After 15 Years of Renting, 31-Year-Old Sales Manager Achieves Dream of Buying Her Own House

25 June 2021

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A famous quote goes, "Don't rush anything. When the time is right, it will happen"⁠—and Ria Rose del Rosario, a 31-year-old sales manager, has shown that it is true. Because after 15 years of renting a house and a ton of hard work later, she now has a place she can call her own.

In this article, let us get to know her a bit more and how she was able to achieve her dream of owning a house and lot after years of rent trap that would spark inspiration to all of us.

Ria Rose is one of those Bida Lumina Sellers that shared their success stories during The ViCon.

15 Years of Renting and a Lot of Hard Work Later

For most of us, a home is a big part of life because where we live impacts our daily lives. While owning a house is the goal, it is not always easy to achieve. That is why many people opt to rent a house and lot in the Philippines instead.

Renting may be cheaper and gives you more flexibility than buying a house. However, it comes with many disadvantages: the landlord can increase the rent at any time, you cannot build equity if you are renting a property, and more.

"'Pag kasi nagre-rent ka, may monthly na naniningil sa'yo then kung hindi ka makapagbayad on time, may maririnig ka pang pagalit or something. At kung may gusto kang i-customize sa bahay ng may-ari, kailangan mo pa siyang ipagpaalam. Maraming restriction," shares Ria.

After 15 Years of Renting 31 Year Old Sales Manager Achieves Dream of Buying Her Own House

It's true. Because when renting, even if you are paying it monthly, it is still not yours to do whatever you want to do with it at the end of the day. There are a lot of restrictions when on a rental, and Ria didn't want this anymore.

And as her kids grow up, the amount she pays monthly is also growing. “Napaisip ako dahil lumalaki na ‘yung mga anak ko. Kasabay ng paglaki ng anak ko, 'yun din 'yung paglaki ng bayad ng monthly na renta. And dumating na rin kasi ‘yung time na, napagod na ko kababayad na wala naman kinapupuntahan,” she adds.

The worst part of renting is that even if you're paying it monthly, sure, it will be your home for a time, but it won't be your asset.

These instances made Ria realize that it's finally time to get their own house.

The Dream: Not a Grand House and Lot, But to Live Comfortably

Just like most couples who are starting to build or already have a family, Ria dreamed of getting their own house one day, but as you know, house and lot for sale don't come cheap, and there are other bills and fees to consider as well, so they had to hustle hard and save up for years. For Ria and her husband, it took 15 years of renting before they could finally buy a house and lot that they can call their own.

Many people dream of living in a bigger, nicer home, but not Riza. She wanted a house where her family could live comfortably and found it in an affordable house and lot by Lumina Homes.

She bought a 45-sqm. house, designed it the way she wanted and turned it into a stunning home that even became viral in the Facebook group Home Buddies. As of writing, her post has 99,000 reactions and 4,700 comments.

She was just a silent member of the group looking at other members' posts to get some ideas for her house. When she saw a lot of people sharing their success stories in the group, she thought of posting hers, too, just to share how happy she is to have their own house after years of renting finally. And after posting, the likes blew up to thousands.

“Hindi ko po sukat akalain na magte-trending po ito or magustuhan ng other member. So, sobra po akong na-overwhelm dahil marami pong naga-add friend sa akin, nagme-message na ‘yun nga po na hindi sila makapaniwala na 45-sqm lang ‘yung bahay ko. ‘Yun nga po, gusto ko lang din po mai-share po sa kanila na kahit 45-sqm. [lang 'yung bahay], kung talagang gusto mo syang i-maximize, mama-maximize mo po siya," Ria proudly shares.

She advises future homebuyers two things: consider your budget and trust your gut feel.

“Kung gusto mo nang mag-purchase ng house and lot, kahit ano pang negative ang naririnig mo d’yan, umpisahan mo na dahil hindi mo makukuha ‘yung gusto mong bahay hangga’t hindi ka pa nagsisimula.”

Why she chose Lumina Homes

“Ang pinaka nagustuhan ko sa Lumina ay ‘yung location. Very accessible siya sa mall, sa hospital, and especially sa eskwelahan ng mga anak ko. Hindi na ko magwo-worry sa travel time nila kasi malapit lang ‘yung bahay namin doon,” Ria says.

