Looking for a flat to rent can be a tiring affair, especially if it’s the first time . Regardless of what you are looking for in a flat, choosing the perfect accommodation can be very time consuming. The good news is there are a number of choices available to you.  It’s important to note that choosing the right resource can be the difference between a long and tiring search or quickly finding the rental flat you seek.

Decide your budget

Knowing what you can afford to pay per month on a flat is key and will help you in selecting the right flat for you.  Generally it amounts to 30 percent of your take-home monthly income.  You should consider your outgoings such as bills, cost of your food, ad-hoc entertainment and any other expenses as they will need to be deducted from your income per month.

Visiting the area

The first step is to decide the area you’d like to live.  It’s a good idea to visit this area and get a feel for what it would be like to live there.

Make a check list

Next create a check list which contains what your flat must have e.g. a furnished or unfurnished flat, house conversion flat or purpose built apartment and what you’d like it to have ideally.  This will make the decision making process much easier as you can eradicate anything that isn’t part of your checklist.

Find a good letting agent

It’s exhausting to trawl through classified adverts in magazines and newspapers so the least tiring way is to contact a specialist in the flat rental market who will find you properties to suit your specific needs.  If you have prepared a checklist your conversation will be short and lead to viewings tailored to your preferences.  

If you stick to the tips above you will save a lot of time and hassle looking for your new apartment.

Sun.Star CDO Business
May 27, 2010

THE construction of the USD167.09 million (P7.853 billion) Laguindingan Airport Development Project (LADP) in Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental, particularly the civil works and buildings, is already 65 percent completed as of May 14.

Access road to the airport was completed in January 2010 while land acquisition for the main airport area is 99.24 percent accomplished with 390.95 hectares already acquired of the 393.94-hectare requirement.

Some 370 families have been relocated: 134 families at Phase 1 resettlement site in Barangay San Isidro, Laguindingan and 236 families at Phase 2 resettlement site in Barangay Tubajon, also in Laguindingan.

The air navigation facilities/equipment component of the project will be financed by the Korean Export-Import (Kexim) Bank loan facility.

On May 18, a five-person team of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) appraisal mission on LADP-Air Navigation Aid System Supply Project visited Northern Mindanao for a site survey and to conduct fact-finding activities for the sub-project.

Accompanied by Engr. Felicisimo C. Pangilinan Jr. of the Air Transport Planning Division of the Department of Transportation and Communications, the members of the EDCF Appraisal Mission Team include Chang Young-hoon, mission leader and director of EDCF Department, Kexim Bank; Yi Ji-Eon, deputy director, EDCF Department, Kexim Bank; Woo Binnah, manager, EDCF Department, Kexim Bank; Chai Seung-su, technical consultant of Inha University; and a specialist of Air Navigation Aid System from MLTM (Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs).

The team also visited the Lumbia Airport Control Tower to see the air navigation system equipment.

The LADP is one of the State-of-the-Nation Address commitments of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for Northern Mindanao.

Civil works are expected to be 72.07 percent completed when President Arroyo’s term ends on June 30, 2010. The project will terminate and will be made operational in January 2012.

Land buyers warned against flawed titles
The Philippine Star
Updated April 12, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – In the wake of the recent land fiasco in Cebu, the Consumers Union of the Philippines (CUP) warned land buyers and investors to protect themselves against flawed titles by at least verifying the location of the titled land being sold.

The Cebu provincial government was recently reported as having bought a 25-hectare property in Naga, Cebu, some 20 hectares of which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) found to be timberlands partly submerged at sea, and for which reversion and title cancellation proceedings are reportedly being pursued.

Cebu government authorities were reported as saying that no survey was made because they relied on the Torrens system of land registration where the certificate of title serves as proof of ownership.

In a statement, CUP chairman Ambassador Raul Goco, former Solicitor-General, said: “We hope this serves as yet another lesson to the land buying public that beyond mere reliance on a certificate of title, a much higher degree of prudence is required, in the light of countless questionable titles that have been circulating in the market for decades.”

“Under the established rules and doctrines that underpin the Torrens system, two things must concur: first, proof of ownership; and second, proof of identity of the land.”

“We strongly urge the land buying public to pay closer attention to the technical descriptions that every certificate of title is required to contain, for this is the means by which one could ascertain the titled land’s identity – meaning its exact location, configuration, size and metes and bounds.”

“In many instances, land buyers hardly pay any attention to these technical descriptions, and thus are duped into buying worthless land found at the bottom of ravines, or overlapping other properties, or as in the Cebu incident, timberlands that cannot be subject of private ownership in the first place unless released as alienable by the DENR.”

