Hi! I’m new to property leasing. Since it’s midnight, I’d like to share my experience with some recent tenants. I started in real estate two years ago as my second business, hoping to earn extra income.
I invested around 1M in improvements for a two-story commercial space. The property is part of a long-term debt settlement from a relative, so I was able to take possession of it for the next few years since they supported my plan to lease it out.
The contract includes 3 months deposit, 2 months advance, and PDC payments. Lately, I’ve been having a hard time collecting payments from them. Our contract states that failure to pay within 30 days may result in forfeiture of 70% of the deposit and termination of the lease.
Before pa start official date bigla na siyang naglagay ng gamit, and umokay na lang ako since mapagbigay naman tayo and need ko na rin bumalik samin which is 4 hours travel. At this time di ko na muna kinuha cheques nya at Tiwala nman ako na ibbigay since deposited na sya and gave them free 35 days free at this time
Fast forward After several follow-ups and messages regarding the cheques, since used na yung advance nila, wala na akong choice kundi papuntahin yung relatives ko para ma-contact siya since medyo negative sa response.
Eventually, after 2 months, nakuha rin namin yung cheques. Yung ibang payments naman were through bank transfer. Umokay naman yung cheques for 3 months, but nitong February 2026, the bank called and said closed na yung bank account. Nakakaduda kasi wala man lang pasabi samin duon sa cheque, sinara mismo yung account.
At that time, sakto nasa place ako so nakausap ko personally yung tenant. Marami siyang reasons tungkol sa closed bank account and requested na bank transfer na lang instead of cheques. Since maayos naman ako kausap and may distant association yung family namin, naging kampante ako and pumayag ulit.
For the first 2 months, nakakabayad naman through transfer pero laging delayed. Pagdating ng 3rd month, sunod-sunod na yung excuses mataas daw diesel, matumal business, walang tao, and marami pang reasons just to delay payment. Dun ko narealize na parang tactics na lang talaga para mapatagal yung bayad. Even after some relatives kept asking them to pay, puro pangakong napako lang and ang sagot lagi , “Oo, magbabayad din kami.
after 5 weeks medyo delaying tactics mala rasonang malala nlng sila. So napagdecidan ko nlng na iterminate.
Pero wait, there’s more.
One time, nalockan sila ng tubig due to unpaid bills. Another time, nalockan din ng kuryente for unpaid bills ulit. Pero nung huli nilang sabi, bayad na naman daw since wala na yung lock ng service providers.
baka pag tumagal pa maaubos lng deposit nlang hawak sa mga pinag ggamit nla habang nggamit pa nla ung unit
Pero wala pa dito possible damages
So medyo limitado rin ang galaw ko as the lessor. As of now, I honestly don’t expect them to pay anymore since parang ang goal na lang nila is ubusin yung deposit for the remaining months. However, breach of contract na yun since wala namang ganung agreement sa contract.
So yeah, ngayon since medyo malayo ako, kailangan ko pa i-schedule yung travel ko since wala rin akong masyadong tao to manage and handle the legalities. Parang iniikutan at dini-delay lang din ng tenant para hindi nila agad ma-receive yung demand letter.
Naisip ko na yun sa abogado ko na ipagawa but the amount is less than 100k unpaid eh
Nakaka-intrigue lang na even older people na matagal na sa business can still lack credibility sa words and commitments nila. Kahit mabait ka at iniintindi mo sila, some people will still take advantage.
Frustrating, but learning a lot from this. I know may lapses din ako, but I guess this is part of the tuition fee in business 😅
Ano usually nilalagay niyo sa contracts for situations like this? Minsan naiisip ko na lagyan ng “tanggal pinto” clause 😂 pero parang wala rin silang hiya. Hanggang ngayon open pa rin sila sa pwesto 😅