Entering the For-Sale-By-Owner World

by Dirk Zeller

Converting FSBO listings involves a process that, in a number of ways, is similar to working with expired listings. However, there are two key differences between the two areas.

The biggest difference has to do with timing. Most expired listings are re-listed and back on the market within a matter of days, while FSBOs convert at a much slower pace. If you contact the owners of a FSBO, usually you can expect them to take at least a few additional weeks to try to sell on their own before they commit the listing to you.

The second big difference has to do with the sales approach. When working to convert an expired listing, you need to take control in order to prevail over a bunch of other unknown agents who are vying for the listing. The owners of the expired listing rarely have an agent preference at this point. Their “first-choice” agent was the one whose sign just came down; from that point, they’re pretty much up for grabs. This isn’t always the case with FSBO owners, who sometimes have an agent “in the wings” who they are considering signing with if they have no success on their own. For this reason, you need to take a lower-key approach and work to build a relationship in order to win over the FSBO listing.

When the marketplace is active and everything in sight seems to be selling, as was the case over the last few years, FSBO listings abound, and FSBO owners achieve a reasonable sales success rate even without the services of an agent. So you may be wondering why an agent would even spend time trying to convert FSBOs to agent-represented listings. Here are just a few good reasons:

• FSBOs are simply too tempting and attractive not to work with. Real estate agents market homes for sale, and FSBOs most certainly fit that category. It doesn’t make sense to ignore this great market segment, though most agents do.
• Owners of FSBOs are qualified, motivated sellers. Clearly, they want to sell, but likely, they don’t realize the long odds of the game they’re playing.
• Owners of FSBOs are viable client targets. Unlike other prospective clients, you don’t have to wonder whether they own their home, whether they’re serious about selling it, and whether or not they have the authority and ability to conduct the deal.
• Owners of FSBOs are easy to find and reach. One of the most difficult steps in the sales process, no matter what you’re selling, is locating prospects in need of your product or service. With FSBOs, like expireds, you know who your prospects are, and you know how to get in touch with them. Reaching FSBOs is easier than reaching expireds because they want to be found.
• The vast majority of FSBOs fail to sell on their own. Even in a robust market, fewer than 30% of FSBOs sell themselves. This means more than 70% of the owners, if they want to sell, will eventually enlist the services of a real estate agent.
• FSBO sellers often net lower prices than those achieved by agent-represented sellers. Among the 30% of FSBO homes that result in a sale, most are priced right at or below fair market value. In fact, to FSBO sellers, price is the primary marketing ammunition. There is no reason for a buyer to take the additional risk of working with a FSBO except that they are trying to acquire a home for less money than they’d spend on a traditional transaction. The problem is that low price is exactly the opposite of what the homeowner is trying to achieve.

More than nine out of ten serious FSBOs end up as agent listings within a reasonable period of time – usually four to five weeks. Originally, owners set out to sell their own homes for one reason: They want to “save” the agent commission. They view the $10,000 or $15,000 that an agent will earn as too much pay for such an easy job and as money that they could put toward an additional down payment or a get-out-of-debt plan. They ask themselves, “How hard can it be?” as they pound the FSBO sign into their front yard. In the back of their minds many think, “Let’s give it a go. We’ll probably meet a few agents along the way, so we can always change our minds.” And most do.

After a month of the hassle, time, energy, emotion, and stress of trying to sell their own home – after running ads, fielding phone calls, holding open houses, and showing parades of people through their home ­­ 90% of homeowners rethink their answer. Fortunately for agents, selling a home isn’t all that easy.

Before you pursue FSBO listings, it’s worth it to know the situation you’re entering.

When a FSBO goes on the market, most often only one of the owners is leading the charge. One half of the couple is fixated on saving the commission and the other relents for a specific period of time. As part of their compromise, they agree to give the FSBO approach a try for 30 to 45 days, after which time they agree to list it with an agent.

More often than not, the consenting partner gets frustrated with the whole process long before the FSBO test period elapses ­– tired of all the calls from agents and of the buyers who make appointments that end up as no-shows. If they do secure an offer, the owners grow weary when the buyer can’t secure financing. They get tired of people who need “help” to buy a home and who ask the seller to take less, carry a second mortgage, engage in creative financing, or even entertain some form of fraud. And then there are the jokers fresh out of some “no money down” seminar…

This is the life of a FSBO, and it’s why the odds of FSBO-conversions are heavily in your favor. Over 80% will end up as agent listings if they are serious about selling.

