LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

“Sino water provider dito?”

When I was a young real estate broker, this question caught me off guard.

A buyer would be inspecting a house—checking the layout, finishes, price—then suddenly ask:

“Sino water provider dito?”

I remember thinking it was a strange thing to worry about. Mind you, this was a village developed by one of the country’s biggest names.

This isn’t the 90s anymore, right?

No rationing. No drums of water. No midnight filling schedules.

Or so I thought.

A decade later, I finally understood why that question mattered.

In certain parts of the South, water is still a real issue—not because of drought, but because not all water providers are created equal. If your property isn’t serviced by the two giants (Maynilad or Manila Water), you’re sometimes at the mercy of smaller concessionaires with weaker infrastructure, aging pipes, or limited supply during peak months.

Just recently, news broke about a water concessionaire that ran into serious operational problems and was eventually sold to another conglomerate. Homeowners in those areas endured water issues for years. That kind of uncertainty is the worst inconvenience when it comes to basic utilities.

That’s when it hit me:

that “weird” question from years ago was actually a smart one.

Another story.

A few years back, I had a listing in a village in the East. During a viewing, a buyer asked:

“Meron na bang kuryente?”

Again, I was dumbfounded. The village had been turned over decades ago—of course there was electricity… or so I assumed.

Good thing I checked.

While the main roads had power, the inner streets didn’t. Whoever bought the lot would have to run electric lines from the main road to the property—an unexpected cost unless you knew to ask.

Takeaways:

You never stop learning in real estate. What seems trivial today might be critical tomorrow.

When buying a house, always ask about utilities—not just if they exist, but who provides them and how reliable they are.

Because a beautiful home with bad utilities

is still a daily headache waiting to happen.