1-1+1 equals 1, but 1+1-1 equals more than 1

I’ld like to share the above formula. It’s a very simple formula for making money out of buying and selling houses. Especially applicable in NZ, where house prices are constantly rising and no capital gains tax is charged for selling a property. Let me explain.

1-1+1 equals 1
1-1+1 stands for Buy house, Sell house, then Buy House. For instance, you buy a 2BR house today say for $300k. Then wait for 3 years. The price of the house would have gone up by then. If you sell the house you'll most likely gain some profit. Let’s say $100k (just to exaggerate). But it is only profit if you don’t buy a new house. Because if you do, $300k won't be enough to buy another 2BR house anymore. Prices of all properties in the area would probably have gone up by $100k too. In short, you won't end up $100k richer at all because you would have used that too towards buying a new house. So 1-1+1 is still 1.

1+1-1 equals more than 1
This second approach is the one that will give you returns. It involves, Buy, Buy, then Sell. Here’s what you do. You buy a 2BR house say for $300k. After 3 years, you would have paid part of your original mortgage. That plus the increase in house prices would have increased the equity on your property. A higher equity puts you in a position to borrow more money for a second mortgage. So with a second mortgage you buy a second property. Rent out the property for a few months, years, whatever. It doesn’t matter. When the timing is right, sell either your house or the rental property. After you settle the mortgage for the sold property and after all expenses are accounted for you should end up with a profit. Let's say $100k (again to exaggerate). Therefore, 1+1-1 is greater than 1 because you end up with one house plus $100k more in your pocket.

Conclusion
Not all buying and selling of real estate properties is profitable. Use the right buy and sell technique. I tell you this is easier than winning Lotto. If you know how to play the property game, the profits alone could pay off your original mortgage...and maybe more.

Pahabol
(Done 1+1-1, once so far. In six months time between the +1-1 cycle, we made a profit of $35k, which we put in to pay off part of our existing mortgage. We are now in the +1 cycle again having bought another property last January. In a few months or years when we come to the -1 cycle, we're hoping to realize another profit. In short, if this formula worked for us, it should also for you.)

Mga Istorya sa NZ Embassy sa Makati

Usap-usapan dun sa Pinoyz2NZ ang mga hekspiryens ng iba nating mga kababayan sa NZ Emabassy sa Makati. Maraming may complaints dahil rude daw ang mga visa officer (VO) sa nasabing embassy. Pero in fairness, marami din naman nagsabi na very pleasant naman daw ang kanilang naging hekspiryens. Siguro, tiempo-tiempo lang. Malas mo na lang kung mapatapat ka sa mga VO na walang manners. In fairness pa rin, yung ibang kwento matagal nang naganap. Noon siguro, baka andun pa yung bastos na VO. Pero lately mukhang bago na ang mga VO at may improvement na rin ang sistema sa NZ Embassy. Di tulad noong araw ayon sa kwento ni Noel. Heto ang kanyang masaklap (pero nakaka-aliw) na karanasan sa NZ Embassy natin sa Makati.

... "Talent Work Visa for an Accredited Company". Yun ang sabi ng employer ko dito na sabihin ko when I am making an inquiry sa Embassy. Pinapunta ko ang wife ko to ask for the forms necessary for my application. Dun sa guard pa lang, sinabi niya yung magic word na "Talent Work Visa for an Accredited Company". Ang sagot sa kanya ng tao dun sa window with a smirk, "Ano ba ang talent ng asawa mo?". Sa loob loob ng Mrs ko, napakarami ho. Gusto niyo hong isa-isahin ko. Uumpisahan ko ho sa tatlo na ho ang naging anak namin kaya very talented po talaga siya etc.

Pero ang totoong sagot niya with full conviction para tumigil nang pang-aasar yung mama dun sa reception, "MICROBIOLOGIST" ho ang asawa ko at may nag-offer sa kanya ng work sa NZ kaya ako andito. Saka pa lang siya sineryoso ng kolokoy na sekyu nila dun.

January ko na na-file ang Work Visa Application ko dahil napag-sarhan ako ng application dahil Christmas break. Mga three days ako pumila para lang matawag ang pangalan ko.