Published: June 26, 2009

resource:http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090626_forsale.htm

Mortgage Rates Mostly Flat Amid Mixed Economic News

McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.42 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 25, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 5.38 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.45 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.87 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.89 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.04 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.99 percent this week, with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.97 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.99 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.93 percent this week with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.95 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.27 percent.

"Mixed economic reports on the state of the housing market helped hold mortgage rates fairly flat this week," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Existing home sales rose for the second consecutive month in May by 2.4 percent, slightly less than the market consensus forecast; however the median sales price was 16.8 percent below that of the same time last year, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In contrast, new home sales fell 0.6 percent and the median sales price was only 3.4 percent lower than May 2008.

On a more positive note, the inventory of unsold homes has lessened from a year ago, which may help cushion further house price declines. The number of existing homes for sale was 15.3 percent below that of May 2008, and new homes for sale fell by 35.9 percent. In addition, distressed properties accounted for only about one-third of existing home sales in May, down from over a half in March, according to the NAR."

Published: June 26, 2009

resource:http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090626_rates.htm

Washington Report: Home Valuation Code of Conduct

by Kenneth R. Harney

Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's controversial new appraisal rules are now coming direct attack by the biggest lobby on Capitol Hill - the National Association of Realtors.

Though the association is saying nothing publicly, officials have confirmed to Realty Times that they are gearing up for a fight in Congress and elsewhere to derail the “Home Valuation Code of Conduct” (or HVCC) for 18 months.

The code, which took effect May 1, has been widely criticized for raising appraisal costs to consumers, encouraging the use of inexperienced appraisers willing to work for rock-bottom fees, and for giving too much control to unregulated “appraisal management companies,” some of them owned by major mortgage lenders.

The Realtors campaign is targeted initially at Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's chief regulator - James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency - and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo's office drafted the HVCC last year as part of a settlement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Cuomo threatened to subpoena Fannie and Freddie executives as part of an investigation of the companies' appraisal practices. No evidence that an investigation actually took place or turned up problems has ever been made public.

In a call to action memorandum to state Realtor association leaders last week, NAR laid out a strategy of fly-ins to lobby Congressional representatives, and said the association would pursue a legislative fix on the HVCC issue if Lockhart and Cuomo declined to go along with the idea of an 18 month moratorium.

The legislation could take the form of either a stand-alone bill or an amendment that could be attached to an appropriations bill already moving through Congress with a high likelihood of passage.

In identical letters to Lockhart and Cuomo, Charles McMillan, president of the National Association of Realtors, complained that the HVCC is causing significant problems for home sellers and agents - “delays in closings and cancelled sales, which result in artificially low existing home sales.”

In an unusual move June 23, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the association, attributed a lower than expected increase in existing home resales in May to appraisal problems caused by the new code.

“Lenders are using appraisers who may not be familiar with a neighborhood, or who compare traditional houses with distressed and discounted sales,” said Yun.

In his letter to Lockhart and Cuomo, McMillan said the heavy involvement of lender-owned appraisal management companies leads to conflicts of interest. The association wants regulators - or Congress - to prohibit lenders from using any appraisal report from an appraisal management company where the lender, or the lender's affiliate, has an ownership stake in the management firm.

Published: June 26, 2009

resource: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090626_washingtonreport.htm

Buyers: Know What You Need to Know in Making a Contract offer

by David Fialk

Be it the real estate market in 2009 or any other real estate market for that matter, the structure of a real estate purchase contract offer can be the difference in it being accepted or rejected.

No, the offering price is not the only factor in negotiating a contract to purchase a home.

Regardless of the number of pages in the sales contract, a contract offer can be broken down into 3 separate parts which can be important to the seller: Price, Terms and Conditions.

Each has to be satisfactory in order to obtain seller acceptance. In some situations, full price offers are not acceptable due to the buyer's terms and conditions in the contract offer. In other instances, contracts get accepted and signed even though the offer was much lower in price than other competing offers, but was more favorable for the seller in terms and conditions.

