"OFWs advised against real-estate speculation"
The article is interesting due to several reasons:
1. The article pitted two known economists (Dr. Macaranas of AIM and Dr. Diokno of UP School of Economics) against the self-serving assessment of a certain real estate broker named Maritess Bigornia, owner of the Land Treasures Realty.
2. Ms. Maritess Bigornia is not a registered real estate broker and Land Treasures Realty is not also registered with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). The writer and editor should have checked this before publishing the article.
3. Developers and real estate brokers register with the HLURB and not the PRC. In the article Ms. Bigornia was quoted as saying that"it is important for a buyer to check whether the broker is accredited with the Philippine Regulation Commission."
4. Bigornia said that the broker must be trustworthy, "has a notable track record and preferably has an office." A web search of her company reveals a website under a certain Pedro Maque. He is in the list of registered brokers but lists his office at 7F Electra House, Legaspi Village, Makati. I checked the building and the only real estate company on the 7th floor is Leomont Realty.
5. Bigornia said that “We are already at the tail-end of the crisis. We survived and we’re not thinking about that (falling prices)" which only proves Dr. Macaranas' point"But remember, the real estate agents are only interested in commission. They don’t care if your prices collapse later."
Buyers beware!
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