Living in Cebu

In early 2006 I will be moving to Cebu, Philippines with the entire family.

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Renting around Cebu

I have been exploring the rental market around Cebu this past week. While searching the net I found a few sites with listings. Most of these listings were out of date but at least they gave an indication of what is available on the market.

I did find the perfect house but it was a little over our budget. It was an absolute mansion that would make a suitable backdrop to any photo shoot featuring the rich and famous. The monthly rental was 135k which when converted to dollars is still less than you can pay per night for some rooms in best hotels. It’s relative, for a wealthy executive this place would be cheap.

It is still a little more than I will get for my own house when I rent it out and it has been my expectation to find a place in the Philippines that is less than the rent I will receive back home.

In realty there is another good reason why we should not rent such a place even if we could afford it. Anyone that lives in such a house would be a target. You would need to employ the armed security guards as well as maybe triple the domestic staff you really need. There would also be so many more cost with running and maintaining such a place.

If one could afford it (the real cost being much higher than just the listed monthly rental) then it would be great. Removing cost as a consideration the major concern I would have is personal safety. While ransom is not a huge problem around Cebu anyone living in such a place would fall into a higher risk category. I can decide to take risks for myself but will not do so for my children.

It was nice to dream but back to reality. My budget is less than half of that. Based on what I have seen to date I have every reason to believe that I will find exactly what I want for between 20K and 50K. Based on the number of personal emails I have received offering rental accommodation I get the feeling it’s a buyers market.

There seems to be an abundance of Western style homes for rent between about 30k and 40k. This pricing is taken from the internet and targeted at expats. The pricing is probably inflated in comparison to what I will probably be able to find when I have there.

A friend of mine was staying at one of the 30K per month modern two story houses in one of the estates. He was out one day looking for a place on behalf of someone else and was shown a residence that while not suitable for the other person was better for his own needs. I have visited this place. It is a small mansion with huge grounds including three separate self-contained units for domestic staff. The lower level of the mansion has three huge rooms which would be suitable for running a small commercial enterprise from (it is my understanding that this is what it was designed for). The rental for this place was just 20k. For me the only thing missing was a swimming pool.

My dilemma is that while I can afford the modern houses offered in the secure estates very few of them will come with the features I want such as up to six bedrooms and a swimming pool (not interested in a communal one). I am more likely to find this type of configuration in a private residence out of the secure estates.

I would really prefer to be in a secure estate. I don’t really know how much more personal security they offer but I do know they keep the riffraff out. Back home this might sound pretentious and elitist but in the Philippines this is a necessity.

Posted: Wednesday 7th September 2005, 4:30 PM


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