For many Filipinos, thinking about investing in the future usually leads to a discussion about buying a home where one’s family can grow up safe and happy in a place where all their needs can be met.
For Gabriel “Billy” Dominguez, president of Green Circle Realty (GCR), his business is all about making this possible for his countrymen.
“Having your own home is the ultimate Filipino dream,” he says. “With the help of our dedicated and hardworking team, we at GCR look forward to helping more of our kababayans reach that dream.”
Now in its 13th year, Dominguez’s GCR has been recognized as the leading sales network for the Property Company of Friends, Inc. (ProFriends), the developer behind Lancaster New City in Cavite. As such, the company has constantly honored its commitment to give people access to reasonably-priced homes of good quality.
At present, the bulk of Dominguez’s clients are ordinary workers — OFWs and those employed locally — who see a home of their own as both an investment and a legacy for their children. Many of them are either newlyweds or young families in search of their first home.
One particular market that Dominguez and his team at GCR find challenging is that of the millennial generation: young professionals between the ages of 25 and 35 who find the prospect of buying a house both intimidating and expensive. For Dominguez, rising to meet this challenge involves changing the prevalent “spend your money as it comes” mindset common among many young Filipinos.
“They say that they can’t afford to buy a house at current rates,” Dominguez says of many young professionals. “Yet, they can afford to buy signature coffees or cups of milk tea on a regular basis. They are unaware that the cost of two cups of their favorite coffee or tea drink is roughly equivalent to the amount of daily payment for a three-bedroom house.”
GCR prides itself on making homeownership more affordable by way of its flexible financing schemes tailored to suit its clients’ needs.
As Dominguez puts it “With our payment terms, owning a house and lot ranging from P1.5 to P1.6 million is made more pocket-friendly by having the usual 30 percent downpayment scaled down to just 12.5 percent or about P12,000 for 12 to 15 months. This way, there is no initial jolt on our clients’ finances.”
In doing so, potential homebuyers can avail of shorter loan terms and save on interest as they pay the monthly amortization. Savings can go to other important matter such as their children’s education or capital for starting a small business.
This passion for helping others buy and build homes for themselves has its roots at the beginning of Dominguez’s career, as he started out at the Pag-IBIG Fund where he rose through the ranks to become manager of its public affairs department. It was here that he saw the need to plan for the future by way of good and sound investments.
Thirteen years since he left Pag-IBIG to start his own venture, Dominguez has become a “salespreneur”— a salesman who believes in his product but also has the skills and knowledge to effectively manage a business. It’s a combination that has brought him to where he is in life, and it is something that he teaches to his own team of hard-working salespreneurs. He provides them with continuous training and personal development, eventually making them self-sufficient enough to succeed in their own ventures later in life. For Dominguez who believes in helping others build better and brighter futures, this is the best legacy he can give his people.
