There is Wealth in Garbage

Have you read in a broadsheet about banks selling their foreclosed properties? What did you feel? You know my first feeling about this is, “who the hell cared about it!” I immediately flipped onto the next page and see the latest news in sports. If there are properties I normally looked at the classified sections of broadsheets are the rooms for rent or bed spaces. Those are the classified ads I can afford. Forget about the condos for sale or for rent, the apartments for sale or for rent, the townhouses for sale or for rent, the houses for sale or for rent and the land for sale or for rent. Forget about them because all could afford in buying a real estate in my 25,000 pesos salary is a bed space or even a small room if the landlord will give in to my plea of giving me a discount on rent. You see, I am not even in the buying level. I’m still in the renting level and in the renting level, all I could afford is a bed space or room for rent. Oftentimes, I feel pathetic. I feel sorry about myself. All I could muster when checking the classifieds section is how in the world I can buy those properties. Perhaps not in my lifetime, I guess.

Two years have passed and I bought my first real estate. It’s a small land in our province covered with lahar. Yes, my first real estate investment is a lahar covered agriculture land. It’s a deserted land who perhaps the only plants I can put on is sugarcane. Well, actually you can plant other trees and vegetables as well but in that area, the common plant being cultivated is sugarcane. Thus, we planted it with sugarcane and my father managed it. Every year, it is giving around 80,000 pesos in extra money to us.

How I was able to purchase my first real estate? My salary is only 25,000 and I have a small savings around 20,000.

The Opportunity

·         When our province was ravaged by lahar, the value of the land is almost zero. Yes, it’s almost worthless that some owners are selling it for 10 pesos per square meter. Since most of the livelihoods of the people were destroyed already, the people moved in to the resettlement area where concrete houses were provided by the government. In need of cash and nobody seems to care whether the town will ever get up again, some people tried to raise cash by selling whatever is left in their properties. And those properties include vast hectares of lands.

·         Everyone is down and nobody wants to buy the lands. Who in the world would buy a land covered with lahar? Nobody knows when will Mt. Pinatubo strikes again. It will be a crazy decision on those days.

There is Wealth in Garbage

·         I remember the chairman of the board of the Company I worked before. He said that there is wealth in trash, or in garbage. He is actually referring to the current location of our Company. In that place erects a two storey building filled with a number of companies. The environment was conducive to work and the building is a great place to rest as well.

·         A few years ago, the land of which our company is located is a garbage filled land. Flies are all over the place and the place is covered with bad smell. Dirty little water passages behind are not good to the eyes. I myself also would not dare live there! It’s just a filthy, bad smelling place with rotten leftovers from all city’s waste. But look at it now; it’s one of the beautiful structures along the main road with proud companies displaying their logo at the main entrance. What a transformation!

·          I got that idea from him. Thus, I asked my father if there are still people selling land. He said “yes”. Mang Pedro’s land which is located 100 meters from the road is being sold.

·          “Ok, tay. E kung bilhin kaya natin yung lupa. Down tayo ng 20,000 pesos and the rest hulugan nalang natin. At least may pera siya buwan buwan” I said to him. “Sige, sabihin ko sa kanya”, my father told me. On the next day my father went home bringing the good news. Mang Pedro is agreeing with the terms.

Transformation

·         For two years, I am giving 5,000 pesos to Mang Pedro until the payment is finished. While we are paying the monthly dues to Mang Pedro, my father started to cultivate the land. We hired tractor here and there and leveled the land so that vehicles can be accommodated.

·         After cultivating and cleaning the land after almost one month, we are now ready to put up the sugarcane.

Conclusion

·         Dream big but start small. “Great things start from small beginnings” ika nga ng Milo.

·         Life is full of abundance. You just need to look for it or search for it. No, you don’t have to search for it actually. Just look around and recognize the millions of opportunities lying around.

·         Wealth is in every corner of our eyes, we are just being blinded with our own perspective of wealth.

·         The next time you look at garbage, there might be some wealth waiting for you to discover.