I started this blog as a tool to help me in my real estate investing activities. In this blog, I have all my foreclosed property listings and important websites online, so I have no more clutter and lost clippings of foreclosed properties at home. Old listings are archived and can be accessed as needed (even on my PDA) whenever I want to check if a property has been up for sale for a long time and if selling prices have gone up or down.
Lessons learned
The lessons I have learned along the way are also in my blog so they would serve as my guidance. From the very start, I decided that it would be best to share all these to everyone just in case someone out there would find value in my research.
Thank you!
After 90 days, all I can say is thank you to all of you my dear readers and visitors for all the kind words. You have given me a sense of accomplishment, inspiration, and purpose. As what I have mentioned to a lot of you who have sent me e-mails, I would all the more do my best to share as much as I can and help in any way I could.
Investing in real estate
I would be very happy to learn if any of you have bought your first real estate investment property already and have found success in investing in foreclosures, with a little help from this blog. Even if some would still choose not to invest for now, I would still be happy as you have given me a chance to share with you information about investing in foreclosures, or real estate in general, which I believe is a great investment strategy which works here in the Philippines.
I am not a real estate guru
As I have mentioned before, I am not a real estate guru, I am just another real estate investor in the Philippines who wants to share as much information as I can to fellow real estate investors. I am simply documenting my journey to financial freedom – my goal of accumulating enough passive income to cover our daily expenses so that I can get out of the rat race – and hope that I may be able to help others along the way.
More than enough deals for everyone
Some would probably ask – by sharing information and foreclosure listings, am I not depriving myself of good deals? Or, maybe I keep listings to myself until I secure what I believe are good deals? First of all, I really don’t look at others investors or even home buyers as competition but rather as partners or part of my network.
Secondly, I really don’t have the resources to get all the great deals that I see out there, my target is only about one deal per quarter and I am only focused on certain areas. With thousands of available foreclosed properties all over the Philippines, there are really more than enough for everyone.
More to come
I still have so much more information that I want to share – like how I got started, who are my mentors, what are the challenges that came my way then and now, etc. I can’t wait to share all these, and I intend to do so while introducing improvements as well.
You will notice I was already able to upgrade this blog to a three column template, for better use of our screens’ real estate, so to speak. I have also done a manual categorization of listings per bank/institution for easier access, and to overcome the limitations of tags and lack of categories in the blogger platform (sorry for the geekspeak).
Other plans include putting a calendar that would indicate upcoming auctions, and a directory of bank websites that have foreclosure listings with status updates. I would also probably feature successful real estate investors so we can all learn from their successes and challenges, and a lot more.
By the way, this isn’t supposed to be just about me, it should also be about you, so I invite all of you to participate and share any and all information that can be beneficial to all, which would also include any suggestions you may have to help me improve things here.
Spread the word, thanks again, and I hope to see you around!
Jay Castillo
Real Estate Investor
Hi Sir Jay,
Good day po!
I believed that you can help me for this…
I have 3 units/room for rent in a residential area. (Actually it is adjacent to my house and currently the lot is under mortgage at Social Housing). However one of my tenant will use the unit us “bahay-ofis”, since she has small business / Company and want to adress in her unit…The rental fee is only 6,000/month. I dont know what is the take-up for this, is this still residential or business? is it subject for expanded witholding tax of 5% and VAT of 12%?
Thank you po.
hi jay,
Nice to read your blog and IM interested to be learn more and love to be a part of your networking !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!especially me and my partner is looking for forclosed property that is affordable here in metro manila or cavite area.Thank you very much and GOD BLESS!!! more power to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Jay,
Thanks a lot for your financial mindset in real estate investing. All the best and More Power!
God bless
You’re welcome and thank you also Jory! Reading your comment on top of 36 comments for approval is such a great way to start the week! God Bless you too!
Hi Jay,
I’m planning to build my own bizniz as well after years of years of thinking about it. But don’t know where to start. Is it possible to meet up with you or if you have any talks or seminars that I can attend. Thanks and hope you can send me info.
Rhandy
i want to learn more on how to get those foreclosed property can u help me thanks
I came across your post looking for investor guides and thought this was very interesting. I live in Colorado and we have had a big foreclosure problem. Many of my investors are tired of all the competition in the mls so are looking for new methods to try. Sounds like it has been a ton of work, but now starting to pay off.
Well, it worth to be read. I salute you Jay for your advocacy. Thanks for your help!
I have read it and I personally support and promote your website. Keep up the good work. However …
We are currently identifying colorum real estate agents who operate websites that list properties for sale/lease. This has to do with violations of RA 9646 and IRR of PD 957. Please indicate in the About Section of your website if you are a license number as real estate broker to avoid being mistakenly identified as colorum. We will get back to your website after a few days. Thank you.
