Problems for expats buying a house and lot

vetretreat wrote:

TeeJay just do the research on the rural areas of the USA and on USED autos and I cant see how you could disagree with me disagreeing with you on the 5 X's more for a home and or a 5 year old SUV under $6,000...Unless it is a wreck you will never find one in any dealership in the P.I. for near that price...I know you mean well but truth is truth and BS is just that Meadow Muffins...

Yes there is definitely some BS. Enjoy.

TeeJay4103 wrote:

vetretreat wrote:

TeeJay just do the research on the rural areas of the USA and on USED autos and I cant see how you could disagree with me disagreeing with you on the 5 X's more for a home and or a 5 year old SUV under $6,000...Unless it is a wreck you will never find one in any dealership in the P.I. for near that price...I know you mean well but truth is truth and BS is just that Meadow Muffins...

Yes there is definitely some BS. Enjoy.

Here is some of that BS for you to enjoy...Go to Craigslist Sarasota/Bradenton and check for 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee...It should still pop up...I just bought it...Find that car in the PI for $5200...

Here is some more BS to enjoy...Go to this link for New Port Richie, Florida 10 minutes from the
Gulf of Mexico...http://patch.com/florida/newportrichey/house-hunt-properties-under-75-000...Now tell me those great builders including your casino builder can build any of those homes(lot included) with all the emenities and with all appliances with great schools and shopping right around the corner for less than 3.2 million pesos..Hell you couldnt get me a builder to do it for 4 million in the PI...

Keep enjoying what you have there...I have so much more to enjoy here without all the ignorance and stupidity I witnessed in the "More Fun In The Philippines" joke...

@ Vetretreat,

I recall an informative read back in Dec 2012 which reconfirmed my choice to retire here in the PI in 2013.  It read:
"Manila is too hot and too crowded. However, Cebu, one of the most protected of the 7,000 islands of this archipelago, can be an ideal budget retirement choice. Winter in Cebu (October through February) can be delightful; temperatures are about 75 degrees Fahrenheit and accompanied by gentle breezes.

The two big advantages of the Philippines in general are the cost of living and real estate costs. This is a popular destination among retired U.S. military, because the people are friendly, the health care is good, and a military pension buys a better-than-comfortable standard of living. As throughout Asia, foreign ownership of real estate is restricted, but you can buy a condo in your own name for full- or part-time use, retirement, and rental. The government seems to be on a path to relaxing foreign ownership restrictions.

Expats on Cebu come from all over the world, but the majority are from the U.S., England, and Australia. Some men in their 50s and 60s choose this part of the world as a place to restart their lives with new wives and new families."

Source: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on- … s-for-2013

There is no way my former home in Laguna Niguel, California was on par with the homes here, cost wise. At $780K in California (Php 35.5M here), I could find 3-4 very nice homes here with a Taal lake view at P5-10K each.  From my perspective, the 3-4X less factor here in the PI matches with the points I think TeeJay was making.  Of course, there is an expat here from rural Louisiana where his land costs are higher here.  Although Cebu is ok, I remain very happy with the Tagaytay area and I think the main point is for all of us to find happiness in "our" selections, despite alternate views.  Truly, all of our views and comparisons are just like EPA milage estimates that vary with individual habits & needs.

vetretreat wrote:

TeeJay just do the research on the rural areas of the USA and on USED autos and I cant see how you could disagree with me disagreeing with you on the 5 X's more for a home and or a 5 year old SUV under $6,000...Unless it is a wreck you will never find one in any dealership in the P.I. for near that price...I know you mean well but truth is truth and BS is just that "Meadow Muffins"...

It is to bad that you find the need to justify your failures in the Philippines by calling someone a liar.
You made many comments which were supposed to be in response to mine that were never made in my previous statement.
According to the graphs maps and research from reputable sources there are no fault lines under our property. Do your research.
The size of our home is irrelevant to your to your response with regard to the cost of power per KWH in the Philippines. What I stated about the cost of our power is true. Maybe you simply do not have a clue about how to build a home properly and efficiently.
Water supply: The fact that you got the runs from your water may also be part of poor decision making when it comes  your choice of places to live or vendors. We have not had that problem.
The cost of our home was indeed less than a home in a comparable area in the states at approximately 1/5 the cost. Considering the proximity to churches, malls, schools, medical facilities and recreation. Are there places in the states that would cost less, yes. There are many areas of the U.S. where homes are cheap, if you want to live there. That is your choice and comparing the cost of an older home to the cost of a new home is quite a stretch and makes no sense whatsoever. Apparently any response works for you.
The cost of our car is also irrelevant. Can I buy an old car or truck cheaply in the states, yes. I said a comparable car and research in dependability reports on all models and price comparisons from coast to coast in both rural and urban areas of the states gave the value of our Toyota at 24 k miles at pretty much the same, whereas the mileage of our being 24K made it a much better value. Once again the fact that you can't find a 20 year old Chevy pickup for 500 dollars in the Phil is not an argument and makes no sense at all.
Our architect. While he may be retired I stated that he has built not only casinos, but commercial buildings and housing developments. He still has a business run by his son who is also architect and two daughters who are doctors. The fact that you were not able find this kind of help reflects on your inability to handle you personal business properly. As I stated, we oversaw the daily work and our home has no problems simply because we did do our research. Our home also includes a tested clean running stream with waterfalls and a gazebo next to the sound of the rushing water with indigenous plants and fruit trees, hiking paths and an area to entertain our guests.
We also stated that we were realists when it comes to our lives, but as with everything you seem to take that as a personal insult. I did not say you were not realists, did I. 
The fact that I and my wife successfully established a life in the Philippines should not insult your intelligence any more than your failures in the Philippines insult mine.
You moved to a foreign country and you mentioned a problem with English? It's the Philippines, You were tired of being insulted? I don't have that problem, maybe it's just you?
Get your facts straight in your responses and ending a conversation by calling someone a liar does not equate to a win. It simply reflects on you and your failures in life and as a person

