That is crazy, some people! They just don't care about anybody else but themselves. It is not right for all the other people who also live in the community to have to deal with such thing. The street is not a place to set up a table and drink. It is surprising that they are allowed to get away with that.
And do you know that the custom some people are developing - not only in our village but in the whole Metro Manila - is appropriating the sidewalk as an extension of their garage. The gate is placed right at the edge of the road for the whole sidewalk fronting the property entrance is fenced, i.e. no one can use the sidewalk anymore. With that kind of neighborhood, the value of the place goes down because of the unpleasant aesthetic impression it projects.
This should not be allowed if it is bringing down the value on all other properties in the neighborhood. Whose is going to want to buy the properties even if they put them up for sale? It sounds like they have let it get out of control and now they don't know how to fix it. It should be up to the city/town/village to make sure things like this don't happen in the first place. The sidewalks are not owned by the homeowners so they shouldn't be allowed to claim it as their own.
That is the problem here, the state of villages. And some residents don't even bother to contribute their dues although they know that security guards need to be paid. You are right, the sidewalks are public domains and no one should appropriate it for private use. I really don't know how they are going to correct that bad culture. It is not easy to destroy gates and fences to rectify that deliberate mistake of some residents. From what I see, the value of our property has drastically pulled down by those eyesores around us.
I had some industrial property in London about 20 years ago in a place called Shoreditch. It was virtually worthless back then when I sold it, but it's now one of the hippest places around. I'm not upset b/c I would have had to sit on it for a long time, and that wasn't possible then. But still, I could have retired on the money it would have made me if I waited a decade.
My husband had a lot in a town called Antipolo. The lot was in a village that was not developed, dirt roads, no electricity, no water system. He was selling it for 100k but there were no takers. After 2 years, he again put it up for sale. He was surprised because the market value was increased to 500K because there was electricity and water although the dirt roads are still there. Fortunately, a buyer came up and bought it. Now, that lot has a market value of about 2 million.
I think it rings very true. Most housing prices can be determined by pricing three similar homes in the area. When it comes to location and you're looking for a larger house, sometimes, it's not always in your best interests to choose the "white elephant" or the biggest house on the block--even if it is in a great neighborhood--you could lose some of the initial investment over time.
This reminds me of a friend who works as a ship captain. With the money he had earned, he bought 6 adjacent lots where he built his house - he has 2 children who are both grown ups. When we went for a visit, the house was nice and the yard is spacious (because it is composed of 6 lots measuring 150 square meters each). But the problem is the road, all roads are narrow. My father in law said that the smaller the size of the lot, the narrower the road. So if you want a 900 square meter lot then go for it instead of buying small lots to make 900 square meters.
You know it depends on what you want in a location. It differs for different people. For instance I live in a nice house in a lake front community. It is a very pretty area...and is busy in the summer with lots of tourism. However, the services are awful out here and we do not have unlimited internet, or access to regular cable TV. We have to use satellites for everything. So, in one sense if it is a great location, but in another it is hard to live here, and why I want to sell. So, again, depends on what a buyer is looking for.
Gee, that seems to be a wasted opportunity. Same here, when my husband's family sold their ancestral house, it fetched 7 million but after 2 years, the market value rose to 10 million. As what the broker said, it's a matter of timing when you are selling your property. As much as possible, hold on to it. But sometimes you get desperate for money so you are willing to sell the property for a discount.
