The sunlight is creeping in through the blinds as I see color appearing inside my room that was engulfed by darkness at night.
It’s only been two months since I moved to a new house and it feels as though everything is familiar to me for ages. I sleep well in spite of notes (flat / sharp / too-hard-to-categorize) coming from a guitar or flute of our neighbour.
My room resembles more of a minimalist style to my delight. I gave away some stuff to friends or to charity. Some are sent through balikbayan box to the Philippines.
The top benefits of moving out is that I was able to sort my stuff and not wait for spring cleaning.
I guess I’m getting used to rent a house (that I pay myself) as a way to save and invest and become a digital nomad.
While my days of renting a house in Canada is only starting, it was the opposite for my family in the Philippines.
From Renting to Owning a House in the Philippines
My parents have rented in the same place before my eldest sibling was born. Since then till last month, our family has never owned a house. We are deeply rooted and grateful for our humble rented abode.
Finally, we are able to buy a house and lot in the same city where we grew up. My parents wish were granted.
My siblings wanted to move to province since we want a less condensed environment where we can have our own garden and get close to nature.
On the contrary, my parents doesn’t want to move out of the city.
Something odd is going on. Did the members of my family decide to switch roles. My parents now would love to watch concerts (OPM artists) and my siblings would love to have siesta at noon.
One thing is common though: we are all excited to become a homeowner.
How Did We Buy a House and Lot
We always wanted to own a house but financial planning is something that my parents is not aware of.
So in spite of frugality, we rented for so many years. (If this is where you at, educate your folks; do not delay.)
The one thing they focus on is making sure that their children will have the best education they can have. Eventually, we earned college diplomas, something my parents never had.
When I moved to Canada, I carried with me, my family’s dream to own a house. And so I started sharing our journey of how we plan to buy a house on my blog PwedePadala.
At first we planned to apply for Pag-IBIG housing loan then to Philippine bank home loans. The process is tedious and the requirements are strict for an OFW like me. The tough barrier is to have a co-borrower, a duty that non of my family members can take up.
It seems that we are at our wits’ end when my parents thought of an idea.
My parents and I bought shared in buying the house in cash. Not having debt makes me sleep more peacefully at night. (Not that I’m having nightmares or sleepless nights.)
We are debt free and free to do what we please in our new home. Sort of. The previously owned house need an improvement. My family will move in after the renovation. It’s time for creativity to work its magic.
The Extreme Home Makeover on a Budget
My siblings and I would spent our days watching Extreme Home Makeover on HGTV. Ty Pennington and the cast made me almost shed tears as though I’m watching Babe.
We are fond of the before and after effect of redesigning a place, imagining we would have our own room in a theme of our choice, no matter how odd it is.
Now as adults, we have the chance to plan and design our house. My sibling has a background in architecture while I have an eye for colour and style.
Our goal is to create a comfortable home on a budget. With creativity, there’s so much possibility.
We’ll work together to meet the request or style taste of each of us. I love the Internet more than ever; I can research online and spend time in home improvement section of the library.
So our quest for making a comfortable home will continue. This time around, I’ll write about home improvement:
Click here for more posts about affordable home projects.
What’s Next
Through this experience, we would learn the ropes of home construction enough for us to be confident to build residential duplex house to create cash flow from rental income.
From renter to homeowner (and to entrepreneur in the future), my family and I will continue to work together in spite of distance.
Tag along in our journey! And share your home construction tips.
I know this post is from April, but congratulations, nevertheless! This is a big milestone.. Your Filipino dream finally came true.
Thanks MillionaireBefore50. Our dream became a reality and everyone pitched in although I didn’t like the tile design my brother picked for the kitchen. Clearly interior design is not his forte. It’s not that bad; just a mismatched. And my sister who has an architecture background did all the work of a foreman (eg. estimate, measuring, etc.). And for negotiation, my well-tempered mom stepped in. So this year has been great so far.
Oh gosh! Congratulations! I’m sure this is a big achievement for you and your family. =)
Thank you. It was sooner than I expected. But all the same, we are grateful.