What then is the secret in preparing and submitting a contract offer to buy real estate? This is where the value of an experienced REALTOR and Buyer's Agent is with providing assistance in preparing and structuring the contract offer in a manner that does not create questions or concerns for the seller and their listing agent when it is presented to them.

There is more to purchasing a home than just looking at houses, whether the home is in Iselin or Colonia, New Jersey, in Middlesex County or any other state for that matter.

The first step toward purchasing a home is obtaining Mortgage Pre-Approval from a reputable Mortgage Lender (Mortgage Pre-Approval Versus Mortgage Pre-Qualification), and be sure a copy is included with the contract offer. Why? The first question to be asked by the seller and listing agent at a contract presentation will be "Does the buyer have Mortgage Pre-Approval? And this is where the benefit of a Mortgage Pre-Approval letter provides advantages over a standard Pre-Qualification letter.

Secondly, there is no cardinal rule that there must be some fixed amount that a seller will negotiate from their asking price. Home buyers need to obtain factual sales information about the market area, and section of Town, they are considering buying in before submitting an offer. While it is very likely that sale prices have declined in the past few years, they have not dropped equally in all Towns and in all neighborhood locations.

Remember Economics 101 from Grammar School: "What's true of the whole may not be true of the parts." That is what I am referring to here. Real estate values are local, and various factors influence market value such as buyer demand, amount of homes for sale, mortgage rates, local economic conditions and so on and so on. As important, similar design and size homes may differ in value due to condition and improvements.

In preparing a contract offer, it is important that a buyer obtain a Market Analysis for the property being considered. A report like this can be prepared by the buyer's agent and it should contain information comparing similar properties which are active on the market for sale, homes which expired and did not sell in the past six months, under contract sales and closed sales in the past six months. This information should also provide the asking price history and days on market before sold. With a report like this, a buyer can then have a better understanding of the real estate market and be better prepared when submitting a contract offer.

It is highly recommended that buyers obtain a blank contract of sale and addendums early in the home searching process. Contracts can be intimidating to many buyers. It would be much better to review the contract documents in advance of making a contract offer. Making a contract offer is an important decision. Being properly prepared is an important aspect of making a successful contract offer.

Thirdly, buyers should be completely aware of their personal finances and the total costs of purchasing a home. Buying a home involves down payment, expenses occurred during the purchase, such as mortgage application fee, inspection fees, and closing costs. It is important for buyers to obtain the estimates related to transaction expenses and closings costs. When a buyer is not properly prepared for expenses like these, they could have an affect on exactly how much a buyer has for the down payment which then could affect how much is needed in a mortgage to complete the purchase.

Buyers should be educated and informed when making an offer to buy a home.

Surprises are for birthdays, not buying a home!

Published: June 29, 2009

resource: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090629_buyers.htm

Condo Trends: From Luxury Condo to Homeless Shelter

by M. Anthony Carr

In a move to ward off foreclosure, a luxury condo developer has turned the units intended to sell for more than a quarter million dollars into a homeless shelter with the help of a New York-based nonprofit.

The Brooklyn units come complete with granite counter, terraces, marble bathrooms and walk-in closets, according to the New York Daily News, and the city is paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars per month ($90 per unit per night) to house homeless families in the city.

"City officials said the condos - which couldn't attract buyers in the fizzled housing market - are part of an effort to help an "unprecedented" number of homeless families who have ended up on the street because of the tough economy," according to the report.

It's the first time luxury condo has gone homeless shelter, according to Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. Avi Shriki, the developer of the project, says leasing the building for the next 10 years to the Bushwick Economic Development Group, a non-profit homeless shelter group, was the best Plan B he could find.

He can pay the mortgage with the deal and still keep the building, instead of going into foreclosure.

Published: June 29, 2009

resource:http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090629_condotrends.htm

Investor Report: Condo Loan Rules

by Kenneth R. Harney

FHA has come out with its long-awaited rules on condominium loans, and they're a mixed bag for investors, second home and other buyers and sellers.

On the one hand, the rules allow lenders a lot of more flexibility in reviewing condo project eligibility and documentation. That's good -- it should allow more lenders to increase their condo activity in the red-hot FHA segment of the market.

On the other hand, the agency is imposing a number of important restrictions. Here's a quick overview of the rules:

Units in condo hotels are prohibited. Ditto for units in time share or "segmented ownership" projects, houseboat condo developments, and projects where there are multiple dwellings inside single condominium units.

