When Gina Gelvero, an entrepreneur based in Dubai, first came to the UAE more than a decade ago, she was no different from most OFWs here: “financially illiterate” (as she herself described it). She was happy to get her monthly salary and that was it. She didn’t think and know much about investing her hard-earned money into something that would grow and someday provide her a stable income.
Thirteen years later, she has wised up. Gelvero now has three condos in the Philippines – one each in Davao, Quezon City and Pasay City. She has been paying for these units on a 24-month instalment basis at zero interest rate.\
Gelvero is eyeing one more unit in Mandaluyong City. Her target is to acquire six more units in 10 years after which she plans to go home to the Philippines for good. She also offers real estate properties in the Philippines to OFWS in the UAE as an associate real estate agent for a real estate company.
But why invest in real estate?
“I wanted to have passive income so even if I don’t work, I will have something to rely on financially. We should not just depend on our monthly salary. What if you suddenly lose your job? Real estate is good because the value increases at 10-15% a year,” Gelvero said.
Gelvero estimates that when she finally rents out the condos, her Pasay City unit will fetch Php18,000 a month, the condo in Davao, Php 12,000-15,000 a month, while the Quezon City unit will be priced at Php25,000 a month.
