We hosted a dinner in Makati a few months ago with five of our clients. One of them told a story about a lunch he'd been to with 20 other retirees near High Street. Every one of them had a horror story. Guys still without an ACR card months in. Guys whose lease was in a Filipina partner's name instead of their own. Guys who'd been quietly overcharged and never knew it.

He was the only one at the table without a story like that. He said the difference wasn't luck. It was that he called us before he got on the plane.

What Doing It Alone Actually Costs

Ryan came here confident he could handle the whole move himself. He signed a lease on a BGC condo within his first week. Mold, rotting wood, and filthy furniture told him everything the landlord hadn't. He found a second unit that looked clean, put down another four month deposit, and discovered a full roach infestation only after signing. In his own words, it felt like he was the one intruding as a guest on the cockroaches' home.

Two units. Two deposits. $7,000 gone before his first month was over.

He finally decided he couldn't do this alone. He made the call, and a week later we had him in a beautiful high rise condo with the rent negotiated down $500 a month, which worked out to $6,000 saved over his one year lease.

What Actually Changes When It's Handled Right

Michael landed in Subic Bay convinced his three PhDs meant he could figure this out solo. The Airbnb he'd booked was nothing like the photos. He called us that night in tears.

Within 72 hours he was in a new high rise unit in BGC with his visa, ACR card, and bank account already moving. His rent got negotiated from $1,500 down to $1,100 a month, about $4,800 saved in year one alone.

That's the real difference. Not just avoiding a bad outcome, but never being exposed to it. Every unit gets checked before a deposit changes hands. Every lease gets priced against the real market, not the foreigner rate. The visa, the card, and the bank account get sequenced correctly because we've done this over 170 times.

The Honest Math

Ryan lost $7,000 doing it alone. Michael saved $4,800 in year one alone from a properly negotiated lease, on top of everything that never went wrong.

The cost of getting this wrong shows up in your bank account and sometimes in whether you stay at all. The cost of doing it right is a fraction of that. If you'd rather be the guy at the table without a horror story, we're ready.

Start your move to the Philippines the right way.

Travel Well,
Evan Lorezca
The Savvy Expat