FHA said it won't insure units in condominiums where more than 25 percent of the total space is allotted to commercial uses, such as retail stores or offices. In fact, the agency made a point of emphasizing that it will reject loan applications from any property that it deems not "to be primarily residential" in character.

FHA also won't insure condo loans if more than 10 percent of the units are owned by investors. That's a much stricter standard than Fannie Mae's, which permits up to 49 percent of units to be investor owned. The 10 percent rule applies as well to situations where a builder or developer is left with unsold units and rents them out.

The agency won't endorse loans from projects where less than 50 percent of the total units already have been sold, or where less than 50 percent of the units are owner-occupied or sold to buyers "who intend to occupy them."

FHA doesn't even want to insure loans on units located in buildings with heavy concentrations of units that are FHA-financed. If more than 30 percent of the unit owners in a project took out FHA-backed loans, the agency doesn't want to do any more business in that condominium.

In a concession to rental apartment project investors who convert their buildings to condo, FHA is abandoning its current one-year mandatory waiting period before considering loan applications on condo units.

Finally, FHA said it doesn't want to have anything to do with condo projects that might be affected by negative environmental factors. For example, it won't insure units in buildings located within a thousand feet of a major highway - it wants to avoid adverse noise pollution impacts on property values - or within three thousand feet of a dump, landfill or EPA Superfund site.

Published: June 29, 2009

resource:http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090629_investorreport.htm

Market Conditions

by Realty Times Staff

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that improving the energy efficiency of the nation’s homes and buildings can be best accomplished with incentives and education.

“Realtors build communities, and environmental issues related to housing and development affect our global community,” said Realtor® David Wluka, a member of NAR’s Global Climate Change Presidential Advisory Group who spoke on behalf of the association. “NAR is committed to efforts that advance consumer understanding of the need for energy efficiency and to reduce energy use. Toward that end, we support the proposed GREEN Act’s goals of encouraging energy efficiency and conservation in our nation’s housing stock.”

H.R. 2336 would establish incentives to encourage energy efficient building, rehabilitation and upgrades. In addition, the bill provides a loan fund for states to implement renewable energy projects and would encourage a number of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development demonstration and pilot programs that would provide best practices and great experiences for promoting energy efficiency in housing.

Published: June 23, 2009

resource: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20090623_mrktconditions.htm

What are the Steps to Gain Dual Citizenship? for buying a property in the Philippines

If you are in the Philippines, file a "Petition for Dual Citizenship and Issuance of Identification Certificate (IC) pursuant to RA 9225” at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and for the cancellation of your alien certificate of registration.

• Those who are not BI registered and overseas should file the petition at the nearest embassy or consulate.

Requirements:

• Birth certificate authenticated by the National Statistics Office (birth certificate from the NSO can be requested online and mailed to you)

• Accomplish and submit a “Petition for Citizenship and Issuance of Identification Certificate (IC) pursuant to RA 9225” to a Philippine embassy, consulate or the Bureau of Immigration.

• Pay a $50.00 processing fee, schedule and take an "Oath of Allegiance" before a consular officer.

• The Bureau of Immigration in Manila receives the petition from the embassy or consular office. The BI issues and sends an Identification Certificate of citizenship to the embassy or consular office.

If a former Filipino who is now a naturalized citizen of a foreign country does not want to avail of the Dual Citizen Law, he or she can still acquire land based on BP (Batas Pambansa) 185 & RA (Republic Act) 8179 but limited to the following:

For Residential Use (BP 185 - enacted in March 1982):

• Up to 1,000 square meters of residential land.

• Up to one (1) hectare of agricultural of farm land.

For Business / Commercial Use (RA 8179 - amended the Foreign Investment act of 1991):

• Up to 5,000 square meters of urban land.

• Up to three (3) hectares of rural land.

read more

Home Buying Guide for Balikbayans

Former natural-born Filipinos who are now naturalized citizens of another country can buy and register, under their own name, land in the Philippines but limited in land area (see below). However, those who avail of the Dual Citizenship Law can buy as much land as any other Filipino citizen.

