The Story of our House, The Story of my Life - Part 3

....our second house in Taguig, where my brother is living.

After the two telenovela posts that I've written, here comes another story:
After I finished paying the first lot, the lot beside our house was then again offered to us.
April 2004 when I bought the second lot (42 sqm), the right was sold to us @ P 156,000.00 by the same tenant again. I took the risk again - handed him a down payment of P 100,000.00 cash while the remaining balance will again be paid in installment as per agreement.

How did I come up with that P 100,000 pesos in just one year?

Year 2002 I finished paying for the first lot. By year 2003 I started saving again and all the SSS loan, Pagibig loan, & the 13th month pay I received that year were all tunelled to my capital contribution account in Villamor Air Base which earns 23% per annum.
And by April 2004 I have approx P 40,000.00 & my brother also had P 50,000.00 in that account which I borrowed & promise to pay him in full with its corresponding interest from that account. But the problem is it can only be withdrawn every six months otherwise it will not earn an interest. So I borrowed P 92,000.00 from my officemate & promise to pay him in full after two months as soon as I received my savings from that cap. contribution account. And with some amount from my savings & paluwagan I was able to accumulate P 100,000.00 as initial payment for the lot.

So why did I took the risk again?

I know nothing about investing before but I do save as much as I can. But as much as I wanted to see my money grows in my bank account, I am also looking for alternative income or investment so I can be prepared if I happen to get unemployed in the future. So when the lot was offered to me with a little house in it, I took it again. My plan is to improve it & have it rented, at least I can have a little monthly income from it.
For a year I've been paying for the remaining balance of the lot & saving for the P 50,000.00 that I borrowed from my brother. And by year 2005 our company's operation shuts down but we're given a separation pay. And through that separation pay (P 56,000.00). I was able to pay the full payment of the lot & my brother as well.

Did I regret buying it?

Half of my mind is saying "Yes, I regret buying it". Have I known about investing before I would have thought of different strategy to secure my future. I would have just let my money grows in that capital contribution account & look for other lot in a location where I can do business with. And with the current situation that we are having now, I do feel some regrets buying that lot 10 yrs ago.

Half of my mind is also saying "No, I didnt". As others would say "mura na yan at tataas pa ang value nyan", but then again I have no plans of selling it now, as what my mother says "dumadami ang tao sa Pilipinas pero ang lupa hindi", talking about demography issue in the Philippines, hahah.

Did I make a wrong decision?

Yes, I did. Have I known that I would be spending approx P 100,000.00 on renovating it, I would have demolished that little house right away & build a new one with a stronger foundation. Plus a lot of years have been unproductive, with the money that I invested there.

Am I earning from it?

Yes, but.......sadly as I make the chart today the result is not good, I deducted the total expenses from the total rent & the result is negative - "After 10 yrs , hindi pa sulit o bawi, ika nga"

My brother who just got married last February is currently living/renting that house @ P 3,000/month. He approached me last year & requested "Ate, puede ba akong umupa muna dyan tatapusin ko muna ang pagbabayad ng kotse at cash loans sa credit card ". I've been telling my brothers "Pag nag-asawa kayo kailangan bumukod kayo". For now "exception to the rule" muna ang kapatid ko since he's the one giving money for the maintenance medicines of my mother. I know that he also plans of owning a house for his family in the future.

Why am I writing these stories?
It helps me analyze the financial decisions I made before, by tracking down the ins & out of the money that we're spent. Clearly, I can see that I have made a wrong decision but I guess I have to deal with it & look for other productive alternatives.

Decision making really plays an important factor in our financial lives & for me it's the hardest one. In every decision we make will chart the course of life we take. But wherever that decision will lead us, we have to accept it as challenge, and whatever the result is - we just have to learn from it.




Just sharing some thoughts today!
Have a great weekend guys!!!!


Note: I've been trying to live within my salary income so I can invest part of that rent to my Philequity fund. Most of my plans next year will be more on personal improvements, hopefully my financial life will go smoothly as planned.