New Home for a Better Life?
Considering the recent break-ins on Maxime, our beloved and poor car, hubs and I are again back to weighing our options and planning our steps to moving out of my parents' apartment where we're living for free. Since this is classic Manila area, complete with parking on the streets and no private garages, we really cannot secure Maxime from the city crooks who just live several side streets away.

Either we rent at a better area or bite the bullet and really buy our own property already (somewhere in the South but certainly not in the Cavite area). And that would be such a huge adjustment for me, who grew up where we are right now. I've gotten so used to living in the center of this metropolis, where am near/nearer everywhere (QC, Las Piñas, Ortigas, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Makati). Hubs and I also have to really study our Pag-Ibig options, understand real estate laws and loopholes, consult with banks and what-nots. To be honest, just the thought of loaning a huge amount (because it's not like we have millions in the bank!) to be paid over decades overwhelms me. But hey, one's got to do what one's got to do.

Of course, another option would be to use the properties gifted to us by our parents as some sort of collateral. That would mean consulting with a mortgage company too (I wonder if sites like Mortgage-mart.com has local counterparts, so we can find the mortgage that best suit our needs... and limitations). But first, hubs and I should define first our goals, our dreams, our requirements and limitations.

Meanwhile, the reason why we're being pushed all the more to live in a better community 'burned' himself last night by diving to get to the just-cooked oatmeal I was eating. He was in my cousin's arms but managed to get to my bowl. Talk about yelp of pain. He couldn't totally bawl though because he's paos.

So this morning, we carted him off to Manila Bay at 6:00 AM for some sun and sea breeze. Manila folks can't be choosy where they get it, after all. And it seems, hundreds of other parents think the same.