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@dhmacmu

Does this type of thing happen often where locals will take advantage of foreigners?

@dhmacmu
Does this type of thing happen often where locals will take advantage of foreigners? - @lakeman23

Happens all the time.  When we go shopping somewhere my wife is not known I always go someplace else and read a book.  She has found out from experience that there is a gringo surcharge added if she is seen with me.

@dhmacmu
Does this type of thing happen often where locals will take advantage of foreigners? - @lakeman23

As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.

@dhmacmu
Does this type of thing happen often where locals will take advantage of foreigners? - @lakeman23

Yes, oftentimes they do not see it for the moral corruption that it is, unfortunately. Whenever I see it I don't patronize the seller. They really believe a foreigner in the picture is gift from God or fate which entitles them to more money. You find it in all walks. So glad the renter refused the increase. I suspect there was no lease contract involved.

@dhmacmu

So glad you refused the increase. BTW, even 17K seems high for a small apartment in the province. It seems in this case the landlord's greed has no limit. It is confusing because I believe no native Filipino will pay 17K for a small place yet it was news to him you were a foreigner. A middle class Filipino might pay 10K max in my experience. They can only pay about 1M for a starter townhouse build by Carmela.

@dhmacmu

On your apartment hunt, you'd want look closely how the bathroom and kitchen were made. The typical bathroom and kitchen here may not be what you would be expecting.

If it is not to your liking, you can negotiate with the owner to improve those rooms in lieu of rent.

the mentality of Filipino business is amazing

When I am at my home in Silay i go to the local cafes to have a beer and the staff charge me the local price but when the sees that I am not ph he raises the price, i simply tell them that the business they will lose is not worth a extra 10 pesos a day leave and go to the local vendors who never charge me extra and wont accept tips and follow me to give it back

get some dirty looks when they see me elsewhere

so then all my Filipino family tell everyone about it and the locals that know me always laugh about it

@danfinn

No, no lease involved.  That opened me up for future rent increases as well!

@danfinn

It is not so much an apartment, but much more a seasonal inn.  Even so, both my fiancé and I thought it was expensive, but I liked the convenience.  I think I am better off now with a small brick and mortar structure co-located with my new home construction site.

@Jackson4

Ironically, that is exactly what I attempted but the landlord was firm in their position.

Here in Boracay the locals pay 3.5K for a boarding house and 7k for an apartment. For 20k you can stay in a condomenium unit.

And Boracay is one of the main tourist destinations of the Philippines. Utilities are 5 to 10k PHP per month and it depends how long the AC runs. In Leyte it should be much cheaper to get an apartment.

Make sure you really want to live there before you start to build anything.

Merry xmas and happy new year

Andy from Boracay (8 years in the Phils)

@Andy_1963

Thanks!  I did think it was pretty expensive, particularly with the limited amenities. But the options are limited near Culaba, Biliran.  I absolutely love the area and understand it is ground zero for typhoons.  I was willing to pay the rent price during to proximity to my fiancé's property where we will build in order to keep a daily eye on things.

As it turns out our small apartment build is coming along nicely and should be nearly complete by February. 

@dhmacmu

My question would be, since you cannot own land how is your money your investing secured?

The rent increase is the lesser issue..

Thats cheap for Bora. Im still paying $6k monthly in Gensan for a 2 bedroom unit with A/C even though I use it for a storage facility until I move everything up to Siargao Island.

Siargao Island seems to be almost double what Bora is now.

I built on 1/2 my land and I am sourcing a contractor from Cebu for 12 self contained typhoon proof units for perm rentals for Euros that are looking for a compound. I have 18 months to do it in.

I sold out of Bora just before Covid to Koreans, I bought in Bora 15 years ago. I got lucky, thats all it was...LUCK...

Im surprised to hear those prices in Bora.....is there a lot of competition there now ?

I mean most of the land around the golf course is built out now ?

Ive not been there since I sold out.

Thanks, would be interested.

@vanvalenmikevan

Good question.  But i plan on getting married and my fiancé's mom owns the land.  I won't own the land, but I will own the house.  I am not concerned since I don't believe in divorce.  And it really isn't an investment property, just a small place to stay until we build our large house across the road.

Might be a good idea to have your name on 1/2 everything.

The courts may deem it more in your favour should the occasion arise.

I loved watching rabbits as a kid. I always watched the dogs chasing a rabbit into a hole, then watch the rabbit pop its head out of many other holes it had to see what the dogs were doing.

I always thought it was cruel so many dogs chasing 1 small rabbit, turns out the Rabbit rarely got caught.

Too many holes to run out of :-)

@dhmacmu

Ya... I had a landlord a few years ago do that to me and my then girlfriend in Cavite... Went from 8,000 to 11,000 after he found out I was a foreigner.  We chatted some of the other tenants in the building, and it turned out my rent was the highest... go figure.  I confronted the owner nicely, and he become belligerent with me... Moved out two months later, and didn't pay for either of those months because I knew at that point he wouldn't return my first month or deposit from originally renting...

I've rented 2 other places since then, and no issues... however... Not in Luzon... in Mindanao.  People in Mindanao (province) are if a different mindset than Luzon near Manila... Way different.  I don't feel like I get the "white man price" nearly as often... once in ahwile... but hardly ever.

@dhmacmu

Either way I would move out immediately... I don't tolerate that b.s.... cheers.

One late evening at MOA in Manila, I found myself at 7-11 getting coffee. They're the nearest place open where I can get coffee. They're out of small cups so I used the medium paper cup but filled it with 8 oz. (Small size) coffee from the self-serve machine. The lady said she'll charge me medium since they do not have a small cup. I said I filled it with 8 oz. coffee (small) I am not paying medium price, but she insisted. So I said I do not want to pay medium for small coffee and I am not buying. I hope the store keeper can grasp the idea.

@dhmacmu

We spent a lovely year in rural Central Luzon while building our house.  A one-bedroom apartment for p4500 / month, no utilities included.  The landlord was a kind OFW who had returned home after many years.  With his permission, we installed a Daikin split a/c system and took it with us when we left.  My brothers-in-law repaired the hole in the wall and repainted.  We left a couple add-on cabinets in the bathroom and kitchen.  My wife found the apartment through the local grapevine.

When we go to the palengke I am not upcharged.  I speak Tagalog well enough to hear what others are being charged.  The vendors all know me by now after many visits with my wife.