Funny thing is walang sistema sa embassy. Hindi ko lang alam kung nagbago na since then. The applicants themselves created a list para masunod ang "first come, first serve" basis. Nung dumating na kami eh may existing list na. Pang-66 ako sa list noong first day dahil yung list was created noong last day before Christmas break.

Twenty applications lang ang puede i-accomodate per day pero we had to wait (more than a hundred kami dun) until the processing for those twenty is over dahil kailangan namin marinig kung ano ang instruction noong sekyu (who we call Richard dahil tuwing lalabas siya dun sa pinto eh nag-tatayuan ang lahat para lumapit sa kanya...ala Richard Gomez ba). Ang hinihintay lang namin na instruction ay kung itutuloy lang kinabukasan yung existing list or bagong listahan na naman.
Imagine ninyo na hundred people are waiting for six hours just to hear an announcement like that. Marami na sana kaming nagawa nun kesa tumambay lang dun sa lobby ng BPI building.

Kaya yung second day eh 6 am kami pumunta dahil baka biglang magbago ang isip ni Richard eh at gumawa ng bagong list. Maigi na yung maaga kami. Itinuloy naman yung list noong first day. Pero marami na yung di na nagtiyaga kaya na-pa move sa 42 ang slot ko. Pero 50% more yung dumating on top of me compared nung first day. Same story naghintay na naman kami for 6 hours just wait for the announcement kung itutuloy yung list. Shocking is noong second day sinabi ni Richard na hindi siya sigurado kinabukasan kung itutuloy yung list or bagong list na naman. Depende daw yun dun sa itaas.

Third day eh 4 am na kami pumunta dahil di nga namin sure kung ano ang mangyayari sa list. Kami ang first sa BPI Building kaya we created another list in preparation sa kung ano man ang i-announce ni Richard. Pag-dating ng 7 lumabas na si Richard at siyempre kaming mga fans niya eh nag-tayuan na rin. Itutuloy na lang daw yung list kaya scrap na yung chance na mauna kami. Kaso binilang ko yung slot namin eh pang-22 ako. Kung twenty lang yung kayang i-accomodate eh di hindi pa rin ako pasok. Panay na ang dasal ko na sana ey may ma-late dun sa list.

May na-late na isa kaya miss na niya yung chance. Yung girl in front of me in the list na nakaibigan na namin for the last two days for six hours a day eh wala pa in sight. Tinawag na yung name niya eh wala pa siya. Laking tuwa ko nang napa-move ako sa 20th position. Bungkot pero pasok pa rin ako for that day.

Noong andun na ako sa loob at sinubmit ko na yung papers ko. Sinabi nung nasa reception na wala daw sa list ang occupation na "Microbiologist". kaya ako pa ang nagbuklat ng page sa kanya na sigurado akong andun yun. Tapos yung magic word na naman na "Talent Work Visa". Ipinasa niya yung papel dun sa isa niyang kasama at sinabi, "Talent Work Visa?" Hindi ko alam ito. Tapos eventually eh tinaggap din yung papers ko dahil tinawagan na pala sila nung NZIS dito na contact nung employer to process my papers fast dahil umalis na yung papalitan ko.

Within 10 days eh nakuha ko yung visa ko at after two days eh lumipad na ako dito.


PAHABOL

Nung kinausap ko yung NZIS contact dito sa NZ. Sinabi niya na mali daw ang ginawa ng Embassy sa Manila sa application ko. Bakit daw hindi isinama sa application ko ang family ko para Work Visa na rin ang Mrs. ko and student ang mga anak ko? Dapat daw hiningi din ang papers ng family ko. Buti nalang dala ko na lahat dito sa NZ at dito ko na pin-process lahat. Noong una sabi pa sa akin a papuntahin ko daw sa Embassy sa Manila at pakuhanin ko ng Work Visa yung wife ko at Student yung mga anak ko. Pero sabi ko sa kanya na dala ko lahat ng papers nila for PR application. Kinuha na lang niya sa akin ang lahat ng papers ko. Nilagayan niya ng Work Visa yung wife ko and Student yung mga anak ko. Tapos siya na rin ang nag-forward sa Thailand for PR. Siya na rin ang nag-follow-up kay Chayamarit at nakuha namin ang PR namin ng August which was 6 months after we were able to finally submit it. Ang bait nila dito compared sa Pinas. Ako pa ang tinatawagan nung Visa Officers dito to update me on what she already did to my application and asking me if I need any other help.

