BEFORE

Old Makati House before moving in 1998

Renovating old homes are difficult. There is the attachment to the old design. An old house has character. If you look at our old house in Makati, the arch windows are no longer the trend but there is beauty in the old Victorian look. The balcony is so pretty that Nescafe wanted to use it for their commercial.

Having lived here didn’t make sense anymore for a family of four. The girls stayed at dorms in Quezon City. Maintenance cost ran high. The forty year old house was in dire need of repairs. We began hearing haunted noises which I attribute to the creaking wood. Lastly, it made more sense to move out and have it rented to expats at the attractive market rates.

The problem was renovation is expensive. We also had to consider the marketability of the house. Most expats preferred to have a swimming pool in their rented homes. This old house didn’t have any pool.

We solved the money problem by hiring the services of a Property Management Company where they took charge of all the renovation expenses. The catch is they get the rentals for at least two years. The following years till the 5th year, there will be income sharing of the lease. The problem of the pool was solved when they suggested that the balcony portion of the house (on the left side) be torn down.

After all the agreement was set in stone, the renovation took only three months. Here is the end result.

AFTER

Renovated Makati House as of December 2007

When we finally visited our old home with the kids, they were dismayed. My kids were terribly disappointed at the new look of the house they lived for nine years. According to them, the house design looked too “ZEN’ which didn’t suit the round part of the house.

But as they say, we need to let go of the past in place of new experiences. Our new home is definitely more cozy and manageable.