Hi John, thanks! It’s always nice to see a fellow REBAP’er here. By the way, I always put my REBL# at the bottom of each post and I have just added it on my “About” page. Although I am a licensed broker, I have not yet made the most of it as I currently focus on buying my own investment properties.
By the way, I was blown away by the amount of information you share on your site and I’m sure anyone engaged in the real estate industry will learn a lot from it. Thanks for visiting!
Thank you for sharing informations and articles about investing in foreclosed properties. I have read the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and this really opened my mind to financial freedom and look at the opportunities in investing in real estate and stocks. I find your site and blog very interesting and informative. I am interested to invest either in Marikina or Antipolo City.
Hi Martin, you’re welcome and I’m really glad you have read Rich Dad Poor Dad, it really causes a paradigm shift to most of those who read it. Thank you also for the compliment. In spite of the damage caused by Ondoy, there are still good places to invest in Marikina. I currently invest in Antipolo City. Maybe we’ll bump into each other one of these days. 🙂
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Hi Janet, please drop me an e-mail at ph.investor [at] gmail [dot] com. Sorry, too much spam/scam e-mails coming in. I look forward to hearing from you. 🙂
Good Day,
Greetings from SM Supermalls and SM Cyberzone!
First of all, we would like to thank you for supporting and participating
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Aside from the said event, we are currently promoting our new project
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Ondoy”.
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All The Best,
SM CYBERZONE TEAM
—
SM SUPERMALLS LAUNCHES OPERATION TULONG EXPRESS
IN RESPONSE TO THE URGENT NEED TO ATTEND TO THE PLIGHT OF VICTIMS OF TYPHOON ONDOY, SM SUPERMALLS IN COOPERATION WITH SM FOUNDATION ARE CALLING FOR VOLUNTEERS WHO CAN DONATE THEIR TIME AND EFFORT TO THE CAUSE AND FOR DONATIONS IN CASH OR IN KIND. IT HAS SET UP AN OPERATION TULONG EXPRESS BOOTH IN ALL SM SUPERMALLS NATIONWIDE, ALSO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TYPHOON ONDOY RELIEF EFFORTS OF CARITAS MANILA.
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THE SM SUPERMALLS TULONG EXPRESS BOOTHS HAVE BEEN SET UP SINCE SEPT. 27 IN SM SUPERMALLS TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO HAVE EASY ACCESS TO DROP OFF THEIR DONATIONS THAT WILL BE FORWARDED TO TYPHOON VICTIMS BY THE SM FOUNDATION AND ITS PARTNER, CARITAS MANILA.
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Hi Jay,
Great site! My family is in real estate brokerage too, and more than anything else, what drives us to keep doing what we do is knowing we’re helping people. Chanced upon your site from Anton Diaz’s Maven course page, thinking of taking it too.
You’ve done a great job, bravo, will subscribe to feeds.
Hi sir.:) I have a friend who wants to sell his property, its an empire east property in pasig. Can you help us sell it sir? Can i call you?:)
Hi! I work for a real estate company based in the Philippines. Our prime property offerings are designed to provide the needs of investors, retirees, expatriates, and overseas Filipino workers. We are in the process of recruiting real estate brokers/agents and I would like to invite you to be part of our sales force. Would really love to hear from you soon.
Mr. WOODS, ano po requirements at puede po ba ang BASE sa HongKong, salamat po.MM
Hello Jay Castillo,
This is Rose, You have a very interesting blog site. May i get your email address, want to contact you personally. Thank you so much! have a nice day. =)
Hi Jay! Nice blogs you got here. By the way, I just started studying the real estate industry. Though I’m still young, I believe that one is never too young to venture in this kind of business.
I hope with the help of your blogs, I’ll be able to find my own mentor who will serve as my rich dad and will personally teach me how does real estate investing works.
To all those who are interested at real estate investing, I recommend Larry Gamboa’s books and also to this site that I find very informative.
Keep on empowering people Jay and God bless!
To our financial freedom and success!!
Hi Alvin, thanks a lot for the kind words! Actually, the younger you start, the better! Well, this blog can be your virtual mentor. 🙂
Thanks again for dropping by!
@gab, you’re welcome and thanks for the comment and for subscribing! I look forward to your update on your first deal. Congratulations on deciding to invest in real estate, I wish you all the best and just let me know if you need any clarifications.
@jdlasmarias, it’s good that you are now interested in foreclosed property investing. I wish you find most of the info you need here and if you don’t, feel free to ask so I can see if it is listed in any of my upcoming articles and I can also include it if it isn’t. You’re welcome and thank you also for visiting!
