Green Homes Archive

There’s a change in the horizon for Residences Manila.

Back home in Manila, the latest Comelec and PPCRV official tallies without a doubt show that Benigno Simeon Cojuanco Aquino III, or Noynoy as he is fondly called, will soon be proclaimed as the country’s next President. The apparent success of the country’s first computerized elections, with a 75% turnout of 50 million voters, also raises hope that positive, political transformation can happen when there is political will.

The choice of Noynoy indicates to me that more Filipinos have asserted their desire for more sensible governance.  Reviews say that people expect him for now to simply perform his duties with honesty, and prioritize fighting corruption in government, just to implement even a few key programs.  It seems that for the meantime, fulfilling these  would win him baseline credibility with the Filipino people in the short term. I think that’s just the shot business sector needs to boost business confidence, and consumer spending.

On the field, homebuyers have become more conscious of the effect of Mother Earth on their neighborhoods.  After the debilitating effects of Typhoon Ondoy (international code name: Ketsana) in 2009, plus a slew of major quakes this year in other parts of the globe,  buyers have increasingly asserted the need for ‘flood-free’ or less earthquake-prone locations.  There aren’t that many due to violations in urban planning and zoning restrictions.  We hope that developers will consider more environmentally sound master plans, and stick to it.  Save the environment, save yourself–hopefully, that kind of thinking reads to them that their profits won’t decrease, and save them costly lawsuits in the end. This gives us an opportunity to review projects and neighborhoods from a green-ed perspective.

As we now experience drastically changing weather conditions in the Philippines and worldwide, homeowners will start re-thinking about how their houses can be made or remodelled to be more weatherproof,  more secure or earth-friendly.

For a more refined contribution to the blogosphere, Residences Manila will make another shift in content.

For those who will need a free home evaluation and home listings services, you may click on the listing feedlinks provided in the sidebards, visit  Architerra.org or email Architerra.

Audience-wise, we write with the mature home buyer and the first-time home seller’s needs in mind, though the information may benefit all types of property investors. Posts on home selection and evaluation, financing, to moving and home improvement for the move-in/move-out; why sell when you can rent, giving your house ‘curb’ appeal, taxation and selling your house on a cost-cutting budget–we hope to make this a true, one-stop online resource for you.

Expect practical views and homeowner’s accounts on methods which can help turn your residence in Manila into a green home, at least from an end-user viewpoint.  It’s a perception that it will cost you much to make an earth-friendly home, but we’ll try to lead you to where you can find sustainable materials or efficient designs.  We’ll include too more posts on how that trend will impact urban planning, the construction of landed properties and condominium towers. If we find ‘green’ materials which will make your home look better, feel better, or save the earth, we’ll blog about it!

On a special note: this blogger realizes too that there’s a need to provide more information on transacting in a cross-cultural setting.  As I’ve had clients  in mixed marriages or those who have been in a third-culture setting for some time, recurring questions on Philippine practices in property acquisition, disposal, documentation, legal issues, and understanding the Filipino cultural perspective in negotiations.  We’ll blog about that, in layman’s terms.  Hopefully, it will save all parties time, nerves, and keep the trust and goodwill til the end of the transaction.

I’ll be sharing from my 20 years of combined experience as Realtor, property investor, landlord, mortgage broker, online researcher, e-commerce & internet marketing practitioner.  On occasion, I will feature guest bloggers,  experts, and actual homebuyers and owners to share their experiences on the topics.

Residences Manila is at home with change in the name of better service to our Internet readers.  Let us know what you think about this!

Reinvent Your Residence,

Maita Siquijor

Founder and Principal Editor

ResidencesManila.com

There’s a change in the horizon for Residences Manila. Back home in Manila, the latest Comelec and PPCRV official tallies without a doubt show that Benigno Simeon Cojuanco Aquino III, or Noynoy as he is fondly called, will soon be proclaimed as the country’s next…