But more than the proximity of Lumina housing units to major establishments and schools, Lumina offers affordable quality homes. This helped Ria decide to buy her dream house from Lumina. She was able to get her unit while on its pre-selling price, so her monthly amortization is almost the same as her monthly rental fee back then. Lumina fits their budget.

“Akala ko nung una, kailangan mo ng maraming savings para makapag-avail ng house and lot. Pero nung dumating ang Lumina dito sa Cabanatuan, nag-offer sila ng pre-selling, which is yung downpayment niya ay hulugan, pasok na pasok sa budget. Magaan sa bulsa. Sobrang affordable eh," Ria shares.

What's more, is that her home buying process with Lumina went very smoothly from reservation to turnover. Ria stressed how accommodating Lumina's staff is and how they could orient and help Ria process her Pag-IBIG loan.

Aside from the home buying journey, Lumina has changed Ria's life in terms of her career. "Noong una, nagre-refer lang ako hanggang sa nagpa-accredit na ako as a sales person," Ria shares.

And because of her amazing convincing power, impressive sales skill, and hard work, Ria was promoted to a higher position, a Sales Manager where she handles a group of agents.

"I'm grateful sa Lumina dahil naging malaking part siya ng plot twist ng buhay ko. Financially, naging stable ako. Na-sustain ko 'yung needs ng family ko at the same time, nakakapag-invest ako. Very fulfilling na maging way ako to inspire my clients na ma-achieve nila 'yung dream house nila," Ria adds.

It took 15 years for Ria and her husband to fulfill her dream of owning a house. This just goes to show that no matter how long it takes, you should not give up. Because when the time is right, it will happen.

Find affordable house and lot in Lumina Homes

Just like Ria, you too, can get your dream house on a budget. With Lumina Homes' low-cost housing, getting the dream house and lot is possible for every Juan as one of the missions of Lumina Homes is to provide low cost housing in the Philippines that will make the dream of owning a house and lot possible and achievable.

Every Juan’s Guide to Buying a House and Lot on a Budget

With the large number of financial housing loan programs that you can consider, home buying can be easier. These loans can come from banks or the most common option, Pag-IBIG. They are currently implementing housing loan programs for several sectors of the labor force: the Affordable Housing Program (Subsidized Program), Employer Accreditation Program (EAP), and Home Matching Program. For minimum wage earners, the Subsidized Program, which was launched in 2012, would be the most feasible option.

If you’re a Pag-IBIG member, you may borrow up to P750,000 with a maximum repayment period of 30 years, but the loan amount you will receive shall still depend on either the actual amount you need, your loan entitlement based on capacity to pay or loan-to-appraised value ratio–whichever is lowest. Eligible members shall be entitled to special, affordable interest rates. The 3% interest rate can be enjoyed for the first 5 years of the loan term while the 6.5% rate can be enjoyed during the first ten.

The Pag-IBIG housing loan program allows minimum and low-wage earners to buy their own dream homes as it carries the lowest interest rate in the market today: 3% annual interest for the first 5 years of the loan term. With this program, minimum and low-wage earners need to pay a monthly amortization of as low as P2,445.30* for a P580,000 housing loan!

Who is qualified for the Pag-IBIG Housing Loan Program?

The Pagibig Fund Housing Loan Program is available to all active Pag-IBIG Fund members, who have satisfied the following requirements:

At least 24 monthly savings. Lump sum payment of the required 24 months savings is allowed;
Not more than 65 years old, and not more than 70 years old maturity of the date of loan application;
Has the legal capacity to acquired and encumber real property;
Passed satisfactory background/credit and employment/business checks of Pag-IBIG Fund;
Has no outstanding Pag-IBIG Fund Short-Term Loan (STL) in arrears at the time of loan application;
Has no Pag-IBIG Fund Housing Loan that was foreclosed, cancelled, bought back due to default, or subjected to dacion en pago. If with an existing pag-ibig fund housing loan account, either as principal borrower or co-borrower, it must be updated.