End of my long story. Sana ay may natutunan kayong aral.

Noel

Nagpapasalamat ako kay Noel at binigyan ako ng pahintulot na ilathala itong kanyang kwento.

Secret identity

What would you do when someone has threatened to reveal a past secret of yours that you never wanted anyone to know about? Something about your past that you’ve tried very hard to hide until now. Pinakatago-tago mo ito dahil nakakahiya at maaaring makasira sa iyong reputasyon, subalit ngayon may taong nakakita ng mga lumang potograpo at binantaan kang ipa-publish sa internet para sirain ang iyong dangal.

Isa lang ang pwede kong gawin. Uunahan ko na siya. Ako na mismo ang magpa-publish ng mga nakakagimbal na pektyurs. Mga pekturs na matagal kong itinago sa madla. Dahil sa takot na mapagkamalang isa ako sa Apo Hiking



Ay mali, Tito, Vic and Joey pala.



O sige na nga, Tatlong Itlog.



Isang hirit pa. Simon and Garfunkel (in Pilipino, ReyCards duet).

"Mura na, X dollars lang per week" Trap

Nakatambay ang magkumpareng Tibs at Onyok sa parking lot ng simbahan ng Good Shepherd. Heto ang usapan nila:

Tibs: Uy ganda ng bago mong 4x4? Anong modelo yan? Mahal siguro yan ano?

Onyok: Terrano, Nissan. Hindi murang-mura lang. $2000 down, tapos yung balance pina-finance namin. Bali, $53 lang ang hulog namin per week. 5 years to pay. Okay na di ba?

Tibs: (pinindot-pindot ang calculator sa CP) : $53 times 52 weeks sa isang taon times 5 years equals $13780. Plus yung $2000 na down payment mo equals $15780. Magkano ba yung cash price niyan?

Onyok: $12000. Naku, laki pala ng kita ng finance company halos $4 thou. Yung kotche mo magkano?

Tibs: Yung Corolla? $1800 lang sa TradeMe.

Onyok: (Hindi na umimik. Nagmuni-muni na lang, habang nakatitig sa kanyang 4x4. Sa isip niya $4k, halos 4 months na rent sa apartment or dalawang Corolla tulad nung kay Tibs).

Moral of the Story:

Be careful when buying items priced at weekly/monthly installments. The price may look cheap, but when multiplied by the total number of installments it could cost you an arm and a leg.

Misconceptions that Hinder People from Buying a House

Kapag may mga nami-meet akong mga kababayan natin na matagal na sa NZ (5 years or more) pero til now nag-re-rent pa rin, hindi ko maiwasan na magtaka at tanungin sila kung bakit. Pano kasi ako ang naghihinayang sa opportunity na nasasayang. Considering that I know people who receive lesser salary than them were able to buy a house within just a year or two. I even know a couple, who owns not one, but three houses! The other two, pinare-rent niya. And both husband and wife, they don’t have high paying jobs.

Nakakapanghinayang, kasi every year, tumataas ang halaga ng mga properties sa NZ. Some keep waiting for the right time to buy a house, thinking that they’ll be in a better position to do so in the future. But that time never comes.

So when is the best time to buy a house? Tanong ko dun sa real-estate agent namin. Sagot niya, there is no best time, because the best time is NOW. Actually, second best time lang ang NOW. The best time was yesterday or years ago. But yesterday is past, tapos na, kaya tama rin siya.

Talking to our kababayans who told me that they actually wanted to buy a house for a long time but still haven’t, I’ve found out that the real problem is less to do with financial but more to do with their somewhat flawed way of thinking. May dalawang misconceptions silang pinaniniwalaan na aking napansin that hinders them from taking their first step towards buying a house.

