Living in a condo as a family.. share your experiences

[miksha]

I never viewed condos as a home for growing families. starting families i think yes like you only have one or two small kids that can still share a room. i think condos in manila are so small and expensive but with all the traffic problems i can see how some opt to live in a condo.. but how does a growing family live in a condo? i can only see it for singles or couples... does anyone here with a growing family (kids not so small anymore) live in their own condo (take note...own condo and not renting out.. kase when renting out madali lang lumipat when you don't like the place anymore unlike if you own it and its yours... )

[khriseeee]

It depends on the size of the condo, if it's the tiny, 40 sqm for a 2 bedroom then I would agree with you.

We were lucky to find an old condo that's 160sqm, 3 br. When we were canvassing around we also saw a 4 br apartment that was 224 sqm. I think that's comfortable enough for a family.

[miksha]

kase sis when you buy bigger size condos hindi ba sobra expensive na sila since the 40-50sqm na nga today is expensive na. and how was it living in your condo?

[carlavinoya]

We live in a 2BR condo sa Acacia Estates, around 60 sqm. Apat po kame, ako, my mom, 2 more kids. Wala naman pong problema. Tahimik ang living. Maliit yung space, hindi maeexperience na magkaroon ng sariling room nung mga bata. I own one room and the other is for my mom and 2 kids. Yung isa lalaki, once nagbinata na siya, he will move out for sure. 

[snowberry]

I bought a condo unit in Makati. It is intended for my daughters who wanted to work in Makati .  Is it really safe sa condo? I know there are guards and cctv's , pero how about yung mga dwellers kaya sa neighboring units?  Share nyo mga sis kung talaga bang feeling safe kayo inside your units.

[carlavinoya]

Yes, safe naman po sis @snowberry. Yung mga neighboring units naman mostly walang pakialam. Deadma lang kapag lalabas at magkakasalubungan. Depende po siguro kung sino ang nakatira doon sa mga katabing units.

[khriseeee]

kase sis when you buy bigger size condos hindi ba sobra expensive na sila since the 40-50sqm na nga today is expensive na. and how was it living in your condo?

Actually, because it was an older condo it turned out WAY cheaper than other units that are half the size. Just to give you perspective, we were considering a condo at Cirkulo Verdo, 90 SQM, 3 bedroom selling at 9M+. The condo we ended up getting was half that and nearly twice the size. Our location is much better pa, in Greenhills and there are only 6 units per floor. Of course there are downsides - our condo doesn't have the amenities that most other condos have now - like a pool, gym, park, etc. But we can't complain for the price.

It's why I encourage my friends who are considering new condos to look into older condos - more space and about the same price rin. Also factor in add-ons. I know most condo units come bare, so you'd have to spend a lot for cabinetry and other fixtures. In our condo, everything was in place na - yes we overhauled the bathrooms as it was a personal choice. but all we really had to do we repaint the walls and put in new fixtures - lights, outlets, doorknobs, etc.

[miksha]

^kumusta po ang maintenance kapag old condos? mga old condos po kase na napuntahan ko medyo dismal tignan kase as mukha na silang old and iniipis ganoon....i don't really care much about the amenities, for me dagdag gastos lang sila sa association dues, as in gusto ko lang maayos na building, location, more space, security, ganoon ba. also condo buildings have may mga lifespan sila tama po ba? I remember the condo/residences in front of glorietta i thought it would last forever since ang ganda the location but they still demolished it and are now building a new one. So paano na po kapag old building? mas kaunti na lang years na itatagal nila?

[khriseeee]

^Can't say for other condos, but ours is ok naman. In fact they renovated the lobby and all common hallways in all floors. It's not as flashy as other new condos, but hey it's a lobby, we don't hang out there.

With regards to lifespan, I believe in our condo it's 99 years, about 20 or so years in na. So we have about 60-70 years left. We did ask those questions when we were considering the unit.

[angelpat]

6 things to consider before buying a residential condominium unit

A condominium project consists of land on which the project stands, the individual dwelling units and the common areas.

