Hi all, I am new on this website, I have just moved back to the UK. I am half Filipino and half British, I have just started working here in the UK and in Manila. I am interested in making friends and networking. I also want to highlight many benefits of investing in the Philippines at the moment. And hopefully help find opportunities for people to invest in the Philipinnes
Hello Januarius, I wanted to see if people would be interested. The company that I work for is a small family run business based in Manila, mostly focusing on property but we also have experience in finance. We currently sell apartments on and off plan mostly in Makati and Fort Bonafacio. If you are interested in learning more please visit our website or feel free to ask me any questions http://www.starwealthconsultancy.com/
Chris, there isn't an SEO school really, or even a good book on internet marketing that has it right so far. If you want to take people's money, you've come to the wrong place. We're a skeptical bunch which is why the only reply you had so far was "What are you selling". Januarius isn't actually interested in what you offer, he already lives and has invested his time and money in the Philippines. Not with other companies or with scams, but with his own business. And given that "Star Wealth Consultancy" hasn't got a proper web designer to sort out the alignment issues, my opinion of this company is not too great. Chris. People don't search forums for and fall for obvious "we can make you money" schemes, and if I see a bunch of sign ups suddenly declaring Star Wealth Consultancy as the financial messiah, then I will know it as a scam (and promptly delete the lot). However, I suspect you are legit but are one of their sales people and you think a good way to get some clients is to go fishing on forums. Bad move bub! PS. I've left the link because there is a no follow rule to this forum so Google won't count that link and I doubt many people will sign up - but who knows.
Hi Kuya, I understand why your sceptical. Again as I said we are a small and new company that is run by my dad and I from my living room here in the UK and my cousins' living room in Manilla, thank you for bringing to light some issues that we have with our website. I appreciate the brutal honesty as well! . first priority is getting that text lined up! As i mentioned initially in the thread i am new to the UK being half British I have lived very internationally, I have been looking for ways to access the Filipino community. I thought I could get a bit of a feel by starting some sort of discussion on your forum. We are not trying to scam people we are just trying to bring more exposure to Filipino's for investing into the Philippines. We are trying to provide a service where we contact developers in Manila to sell new property and then manage it in terms of rentals after (if need be) If people are interested in the UK I would speak with them by phone or if possible meet with them in person. Again Kuya, I understand a internet forum is not the place to do this but it is very difficult to access the Filipino community other than through word of mouth, so I thought id try just get the word out Thank you, Chris
Hey Chris.. Thanks for your reply.. As Kuya mentioned, I am already up to my financial neck in property and modestly scaled projects here and not really interested in buying property in Manila from middle men etc.. When we occasionally visit Manila,to such places like the Mall of Asia (for example) my pockets and wife`s hand bag end up full with advertising literature from agents plying their middle man Condo trade throughout the mall..(and beyond!!) I take the leaflets and information from them as its something for me to read whilst drinking very cold SMB on the veranda whilst the wife does the shopping... You get me? It also gives me an idea of where the new "condo" projects are and a very rough idea of latest costs etc.. The market that you have chosen to compete with is incredibly competitive IMO.. That said.. A good honest property broker with a good reputation is hard to come by in the R.P.. If you can become one and I would imagine that would take 5 years minimum to achieve..Who knows,you may have a nice little business on your hands one day. I wish you luck.
Thank you Januarius, Hopefully we will get there. It is extremely competitive in Manilla. I have had the same experience in Mall of Asia (not my favourite place). We are hoping to appeal to Filipino's who are living abroad and it is difficult for them to have access to investing in property in the Philippines. Anyway... Thanks for the feedback
Just to second what Januarius has said, Kay and I were looking at property in the Subic Bay area a few days ago; the agents we spoke to were either useless or not people we felt inclined to trust - a fellow member of this forum gave us the number of a reliable agent whom we will be using when we do move, but we didn't want to waste her time with our "tyre kicking exercise" whilst we sorted out where we might want to live. The trouble does not end when you find somewhere and buy/lease/rent it. You have no control over who your neighbours may be. An old friend lived in Urdaneta Village, which really is a pretty nice part of Makati, but his life was made miserable because he had three very pretty daughters and a the son of a very very prominent politician, a man with a really dreadful reputation, moved in a couple of doors away . Another friend lives in a wonderful house in a completely secure, beautifully maintained, Ayala development - and every few weekends a bunch of rich brats descend on the house next door and party, very very loudly, until five in the morning - the security staff are terrified of them. Evidently the Ayalas don't have as much control over whom they sell to as they would like.
I would pound the beat of various barrio Fiestas......... Place your little Gazebo near the big boys, talk straight, no bs, no legalese.. A language people can understand without having to ask what something means, and they will listen.. Honesty, if present, will shine through...........
Nice to see you guys giving Chris some help and advice. The other lot resorted to a diet of humiliation.
Hi Methersgate, I guess this is an issue. We are mostly focusing on new developments, that are off plan for investment purposes. Although we do also have on plan. So far our clientèle have been expats, that we have received through referrals. But I guess that is a danger sometimes whenever you buy property, this is something that I will take into account next time I speak with developers
Hi Chris, I'm just thinking of ways in which you can offer a better service than others. It seems to me that the profession of real estate broker / estate agent is not well regulated in the Philippines, and the result is that there are rather a lot of people trying to make money at it by cutting corners. The upshot is that in almost all cases, as it seems to me, the serious buyers will select an estate agent on the basis of a personal referral. Something else that you might think about is qualifying as an estate agent in the UK; that would lead British expatriates to have confidence in you. I think the idea of attending the barrio fiestas is a good one.
There is a British style Estate Agency in Cebu - and it's probably the only one of its type in the country - the pictures and property description sheets are very similar to those you'd find in any high street Estate Agency in the UK, right down to its shop front. That agency both sells property and acts as rental agents for existing ones - and has its own lease contract that's far fairer to both parties than most. Google "Cebu Properties" and you'll find its website. I would never advise anyone - Filipino or foreigner - to invest in "off plan" properties and certainly not condominiums, not in a country that lacks effective building controls and one so prone to earthquakes. There's a prestigious condominium complex in the hills above Cebu City whose original two towers - there are now four - built only eight years ago are showing signs of "concrete cancer" and the newer two towers are infested with termites. For a country where the ambient temperature rarely drops below 26 degrees (at sea level) and where electricity prices are amongst the highest in Asia, building single 4" walled homes using steel and concrete and capped with a steel roof is about as energy inefficient as you can get.
Thank you again for all of this feedback, getting regulated was one of our first concerns and we are a member of the AIPP, a international group seeking to improve standards in the property market. The Barrio Fiesta's I agree seem like the best way to go about this to get to know people and explain what we are about.