Under Republic Act 9225 (Dual Citizenship Law of 2003), former Filipinos who became naturalized citizens of foreign countries are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship, thus enabling them to enjoy all the rights and privileges of a Filipino.

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What is National Housing Authority?

Presidential Decree No. 957, which regulates the sale of subdivision and condominium developments, and providing penalties for violations thereof. The National Housing Authority has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate real estate trade and business, a function, which is presently exercised by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). Certain conditions are required before a license to sell condominium development units and or subdivision development lots and homes is issued to a Filipino or Foreign owned individual or corporation. The requirements include a certificate of registration, a performance bond, and an approval of the building plans and specifications. Violation of these rules could mean fines, cancellation of license and or imprisonment.

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What is The Steward Concept of property ownership?

The Steward Concept is a legal doctrine which holds that property ownership presupposes concomitant obligations to the state and the community and that property is supposed to be held by the individual only as trustee for people in general; and that as mere steward, the property owner must exercise his rights to the property not just for his own exclusive and selfish benefit or interest but for the good and general welfare of the nation as a whole.

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What is The Regalian Doctrine of property ownership?

A principle in law which means that all natural wealth - agricultural, forest or timber, and mineral lands of the public domain and all other natural resources belong to the state. Thus, even if the private person owns the property where minerals are discovered, his ownership for such does not give him the right to extract or utilize said minerals without permission from the state to which such minerals belong.

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What are the Limitations on Right of Property Ownership?

• CONSTITUTIONAL - such as police power, eminent domain or expropriation of private property for public use, taxation and es-cheat when revision of private property to state ownership in case of death of property owner without an heir;
• LEGAL - zoning ordinances, regulations on subdivision projects, building code, and other special laws and regulations; and
• CONSENSUAL/VOLUNTARY - easements and servitudes, usufructs, lease agreements, restrictions in subdivision and condominium deeds or restriction.

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What is Bundle of Rights Theory?

The bundle of rights theory inherent to property ownership are the right to use (Jus-Utendi), the right to enjoy the fruits of (Jus-Fruendi), the right to dispose (Jus-Disponendi), the right to abuse (Jus-Abutendi), the right to recover (Jus-Vindicandi), and the right to possess (Jus-Possidendi). The rights incident to ownership are, the right:

• to enjoy and dispose of a property without other limitations than those established by law;
• to file action against third parties to recover ownership;
• to use force as may be reasonably necessary to repeal or prevent an actual or threatened unlawful invasion or usurpation of his property (Art. 429, NCC, relate to Art. 312, RPC);
• the right to enclose or fence property - walls ditches, live or dead hedges - or by any other means without detriment of servitudes constituted thereon;
• to demand indemnity for damages caused to property;
• the right to compensation in the event of expropriation;
• the right to be restored to possession in case of unlawful dispossession;
• the right to the surface and subsurface of the land, right to construct thereon any works, plantation and excavation without detriment to servitude and subject to special laws and without right to complain of the reasonable requirements of aerial navigation;
• the right to hidden treasure;
• the right to accession and fruits of the property;
• the right to "quiet title" to real property or any interest therein.

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What is Acquisition or Real Estate Property?

Acquisition is the act of procuring or getting a hold of real estate property. Disposition is the manner of alienation, transfer of possession and ownership thereof as prescribed by the Philippine law. The acquisition and disposition of real estate is embodied in written agreements or contracts voluntarily entered into and subscribed by the selling and buying parties thereof, before a public officer designated as the Notary Public of the City or Province where the subject property is located. Thereafter, the instrument embodying the particular real estate transaction is required by law to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds in the City or Province where the real estate property is involved and located. The Philippines uses the "Torrens" system of real estate ownership.

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What are the Modes in Acquiring Land for Foreigners in the Philippines

Modes of Acquiring Land:

• Private Grant - voluntary transfer or conveyance of private property by a private owner, such as sale or donation.
• Public Grant – acquisition of alienable lands of the public domain by homestead patent, free patent, sales patent, or other government awards.
• Involuntary Grant – acquisition of private party against the consent of the former owner, such as foreclosure sale, execution sale, or tax sale.
• Inheritance – acquisition of private property through hereditary succession.
• Reclamation – filling of submerged land, subject to existing laws and government regulations.
• Accretion – acquisition of more lands adjoining the banks of rivers due to the gradual deposit of soil as a result of the river current.
• Prescription – acquisition of title by actual, open, continuous, and uninterrupted possession in the concept of owner for the period required by law.

