right now it's me) and pay the bill in pasig city hall. we could also ask fe the landmark admin to pay the tax and just give her P500 errand fee.
here's other info that might be useful to those who will rent out landmark in case i'm in the states:
i came to manila because the quote given by the contractor to repaint was P80k, and with the repairs on cabinets including the termite damage you can only imagine how much more the cost would have been. the lessson here, is we save a lot if we do it ourself.
the 2 paint brushes and roller cost around P400+ but we don't have to buy another one (more details below). the paint was around P150 per liter (rain or shine water based white). i used 10 liters = P1,500 total (single coat). surprisingly, it took me only 2 days to finish (around 3 hours in morning and 3 hours in the afternoon so around 12 hours total), but just the walls, and bathroom, kitchen, master bedroom cabinets (just the outside). this is excluding the ceilings and excluding the maid's quarters. on the other hand, it took me 5 days to wash the walls with zonrox bleach. the lesson here is as soon as you arrive, just start painting even if no applicant requested it. you might need to spend an extra day wiping off the dirt and dust first before painting (which i already did when i washed the walls with bleach). although i think just dusting off the corners and ledges using a hand broom and removing cobwebs using the long broom should be enough then you can start painting. i did not have to use drop cloth or newspapers and painter's tape that's why it was much quicker. i made video to remind me what to do in case i will need to paint again 4 years from now -
how to avoid paint splatter with a roller
after 2-4 years there would always be some little repairs needed that we can just hack or do workarounds instead of doing the standard or normal but expensive way by contractors. you can see this with how i fixed the cabinets for almost zero cost (i posted these repairs in facebook). but you need need to bring tools from cebu. the tools weigh 13 kilos, it can fit in a 1X1X2 ft box or bag. cebu pac prepaid baggage 15 kilos is P260, 20 kilos is P390 and 30 kilos is P784. you can only have 1 baggage so you simply put the tool bag in a box together with your clothes and other baggage items.
there are also 2 large pipe wrenches and 1 large c clamp in the top most cabinet in the master bedroom that i requested the tenant that we use the right portion. so if you are the one renting out also make this request to put stuff we might need while renting it out.
here are the other stuffs i put in the topmost cabinet in the master bedroom:
for the hardware materials ace hardware is just walking distance in sm hypermart. i brought a motorcycle because i have many other extra curricular activities like golf driving range, sending money through palawan to my scholars, and trying out all kinds of food option aside from the ones in sm hypermart area.
so if you travel by air, travel cost should just be around P5k (including baggage and airport grabcar fares) instead of P9k by motorcycle/boat.
the food court in tiendesitas across sm hypermart offers cheap good healthy food under P100 with rice: fried crisp shrimp, calamari, pinakbet, ampalaya (aside from the usual stuffs like barbecues)
the tenant decided to use their own aircon but agreed to put the aircon i bought in a storage, including the piano, at their expense. for the thin matress i left it with the maid with a note. so no more need to buy aircon, matress, and kitchen needs next time someone goes to there to rent it out.
whenever someone views the property and say they are interested in renting the property, always say something like:
"someone already said they want to rent it and they are preparing the funds for the deposit. i don't know when they will give the deposit and sign the contract but it's first come first serve so if you give the deposit before someone else we will give it to you but if someone else gives the deposit before you do then we will have to give it to them. i'm sorry we have to follow this policy because we had an experience in the past where someone promised to rent the property and was just preparing the funds for the deposit so we took it out of the market and turned down people who wanted to rent it but we never heard from him again so we ended up wasting many days of potential rental income."