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vetretreat wrote:

"Many of us having lived in numerous places around the globe also have those experiences to draw upon when making a decision as to the place we want to make a life and call home, as have you".

Where do you live in the P.I. where it's cool without earthquake faults and volcanos? It surely cant be Baguio or Tagatay..Where have you lived and been besides the P.I. TeeJay?

I have visited over 27 countries and have lived in 4 and of those 4 the Philippines overall was the worst even though it may be the cheapest in rent...5 of those 27 countries are a far cry worse than the Philippines though and I would never consider living there...

"Our utilities include, water, electricity, satellite and internet all of which in our area are very dependable and the cost for those utilities runs between 65 to 110 a month with the AC is running throughout the living area in the hot season.
We built a home and paid about 1/5  what it would cost in the states. The appliances we purchased were the same brands available in the states, though there is some real junk available. If you pay for junk you get junk.
Our Toyota was less in price that the comparable model in the states (used) and with only 24K miles on it when we purchased it with maintenance records from Toyota, it was a steal"

I suspect your house is probably less than 1000 sq ft because the Philippines has the highest power rates in all of Asia and per KWH is much higher than almost anywhere in the US excluding Guam, Hawaii and Alaska. Water is cheaper in the P.I. but contaminated and at times even the distilled water you buy there will give you the runs..
I have no idea what kind of home you built there but in my statement I said it actually cost more to buy a home of western standards in the Philippines than it does in the P.I. Your statement of building a western style home for 1/5 the price of a US home may hold true to Hawaii, San Francisco, N.Y.  City, LA or any major city within its financial or upscale suburban areas but definitely not in the type you live in...You can go on line and check prices in States Like Florida, Nevada, Arizona, most mid western states and the especially anywhere in the south excluding Texas and you can find beautiful 1500 sqft and as much as 3000 sqft homes on 1/4 to 1/2 acre lots for under 6 million pesos some even as low as 2.5 million pesos...Nowhere in the Philippines can you ever find something that big with attached 2 and 3 car garages with nicely finished interior with hardwood cabinets and granite counters for under 4 million pesos...
The going rate for land in the Philippines in most any decent area near the water with sufficient INFRASTRUCTURE is 1000 pesos per sq meter and as high as 15,000 a square meter on the water...That adds up to about 100 pesos per sq ft(on 1000 sqm) which in US Dollars equals at todays rate $2.15 sq ft...In turn that adds up to $109,000 acre...Hell in the same type of rural areas with great infrastructure in the US I could buy 50 acres plus at that rate...But lets say you come back with argument you only paid 200 a sq meter for you land and your land is 250 sqm...That would be very small by US standards at 2700 sq ft being the average lot in the US is about 15000 sq ft or larger in the rural suburban areas..

Now the cost of your example lot would be about 50,000 pesos which is about $1,060 divided by 2700 sq ft = $.39 sq ft...The average US rural suburban lot 15000 sqft X's $0.39 sq ft would be $5,850(some lots may be more but many can be had for less)..I will guess you put up a basic block, 70 meter sq(750 sqft) give or take a few, 2 BR home for 1 million pesos give or take...Your total costs may had been 20 to $25,000 US...Correct..If that is the case I can get double wide manufactured homes in the US on 1/4 acre lot for about the same amount you paid for a basic block home without all the amenities as in the US...I challenge you to put up a house in the Philippines which is 2,000 sq ft W/Attached 2 car enclosed garage not counted as sqft in living space(3 times the size a basic Philippine one) with all the amenities, hardwood cabs, appliances, city sewer and water,land line phone service  and high speed cable for both net and tv for $75,000(3.5 million pesos) which there is a huge inventory of such homes in the USA at present...ONCE AGAIN I STRESS THE FACT DO THAT IN AN AREA OF THE PHILIPPINES WHICH HAS near COMPARABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AS THAT OF THE USA...I know you cant and you making such a statement homes are 1/5 the cost of what they are in your homeland is very misleading to all our fellow EXPATS who follow this site...That statistic you quoted is bashing the good ole USA the land I love...Yes there is much crime in the metro cities of the US but much much less crime in many good neighborhoods throughout our great nation than the rural areas of the Philippines...Shabu is the choice of drugs in the Philippines and a huge population are using across the nation which influences the petty crime rate, most of which are never reported and if the crime is it never enters on a police blotter for statistical purposes...