“Others rely merely on vicinity sketches which can be dangerously misleading, as these may not really show the accurate geographic position of the land or the technical defects of the title”.

Goco said that the Cebu fiasco may have been avoided if, prior to buying, the authorities simply plotted and mapped the land based on the title’s technical descriptions, which could have been undertaken in just a few minutes at negligible cost.

“Reliable computerized mapping services to accurately locate and evaluate a titled property anywhere in the country already exist, foremost of which is the pioneering GIS parcellary mapping service of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations (CREBA) at www.mapsys.ph”, Goco said.

Goco said that with such services already available to anyone anywhere, there should no longer be any excuse to still fall into the sad predicament in which the Cebu authorities, and even seasoned land dealers before them, had found themselves.

“There is much that Government must do to protect public interest; but the individual must contribute his share by complying with the requirements of due diligence”, Goco added.

By Raul J. Palabrica
Philippine Daily Inquirer
03/25/2010

FOR FILIPINOS, REGARDLESS OF their station in life, land represents security or peace of mind.

Our farmers are prepared to kill, and be killed, to protect the land they till or on which they depend for their livelihood.

Informal settlers will resist with all their might, even put their lives on the line, the demolition of shanties they call home.

According to statistics, some 39 million Filipinos live on land they do not own or, if they have the right to build on it, do not have the documents to prove that entitlement.

The problem is not confined to Metro Manila. The provinces that have become hubs of trade and commerce in their regions are going through the same experience.

Although occupants of government-owned properties have priority in owning the land they occupy, the titling process—which is judicial in nature—is long winded and, since it requires the services of lawyers, costly.

Application

With the signing into law on March 9 of Republic Act No. 10023, relief is in sight for low-income Filipino families who do not want to be “squatters” in their own country.

Authored by Sen. Richard Gordon, the law allows Filipinos who actually occupy public residential lots to apply for a free patent title over those parcels of land.

In a free patent, title over the property is given by the government to the occupant without any monetary payment.

It is similar to homestead titles over disposable public agricultural lands that the government gave to landless farmers during the 1950s to cool the heat of the then Hukbalahap insurgency.

To qualify for the free patent, the applicant should have, by himself or through his predecessor-in-interest, actually resided on and continuously occupied the subject lot under a bona fide claim of ownership for at least 10 years.

The 10-year requirement represents a 20-year reduction of the occupancy period required under existing laws.

The occupancy can be proven through the sworn statements of two disinterested persons residing in the barangay of the city or municipality where the land is located.

The application should also be supported by a technical description of the lot, and a map based on an actual survey conducted by a licensed geodetic engineer and approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Restrictions

The law applies to all lands classified or zoned as residential areas, including town sites as defined under the Public Land Act.

Also covered are “residential areas located inside a delisted military reservation or abandoned military camp, and those of local government units” that are not otherwise considered protected areas.

With the greater public interest in mind, however, the law excludes lands needed for public service or public use, forest lands classified as such by the Forest Reform Code, and nature reserves and other protected areas covered by the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992.

There is a limit though on the size of the land that can be applied for by qualified applicants. In highly urbanized cities, it should not be more than 200 square meters; in other cities, it should not exceed 500 square meters. For first class and second class municipalities, 750 square meters is the maximum; for the rest of the municipalities, the ceiling is 1,000 square meters.

The free patent application should be filed with the DENR and, for good measure, the law fixes the period within which it should be acted upon.

Benefits

Properly implemented, the law can unlock the value of otherwise stagnant real property.

Depending on the holding period the DENR may require in the implementing regulations, the lot owners can use their property as security for loans that can provide them with capital for small-scale entrepreneurial activities.

Credit institutions are more comfortable lending money to people who have property that can be levied upon in case they renege on their payment obligations.

With their home lots at stake, the debtors become more careful about the use of the money they borrowed to fund their business
. Messing up the business or diverting the money from its intended objective could throw their families, literally, to the dog house.

But the most significant effect of giving free patent titles to deserving families is the self-confidence or pride it will create.

The Gawad Kalinga housing projects best illustrate this development. The communities where the informal settlers were resettled and given their own houses and lots are today models of cleanliness and orderly living.

Suffused with pride over their new found status as property owners, the residents, individually and collectively, properly maintain their homes and surroundings.

The high morale translates to a community spirit that encourages the homeowners to discard the dog-eat-dog mentality that once ruled their lives and instead be law abiding and respectful of each other’s rights.

Hopefully, the informal settlers who are entitled to the benefits of the law will use them properly and not allow themselves be used by unscrupulous parties.