A foreign national and or corporation may enter into a lease agreement with Filipino landowners for an initial period of up to 50 years, and renewable for another 25 years. Or lease the property in your Philippine Corporation name for an unlimited period of time.

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How Can Foriegners Buy A House in the Philippines

As a rule, only Filipino citizens and corporations or partnerships with least 60% of the shares are owned by Filipinos are entitled to acquire land in the Philippines.

Aliens can acquire land in the Philippines only on a few exceptions:
1) Acquisition before the 1935 constitution.
2) Acquisition thru hereditary succession -if the foreigner is a legal heir.
3) Purchase of not more than 40% interest as a whole in a condominium project.
4) Purchase by a former natural born Filipino citizen who acquired foreign citizenship & has not applied and granted dual citizenship can purchase up to 1,000 square meters of residential land and 1 hectare of agricultural or farm land.foreigner

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OFW remittances fueling growth in real estate Boom seen lasting five years

By Daxim Lucas
Inquirer
First Posted 17:25:00 05/20/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- UP TO A third of the record-high foreign remittances sent home by expatriate Filipino workers is spent on real estate, making the current property market boom more durable than previous episodes, according to industry players and market watchers.

In an interview, Century Properties managing director John Victor Antonio said his firm noticed this trend as early as two years ago when dollar remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) started to pick up.

"Our rule of thumb is that 30 percent of all remittances end up in spending for the real estate sector, whether it is used to buy or property or spent on housing improvement," he said.

More importantly, the trend marks a significant departure from the pattern established in previous decades where the bulk of OFW remittances was spent on consumer goods, with little left for savings and investments.

In 2006, OFWs sent back to their local beneficiaries $12.6 billion through the banking system alone. The central bank estimates that this amount is even understated by an average of 30 percent because of funds sent home through informal channels.

At the low end, this means that as much as $4.2 billion in OFW funds were spent on the real estate sector last year--a figure that will rise further, given the central bank's expectations of as much as $14 billion in remittances for 2007.

"OFWs are really the main factor driving up this market," said Antonio, whose firm has launched several projects aimed at this cash-rich sector. "In our case, at least 50 percent of our sales come from OFW [buyers]."

For other firms, this level could go to as high as 60 percent of all sales, he said.

The trend has not gone unnoticed.

Large and small real estate developers are now investing heavily in wooing expatriate Filipino buyers. These include property blue-chip Ayala Land Inc., Megaworld Corp. and Robinsons Land Corp.

These firms embark on periodic sales tours in Europe and the US aimed at attracting Filipino buyers, some even setting up permanent sales offices in areas with high concentration of potential clients.

Indeed, the latest data from the National Statistical Coordination Board revealed that the property sector had recorded the fastest growth rate among various monitored industries in recent months.

In the fourth quarter of 2006, for example, gross revenues of the real estate sector grew by 40 percent compared the same period in the previous year.

This marks the 15th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for the sector since 2003

In contrast, the financial sector grew by only 17.3 percent, the trade sector by 12.3 percent and private services by 10.6 percent.

The manufacturing and the transportation and communication sector--the previous darling of the economy--grew by 8.5 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.

According to Unicapital Securities analyst Ron Rodrigo, all these indicators point to a real estate boom that will last longer than the one experienced in the mid-1990s.

"This will last for some time," he said in an interview. "This could go [on] for another five to seven years."

He stressed, however, that the boom will be skewed in favor of firms which cater to the lower end of the property sector, in particular, those which invest heavily in affordable or mid-market developments.

"These are the properties that go from P500,000 to P1.5 million and from P1.5 million to P2.5 million or P3 million per unit," he said.

Rodrigo is confident that the present boom would sidestep the pitfalls of its 1990s version, mainly because present-day buyers acquire property for their actual use.

This contrasts with the white-hot speculation that contributed to the 1997 East Asian financial crisis, where buyers would acquire two or three units at a time as "investments" meant to be sold off at a better price.

Rodrigo said that strong market conditions are also supported by the profile of workers going abroad, many of whom are now highly paid professionals, compared to laborers and domestic helpers that were prevalent up to the late 1990s.