You never stated what you paid for your Toyota which I know the used ones in the PI go for premium prices...I shopped for a SUV in Manila 3 years ago and found a 2004 Ford Escape(60K km) for 480k peso about $10,000 and he would not come down under 420k...I suggest you and anyone reading this go on Craigslist in most USA areas and you will find 2010 SUV's under 75K miles for under 250K pesos...Cars which were mostly highway driven and on excellent roads and in mint condition...I challenge you to find me in the Philippines a MINT 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Black on Tan leather, 6.1 liter Hemi, 67K miles with every option for anywhere near the $5,200 I just bought in the USA...

I hail you for finding a casino builder who helped in the making of your home...but I am afraid most of the other expats there dont and probably will never have such advice...They have to take what is available and that is usually by someone who learned the trade OJT'in and at best put out bare minimum quality work if you are lucky...I know a guy who spent 4.5 million peso for a 160 sqm home on the water...the lot was 1.7 million and people call it the house of cracks...you cant even count them all there is so many...lol..And do you think he can come back on the builder..Yea, get an attorney with a starting retainer of 100k and years in the courts...lol

"I and my wife are realists in our lives and expect frustrations as a part of life"

"Awareness of ones environment is a part of the intellect needed to acquire that happiness, but bashing is nothing more that whimpering and whining unless we can manage to do so without INSULTS".

TeeJay, do you not think my wife and I are not realists also..We were fully aware and informed of what happened to my fellow expats which I mentioned in the start of my last entry and it seemed everytime we were approaching a certain degree of happiness in our lives there in the P.I. another adverse thing would happen to either my wife, my children, my fellow expats or myself which just built on the sour taste we already had...A person can only take so much and it has nothing to do with whimpering or whining, it's all about keeping ones sanity and not forgetting how things can truly be..That my friend is being a realist..Many US expats over there are afraid to return to the states with their spouse because they are afraid once Americanized they will divorce them..That is why many use the excuses you have used not to return to their home country...That may be good reason because you and I know in the USA, no girl is going to marry a man more than twice their age unless there is a great deal of $$$$'s or drugs involved but I myself am willing to take that risk just so they can have a much better life than what is offered in their 3rd world nation...My wife is at awe of how much better we are living, eating, healthcare and how clean everything is and at a cost not more than 20% more than what I spent in the PI(I own my own home in USA) and my wife has stated she only wants to return only to see family once every couple years...She has SKYPE, Facebook, 5 hours of landline calls at $10 a month so she can see or talk to them everyday...Something in the Philippines with the bad communication service they had made it very difficult to do...

As far as insults, I myself became sick of all the insults of my intelligence, rudeness, conniving, gouging from people I and others had known for many years...But low an behold I have to agree with you we did have quite a few Filipino acquaintances I held in fairly high regard but the majority of them spoke little or no English so with my less than favorable aptitude of learning languages could barely communicate with them...

I personally find it somewhat insulting of my intelligence for the entries you made regarding homes being 5 times higher in the states when overall that doesnt hold true and unless you can find a used vehicle from a fellow expat or a wealthy Filipino it is next to impossible to find used vehicles cheaper than what can be had in the USA...The USA is noted for having the cheapest cars, appliances of quality in the world...
”
What I stated is true. It was simply my view and experiences vs. yours. Whether or not you agree with it or believe it, matters not to me. My statements were not an assault on "your" intelligence, though they were made in opposition to yours.
I also, disagree with much, but not all of what you said and simply believe we have opposing views, period.

It is quite obvious that you think little of the Philippines aside from the scenery of which you grew tired of. That is why you are not here and if as you stated, you traveled extensively throughout the Philippines and found little to like anywhere you visited, then it was not the place for you and you made what you believed was an informed and intelligent decision to move back to the states with your family based on those experiences.

Calif-Native wrote:

@ Vetretreat,

I recall an informative read back in Dec 2012 which reconfirmed my choice to retire here in the PI in 2013.  It read:
"Manila is too hot and too crowded. However, Cebu, one of the most protected of the 7,000 islands of this archipelago, can be an ideal budget retirement choice. Winter in Cebu (October through February) can be delightful; temperatures are about 75 degrees Fahrenheit and accompanied by gentle breezes.

The two big advantages of the Philippines in general are the cost of living and real estate costs. This is a popular destination among retired U.S. military, because the people are friendly, the health care is good, and a military pension buys a better-than-comfortable standard of living. As throughout Asia, foreign ownership of real estate is restricted, but you can buy a condo in your own name for full- or part-time use, retirement, and rental. The government seems to be on a path to relaxing foreign ownership restrictions.

Expats on Cebu come from all over the world, but the majority are from the U.S., England, and Australia. Some men in their 50s and 60s choose this part of the world as a place to restart their lives with new wives and new families."

Source: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on- … s-for-2013

There is no way my former home in Laguna Niguel, California was on par with the homes here, cost wise. At $780K in California (Php 35.5M here), I could find 3-4 very nice homes here with a Taal lake view at P5-10K each.  From my perspective, the 3-4X less factor here in the PI matches with the points I think TeeJay was making.  Of course, there is an expat here from rural Louisiana where his land costs are higher here.  Although Cebu is ok, I remain very happy with the Tagaytay area and I think the main point is for all of us to find happiness in "our" selections, despite alternate views.  Truly, all of our views and comparisons are just like EPA milage estimates that vary with individual habits & needs.