Una, the belief that “You will live in the house that you buy for a loooooong time”. Pangmatagalan. In our country this is so true. Once you buy a house, expect to live there for as long as you live. If this is your thinking it's hard to be satisfied with buying a house that is less than your dream house. Gusto mo siempre perfect, kasi sa isip mo pangmatagalan eh. However, you should know that in NZ, it’s not uncommon for Kiwis to buy and sell their houses every 3 to 6 years. Therefore my advice is instead of thinking that the house you’re buying is for the rest of your life, think of it as just a temporary residence for the next 3-5 years. This way it doesn’t matter if the house you buy isn’t your dream house yet. For now, be content in buying a 2BR house. After 3 years, move into a 3BR house in a better suburb. After another 3 years, move into a 5BR house by the beach. That's how you get to own your dream house. One step at a time. (Tama ba fafa KD?)

Pangalawa, the belief that “You have to stay/live in the house that you buy”. Forget about this. Just because you bought a house doesn’t mean that you have to live in that house. Usually, if you are renting a flat and decide to buy a house, your first objective is to look for a house to live in. That's ideal, but may not always be feasible yet. The houses you want to buy in the areas you prefer may be priced beyond your reach.

If you can't afford the houses in the suburb you prefer, heto ang gawin mong diskarte. Buy a house or property that you can afford now, kahit sa malayong lugar. Tapos ipa-rent mo. Yourself, dun ka pa rin tumira sa flat na ni-rerent mo. Okay lang yon. Then after a few years, when house prices have appreciated, sell the property. If you keep doing this, you would have accumulated enough equity/cash to buy the house in the suburb that you want for yourself. I assure you that you will be in a better position if you do this than if you simply waited and put your savings in the bank. Ask yourself, are you able to save $20k in a year? I don't think so. But with buying and selling a property, there is a greater chance that you'll get that much money and even more.

Owning a house/property in NZ, one must not think of it as wishful thinking. It is very achievable, even on your first year in NZ. In fact, once you’ve done it once, masasabi mo, “ganun lang pala kadali”. Buying your second, third, fourth house? Mas lalo pang madali.

Continuation of the Dinner Buffet Saga

After a few emails to the restaurant detailing my dissatisfaction (see previous post), I got this reply from their operations manager. What should I do now? Accept the refund? Or continue pursuing a case against them until they are fined for breaching NZ Fair Trading Act? Ano sa palagay niyo mga kakosa ang dapat kong gawin?

We are very aware of the details of the Fair Trading act. As you are aware our website has been changed to reflect the Oyster situation for the $19.95 Monday to Thursday promotion. We serve Oysters with our Full Dinner buffet Friday, Saturday and Sunday as per the Oyster shot on the right-hand side of our website as you sent me on Friday.

Our new Franchisee has agreed to give you a full refund under the circumstances and as I stated to you on Friday, he is extremely apologetic and the situation was not intentional but an oversight as previously stated with our Pakuranga restaurant on the night you dined.

To enable us to refund you the full amount spent at our Pakuranga restaurant could you please supply me with the name of the booking and the total amount spent on the night you dined?

Once I have the information I will have your refund processed immediately.

When is a Promo, Not a Promo? When it's a Rip off.

I have to apologize for ranting today. I just felt the need to get this out of my chest. When you buy something being promoted at a discounted price, you expect the quality of the item to be the same as though you’re buying it at full price. Shouldn’t you? Unless there was any notice to the contrary, you would feel cheated if you get something inferior.

This is the situation I felt last night after having dinner with some friends at a popular buffet restaurant in Auckland. Jean’s birthday is tomorrow, but we decided to celebrate it last night. With a handfull of close friends, we decided to book dinner at this restaurant because they were having this promo for $19.95 per person for buffet. The normal price was $29.95. The restaurant is Valentines Restaurant in Pakuranga.