"Nowadays, you have high-earning professionals like nurses and information technology people who are highly valued by their employers abroad," he said. "As long as deployment numbers keep rising, this market will stay strong."

It is a fact that Century Properties' Antonio is counting on.

The firm will embark on an international roadshow in the next months for showcase its high-rise and subdivision projects to Filipinos abroad in the hopes of capturing a bigger slice of the pie.

"Up to 70 percent of all our online inquiries come from abroad," he said. "There are from overseas Filipinos with large investing capacities. They want to stretch the value of their dollar, so they buy properties here."

Despite the bullishness, Antonio keeps a close eye on indicators that may point to a repeat of the previous decade's property market crash.

"What we have now is different from 1997," he said, echoing Rodrigo's confidence.

Around the world, OFWs eager to buy homes are hoping they are right.

Resource:

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20070520-67002/OFW_remittances_fueling_growth_in_real_estateTechnorati Profile

Designing homes for health, harmony and wealth

By Tony Maghirang
Inquirer
First Posted 02:53:00 05/20/2007

MANILA, Philippines - Sherbie Co is an interior designer who began dabbling in feng shui because her clients demanded advice on this before implementing her suggested renovations, moving into a new house or investing in a proposed condominium project. It didn't hurt that Co has been into New Age since college and that her questioning mind kept looking for a reason behind things she couldn't explain right away. Her approach is to find harmony between New Age practices and feng shui that would help improve her designing abilities.

She says, "When I was starting out, a few of my Chinese clients were feng shui fanatics. They would not make a move, start construction or occupy a new house, unless they had consulted their feng shui master. And I'm talking here of big-time industrialists, second in prominence to the likes of John Gokongwei, Lucio Tan or Henry Sy, I thought there had to be something about feng shui that attracted these very powerful people."

Then there were personal experiences that reinforced her belief that feng shui can help improve people's lives, or at least make them more interesting. She recounts: "There was this couple who moved into a feng shui'd condo, and a few months later, the apparently barren wife got pregnant. My finances aren't doing well and I rearrange my home furniture according to the lucky direction of my feng shui, and, surprise! my financial health improves."

Central to feng shui is the ch'i, also called energy or life force, which is believed to bring forth health, prosperity, honor and harmony. "To derive the greatest benefit from it, ch'i should be accumulated gently, and not trapped so as to render its potential useless," says Co.

To manipulate ch'i in a house, the occupant should understand the effects of the five elements, namely, earth, fire, water, wood and metal. The conceptual relations of these elements constitute a cycle: metal to carry water, water to let wood grow, wood to feed the fire, wood when it becomes ashes is earth, which is the center of life (in pre-industrial times).

Feng shui derives from a cycle and astute observations of natural occurrences in ancient China, adds Co. She notes though that feng shui has to be retro-fitted to adapt to the limitations of urban space in the 21st century. The bottomline is to bring back order and harmony with nature, even in the confines of a congested metropolis.

For example, in Co's renovated unit at the top floor of a three-story house, the faucet is placed about two feet away from the gas stove. That's water a spit away from fire, which violates a cardinal rule in the relationship of the five elements, she cites. Co compensates by placing a potted plant and a small metal sheet divider between these two opposing elements.

As a respected interior designer, Co can rattle off the essentials of good design: good layout, proper lighting, smooth traffic flow, good air circulation and aesthetic visuals or taste. Simple but well-planned designs make her day.

This designer admits, however, that attracting clients to invest in feng shui'd projects can be tricky. Most people, especially native Pinoys, regard it as a crazy quilt of pop psychology, astronomy, superstition and mysticism. She thinks, however, that feng shui follows the higher law on the natural order of things and it wouldn't hurt to use it as a guide to better living.

Some of her common sense advice include:

Use the birth date to determine the best location for the entrance of the house and rooms for the family.

The main door facing East does not necessarily bring good luck. Again, it depends on the birth date of the main occupant.

Use good sense and aesthetics. If you're building a mansion, provide enough doors and windows to allow good air circulation and ventilation. A small door for a big house constricts the flow of money. Money should circulate freely in order to grow.

Bad feng shui means poor management of surroundings. There may be too much clutter to impede the movement of people or increase the possibility of accidents.