(For feedback, please write to .)

Planning Mindanao’s future

By Cielito Habito
Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 10, 2010

SURELY one of the most prominent elements in the political platforms of candidates to national positions in the forthcoming May elections is defining the right strategy for dealing with the persistent peace and development challenge in Mindanao.

Few would dispute that Mindanao is most critical to the nation’s future and overall welfare.

Mindanao accounts for about a
1) third of the country’s land area, a
2) quarter of the country’s population and a
3) fifth of overall income, measured as gross domestic product or GDP.

The incongruence of those ratios already reflects an anomaly, especially in light of what must be a much greater share that Mindanao possesses of the country’s natural wealth. Mindanao, in other words, could easily account for a far greater share of the country’s production and incomes, had it not been for long-standing barriers to attaining lasting peace and development therein.

New Mindanao Road Map

It is in this light that the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco), in cooperation with the Mindanao regional offices of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), has spearheaded work to come up with a new 20-year blueprint for the future of Mindanao and its diverse peoples.

The previous blueprint known as Mindanao 2000 covers only up to 2010, hence the need for a sequel plan now dubbed as Mindanao 2020. Notwithstanding the name—chosen because of the catchy and suggestive nature of the number (as in 20/20 vision)—the new plan will cover the period up to 2030.

It is thus intended to guide the various strategies, policies and programs to be undertaken for Mindanao in the next two decades.

The great diversity found in Mindanao presents a daunting challenge for such a planning exercise.

There is wide variation within the island group in terms of natural and physical endowments and attributes, historical and cultural backgrounds, ethnic composition, and political perspectives.

It would thus appear to be wishful thinking to expect that a consensus could ever be reached on the elements of such a plan.

And yet, it is this very diversity that makes it all the more imperative that wide consensus be sought to the extent possible. Even then, one must not entertain the illusion that universal agreement will ever be reached, especially on particular elements of the blueprint that will emerge.

Planning by listening

Key to achieving wide consensus is to adopt a listening mode in the design of the planning process.

Thus, the team that has been put together for the work defines its task as “facilitating the formulation of Mindanao 2020,” rather than formulating the plan itself.

Medco rightly sees Mindanao 2020 as a plan that must be crafted by the wide mass of Mindanawons, not by a small group of experts “playing God” for Mindanao.

Indeed, Mindanawons ranging from ordinary citizens to erudite scholars have long known what needs to be done to “fix” Mindanao.

There is no need to reinvent the wheel here; the content of Mindanao 2020 is largely in place.

It is the process for achieving a widely owned and supported plan that is seen to be the greater challenge.

Knowing it is impossible to hear every single Mindanawon out nor gather every single perspective, the Mindanao 2020 team has embarked on a planning process that seeks to maximize ownership for the plan. Three primary instruments are being employed to this end: A quick survey (QS), focus group discussions (FGDs) across Mindanao, and key informant interviews (KIIs) with prominent personalities who are knowledgeable of and/or influential in Mindanao.

Recommendations from past analyses, consultations and discussions are also being gathered from the literature.

The QS asks two simple questions on Mindanao’s future, and is being disseminated via e-mail, Internet and even text messaging.

The FGDs seek participants who can legitimately speak for much wider constituencies.

The results of more than 300 FGDs undertaken by Konsult Mindanaw headed by Fr. Bert Alejo (who is a member of the Mindanao 2020 team as well) are also now part of the Mindanao 2020 formulation. Meanwhile, KIIs are being done with personalities representing widely divergent perspectives.

Desired Mindanao

After hearing hundreds of Mindanawons in the consultations (which are still ongoing), key words that have emerged for a shared vision of Mindanao are “peace,” “progress” and “prosperity.”

A Mindanao where there is “no fear” is a popular way to describe the desired peace.

Mindanawons also want governance that is culture-sensitive, self-reliant and responsive. They want an economy that is financially self-reliant, physically connected and economically integrated, equitably uplifting the lives of all Mindanawons.

They also envisage the people of Mindanao as enjoying abundant opportunities to develop their human capabilities as individuals and as communities, marked by trust and solidarity within groups, among diverse cultures, and across different regions.

How to get there? Space constraints prevent me from describing, even in general terms, the wealth of good ideas already offered so far by Mindanawons from various walks of life.

Work continues in shaping Mindanao 2020, and will be completed only when the new leadership is in place after the elections.

After all, as critical as the buy-in of Mindanawons themselves is the buy-in of our new leaders coming in 2010.

(Readers’ inputs to Mindanao 2020 are welcome at chabito@ateneo.edu)