This restaurant is popular for its buffet, particularly their seafood menus consisting of fresh oysters and prawns. Most people go to Valentines specifically for this. I for one would never eat there if not for their oysters and prawns. As far as I remember, oysters and prawns have always been a part of the restaurant’s dinner menu. So I thought! Because last night was an exception. No oysters, no prawns. In fact the menu selection was a total let down. Nowhere close to the 120 selection they advertise in their website (www.valentines.co.nz). My wife even commented on the way home that she could have prepared more dishes herself had she wanted to. And even those on display looked like rehashed left-overs. The steak was so tough my false teeth almost fell off. And the desserts were pathetic to say the least. No fresh fruits whatsoever.

Everything was dismal. Had it not been for the occasion, I would have walked out and took my friends to the fastfoods across the road. I didn't want to make a scene and spoil my wife's birthday dinner so I just pretended as though I was enjoying the food. I now wonder maybe my other guests were just being polite and were pretending too.

I’ve dined in Valentines many times before and was quite satisfied, but last night was a huge disappointment. The only reason I could think of is that they were cutting costs just because they were charging less as a result of their promo. So to cut costs, they removed the most expensive dishes in their menu and used the cheapest ingredients available (like tough beef). I could bet my bottom dollar that once the promo ends, oysters and prawns will be back in their menu and the steaks will be a lot more tender.

I’ve sent letters about this to FairGo (a TV program that tackles consumer issues) and to the Commerce Commission. I believe that Valentines violated the Fair Trading Act by misleading customers into believing that they are getting a discount when in fact they are being ripped off. Let’s wait and see what’ll happen next.

Update: 7/7/2006
I sent a letter to Valentines Support Office and they said only oysters are excluded from the menu, not prawns. Sad to say there were no prawns either. I still think that said exclusion should have been stated somewhere in their advertisement, even if it was in fine print. Also, the screenshot below from their website clearly shows oysters. If that's not misleading, what is it then?

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins - Benjamin Franklin

Note: This is my reply to Randy's email which I posted in my previous post.

Randy,

Sana maunawaan mo na magusot ang pumasok sa ugnayang iniisip mo. Ano’t anuman ang mangyari tiyak na may masasaktan. Mahal mo man siya, subali’t may asawa na siyang nagmamahal din sa kanya. Tanungin mo ang iyong sarili kung tunay na pagmamahal nga ba ang nararamdaman mo para sa kanya. Ang tunay na pagmamahal ay mapag-bigay, may pang-unawa at higit sa lahat hindi makasarili.

A story in the Bible comes to mind. May dalawang babae ang nag-aagawan sa isang sanggol. Sabi nung isa, baby niya yung sanggol. Sabi naman nung isa, kanya yon. So lumapit sila kay Haring Solomon para siya ang humatol sa kaso. Sabi ni Solomon, kumuha ng tabak at hatiin ang bata sa dalawa para ito’y paghatian. Pagkarinig nito, sabi nung tunay na ina, “Hindi ko po siya anak, ibigay niyo na lang sa kanya, huwag niyo lang patayin.”. Then Solomon knew who the real mother is because of the way she loved the baby.

Not only is this story applicable to a mother and her child. It is also applicable to a man and a woman. Like in Solomon’s story, the person with the greater love, is the one more willing to give up the child. So if you really love this woman, give her up. Stop her from being any more close to you. Put distance between you and her, for she already belongs to someone else. Making her love you the same way she loves her husband is like cutting her into two. It will destroy her and in the end neither you nor her husband gains anything from it. So don't ask her for something she can't give or for something both of you may later regret.

So my dear friend, think of what you are getting into. Love and passion can be easily confused. Raw passion is a very powerful emotion. Like rain water gone wild and uncontrolled it can turn itself into a torrent wave that wrecks havoc to eveything in its path. Please don’t let that happen. Avoid putting yourself in a situation when that could happen. Avoid being alone with her. It’s not too late yet to rectify the situation. Don’t make the situation any worse than what it already is. For once it gets to a point of no return, then it’s like a dam bursting in the open. The damage becomes permanent and disastrous to everyone.

Sometimes we think that life is cruel. Na para bang napaglalaruan tayo ng mga circumstances beyond our control and we feel powerless. But are we really? Wala ba talaga tayong magagawa sa sitwasyon? You seem like an intelligent and decent person who knows right from wrong. Just that now you’re being carried away by passion. I pray that with God’s grace you find the strength to choose the right decision.