PRO-FRIENDS: A great investment

As an Overseas Filipino Worker, my main agenda is to put my earnings in smart investment vehicles wherein I could get it to work to my advantage and eventually retire without having to worry about where my day-to-day living expenses is going to come from. For that reason, I always have been keen on putting my money on pre-need plans, investment funds, insurance and lately real estate investments. To get myself started on my real estate investing journey, I initially purchased farm lands in my home province. I found a couple of people who are willing to part ways with their parcel of lands at prices that are literally dirt cheap. The first one that I acquired was a three hectare tract of land on a hilly terrain. It was great for crops, farming and for setting up a fair-sized vacation house. I wanted that property to be a place for weekend family getaways. After acquiring that tract of land, I still feel that I need to look for a house that is located in an actual residential development. A friend from work pointed me to a Profriends Facebook page so I could check several housing developments that are being offered by the Property Company of Friends, Inc. The aspect of the company that appealed to me the most is the location where the property developments are located. I grew up in the Batangas area which is approximately 45 mins. away if you are going to drive and less than an hour and a half if you are riding a public conveyance like buses and jeepneys. I browsed around the Facebook page as well as the official website. I found out that the company currently has three developments in the Cavite area. The subdivision names are as follows; Carmona Estates, Lancaster New City (formerly known as Lancaster Estates) and Bellefort Estates. Out of the three subdivision developments, the community that interested me the most was the Lancaster New City. The Lancaster New City in my opinion is somehow in the “in-between” category when it comes to pricing and quality. It is neither low end nor high end which is perfect for me. My only qualm was the regular commute through Aguinaldo Highway if I am not travelling by car because I am pretty much aware of the daily traffic situation in the area which is far from pleasant. However, that concern was somehow answered when the real estate agent told me that there are commuter buses that regularly take the Cavitex route. 

Bellefort Estates has the following amenities:

Country club –  they call it Leighton hall, a three-story clubhouse that is great for family occasions like weddings, birthday parties and other family events that residents would want to celebrate. It features a swimming pool for kids and adults plus a 500-seater function area on the uppermost level. This is definitely a far-cry from traditional clubhouses that I have been seeing in older subdivisions wherein the clubhouses are mostly single-story open house style structures.

A strip of green space – This is another unique feature that I saw during my tripping. They call it the Linear Park, an open space at the back of each house where kids can play safely and families can bond together. The park provides superior ventilation, fresh air and a stunning park-like view with lush greeneries.  

School – the St. Edward Integrated School is comfortably located inside the development which means that rushing in the morning to beat the school bell is a thing of the past. The only drawback though is that the school only provides up to 2^nd year high school level. It would have been better though if they made it to accommodate at least up to the 4^th year high school level.

Basketball courts – although this is a pretty ubiquitous amenity in every subdivision, the thing that makes Lancaster basketball courts is that all of them come in covered which mean that you can practice your game rain or shine.   

   

All in all this is a solid piece of real estate investment. I just thought that they could have made the residential streets a bit wider but that is fine because they have compensated for that by making the main thoroughfares substantially wider than usual.