The House That Blogging Will Build

I am sure by now you have read about James' post about his House That Blogging Bought over at Pinoy Money Talk. He used his adsense earnings to pay for the 30% equity and took out a loan for 10 years. Not bad, not bad at all. Well, one of my options in building my dream house is to save my adsense earnings. But at this rate, it will take me maybe 20 or so years to build it. He he.

But James' story is very inspiring for new bloggers like me. Whenever I see testimonies like his, I become more convinced that although I enjoy writing and sharing my experiences, and journey in this blog's case, there is a big possibility that I can also earn big.

And maybe in a few years, I can write here an entry called "The House That Blogging Built."

I dream big!

House Construction Loan From Pag-IBIG

A reply by Simarun on a forum topic at Sulit on Pag-IBIG Housing Loan caught my attention and I am posting it here in its entirety:

i applied for a house construction loan sa pagibig, started last march and notice of approval was granted last august. It also took me around 50K to complete all requirement bago nirelease yung 1st check. sa akin na nakapangalan yung lot when i applied.
some requirements after the seminar at pumasa ka sa evaluation:
- bldg plans
- bldg permits
- tax clearance/declaration
- mortgage/chattel ba yun? (from registry of deed, mga 5K din)
- Doc stamp/Tax declaration (around 5K)
- notary of application (1% of loan amount)
- katakut-takot na paghihintay at pabalik balik
- etc, etc, etc.
4 gives ang check na ibibigay (30-30-30-10%) and may interest pa pag natagalan bago mo pina-inspect after the 1st, 2nd or 3rd release). The 4th release na 10% is ibibigay pag nakuha mo na yung occupancy permit (gastos uli) at nabayaran yung bagong tax declaration.

From the above reply, the salient points are scaring me!
-Processing took almost 5 months
-Processing fees cost P50,000
-Requirements include building plans and permits, tax declaration etc etc.

If you have any relevant experience on this topic, kindly share it here.

How to apply for a Pag-IBIG Housing Loan

I got this steps on how to apply for a Pag-IBIG housing loan from browsing their website and decided to post it here. Some of the steps here will be done for you by your developer and I personally did only steps 1 and 2. I was notified by my developer that my loan was approved and went to their office to sign some documents. I actually dont know about steps 4 to 8, but I know we are done with step 9 and I am currently doing step 10. I will pay my real estate tax arrears next week, which I think the developer paid the first year. That I think was included in the fees we paid them. I know that after paying the taxes, I will submit to the developer the tax receipt and copy of tax declaration for them to process transfer of title. Anyway, here are the steps:

Steps on how to apply for a Pag-IBIG housing loan (retail financing)
1. Attend a loan counseling session at the Pag-IBIG office and accomplish a Preliminary Loan Counseling Questionnaire, Housing Loan Application (HLA) and Membership Status Verification Slip (MSVS). If eligible secure checklist of requirements (requirements would depend on the loan
purpose).
2. Submit HLA with complete requirements. Pay the processing fee of P1,000 (non-refundable).
3. Receive Notice of Loan Approval/Letter of Guaranty and sign loan documents.
4. Proceed to the BIR and present Deed of Absolute Sale (DOAS) between the owner of the property and applicant for payment of documentary stamps and capital gains tax.
5. Proceed to Registry of Deeds for payment of transfer tax and registration fees for the transfer of the title.
6. Proceed to Notary Public for notarization of Loan Mortgage Agreement (LMA) and annotation of mortgage with the Registry of Deeds and to Assessor’s Office to secure new tax declaration in the name of the applicant.
7. Secure Occupancy Permit from the Local Government Unit Engineering Office when the loan is for any of the following purposes: Purchase of new Residential Unit (PRU), Purchase of Lot and Construction of a Residential Unit thereon or for House Construction only.
8. Submit the following documents to Pag-IBIG:
• Original Transfer Certificate of Title (OTC) in the name of the applicant with annotated mortgage
• DPAS with original RD stamp
• New Tax Declaration in the name of the applicant
• Updated Real Estate Tax Receipt (for house and lot, if applicable)
• Occupancy Permit
• Assignment of Loan Proceeds
9. Release of loan proceeds
10. Start of monthly amortization is the following month immediately following the loan take-out/final loan release.

I hope you find the steps above useful. You may also try calling the Pag-IBIG hotline number : 724 4244 for more information.