A house located directly on the path of a road pushes the ch'i to move fast rather than to be gathered gently. The same goes for the flow of vehicular traffic; one wrong turn (or lost brake) and a wayward vehicle could come crashing into you.

Co says the country's Chinese business leaders may be building up business interests in each of the five feng shui elements to complete the cycle and drive their conglomerates to even bigger success. There's a 2,000-year-old civilization behind feng shui and it would be too churlish to disown wisdom gathered through the ages, she cautions.

Resource:

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20070520-66940/Designing_homes_for_health%2C_harmony_and_wealth

Home Insurance 101

By Gina Abuyuan
Inquirer
First Posted 02:48:00 05/20/2007

MANILA, Philippines - It's got a white picket fence, a manicured lawn, those slate shingles you've always wanted, and a gazebo, all in 500 square meters of prime land. Finally, your dream home!

Next to relationships and business, it's in our home that we invest so much time, attention and money. Whatever the size or style, our home is an extension of ourselves, and shelters everything that we hold dear. Which also means we'd go the whole nine yards to protect it. Now that's reason enough to buy some home insurance.

Actually, there's only one kind of home insurance, explains Allan V. Tamayo, branch manager of Generali Pilipinas Insurance Co. This home insurance, he adds, "covers basic perils, specifically fire and lightning." The homeowner, however, can specify add-ons to the package to broaden the protection offered to cover "earthquakes, floods, typhoons, riots, strikes, malicious damage, burglary and finally, public liability."

But whatever policy you choose, says Tamayo, it's important to understand how home insurance works to avoid "potential financial misfortune."

Security tops the list of reasons that prompt homeowners to buy home insurance. "Having one gives you peace of mind," explains Tamayo. Whatever damage unforeseen circumstances may wreak on your home, at least you know that the insurance will take care of it, he adds.

It's particularly important to have home insurance in this country, Tamayo underscores, because "we're prone to such perils as earthquakes, typhoons and floods." The tropical climate also increases the risk of home damage. "The intense heat adds to the risk of fire. In fact, the government has declared March, the start of summer, as fire prevention month."

Buying home insurance isn't so simple, however. On top of the premiums one has to pay, a lot of other factors have to be considered. First, the type of policy you need, based on an assessment of the level of protection you're after. Do you want special provisions for your valuables like jewelry, antiques, books, musical instruments, camera equipment, and expensive home appliances?

"First, know the estimated worth of your house and its contents," advises Tamayo. "This gives you an idea of the total amount of protection you may get."

Consider your surroundings as well, especially if you live in a flood-prone area and risk water damage to your possessions.

Prepare to give a good deal of information once you apply for home insurance, including your employment history and previous addresses. As in other insurance policies, you may have to undergo a background check to see if you are a "good risk."

Other details pertaining to the house itself should also be provided. "Exact location of risk, complete name of owner, complete address, how much protection is needed, boundaries of the house, classification of the house (whether it's class A, B or C in terms of structure), type of house (bungalow, two or three storeys),and its make - is it concrete or wood?"

A lot of factors go into determining the premium you have to pay. How old is the house? Where is it located? How big is it? How many rooms? Does it have central air-conditioning?

Before signing on the dotted line, cautions Tamayo, "make sure you understand everything that's stipulated in the contract." Don't be afraid to ask questions. A good insurance agent welcomes questions and should be able to explain the insurance's provisions clearly.

Go over the policy again. "Confirm the amount of coverage you have indicated, and make sure that all details pertaining to your house are accurate. Moreover, if you requested for some perils to be included in the coverage, these should be among the provisions stated in the policy," says Tamayo.

Keep an original copy of the policy and ask for one if it isn't supplied to you. "Go over the rates stipulated to make sure everything is right. Should you have other concerns, do not hesitate to ask your agent so there won't be any uncertainties."

Before you settle on buying a particular home insurance, remember to do extensive research on different policies. More than just material possessions, your home and everything in it are part of your life and shape your family's memories. It deserves a little more time for you to go shopping around to find the best and most comprehensive coverage and protection.

Top Three Questions to Ask Your Agent Before Taking the Plunge

1. How fast will I be able process a claim?

2. Will I be able to get the full amount of the insurance?

3. What documents do I need to prepare when making a claim?

Resource:

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20070520-66935/Home_insurance_101

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