We write the 2nd of January, 2024. I am within the confines of my new office based job in the form of being a German Speaking Staff for an Australian/German client via 611 Ma-a.
No phones and nothing to do yet, I seek shelter in Google Keep to write these thoughts away. The spacebar is the biggest challenge I have at the moment in knitting all these thoughts together.
What I will share today will be all about my plans for 2024.
The Overwhelming Big Picture
If I would be ask to breakdown everything into 3 bullets, this is what I have on mind for 2024
- fly Internationally
- ramp up local renting business
- save 250,000 before they year ends
Of course, there are some nuanced plans like looking after my weight, finding clients, and so on. But let us focus on the big three themselves for now. As I started writing this article, I realized that I need to add some initial miscellaneous section of urgent things to do.
- Craft a general contract which can be used for tenants and which can be notarized
- Minimum Duration
- Applicable Penalties
- Removal Notice
- Downpayment and deposits
- Percentage rent increase after 1 year
- Electricity and water fees
- Bonus Internet Fees
- Visitors agreements
- Sleepovers of visitors
- Noise Management
- Parking Availability
- Non-stay termination clause
- No refundability of advance
- Return of deposit subject to deductions (utility and/or damages)
- Responsibility for fixing damages
- General Maintenance every year
- Plan out a business idea with someone for the available space once everything has been ironed out with the front yard.
- Remembering to keep duplicates of all the different keys
- Working on lighting options on the entire compound
- Fix the front lawn lights and switch
- Swap out lights with Smart Lights
- Work on having wifi available across the entirety of the lot for selling purposes and as well as Smart Bulb purposes
Fly Internationally
In order to fly internationally, I have to claim both a Philippine and a German passport again. That’s quite a task for me right now, considering that many major IDs in the Philippines are not being processed anymore. I am relying on having a National ID, which I don’t have up until now.
So what would be my work around to this?
Get a solo parent ID – getting a solo parent ID should be relatively easy. A quick barangay visit, wherein along with it I can get a Barangay Clearance as well that I will use to get a police clearance. For the solo parent ID, I just have to certify with the Barangay that I am indeed a single parent. I also need to submit my ITR, but I don’t really need the solo parent subsidy (and I am not qualified for it anyways), so I’ll have to clarify if that will be fine. What I really need is for it to be considered a VALID ID to help me with my passport claiming cause.
Requirements for Solo Parent ID:
- Yannah birth
- My Birth
- Barangay Certificate
- NBI
Another option would be to get a driver’s license, which is even more tedious with lessons evolved that will take away time from work and doing other things. It could be done more hassle free but at a higher cost, of course… if you know what I mean.
Basically, I will want the following prepared in claiming a Philippine passport:
- Certificate of Employment
- Solo Parent / Drivers
- NBI
- Police
- Digital TIN (which is to be considered as a valid ID)
Hopefully all that will be enough to get a Philippine Passport.
Next, I will have to follow up with the German embassy on what I need to get a German passport again since I have lost my old passport. I really should ask about the nuances and the nitty gritty details of claiming one.
- what valid ID are accepted
- how to I get Personal Pass (different from a passport) and then the costs involved in claiming such
- scheduling of the passport appointment at the German embassy in Manila
On second thought, maybe I can ask a former consul member I know regarding the matter at hand and see if he can help me out further.
The Local Renting Business AKA Cleaning Up The Lot
My mother is running a small renting gig within the Ma-a area, and my aim is to ramp up the local business by digitalizing current payments for tenants, providing an easy way to access/contact us when needed, and adding more properties for rent.
It’s the adding of more properties that’s quite a problem at the moment. There is no space. No space because my mother has a hard time letting go of all the hundreds and thousands of random things that are lying around. Concrete steps need to be taken here for this to take action. ’cause my mom would always say yes to plans but in place, but she wouldn’t act on them. At all.
So here is how I plan to break things down. First, we will get rid of material that is clearly not going to make a dime being sold.
We start with the obvious heavy items like ancient washing machines and such.
January – before January is up, I want the two garages to be vacated of things that just cannot be sold anymore and just scrap them.
February – we are still on a remove scrap mission, but this time all ground floor units should be cleaned up of things that cannot be sold anymore. Next up if time permits, we will clean all second floor entities along with the second building’s third floor.
March – in March, all removal of unnecessary scrap should be done. From the attic of the main building, down to every single floor. I can imagine the one room downstairs, fronting Gabriel’s place to be used for the storage of all the things that can be sold. The garage in front, will be used to properly arrange items according to various criteria like, plates, furniture, etc.
April – with the Q1 cleanup of all the things that can be scrapped it is now time to continue having everything take shape. Continuing of labeling of items to be sold is the key. A quick market scan to get the idea of pricing should help. It would be of best interest as well to look into bulk purchasing material that can be used for safely shipping the items that should be sold.
May – by May I want online storefronts to be ready for items to be sold, and the first few sales should have been made by now. I will ask help from those that have experience selling on platforms like Shopee and Lazada. If time allows for it, I could even sell through my own shop site. Adding the products therein could be a bit tedious though.
June – as my birth month rolls in, I would definitely expect the third floor of the second house to be completely empty, along with the second floor of the storage building and the second floor terrace room that I used to occupy. Renovations can be made on the aforementioned spots, and perhaps I can either move into the third floor room or rent it out short-term. The terrace room can be used now as a holding facility of items since the terrace is also home to plenty of dogs and thus not quite suitable to be rented out. Electricity, water, and as well as wifi need to be put in place for the 3rd floor room.
July – now it’s time to make sure the two garages are slowly being emptied, with things being sold off. Boyet’s old room could be rented out by now. It could be shared by 3-4 people even, I think. Electricity, water, and some general maintenance need to be put in place.
August – it is time for the opposing room to be cleaned up and made use of. The ground floor can be rented out now as well. In another article, I will probably talk on how to profile for good tenants and also how to whip up a good, legal standing, and fair for everyone kind of contract. At any rate, just to check which is which… Third floor should be empty or rented out, terrace should be clean of all heavy stuff, attic should be clean of all stuff, both garages should only contain items deemed to be for keeps or for sale. For keeps items should be stored on the left garage (when fronting the house from the main gate)
September – will be general maintenance time for the hidden rooms hiding at the side oft the storage building. New lights need to be installed, electrical wiring needs to be checked, furniture, a new coat of paint… All these things are needed to take place. If time allows, we can even start some of these tasks in August.
October – should see Boyet’s old room, the 2 extra rooms beside the Storage Building, and the 3rd floor ably to rented out. Right Garage should now slowly be disassembled and prepared for retrofitting, as it will slowly be changed into 3 side by side rooms. Maybe I can even come up with some better design ideas and have it be its own little house with a common room and kitchen. I must remember to build vertical, as there is limited space.
November & December – would you look at that? The year is almost over. The plan for whatever is going to rise beside the main house is well under way. This should finish by Christmas time and thus wrapping up the entire year.
Sure, there will still be items stored in the lefthanded garage, but the 3rd floor room, 2 bed rooms beside the storage room, Boyet’s old room, should provide some steady income flow. I just have to figure out the pricing for each. Now it’s just a matter of emptying the ground floor of the storage room and what to do with the second floor of the storage room.
What would be nice to work on perhaps are more lighting options across the entirety of the compound.
What about the saving part?
I’ll probably get to it in another post. I’m too tired. Hehehehehe. This ended up longer than I initially planned.
But at least I have a bit more peace of mind.
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