Once upon a time, a developer had dozens of in-house brokers, but one consistently stood out. She was a top seller year after year. Wanting a bigger market, she eventually left the developer and became an independent broker. She started handling secondary-market properties, and before long, her sales had doubled. Later, she joined a brokerage firm. During tax season, she overheard her colleagues discussing their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and BIR deadlines. She joined the conv

Once upon a time, a property owner discovered that the boundaries on his land title overlapped with those of the neighboring property. To resolve the issue, he hired a geodetic engineer to conduct a survey and establish the correct tie points. Once the survey was completed, only one step remained: have the Municipal Assessor update its records. So he went to the Municipal Assessor's Office. The assessor told him, "Before we can process this, you first need to pay your real pr

Once upon a time, a new broker had a residential lot listed in Tagaytay. Another broker called and said she had a buyer interested in viewing the property. They agreed to meet on a Saturday at 9:00 AM. Knowing traffic to Tagaytay could be unpredictable, the broker left early and arrived at 7:30 AM. He messaged that he was already there and that they could take their time. Apparently, "take your time" meant arriving at 12:30 PM. Fortunately, he had Mobile Legends on his phone.

Reports are out on the long-awaited GCash IPO. GCash is preparing what could become THE LARGEST IPO in PH history, with reports saying it may raise as much as P92 Bn. So what does this have to do with real estate (RE)? And why is this a horror story? Because in the world of investments, RE and the GCash IPO are competing for the same wallet. Years ago, fresh from the banking sector, I had a long argument with a colleague about RE as an investment. This was around 2015. Stocks

There is now a YouTube interview of an actual tenant who lived in the condo building affected by the recent fire last week. Search “Trapped sila sa NASUSUNOG na CONDO” on YouTube. I watched the video and read some related accounts. To be clear, many details are still alleged. But even before blame is assigned, there are lessons here for everyone. Based on reports, the incident likely started near the garbage chute area. Some suspect a discarded lithium-ion battery. If it was

Recently, a friend messaged me about listing a pre-selling lot he bought 2 years ago. His plans changed and now he wants to sell. I told him he realistically has 3 options: 1. Continue and treat it as a long-term hold This only makes sense if he can complete the purchase and is willing to wait MANY years. 2. Try to resell now at a loss A pre-selling resale has to compete with the developer’s own inventory. For his lot to sell, it would need a clear advantage: a meaningful dis

This is not for the faint-hearted. When people talk about the Metro Manila condo oversupply, one number keeps getting repeated: “Almost 8 years’ worth of inventory.” It sounds dramatic. But what does it actually mean? The math is surprisingly simple: 79,200 unsold Metro Manila condo units divided by 10,100 units sold in 2025 = 7.84 years Rounded off, that becomes roughly 8 years. In plain English, this means that if developers stopped adding new supply today, and if buyers co

Once upon a time, a sale transaction had just closed, and the buyer’s broker was tasked to handle the title transfer. During the BIR stage, the property was classified as an ordinary asset because it was used for business, which meant the sale was subject to VAT. But that wasn’t the horror story. The buyer’s broker raised the issue with the seller’s broker. No reply. She followed up again. Still no reply. Eventually, she found out why. The seller’s broker had passed away. ...

Not too long ago, one document could quietly make a property almost impossible to sell: the previous BIR Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR). See, before June 2016, sellers were required to present the CAR from when they originally acquired the property. So if you bought a condo from a developer years earlier, you were expected to keep that CAR indefinitely. When you eventually sold the unit, the BIR will require you to present it as proof that the proper taxes had bee

Once upon a time, a broker had a client looking for a pre-selling condo unit. The broker spent weeks searching for options. He shortlisted multiple projects, coordinated showroom visits, compared layouts, discussed payment terms, analyzed locations, and patiently walked the client through the pros and cons of each property. Some projects were too expensive. Some had poor layouts. Others simply didn’t feel right for the client. After several viewings and follow-ups, the broker