Monday, June 09, 2008

Fighting Fire with Fire

The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him. - Sun Tzu

A good friend of mine bought a house in Cavite, in a subdivision managed by a real estate company owned by a very rich lawmaker. When they were first shown the site map, a creek exist a few hundred meters away from their prospected house. They signed the necessary documents and finished paying the last installment in 2006.

Lately, they received news that the creek has changed course and now eating vacant lots a few meters away from their backyard. Anak nang tinapa, hinde pa nga na titirhan yung bahay kakainin na nang ilog. Alarmed, they e-mailed the subdivision management about the situation. They must have sent 5 letters for the past weeks without any response from the recipient. Finally in desperation, they e-mailed their final letter, threatening that if no action is done, they will dissipate their story in the internet. After two days, they received a letter from the management, stating that they are preparing a site inspection to build riff-raffs along the banks of the creek.

I surmise that since the target clients of this subdivision are OFWs, as shown by their commercial ads on TV, a negative story dispersed as chain letter in the internet is disastrous to their business. Afraid of another “Malu Fernandez” scandal, they have no option but to abide to home-owners’ will.

Some business deals are sealed by trust and a handshake. Some, you have to break the other person’s arm to fulfill his part of the bargain. Gone are the days when a person’s word and integrity are enough to gain another person’s confidence. In a dog-eat-dog society like ours, one should be shrewd when dealing with strangers, friends or even relatives. One should always read the fine prints and what’s between the lines.

6 comments:

  1. Gone are the days of the Gentleman's Agreement. That is so true. At this day and age, every agreement needs to be backed up by signed documentation and if possible, notarized pa. We really need to protect ourselves and we simply can't rely on a person whose interests are opposite from ours.

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  2. Tama nga ata ang kasabihan. Mas edukado, mas magulang at bastos. Mabuti pa ang mga tao sa probinsya, kahit mangmang, may isang salita.

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  3. Thats is why whenever somebody offers me a house and lot to buy in PI,I scrutinize all the specifics.You know sometimes some lots have double title if it is not fake and often times their is a problem with the boundaries or the owner themselves.The best way to buy is to go to the site in person in that way no one is to be blame if problem arises except yourself.

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  4. ed v., kung minsan kasi you trust a person or establishment kasi kilala o relative mo yung tao or the it is a reputed company.

    But your right, we should always be careful in any transaction when money is involve.

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  5. Mabuti na rin at inaksyonan nila. What if they used the "buyer beware" and the land being sold on an "as is, where is" state? Well, I'm not really sure if they can do that but what if? When your friend bought the land, he knew that there was a creek that had no riff faffs. It is a known fact that creeks and rivers do change their course.

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  6. Ka Rolly, neither am I. I think that's the reason why subdivision residence form Home Owners Association, para mas malakas ang dating when dealing with subdivision management.

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