When quoting prices in California, especially in the area you once lived you are correct, but TeeJay was generalizing the entire US with his statement...I have not been to Cebu but I have heard both good and bad about it...But I can assure you there are beautiful homes(foreclosures and not) near the water in places like Florida, South Texas, S.C. which are just as cheap if not cheaper than you can put up in the P.I...

As far as you statement health care is good...I have to boldly disagree with you on that one...Perhaps there are some good physicians and a few good hospitals here and there but I have witnessed horrendous conditions and fraudulent pricing and diagnosing to put a patient at risk...Example as I had stated in other threads on this site: In one of the most accredited hospitals in Manila, the Manila Doctors Hospital with supposedly one of the most accredited resident OB/GYN's(first name: San Juan) there as well as being resident in Global City ST. Lukes and Quezons Providence Hospital did commit blatant malpractice and knowingly along with nursing and other hospital staff lied about the progress of my wife's birthing contractions by striking fear in her and myself telling us our baby was in jeopardy and my wife's life was at risk...She stated my wife's cervical opening was at 9cm and her uterus had shut down and a C Section must be performed immediately....I having schooled myself on how the birthing process should happen in a first time delivery saw so many red flags I insisted they remove my wife's IV which they refused to do and tried to hold us prisoner until such time we paid for services rendered...I removed my wife's IV myself and wheeled her to my waiting car on the very gurrny she was on with no assistance what so ever from the hospital staff and to make matters worse 4 security guards tried to prevent my wife, mother-in-law and myself from leaving at the rear exit where my car was waiting...I literally had to threaten the security guards and told them they were trying to kidnap us and I would call the police if they continued to block the entrance..With that they moved and I rushed my wife to the Santa Ana government hospital 15 minutes away to find out my wife was only 4 cm and contractions were still at about 5 minutes apart and they were amazed when I told them my wife had received a amniotomy and 15 mmg of oxitocin during such an early stage of progress...6 hours later my wife gave NATURAL birth to a beautiful baby girl at a cost of only 6.5 k Pesos...

Now we move to Mindoro 4 months later and my wife became pregnant again...My wife and I decided because I being a foreigner we would not risk another private hospital so we opt to get a OB/GYN of the government hospital in Calapan...Right away we found the OB was gouging us by doing to many ultra sounds and trying to prescribe drugs(in house) to my wife which they claimed would have no side effects to either her or the baby...I being somewhat wise by this time went to the internet and checked for dangerous side effects and low and behold I found over 15 some of which could put the baby in jeopardy....I refused the drugs she subscribed but kept her because she was the resident of the gov hospital...When we arrived at the gov the day of birth I was told my wife was progressing nicely and she was at 6 cm when we arrived at 6:30 pm...at 8:30 pm I was told my wife was at 8.5 cm and should be delivering within the next hour or two...10:30 rolls around and still no word..I stuck my head in and yelled for a nurse who came and told me there were some complications and the doctor would be out shortly...My heart racing I waited patiently...About 15 minutes later the doctor(not my OB/GYN) came out and said my wife was at 9.5 cm and the baby was in jeopardy and a C section must be performed...I asked her was my wife on the table in stirrups and was the baby on a heart monitor..She said they didnt use heart monitors on the baby and she never responded to whether my wife was in stirrups...I then ask her if she had administered oxytocin and she said no..Huge red flag..I immediately asked her to bring my wife out to me so I could see her progress...They brought her out in a wheel chair and I asked if she had been put on the table in stirrups and she said no..About that time she had another contraction...I immediately told the doctor to unhook my wife that they were fired and I would be taking my wife to another hospital...Once again security shows up on the scene but never tried to stop me from leaving but the staff was refusing to remove the IV's from my wife...I told my wife to tell them to remove them and I told the staff if they fail to remove them I would call the police...They immediately removed them and I took her to a private hospital and told them the 9.5 cm circumstances and they told me my wife was only 7 cm and should deliver within two hours...I told them I did not want to hear of any C section or surgery of any kind that I wanted my wife to deliver a complete normal birth...1 1/2 hour later at 1:45 am we had a baby boy but not after the OB did a 3 1/2 lateral episiotomy on my wife which to this day has left a nasty scar...The reason being it was the doctors last delivery and she wanted to get out as soon as possible with no consideration to my request for no surgery or the pain my wife had to go thru for several weeks in recovering from that incision which by the way can ruin a womans sex life for the remainder of her days...I am not only talking about my own experience but I have witnessed not only other expats but affluent Filipinos being lied to and ripped off by what you call good health care...I am not saying there all bad but the bottom line, being its the Philippines, is the almighty peso...In my opinion the health care in that country is less than good...It is nothing more than a facade to make people think they are getting what they pay for... BS...