In the Philippines, a condominium building is any vertical development, ranging from, say, 5 to 50-stories tall comprising of, say, a hundred to 500 individually-owned units per building wherein the units share walls.

In the United States, condominiums also usually share walls, although, that is not always the case. There, many condominiums resemble what may appear to us here in the Philippines like townhouses, row houses or apartment complexes that may be only 1 to 2 stories tall. The similarity is in the extent of ownership.


1. Extent of ownership in a  condominium project
What makes a condominium project unique is not the number of stories they have or whether the units share walls or not. What makes it unique is that each home buyer owns his unit space but shares ownership and use of the common areas and there is no individual ownership of a plot of land. The entire land on which the condominium project stands is owned in common by all the homeowners.


2. Condominiums are set up like a corporation
Though, it’s not required by law for a condominium project to be set up as a corporation, the fact that all local condominium developers also target foreign buyers makes this necessary. Foreigners cannot own or co-own land in the Philippines; they can only buy into a corporation that owns land.

This, to me, is the most important thing to consider when buying a condominium unit. As a unit owner, you become a shareholder of the condominium corporation. One unit is equal to one share (that is proportionate to the size and price of your unit) in the corporation which is then equal to a proportionate vote.

If there are 500 individually-owned units in the condominium you are buying into, it means there are 499 other incorporators, with varying motivations and idiosyncrasies, who have more or less the same stake and voting power as you do. Everyone, through the condominium corporation, owns all the common areas in the condominium and the land on which the building stands.

Like in any corporation, certain issues and problems will arise that can only be decided through votes by the shareholders or unit owners. As such, some unit owners will lose and some will win. Later, I shall discuss the most important issue that condominium owners will inevitably decide on.


3. Condominium unit owners can only obtain a CCT and not a TCT
Ownership of a condominium unit is evidenced by a CCT or Condominium Certificate of Title. Unlike a TCT or Transfer Certificate of Title which is evidence of ownership of a traditional house and gives the homeowner absolute ownership of the “inside” and “outside” of his house up to the boundaries of his lot, a CCT only endows the condo buyer ownership of the “inside” of his unit. By the way, a townhouse owner is also issued a TCT that entitles him ownership of his unit and the land on which his unit stands.


4. Condominiums have a life span of 50 years
Although, the law does not explicitly say that condominiums have a life span of 50 years, it definitely implies so. Section 8c of The Condominium Act says:

That project has been in existence in excess of 50 years; that it is obsolete and uneconomical, and that condominium owners holding in aggregate more than 50 percent interest in the common areas are opposed to repair or restoration or remodeling or modernizing of the project…

In such case, the owners can vote to have the building demolished which presents them two options:

a) Sell the land and the scrap from the demolished building, deduct the cost of demolition and divide the net proceeds among the owners, or

b) Strike a deal with the original developer or another developer to build a new condominium on their land. But until such time that the new project is completed, the owners will have to live in a temporary home which may take 2 to 4 years.

You might be laughing at this point telling yourself: “I’ll be dead by the time my condo reaches 50 years old.”

This leads us to another point:


5. A condominium is not an ideal inheritance for your children or grandchildren
By the time you pass on your condo to your heir, it may no longer be ideal for dwelling. If you ask me, 50 years is too long given the propensity of many developers to build very tall condominiums. The taller a building is, the more prone it is to the ravages of time and harsh environmental conditions, ergo, the shorter its life span. They are also the most technologically-dependent type of housing.

Short of 10 years, 40 years from now, will future buildings be using the same electrical, water or cooling systems that buildings are employing today? Will replacing these systems, even just their cables, pipes and conduits (which are mostly embedded in the walls) in a, say, 30-story condominium, be feasible? How will you replace a totally broken down elevator in such a building? Will the elevators that we have now still be the same mode for transporting residents up and down a building?

At the very least, modern condominiums today will become eyesores 50 years from now; they will be drowned out by future architectural designs.


6. Association dues is not the only expense that you will have to pay
Payment of association dues is not unique to condominiums since owners of single-detached houses in subdivisions and owners of townhouses also pay association dues for the maintenance of common areas, solid waste management, security and more. But association dues in condominiums are highest per square meter.