the reason for this has nothing to do with legality or getting the property rented, it just prevents unnecessary disappointments or frustration from people who are naive. you do this simply to be good to other human beings. my current tenant in avida is such a sweet, naive and young vietnamese girl who told me she wanted to rent my airbnb unit long term. she asked me when the property will be available so i looked at the airbnb calendar and told her aug 12. it was still july so she said she will contact me around aug 10. of course i did not block the dates starting aug 12 because what if she finds another place? of course when she contacted me on aug 10 the unit was fully booked until sep 24. when i told her this she starts crying, i mean sobbing like a little girl. imagine this really young vulnerable angelic looking girl who i think is running away from something in vietnam just starts crying and accusing me of breaking my promise. understanding she is still young and naive, i explained to her how renting and deposits work. i apologized to her for not informing her about this from the start because i assumed she already knew these things. since the water works convinced me she will really rent the place, i blocked everything after sept 24 and even showed it to her while i did it on the app on my iphone. i told her i will give her special exception where i will give her 3 days to give the deposit and i will take it off the market so i'm actually taking a big risk for her sake because it's possible the next day someone would have decided to sign a 2 year lease on a higher rent. fortunately that very day she gave the deposit and signed the contract. i helped her find a decent but cheap airbnbn place in the same area where she could temporarily stay while my unit was still occupied until sep 24.
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link to our messenger group chat history about landmark:
https://web.facebook.com/messages/t/2106591669415956
link to my facebook album where i post house repair history including landmark:
https://web.facebook.com/ian.crystal.90/media_set?set=a.10150768173620321&type=3
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here's a copy of the online ad i posted so we can re-use it next time:
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for rent 1st floor of an upscale pet friendly valle verde villa
Renter pays condo dues (P3,800).
Pets are allowed (unlike high rise condos where pets are not allowed).
148 sqm. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, plus maids quarters bedroom and toilet so 4 bedroom and 3 baths total. maid's quarters includes laundry/drying area with 2 sinks. First floor of a 3 storey villa type building, so parking space is just a few steps from your doorstep and helpers/drivers have their own back entrance to their quarters (unlike high rise condos where you have to take an elevator and walk far just to get to your car). Each floor only has 2 units per building so you get the upscale villa neighborhood feel. The villa condo complex has a nice swimming pool and a kid's pool. Highly secure with roving security and to get in you need to pass by 2 security gates.
Unfurnished but it has a piano, a queen size bed, and one of the rooms already has aircon. All electrical outlets have 110 volts and 220 volts. area does not get flooded.
Just 400 meters from restaurants and convenience stores (Starbucks, 7-11, Watson's Pharmacy, Mcdonalds, Burger King, Bon Chon, Gery's Grill and SM hypermart mall (closes 12 midnight and has Ace hardware and various shops and restaurants). And if you are a golfer it's just 5 minutes away from Citygolf driving range.
1 year minimum contract
1 month advance, 1 month deposit, post dated checks
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- i had a technician look at the split aircon (1.5 hp) and they quoted P6,500 to fix it, including the freon. this is a good deal considering when i fixed the 5 ton condenser in la quinta the freon alone was $200 (10k) .however i did not proceed to have it fixed because it turns out the tenant wanted to install their own split type a/c. but it's good to know the estimate cost in case we decide to have it fixed in the future.
- i also want to give advice regarding hiring someone to do repairs. papa told me maldo's rate is P350 a day which he finds expensive. i actually think that's too cheap. i even think P500 is too low. i could be wrong because i don't know the actual rate here in cebu but just think about the P80,000 the contractor charged to paint landmark. he probably would just have spend P20k on the paint, and painted it in 5 days which means his labor rate could easily have been P12k a day. my advice is to look at the bigger picture. it's actually a good thing if contractors are charging too much, because it means there is a real estate boom, or inflation. property owners benefit from inflation. if you look at the activity history of landmark in our wiki, we actually tried to sell landmark before at P10 million but people were only willing to buy at P7 million. now, people are offering to buy it at P10 million even if we are not trying to sell it. that's conservatively a P3 million jump in value since 2014. and that's just landmark. it's safe to say mama and papa's overall net worth easily jumped P10 million in the past 3 years. which means we should not unnecessarily get stressed out or sacrifice our time and effort to save money on labor on house repairs. don't just look at the monthly rental to estimate the return on investment - also look at the increase in property value. i understand cash flow is also an issue, that's why more effort should be focused on selling one of the properties. i will try to revisit the sale of one of the babag properties when i have the time.