BTW...You said you could get homes with views of Taal for 5 to 10k...are you referring to rent?...If so I had a 3 bedroom condo 95 sqm right on the beach for 10k on Mindoro...That is one thing I will miss but overall I dont regret one bit getting the hell out of there and never will...My home in the US is 2175 sqf with a pool on 8,000 sqf and is less than 2 blocks from the beach and cost me only 11.5 million pesos...Not to many places in the Philippines much cheaper than that with the location I have...A place like mine on Boracay would easily go for 25 million plus and be further inland with no cars and very isolated there...They can have it...

TeeJay...All of a sudden you are getting quite personal and offensive...Just where do you get off saying I called you a liar? Perhaps you can direct me to that paragraph...I have no idea of where you live nor did you tell me so and your profile on expat does not give out the city, town or village where you live...I only asked where you lived and where there is no quake faults or volcanoes... So why dont you just say where you live than perhaps I can do the research as you asked..LOL..Like I said I left the Philippines because of all the ignorance and stupidity I had witnessed there...Failure in the Philippines!! Come on the country deserves nothing but a FAILING GRADE  in treating people with decency and respect and it seems you have inherited such traits...Perhaps you have been there to long...You seem to take pride in yourself as to not being personal with others but after reading what you just wrote in response to what I construe as facts you my friend are guilty of more than just mere insults...You try to get to the very core of the person...Not to worry I wont budge...

Justify my failures...The only thing I failed at was not leaving sooner than what I did...But that was partially due to all the BS red tape their government put us through which took 6 months longer than we expected...You have failed to answer many of my questions which I expect you never will...Your ego is in the way I expect, but perhaps not maybe you may be more civil with you next reply and realize your mistake of saying I called you a liar...

The power on my 2,175 sqf home with a pool pump running 6 hours a day only costs an average of $180 a month and that is with A/C, pool pump, freezer and fridge running most of the time...
20 year old chevy trucks??? How did that ever enter the equation...

vetretreat wrote:

TeeJay...All of a sudden you are getting quite personal and offensive...Just where do you get off saying I called you a liar? Perhaps you can direct me to that paragraph...I have no idea of where you live nor did you tell me so and your profile on expat does not give out the city, town or village where you live...I only asked where you lived and where there is no quake faults or volcanoes... So why dont you just say where you live than perhaps I can do the research as you asked..LOL..Like I said I left the Philippines because of all the ignorance and stupidity I had witnessed there...Failure in the Philippines!! Come on the country deserves nothing but a FAILING GRADE  in treating people with decency and respect and it seems you have inherited such traits...Perhaps you have been there to long...You seem to take pride in yourself as to not being personal with others but after reading what you just wrote in response to what I construe as facts you my friend are guilty of more than just mere insults...You try to get to the very core of the person...Not to worry I wont budge...

Justify my failures...The only thing I failed at was not leaving sooner than what I did...But that was partially due to all the BS red tape their government put us through which took 6 months longer than we expected...You have failed to answer many of my questions which I expect you never will...Your ego is in the way I expect, but perhaps not maybe you may be more civil with you next reply and realize your mistake of saying I called you a liar...

The power on my 2,175 sqf home with a pool pump running 6 hours a day only costs an average of $180 a month and that is with A/C, pool pump, freezer and fridge running most of the time...
20 year old chevy trucks??? How did that ever enter the equation...

Calling it BS is the same as calling it a lie. You did fail here and it's obviously everyone's fault but yours. If you're still smelling BS, take a shower.

1st of all, living in the PI should have nothing to do about saving money. I have a house in Vegas and could live there cheaper than where I am now (Davao). Good (i.e. not Filipino) supermarket food is 30-40% cheaper than here and even eating out can be less depending on cuisine. Utilities are higher there but I could split the bills with my adult kids already living there.

A house in the Western world is usually an appreciating investment but not so much here. Only a few things are massively cheaper here: Property rentals and leases (including hotel rooms), car and property insurance, the various vices, labor, and transportation.

So why live here?

For me, 1 word sums it up:  PRIVACY!

I like to be left alone. Not harassed by traffic cops watching every move you make. Not called constantly by telemarketers or spam mailed. No family coming over to visit. No kids on me asking for money or favors. I also don't need ****  trying to strike up conversations with my wife to let her know their opinion that she could do better than me, nor do I need desperate, ****  to "test the waters" of my marriage.

Yes, privacy, quiet and polite neighbors, and people that don't stick their politically-correct noses in my business is all that I ask for.

TeeJay4103 wrote:

vetretreat wrote:

TeeJay...All of a sudden you are getting quite personal and offensive...Just where do you get off saying I called you a liar? Perhaps you can direct me to that paragraph...I have no idea of where you live nor did you tell me so and your profile on expat does not give out the city, town or village where you live...I only asked where you lived and where there is no quake faults or volcanoes... So why dont you just say where you live than perhaps I can do the research as you asked..LOL..Like I said I left the Philippines because of all the ignorance and stupidity I had witnessed there...Failure in the Philippines!! Come on the country deserves nothing but a FAILING GRADE  in treating people with decency and respect and it seems you have inherited such traits...Perhaps you have been there to long...You seem to take pride in yourself as to not being personal with others but after reading what you just wrote in response to what I construe as facts you my friend are guilty of more than just mere insults...You try to get to the very core of the person...Not to worry I wont budge...