The following are the other expenses that you shall pay when living in a condominium:

- Realty tax on your unit
- Share of realty tax on the land on which the condominium stands
- Share of realty tax on common areas
- If you have a car and you opt to buy a car slot in the condominium, expect to pay an extra half a million pesos or more and pay additional monthly dues for it.

Given these 6 things to consider before buying a condominium unit, does it mean you shouldn’t buy a condo?

No, it does not; it depends on the lifestyle problems you want solved.

P.S. The Condominium Act aka Republic Act No. 4726

[stormy]

^true, mahal talaga tumira sa condo maraming bayarin. Kahit akin yung unit dami pa rin mga binabayaran.

Wala naman yata (unless daming pera) perfect na lugar nasa pag aadjust na lang yan ng tao, if may mga batang anak kausapin mabuti though ang anak ko d naman need pa iorient kahit toddler lang siya nun lumipat kami sa condo. D naman kami mahilig sa karaoke/videoke party or mga salo2x na nagpapapunta ng maraming tao sa bahay. Ito nai-cite ko na example dahil isang staff ng mister ko mahilig rin magsabi na ayaw nya sa condo dahil mahilig pamilya nya sa videoke. Well kahit naman saan e ako ayaw ko ng may mga maiingay na ganyan pagtuntong ng 10pm.

Kilos condo rin naman kami sa bahay dahil ayaw ko ng magulo. Ang ayaw ko lang pag ang condo bldg maraming expats e d maiiwasan may makasabay ka na pokers sa elevator masi kahit high class pa yan e halatadong pokers pa rin.


Kapag maayos ang condo building at unit mo plus nasa maayos na location, pasado na rin kahit d h/l nakatira.

Regarding size, may h/l na ang liit ha. 30+ sqm lang ang floor area. Of course mas malaki ng kaunti ang lot area minsan 80-120sqm. So parang binili lang talaga ay lupa. Malayo yan sa Metro Manila. Kung nasa metro manila naman e malayo in terms of travel time na kasama ang traffic at syempre yun gastos sa pamasahe. If may sasakyan, gas naman ang iisipin tapos if outside of MM ay toll fee plus parking expense pa.


Depende naman sa needs ng pamilya ang pag assess kung ano ang ok at saan ok tumira.

Ang mahirap ay yun d realistic ang expectations versus sa budget.  Laging may rason para d ituloy ang pagpili at pagbili, hindi naman kasi pupwede na lahat ng gusto makuha.

Gusto malaking lugar, gusto nasa magandang lokasyon, abot kaya ang presyo, maganda materyales ang ginamit, walang baha, madali ang transpo, d problema ang tubig atbp. Ok lahat yan at sana nga ang mabili ay ganyan kaso yung reality e maswerte bordering on milagro na ang makakuha ng ganyan. Pag ganyan e kailangan talaga malaking pera ang ilabas.


At dahil wala naman ako pera na malaki kaya condo na lang pinili ko. Ang problema lang na madalas namin maencounter e yung usok galing sa mga empleyado na nagkalat sa sidewalk na mahilig manigarilyo araw man o gabi.


Btw, may h/l ako na nakatengga for 4 yrs kasi bihira kami makauwi dun kahit pa malapit lang kung tutuusin (meaning d ka matyempo sa matinding traffic). 4 years ako gumastos sa pagbabayad ng caretaker na naka-cable tv pa para d mainip. Laking pasalamat ko nun naibenta ko 3yrs ago yung bahay ( ayaw ko parentahan dahil d pa ako sure nun if ibebenta ko or hindi, sa ikatlong yr ng nakatengga dun pa lang ako nakapagdecide ibenta)

Para lang maillustrate ko na may choice ako, na choice namin tumira sa condo.

[sima]

Very informative post sis angelpat !  Thanks much!   

