Journey to Homeownership

My Family’s Homeownership Story

More than 20 years ago we used to live in various places, jumping from one home to another.  It was quite an ordeal for me and my family.  In the Philippines, I was fondly and jokingly called an NPA, which means someone with “No Permanent Address.” 

It is not easy to own a home despite many saying otherwise.  You have to be a regular member of PAGIBIG before you can get a home loan and that also depends on your age and the cost of the home you are about to buy.  Back then there was no mortgage calculator and agents had to compute loan repayments manually.  Back then, my parents could not afford that.

It took us another 10 years or so to finally settle in our home in Plaridel, Bulacan.  The home that we purchased was the fruit of the hard work that my mom did working in Dubai.  She painstakingly saved money so that we can finally settle inside the comfort of our own home.  When we bought the house, it was just bare and we still have to redesign and renovate it.  Thanks to my dad, who is a very good and creative architect, we don’t have to pay for it.

Today, we live in the comfort of our own home, and all the fees are finally settled.  If there are things that we need to fix it comes down to repairing the house due wear and tear caused by time.  It was worth all the effort and hard work of my mom.

COVID-19 and Homeownership Today

COVID-19 caused a big dent in the economy of the Philippines and more people cannot afford to buy a home. If there is one good thing in the information era of today is the fact that there are now available online mortgage calculators which you can use to help estimate your loan and calculate repayments.

Real estate properties are not cheap but if you search carefully even online on sites like Lamudi and even PAGIBIG, which offers discounted homes due for repossession, then you might get something affordable. Remember that the younger you are in getting a home, the lower the cost of loan repayments you need to have.

Some of the most affordable homes are in newly urbanized towns which might a little bit be difficult to get to by regular transportation.  Despite that fact, it is still worth looking into because unless it is very remote, the usual real estate sites are within a reliable method of transportation.

Remember that whatever your plans are purchasing a new home, refinancing, or expanding your current home, they should always be well planned. Try to do a budget and evaluate the needs of your family.  You should also employ an architect or engineer if possible because through this you are actually saving more time.

I am hoping that through this article, I had imparted something useful to my readers.  Remember that there is always no place like home.