BPI unveils program for housing loans

By Mia A. Aznar

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

WITH real estate booming in Cebu for the last two years, a bank has brought a national event to the province in hopes of catering to Cebuanos planning to purchase homes before the year ends.

BPI Family Savings Bank announced a three-day Housing Madness event beginning this Friday, which officials believe will be successful, given the active Cebuano real estate market.

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BPI Family Savings president Jose Teodoro Limcaoco told reporters that regular housing loans in Cebu grew 25 percent in 2010.

The Housing Madness sale being their flagship program for housing, Limcaoco said it was only right for them to bring it to Cebu for the first time.

Banking officials assured buyers will get special deals, both from developers and from the bank, if they avail of the regular housing loan within the three days.

Herbert Tuason, vice president and head of product marketing, announced that those who purchase during the sale will benefit from waived appraisal and registration fees, P10,000 off from their first monthly amortization, a free gold Mastercard and the option to avail of their latest offer, the BPI PayHinga, a one-month pay break offer on the amortization.

Waived fee

Tuason said clients save a lot with the waived registration fee, which is about P14,000 for every P1 million. Appraisal fees also reach P3,500.

Limcaoco explained that the PayHinga is something they are offering to clients after the noticed that there is at least one month in a year that clients have difficulty in making their payments on time, and that is during enrolment.

The PayHinga allows clients to choose one month of the year where they won't have to pay their monthly amortization.

Though they already started advertising the product, Limcaoco said this was their first formal announcement of the product. He added that this is a first in the country.

Senior vice president and head of the retail mortgage division Jocelyn Sta. Ana assured that they carefully picked the developers who would be participating in the sale, saying they wanted to be sure their clients would have the best options laid out for them.

The sale, she said, would work like a mall where buyers can choose which project is best for them all in one area.

"We are committed to helping every Filipino family get their dream homes. Through the Housing Madness, we hope to do just that by bringing together the best developers, special rates and more dynamic financing schemes favorable to our clients, all under one roof," she said.

She said that aside from the deals the bank is offering, developers will also be offering their own deals just for the event.

Developers

The 17 developers who will be joining the sale are Aboitizland, AE International, Ayala Land Premier, Alveo Land, Avida Land, Arcenas Properties, Crown Communities, Cebu Landmasters, CLS Properties, Colourfield Land, Innoland Development, Lopzcom Development, MLD Dream Builders, Nexland Estate, Primary Homes, Robinsonsland and Taft Property.

Tuason added that if a client cannot pass by the Ayala Center Cebu during ther Housing Madness dates, they can still avail of the perks offered during the sale if they apply for a regular housing loan at the BPI Family Savings website.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 13, 2011.

Apple One Tower plans another mixed-use project

By Katlene O. Cacho

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

ENCOURAGED by the fast sales take-up of Apple One Tower at Cebu Business Park, Apple One Properties Inc. plans to build another mixed-used development in Cebu next year.

"The plans are still on the drawing board. But we will be developing a commercial-retail and residential project by next year," said Apple One Properties Inc. vice-president for Operations Yvet Andalis, in an interview yesterday.

Andalis said they are confident about the real estate market because of the thriving economy in Cebu. She said that despite the entry of major players in the market, they are still confident to capture a good market share, particularly in the office property, which she believes is still under-served.

She said the mixed-used project would be bigger than that of Apple One Tower. Its target launching will be next March.

"Although it is a bit scary considering that Cebu has faster pace than Manila in terms of development and we don't know which area will first experience a real estate bubble, we still brace ourselves and take the opportunity while it's still there," Andalis said.

Delivery

Apple One Properties Inc. is a new player in the real estate industry. Its flagship project is the 17-storey Apple One Tower, which will house office and residential units. The company purchased a 1,876-square-meter property at the Cebu Business Park and invested some P500 million for the development of the project.

According to Andalis, the project's delivery is within schedule. "The tower will be topping off next month. Our commitment is to deliver the units by December 2012, but we expect a partial turnover of units to owners by June or July," she said.

Apple One Tower will house 20 residential units and over 50 offices, mostly insurance and law offices. The tower's anchor tenant is the Equicom Group, a diversified conglomerate composed primarily of companies in information technology, healthcare and financial services.

Andalis noted that the fast sales-take up of their units was also buoyed by the prime address of the project. She said investors choose strategic locations like Cebu Business Park, which is Cebu's financial district.

Apple One Properties Inc. is affiliated with five other companies: Ven Ray Construction; Brickwall Construction and Development Corp.; Golden Bee International; Mandy Hotmix; Sunsky Development Corp.

Among its sister-companies are the Diamond Suites, Apple Tree Suites Cebu, Apple Tree Resort and Hotel in Cagayan de Oro and Boardwalk Residences.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 13, 2011.