[Kristalle]

sis angelpat thank you sa informative post. grabe nalungkot naman ako kung 50yrs lang ang condo..

hay so need ko talagang maghanap ng house and lot. at least mapapamana pa iyon sa mga anak

merong perpetual ownership. i suggest you read the condominium act (law) para din syang H/L at merong title each. ingat na alng sa iba kasi baka binebenta nila townhouse and H/L at nahihirapan silang ibenta kaya sinisiraan ang mga condo. Title ng thread na to share experiences, pero magpopost ng ganyan, half truth lang naman.

for my experiences, okay sya but there is an on-going construction beside our condo, the condo's parking building, sobrang asar ng mga workers, ang iingay and yung ingay is not about their work, but their bantering, sigawan, etc... para akong nasa eskwater sa ingay nila. bakit ba ganito ang ugali nila karamihan! nagreklamo na ko sa security, wala namang nangyari. napagsabihan na daw pero tuloy tuloy pa din. iniisip ko na lang temporary lang to.

in terms of convenience, etc okay sya talaga. think about living in a place where you have swimming pool, gardens, lobby, a room with a view, utility workers (mag aassist sayo ang mga staff magbuhat ng mga napagrocery mo, etc.), pag may nasira sa cr, electrical, maintenance comes too, etc.), yun nga may security, ang nakakainis lang minsan are the visitors of the other units, ang iingay ng children visitors pag Sunday, they go swimming...

[angelpat]

sis angelpat thank you sa informative post. grabe nalungkot naman ako kung 50yrs lang ang condo..

hay so need ko talagang maghanap ng house and lot. at least mapapamana pa iyon sa mga anak

Very informative post sis angelpat !  Thanks much!   

@dashee & @sima
You're welcome! 

[be_Jenuine]

I bought a condo unit in Makati. It is intended for my daughters who wanted to work in Makati .  Is it really safe sa condo? I know there are guards and cctv's , pero how about yung mga dwellers kaya sa neighboring units?  Share nyo mga sis kung talaga bang feeling safe kayo inside your units.

Syempre sis pumili ka din dapat ng trusted developer hindi yung nakita mo lang na mura pero di muna alam yung reputation, nako mahirap yan

[be_Jenuine]

sis angelpat thank you sa informative post. grabe nalungkot naman ako kung 50yrs lang ang condo..

hay so need ko talagang maghanap ng house and lot. at least mapapamana pa iyon sa mga anak

Hi mga sis! Have you heard or perpetual ownership? Pag kasi perpetual ownership ibig sabihin kahit beyond 50 years sayo pa rin yung condo mo at kung may sira na ang condo pag ininspect ipapagawa yun dapat ng developer. Yung mga hanggang 50 years lang baka lease ownership lang kayo sis.

[be_Jenuine]

We live in a 2BR condo sa Acacia Estates, around 60 sqm. Apat po kame, ako, my mom, 2 more kids. Wala naman pong problema. Tahimik ang living. Maliit yung space, hindi maeexperience na magkaroon ng sariling room nung mga bata. I own one room and the other is for my mom and 2 kids. Yung isa lalaki, once nagbinata na siya, he will move out for sure.

Di ba kayo nahihirapan sis? Habang lumalaki ang mga bata di ba lalong sumisikip?

[IamNobody]

My friend got married last year. They choose to live in a condo, ngayong may baby na sila and I ask them kung hindi ba sila nahihirapan considering na maliit nga ang condo para sa pamilya but she said the they are fine with it ipon daw muna while moving in a bigger space. Plus baby pa naman daw yung baby nila kaya wala pang dapat ikabahala magiipon daw muna sila. Baka 2nd or 3rd baby na langdaw sila lumipat

[be_Jenuine]

i agree with this di naman masama tumira sa condo as a family eh, though kaya naman i accommodate yung big family talaga, kailangan nga lang bigger space. Pero kung starting pa lang okay na yung normal size for me

[IamNobody]

i agree with this di naman masama tumira sa condo as a family eh, though kaya naman i accommodate yung big family talaga, kailangan nga lang bigger space. Pero kung starting pa lang okay na yung normal size for me

Yes agree din ako jan sis plus malaki masesave mo lalo na kung starting ka pa lang di mo naman kailangan ng malaking bahay pa dahil kaunti pa lanag naman kayo