There continues to be a growing interest in real estate investment.
Real estate, after all, has been proven to be among the most valuable and resilient assets to date owing to the fact that property prices and capital values appreciate in the long run.
However, you will only fully enjoy the benefits of real estate investment when due diligence is done.
“It pays to be smart with your choices. Individuals looking to grow their investment portfolio must be willing to go through the tedious task of studying their options and understanding the benefits that come with it. They need to ensure that they will invest in something that can provide long term value,” Sta. Lucia Land president Exequiel Robles said.
Over the last decade, Sta. Lucia has been beefing up and expanding its portfolio to include offerings such as condotels. The concept of “condotels”—coined to mean a condominium with hotel units and facilities—is emerging to be an attractive and relatively hassle free way of making your real estate assets earn for you.
Sta. Lucia Land has a number of condotel offerings nationwide, including SotoGrande Iloilo, a popular destination among travelers given its numerous cultural and culinary offerings.
“People now are realizing the benefits of investing in condotels, particularly the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who cannot readily oversee their property investments in the Philippines. The condotel concept is a hassle free investment for them because even if you’re out of the country, somebody can manage it for you,” said Sta. Lucia Hotel Management Group general manager Imee Yu.
Yu said the investor or unit owner will have to enter a 15-year leaseback agreement, in which he or she will receive a rent income based on the size of the unit. A bigger unit means a bigger share on the net profit or dividends.
Of the total net profit that will be earned by the condotel, 70 percent will be divided among unit owners. Dividends are payable on a quarterly basis, net of the condotel’s monthly dues and realty taxes. Of course, how much you’ll earn will be subject to occupancy rates, inflation, and foreign exchange movements.
Overseeing the condotel operations is the company’s hotel management group. This includes the leasing of the hotel rooms, maintenance, refurbishment and improvements, as well as managing operating expenses.
“Now is the best time to invest in a condotel unit, especially since we are starting to see a recovery in local tourism,” Robles said.