My first attempt on real estate...

This happened more than 2 months ago, after just 2 weeks of attending the weekly cashflow sessions at charter house. I high-lighted promising properties in a listing from BPI's asset management group and when I showed the list to my mentor, she ponted out this 1 property in Makati that was probably worth looking into because of its good location. This was a BSA condo unit that measured 34sqm and was for sale for about 2M. The day before(which was a Tuesday) I already called BPI to check if the unit was still available. They said I can visit the unit anytime. During the cashflow meeting, we decided to visit the unit on Saturday. Come Saturday, Karen, Glenn, Earth and myself visited the property and found the unit as a great deal.

Here are the numbers. Comparable condo units were selling at about 2.5M to 3.0M, meaning I could get at least P500,000 in profit if I flipped the property. If I were to go for cashflow, I could get at least P6,000 monthly positive cashflow. I could even get more if I were to rent it out to an expat. Take note that this condo was just a stone's throw away from AIM and greenbelt 3.

Come Monday, I already drafted a proposal which I faxed to Karen so she could show to Ms. Dinna for her comments. While waiting for her feedback, I decided to call BPI to check on the property. I was shocked to find out that the property was already sold last Friday, the day before we visited it.

I guess it was a really good deal as the bank officer told me the buyer bought it in cash. Oh well, no need to feel bad as I am sure that there are other properties out there... I just have to keep finding those great deals.

Lessons learned:

1. Great properties are sold quickly, fast and decisive action is key.
2. Do the numbers fast, I created a simple excel sheet to do this, based on sample computations in Larry Gamboa's book, Think Rich Pinoy!.
3. It's all about location, location, location... I am now on the lookout for condos in this great location. I am more sure that I will be making my money when I buy, not when I sell, I'm not doing any speculation as this is based on the present market value of comparable properties.
4. I found out that this bank sold properties through mortgage loans, which meant I must be able to meet their financial requirements. Although I was confident on this, it would still take more time as compared to banks that sell properties through a contract-to-sell. You can read more about this in Dinna Revilla's book, Riches in Foreclosures.

More to come...