Justify my failures...The only thing I failed at was not leaving sooner than what I did...But that was partially due to all the BS red tape their government put us through which took 6 months longer than we expected...You have failed to answer many of my questions which I expect you never will...Your ego is in the way I expect, but perhaps not maybe you may be more civil with you next reply and realize your mistake of saying I called you a liar...

The power on my 2,175 sqf home with a pool pump running 6 hours a day only costs an average of $180 a month and that is with A/C, pool pump, freezer and fridge running most of the time...
20 year old chevy trucks??? How did that ever enter the equation...

Calling it BS is the same as calling it a lie. You did fail here and it's obviously everyone's fault but yours. If you're still smelling BS, take a shower.

TeeJay It is you who has failed to comprehend again...BS can also be construed as whimpering and whining as you have been doing in your last two responses...Sorry to have struck such a cord in such a wonderful understanding fellow American such as you..Truth is truth and BS still is Meadow Muffins and it seems you are only happy if those reading your postings click on the like icon below or come back with some form of praise so you can have another Utopian feel good day...Sorry to have ruined that for you mate...So hope you have a good one tomorrow when you start afresh and leave my comments by the wayside...Remember I have the right to disagree with you just as you do with me and I stand by my argument, other than beautiful girls, country, cheap bar booze and perhaps slightly cheaper living the Philippines has not much more to offer but corruption at all levels, little respect for their fellow country men let alone to foreigners, filth everywhere you turn, "slavery" what slavery,  "laws" what laws, "justice" what justice, "respect & honesty" whaaaatttt,  etc...I guess my wife and I FAILED when we put our trust in healthcare personnel to do as their Hippocratic Oath states they should..I guess we FAILED when attorneys, police and government officials violated their OATHS of office to faithfully serve the citizens under their watch...I guess we FAILED to insure victims of the Bohol earthquake and Yolanda typhoon received the billions in donations both monetarily and materials which ended up in the hands of greedy evil officials of the state and country...I guess we FAILED to insure the government wouldn't lower country wide educational funding(this year) by 50%...I guess we failed in not trusting those who kept encouraging us in buying land and putting a big beautiful home on it with their SOLEMN PROMISE and GUARANTEE all would go well with no hitches whatsoever...I guess we FAILED to make the ignorant stupid people UNDERSTAND why we and so many others who have left or are wanting to leave(can't because they are trapped with their property assets)without calling them FAILURES but to realize the Philippines is nothing more than a huge FACADE to which many more foreigners and their own countrymen at the poverty level will continued to get BS'd and F****D in the coming days and years,...Then you can sit back and call them all a bunch of FAILURES also because you are sitting on your little turf and have learned to live like the locals who themselves are fed up with their government, rising prices and living conditions but because they have the strength and perseverance to overcome; they just suck it up and continue as they have for hundreds of years...Yes, they are an amazing people in that regard but I wonder just how many would jump at the chance to escape from what you consider as a "little piece of Heaven" to the evil 1st world in North America or Europe..'JUST SAYIN' and more entertainment for the forum which I am sure are eating up our little squabble of differences...Once again have a nice day tomorrow TeeJay...Signing off by my pool and lovely Pinay...THE BIG PHILIPPINE FAILURE...

philipperv wrote:

1st of all, living in the PI should have nothing to do about saving money. I have a house in Vegas and could live there cheaper than where I am now (Davao). Good (i.e. not Filipino) supermarket food is 30-40% cheaper than here and even eating out can be less depending on cuisine. Utilities are higher there but I could split the bills with my adult kids already living there.

A house in the Western world is usually an appreciating investment but not so much here. Only a few things are massively cheaper here: Property rentals and leases (including hotel rooms), car and property insurance, the various vices, labor, and transportation.

So why live here?

For me, 1 word sums it up:  PRIVACY!

I like to be left alone. Not harassed by traffic cops watching every move you make. Not called constantly by telemarketers or spam mailed. No family coming over to visit. No kids on me asking for money or favors. I also don't need **** trying to strike up conversations with my wife to let her know their opinion that she could do better than me, nor do I need desperate, **** to "test the waters" of my marriage.

Yes, privacy, quiet and polite neighbors, and people that don't stick their politically-correct noses in my business is all that I ask for.

Well said and I love it...I forgot about the *****  LOL...I guess I have to focus on keeping my Pinay away from them and those **** ..hahaha..Dont have to worry to much about the latter being the average age where I live is 67...But I do have the privacy and a lot of it...You to can find it in other states...I used to live in Vegas for 2 years and I definitely see you point of view there..Telemarketers, easy to overcome..Just have your phone answered on auto and if telemarketer just wait they will be gone if not answer that loved one.

That cheap car insurance you speak of there is another facade...If involved in a fatal accident you are pretty much screwed in the P.I. and if you do any major property damage you end up footing most of the bill...The most the insurance covers is 1 million and you cant get any better than that so go out and kill someone or total a Mercedes or worse yet have any degree of alcohol in your system and you will be looking at the inside of a jail cell until such time you come up with X amount of pesos to bail and I mean bail out of the country as fast as you can cause they will get all in the end...

vetretreat wrote:

That cheap car insurance you speak of there is another facade...If involved in a fatal accident you are pretty much screwed in the P.I. and if you do any major property damage you end up footing most of the bill...The most the insurance covers is 1 million and you cant get any better than that so go out and kill someone or total a Mercedes or worse yet have any degree of alcohol in your system and you will be looking at the inside of a jail cell until such time you come up with X amount of pesos to bail and I mean bail out of the country as fast as you can cause they will get all in the end...

