Once upon a time, a broker was about to close the sale of a property. They were already at the stage of signing the Contract to Sell (CTS) and receiving the earnest money — usually one of the final steps before the transaction moves forward. The sellers, siblings who inherited the property, agreed to meet the buyer at a bank. The broker did what brokers normally do. She reminded both the buyer and the seller the day before and again on the morning of the meeting. The broker e

Continuing yesterday’s story, here are the practical lessons: 1. Earnest Money: Size Matters There’s no fixed legal rule on how much earnest money should be. In institutional deals, 10% of the purchase price is common. But in private transactions between individuals, the absolute amount may matter more than the percentage. The larger the earnest money, the larger the risk if something goes wrong. Its purpose is to show commitment — not to create financial damage. Sometimes, a

Once upon a time, a broker was about to close what looked like a relatively smooth deal. After weeks of negotiation, the buyer and seller finally agreed on the price. To formalize the deal, the seller required 10% of the purchase price as earnest money — amounting to several million pesos. The buyer pushed back. The broker, fearing that asking for another concession might derail the sale, explained that 10% is common practice in many transactions, especially when the seller w

In 2017, a condo unit in BGC caught fire. By midday, photos of thick smoke billowing from the unit were already circulating on Facebook. Firefighters forced the door open and contained the blaze before it spread to adjacent units. The unit itself, however, was a total loss—almost everything inside was reduced to ashes. According to the firefighters, the likely cause was the air-conditioning unit, which had been left running while the tenant was away. They noted that the AC ap

Once upon a time, a foreign tenant leased a condo unit just before the world shut down. Then the pandemic hit. He flew back to his home country—but kept paying rent, kept the lease alive, kept everything exactly as it was. The unit stayed locked, quiet, untouched. Until one day, it didn’t. A water leak appeared. The condo admin tried calling the tenant—no answer. Time was ticking, water was running, so they escalated to the unit owner. With the owner’s consent, they entered t

Once upon a time, an in-house broker sold a pre-selling condo to a walk-in buyer. The buyer was pleasant, easy to talk to, and decisive. The deal closed in a few weeks. File done. Commission earned. Life moved on. Months later, the broker met someone with the same last name as his buyer. It was an uncommon surname, the kind that makes you pause. So he asked, if they were related. She smiled. “That’s my father.” What a small world. Thinking nothing of it, the broker casually m

Once upon a time, a guy with more confidence than experience decided it was a good idea to bomb the downhill road in Tagaytay on a skateboard. He had been skateboarding for exactly ONE week. He pushed off. At first, it felt incredible — the wind, the speed. Halfway down, he realized he was going way too fast. Instinct took over; he jumped off the board at probably 50 km/h. He tried to catch himself but physics disagreed. His collarbone smashed into the asphalt and snapped cle

Once upon a time, a man once bought a vacant lot in an ordinary, ungated residential neighborhood. He did nothing with it. No fence, no caretaker, no visits—just a title tucked away, proof enough in his mind that the land was his. Years passed. Then one day, squatters began to appear. The owner noticed, but he wasn’t alarmed. As long as his name was on the title, he believed the law was on his side. Decades went by, and the owner died. The property passed to his son. The son

Once upon a time, a couple leased a property through a broker. Their lease still had a few months left when the broker reached out and said the owner was short on cash. As an incentive, the owner was allegedly willing to reduce the monthly rent if the couple paid the lease extension in advance. Afraid to lose the opportunity, the couple immediately transferred the funds to the bank account provided by the broker. After all, the broker had been extremely helpful during their m

Once upon a time, a business owner in the manufacturing industry found himself facing a good problem to have: demand was growing faster than his capacity. To keep up, he decided to lease a second warehouse and convert it into another manufacturing facility. After weeks of searching, he struck gold. The warehouse was almost perfect—flood-free, minimal repairs required, low rent, and immediately usable. Paperwork was signed, keys were turned over, and machines were lined up. Ex