Hi Jay,
I am interested to invest in Real Estate especially Foreclosed Properties here in the Philippines. I am still in the process of researching and gathering as much information as I can. I would just like to say thank you for your generosity in posting these blogs. I will be posting comments in the future, as required, but for now I just want to say thank you and keep up the good work.
hi jay,
Thank you for starting this blog. I’m 26 and will be going out of the country to work. But I certainly do not plan on doing that forever so real estate investing is my goal. Right now, I’m still educating myself and your blog is definitely a very important part of my study. In fact I have subscribed to it via email. When I’ve saved enough for downpayment, then the ball will roll. God bless on your investments and hopefully, I too will be able to share my stories to other aspiring investors.
Hi Anthony, thank you so much for the kind words! You’re welcome and don’t forget to update us all as well with your investing adventures as we really are in this journey together. Would you believe someone has already purchased his first property?! Check it out in this thread in our forums. Thanks!
I would like to commend you on running a very helpful blog. I have read so much regarding this field (foreclosed properties) from other sources but have done so little primarily because I don’t know where to start! Now I no longer have that excuse thanks to you! You are an inspiration. Hope you continue to bring us along in your journey for financial independence. Once again, thank you!
@Jordan Willy, thanks for visiting and for finding this blog helpful and educational! For starters, I suppose I can be a mentor to you by simply sharing as much info that I have already learned, through this blog, and you can even post questions you may have with regards to real estate investing here, or at this blog’s forum/social network, then I will do my best to answer based on actual investing experience and also what from what I learned when I studied and passed the real estate brokers’ licensure exam last Nov 2007. I believe you and I and other readers would actually learn so much more from each other this way. Just shoot the questions my way and I can either answer directly or through a blog post. Thanks!
@Terence, it’s good that you also want to start and learn more. That’s what this blog is for. Thanks also for visting!
Hi I would like to start on this kind of business. I would like to learn more about it. I know that there will be challenges along the way, but I’m willing to pay the price for success.
Hi Jay. i am one of your many followers. your blog are very educational and helpful. thanks for sharing your knowledge and gained experience. is it possible for you to mentor me in this real estate entrepreneurship? i love to be your student. thanks, [email protected]
Hi Venice! I am very thankful to you and your BF for finding my articles helpful!
No consolidated TCT and tax declaration means that the TCT is still under the name of the previous owner and has not yet been transferred to the bank. The transfer process could be ongoing. Same goes for the tax declaration as a new tax dec that indicates the name of the bank has not yet been issued. It would be best to confirm with the bank why the TCT and tax dec have not yet been consolidated and how long it would take for the consolidation to finish. No possession means the property is still occupied either by the previous owner or a tenant. Usually the ejectment of illegal occupants becomes the responsibility of the buyer which is why I advice that these occupied properties be avoided, especially if you are just beginning to invest in foreclosed properties.
hi jay…we keep on reading your site (especially my bf). you got a handful of information that sometimes we need to stay late to finish some articles hehe. anyway, i just want to consult something on you. we are looking at some foreclosed properties here in makati, because i am a newbie in this industry there are some things that aren't clear to me.what do you mean by "No consolidated TCT & tax declaration; no possession". so if the property doesnt have tct and tax dec, do you suggest to take this kind of property? and do you think it will cost us much? thank you and hope to hear from you soon, this is my email so you can just reply there..thank you.. [email protected] thank you
Hi Jimbo, thanks for visiting. I hope to be of help and I’m sure other visitors are also willing to pitch in. I wish you and your wife success and please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Hi Jay this is a very informative website.. me and my wife are looking for investing on our first real estate property with this blog we hope that people here would give us idea to avoid pitfall. thanks Jay for the effort you pour into this site..
Hi Tracy, I’m very thankful for your comments and the kind words. It’s great to know that we share the same passion and goals. I also wish you success and I hope you’ll stick around. Thanks again for visiting!
hi jay, i came across your site as i was searching for information on foreclosed real estate properties.
what caught my attention the most is your passion in financial freedom and your generosity to share this abundance, which are also my personal goals. i’m also keen to be part of bo sanchez’ club, as i read his blog.
more power to you!
Hi Georghe, your welcome and thank you also for what you said, it’s much appreciated and I’m glad to be of help.
I hope to learn a lot. thank you for people like you who give his heart out in helping others…
@Jenny and Danny, thanks for visiting.
Hi Dragoro, Thanks a lot! You have also helped me and a lot of other readers out there. And you’re welcome, I enjoy answering your questions as I also learn in the process.
Hi Teamchi, thanks again, I’m glad to help. I really look forward to your questions as I believe a lot of other readers have the same questions and you are really helping a lot of people out there!
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Reminds me of what I read in Riyosaki’s book about his rich dad telling him to “give first before you receive.”
I come to your blog more than any other site for my resource, so I can say in a sense you’ve already mentored me without even knowing.
Thanks Jay.
Words are not enough to describe how thankful we are for this blog and for patiently answering all our questions. Thanks, Jay and more power! 🙂
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