This is pretty much a non-issue as you usually can't get to the speeds to cause any major damage to anything. We had 1 accident in the last year that involved a guy running into our wheel when we were turning into his lane. Our fault of course but my wife insisted on settling out of pocket (she was behind the wheel) instead of filing an insurance claim. The cop wouldn't issue her a ticket cause he wanted his P500 payoff instead. That ticket would have been over P2000. Even traffic enforcers don't like giving tickets cause they lose out on their payoff. I did an illegal u-turn and was waiting for the ticket after refusing to offer a bribe and the guy was too lazy to write the ticket! Haha! Who said crime doesn't pay?

By the way, you guys arguing about property and car values make me laugh because of the great differences between properties in different cities here, never mind comparing it with the US. I originally wanted to settle in Cagayan de Oro but the price of a house and lot there is considerably higher than here in Davao. I don't even know how I would compare my Toyota Wigo to a US model Toyota considering that the Wigo isn't even sold there?

Anyhoo, can't we all just get along and be happy for each other's life decisions?

philipperv wrote:

vetretreat wrote:

That cheap car insurance you speak of there is another facade...If involved in a fatal accident you are pretty much screwed in the P.I. and if you do any major property damage you end up footing most of the bill...The most the insurance covers is 1 million and you cant get any better than that so go out and kill someone or total a Mercedes or worse yet have any degree of alcohol in your system and you will be looking at the inside of a jail cell until such time you come up with X amount of pesos to bail and I mean bail out of the country as fast as you can cause they will get all in the end...

This is pretty much a non-issue as you usually can't get to the speeds to cause any major damage to anything. We had 1 accident in the last year that involved a guy running into our wheel when we were turning into his lane. Our fault of course but my wife insisted on settling out of pocket (she was behind the wheel) instead of filing an insurance claim. The cop wouldn't issue her a ticket cause he wanted his P500 payoff instead. That ticket would have been over P2000. Even traffic enforcers don't like giving tickets cause they lose out on their payoff. I did an illegal u-turn and was waiting for the ticket after refusing to offer a bribe and the guy was too lazy to write the ticket! Haha! Who said crime doesn't pay?

By the way, you guys arguing about property and car values make me laugh because of the great differences between properties in different cities here, never mind comparing it with the US. I originally wanted to settle in Cagayan de Oro but the price of a house and lot there is considerably higher than here in Davao. I don't even know how I would compare my Toyota Wigo to a US model Toyota considering that the Wigo isn't even sold there?

Anyhoo, can't we all just get along and be happy for each other's life decisions?

I knew a Swedish guy who had full coverage and hit a tricycle and took the drivers leg off on Mindoro...He had been drinking was put in jail and transferred to the Manila jail where he spent 3 weeks waiting for friend to bail him at a tune of 500K...He than returned to Mindoro where local officials were waiting on him and he was told he would be returned to jail there if he did not come up with another 500K..Do you think the insurance company ever showed for a claim? Hell no....He escaped the country in the next few days and left his bar business and pinay behind never to return...

I think you could compare you Wigo to the stateside Matrix...Your Wigo kind of looks like my old Chevy Aveo Hatchback which I sold for 185K with 34k KM's when I left...I only paid 130K from a rich Filipino and had only 17k KM's on it...Drove it for 4 years supporting TeeJay's assessment sometimes you can get it cheaper than the average vehicle in the USA but still the US is the place to get the best deals on vehicles bar none...

vetretreat wrote:

philipperv wrote:

vetretreat wrote:

That cheap car insurance you speak of there is another facade...If involved in a fatal accident you are pretty much screwed in the P.I. and if you do any major property damage you end up footing most of the bill...The most the insurance covers is 1 million and you cant get any better than that so go out and kill someone or total a Mercedes or worse yet have any degree of alcohol in your system and you will be looking at the inside of a jail cell until such time you come up with X amount of pesos to bail and I mean bail out of the country as fast as you can cause they will get all in the end...

This is pretty much a non-issue as you usually can't get to the speeds to cause any major damage to anything. We had 1 accident in the last year that involved a guy running into our wheel when we were turning into his lane. Our fault of course but my wife insisted on settling out of pocket (she was behind the wheel) instead of filing an insurance claim. The cop wouldn't issue her a ticket cause he wanted his P500 payoff instead. That ticket would have been over P2000. Even traffic enforcers don't like giving tickets cause they lose out on their payoff. I did an illegal u-turn and was waiting for the ticket after refusing to offer a bribe and the guy was too lazy to write the ticket! Haha! Who said crime doesn't pay?

By the way, you guys arguing about property and car values make me laugh because of the great differences between properties in different cities here, never mind comparing it with the US. I originally wanted to settle in Cagayan de Oro but the price of a house and lot there is considerably higher than here in Davao. I don't even know how I would compare my Toyota Wigo to a US model Toyota considering that the Wigo isn't even sold there?

