OFFICE HACK?

“Can’t you just lease a condo and use it as an office?”

People quietly do the math—especially when office rents sit at Php900–2,400/sqm, with the Php900/sqm options usually bare shells that require expensive fit-outs. Add the usual 2–3 year lock-in, and the commitment feels heavy for a small or early-stage team.

So the next question becomes: why not get a residential unit instead?

A 30-sqm studio rents for Php20k–25k/month, already usable, airconditioned, and realistically fits a 3–4 person team (officially, one tenant; the rest are “visiting guests”). You can hold client meetings at a shared office, register your business under a virtual office, and keep the condo purely as your team’s workspace. You even get reliable primary + backup internet—one of the biggest weaknesses of shared offices.

But then someone always asks:

“Why not just spend Php30k for 3 seats in a shared office?”

Having worked in three different virtual/shared offices, here’s the unfiltered reality:

Internet is inconsistent.

Even my Php1,500/month home fiber is far more reliable than what most shared offices provide.

Seats aren’t dedicated.

Those Php10k–15k seats are hot desks. On busy days, you might not get a quiet spot at all—sometimes not even a seat.

Zero storage.

You bring everything with you every day. Documents, tools, extra equipment—there’s no place to keep anything safely.

These are manageable for freelancers or solo operators… but painful for small teams who need predictability.

Meanwhile, a condo unit gives you:

dedicated space

consistent internet

privacy

storage

and flexibility with no long lock-ins

It’s not a perfect system, and it’s not for client-heavy operations. But for lean teams, startups, and budget-conscious founders, this hack is a legitimate way for the market to absorb residential supply—while giving early-stage businesses room to breathe.

Would you try this setup, or does it feel too unconventional for you?