Additional Pag-Ibig Housing Loan

Yesterday, while browsing the Pag-IBIG website, I found out that I saw in the housing loan program that I can take out an additional loan to my existing housing loan. I called the Pag-IBIG hotline this morning, 724 4244 but there is no answer. I dialed their Loans Department and the person who answered was very helpful and pointed me to the Servicing Department (811 4212) where I can further inquire.

I was told that I can take out another loan, provided that I have been paying for 2 years already (ours is 4 months already) and that the title has been already transferred to my name(still on process, more on this later). Then I should attend the loan counseling and Pag-IBIG will evaluate my request. I asked how much I can loan, but the person said this will depend on the site inspection and evaluation of their representative.

After hearing this, I was really excited! I called my husband and texted my friends to share the good news. I think the universe is really helping me out here.

So my next plan of action is to pay the real estate tax we owe from the Municipality of Rizal and submit to the develper so they can already process the transfer of the title.

I am so excited!

Pag-Ibig Fund's Housing Loan Program

I was checking out Pag-Ibig Fund's Housing Loan Program and I was surprised to find an item on additional loans:

14. ADDITIONAL LOANS

A qualified Pag-IBIG member who has an existing housing loan may avail himself of an additional housing loan for the following purposes:
a. house construction or improvement of a house constructed on a lot purchased through a Pag-IBIG housing loan; or
b. home improvement.
The additional loan shall be treated as separate and distinct from the original loan, and the interest rate of which shall be in accordance with the rates provided for in these guidelines. Hence, the original loan shall still be subject to the interest rates prevailing at the time it was taken out.

I am so excited and I will check this out! I wish I qualify.

Building My Dream House: The Journey

This is my house. Universe, help me build it, please!

I decided to start this blog because of these 2 posts from my other blog, My Dream House and My Dream House Part 2.

I really, really want to build my own house. There is a freedom in living in your own home where you are free from restrictions from your landlord (if you are renting) or from your inlaws (if you are renting from your inlaws, like in our case). But aside from that, there is that feeling of fulfillment that you finally own something which is a product of your own labor, blood, sweat and tears.

I wish to chronicle our journey to building our dream house and in so doing, hope that others may be inspired to build their own.

In my next post, I will tell you how we came to own this house and lot.

I Have To Do Something

This is another blog entry which I am re-posting here with minor edits.

Remember my house which I blogged about last week? Well, we visited it last Sunday and I was dismayed and so frustrated at what I saw. Our next door neighbor had his dog in my house! Grrrr! I didn't confront him because I know he means well, what with vandals in the area. But it took a lot of effort not to throw a fit right there and then. The house smells and I had to cover my nose when I entered my house. And my neighbor didn't even have the decency to look ashamed!

Oh and look at the condition of my house!I feel like crying just looking at it.
But we made a resolution that we will build this house this year or early next year. Now that we have that conviction, I know the universe will help us.

Again, Universe a little help here please!

Building My Dream House

This was originally posted in my other blog but since this is post the reason why I started this blog, I think its only proper to re-post it here with some minor edits.


They say if you want something really bad, the universe will conspire to give it to you. I fervently wish this is true. See, I want my own house. We are actually paying mortgage for a 50 sqm. lot with a "starter house" on it. Its basically a low-cost development where half of the lot is bare. The row house has a wooden backdoor, a jalousie window, a restroom with a bowl and faucet and a small counter with a sink for a kitchen. That was how it was several years ago and we cant move in then because it wasn't livable for a family of five (seven including my mother and sister) until we make some improvements . Now, all the jalousies are gone, the door jamb is missing, the bowl is clogged and the wooden wall is rotten. The house has been vandalized already! Unfortunately, its down on the contract that the developer wont shoulder repairs if the house remains unoccupied after "take-out."

(above is my little plot of land on earth, taken some years back)

I am seriously considering my options at the moment:

1. Take out a loan from Pag-IBIG or SSS- Can I take out another loan even if the house is already under Pag-IBIG mortgage? Can I take out a loan from SSS?
2. Take out a loan from a bank- My only property is this house. Will they need collateral? Can we qualify for a bank loan with our combined salary?
3. Try to win the Lotto jackpot.
4. Blog a lot and hope to earn and maybe someday make a post about "The Dream House That Blogging Bought."

We are currently renting a house in a compound owned by my husband's relatives. Though there are a lot of advantages to living right smack in the city, like accessibility to the kid's school and our office, I would really love to make a go at building that dream home of ours in Rizal.

Hey Universe, a little help here please!