Anyhoo, can't we all just get along and be happy for each other's life decisions?

I knew a Swedish guy who had full coverage and hit a tricycle and took the drivers leg off on Mindoro...He had been drinking was put in jail and transferred to the Manila jail where he spent 3 weeks waiting for friend to bail him at a tune of 500K...He than returned to Mindoro where local officials were waiting on him and he was told he would be returned to jail there if he did not come up with another 500K..Do you think the insurance company ever showed for a claim? Hell no....He escaped the country in the next few days and left his bar business and pinay behind never to return...

I think you could compare you Wigo to the stateside Matrix...Your Wigo kind of looks like my old Chevy Aveo Hatchback which I sold for 185K with 34k KM's when I left...I only paid 130K from a rich Filipino and had only 17k KM's on it...Drove it for 4 years supporting TeeJay's assessment sometimes you can get it cheaper than the average vehicle in the USA but still the US is the place to get the best deals on vehicles bar none...

I'm not going to argue the point that you are basically screwed if you are drunk and hit someone ANYWHERE in the world, however, your premise that the insurance companies here don't pay regular claims is totally false. As for car prices, used cars are obviously much cheaper in the US due to the huge size of the used car market. New car prices are also a little higher here because the dealers aren't given much room to haggle. A lot of that has to do with the demand which is currently outstripping supply. That may change eventually though.

philipperv wrote:

vetretreat wrote:

philipperv wrote:

This is pretty much a non-issue as you usually can't get to the speeds to cause any major damage to anything. We had 1 accident in the last year that involved a guy running into our wheel when we were turning into his lane. Our fault of course but my wife insisted on settling out of pocket (she was behind the wheel) instead of filing an insurance claim. The cop wouldn't issue her a ticket cause he wanted his P500 payoff instead. That ticket would have been over P2000. Even traffic enforcers don't like giving tickets cause they lose out on their payoff. I did an illegal u-turn and was waiting for the ticket after refusing to offer a bribe and the guy was too lazy to write the ticket! Haha! Who said crime doesn't pay?

By the way, you guys arguing about property and car values make me laugh because of the great differences between properties in different cities here, never mind comparing it with the US. I originally wanted to settle in Cagayan de Oro but the price of a house and lot there is considerably higher than here in Davao. I don't even know how I would compare my Toyota Wigo to a US model Toyota considering that the Wigo isn't even sold there?

Anyhoo, can't we all just get along and be happy for each other's life decisions?

I knew a Swedish guy who had full coverage and hit a tricycle and took the drivers leg off on Mindoro...He had been drinking was put in jail and transferred to the Manila jail where he spent 3 weeks waiting for friend to bail him at a tune of 500K...He than returned to Mindoro where local officials were waiting on him and he was told he would be returned to jail there if he did not come up with another 500K..Do you think the insurance company ever showed for a claim? Hell no....He escaped the country in the next few days and left his bar business and pinay behind never to return...

I think you could compare you Wigo to the stateside Matrix...Your Wigo kind of looks like my old Chevy Aveo Hatchback which I sold for 185K with 34k KM's when I left...I only paid 130K from a rich Filipino and had only 17k KM's on it...Drove it for 4 years supporting TeeJay's assessment sometimes you can get it cheaper than the average vehicle in the USA but still the US is the place to get the best deals on vehicles bar none...

I'm not going to argue the point that you are basically screwed if you are drunk and hit someone ANYWHERE in the world, however, your premise that the insurance companies here don't pay regular claims is totally false. As for car prices, used cars are obviously much cheaper in the US due to the huge size of the used car market. New car prices are also a little higher here because the dealers aren't given much room to haggle. A lot of that has to do with the demand which is currently outstripping supply. That may change eventually though.

Wow Philipperv!! Just when I thought you were level headed you come out and make a generalized statement about my speaking of ONE particular incident which is true and the insurance company in that ONE particular incident did not show up when asked to nor did they ever as I was told by those closest to the Swede, so YOUR PREMISE I insinuated insurance companies in general don't pay regular claims is most definitely totally false..But in that ONE particular case it is not false or the information I received was incorrect but I cant believe 4 people had it wrong...

I know of another incident with insurance companies here where a Pommy had full collision coverage on his SUV for the tune of $10,500...The car was totaled(flipped over)and the insurance adjusters came out did their assessment and ended up giving him only 260K pesos after 20k deductible which means in reality he only received 280k and took a loss of about 200K..He thought with that settlement he was going to get to keep the car and part it out, well 2 months later the adjuster sold the car to a pinoy for 40K and he in turn turned the car over to a wizard in the big city to do all the body work and restoration and the last I heard they sold it for 300K...Once again the foreigner took it in the butt...Yea they paid off alright...

Yes, some insurance companies will try to get out of paying full claims. That's a normal tactic and a matter for the courts. I will ignore your attempts to incite a petty squabble. Something you seem to like to do but I am above that.

Hi guys! May be we all stick to the main subject for our arguments, viz, "Problems for expats buying a house and lot"..