North Belton Communities is the first foray of Mr. Lucio Tan’s Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. into the middle-income market. Belton Communities, Inc. was spun off in 2008 to oversee its development.
Strategically-located along Quirino Highway in Novaliches, Quezon City with an elevation of 131 feet above sea level, this development and those in the immediate vicinity did not in any way suffer the havoc wrought by typhoon Ondoy. This is according to Mr. Juan Antonio Gatuslao, Project Director of Belton, in a Manila Times interview on December 12, 2009.
Below is a static satellite map of North Belton Communities and its surroundings:
To understand well the succeeding discussion, I suggest you play around with this navigable satellite map.
Move your cursor over any place on the map and you will see “tagged” places, even buildings, light up in yellow. For example, move your cursor over North Belton Communities and you will see it light up. Click it and you will be brought to a page that gives its short description. There are thumbnail images on top; click on each to enlarge.
Or, you can simply click on the following links
- Sales Office, North Belton Communities
- The Manors, and in it look for Bianca and Diana
- SM Hypermarket
- Manila Paper Mills, and finally, a breaking news
- Proposed Commercial Area at North Belton Communities.
That’s a breaking news that is first announced in this blog.
I’ll repeat it anyways for the sake of Google; I want this news to be indexed by Google : )
A very reliable source from Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. related to me yesterday that Mr. Henry Sy of SM Prime Holdings has finalized the purchase of around 3 hectares of commercial property at North Belton Communities. The property, right across Mr. Sy’s SM Hypermarket (formerly Makro), was originally envisioned to be developed by Eton Properties into a commercial and IT hub for Business Process Outsourcing Companies or call centers.
I was also informed that Mr. Sy’s camp is negotiating for the purchase of a property beside it, the defunct Manila Paper Mills owned by a certain Mr. George Co.
Kindly go back to the map and see how huge the land on which Manila Paper Mills sits. Click it and look at the pictures again. If this purchase pushes thru; this lot plus the 3 hectare commercial property at North Belton Communities will comprise the soon-to-rise SM Department Store along the bustling Quirino Highway.
Bustling? Did I say that Robinson’s Supermarket recently opened nearby? Play around again with the satellite map to see other companies nearby.
Be informed also that the Department of Public Works and Highways is rushing completion of a vehicular road underpass at the corners of Mindanao Avenue and Quirino Highway to mitigate the increasing traffic in this area. The need for this underpass has become more apparent now because of the above mentioned news.
Note that an elevated catwalk will connect SM Hypermarket to the soon-to-rise SM Department Store. It seems that Mr. Henry Sy has been eying the property in front of his for a long time. This building was completed many years ago and it was designed with a provision for an elevated catwalk that will cross Quirino Highway.
Point to ponder: Knowing that part of the 3 hectare property bought by Mr. Sy was originally envisioned to become an IT hub for call centers, is it far-fetched that the vision will be continued by Mr. Sy?
These developments have made investing at North Belton a very attractive proposition. Last year, a 3-bedroom unit at The Manor’s “Francesca” went for 1,964,128 pesos (US$ 42,033). Late last year, when “Isabella” was launched, the same 3-bedroom unit sold for 2,361,395 pesos ( US$ 50,535), an increase of 397,267 pesos or a whopping 20.22% over just a few months.
In real estate, you must remember this:
The more steel, hollow blocks and concrete are put into a project, the higher the price of the project becomes. In our case, the more condominium buildings are completed, the higher the price of the units in the succeeding building becomes.
Knowing that, what do you think will happen to the prices of the units at North Belton Communities when Mr. Henry Sy starts putting steel, hollow blocks and concrete for his SM Department Store at Belton? : )
Construction of SM will commence in two to three months and the Belton Sales Office will be demolished soon.
Here’s the full Manila Times interview with Mr. Juan Antonio Gatuslao of Belton Communities, Inc.
I will leave you with some images of the 3 and 2-bedroom model units at North Belton Communities. Two images at the end are from the building Bianca.
Thank you so much.
3-Bedroom Model Unit
Living Room
Dining Area and Kitchen
Bedroom #1
Bedroom #1 was converted into an entertainment area with large wall mirror to create an illusion of space.
Bedroom #2
Masters Bedroom
Bathrooms
2-Bedroom Model Unit
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Mukhnag delayed ang projects na ito.Tignan nyo ang turn over dates sa West wing residences at tignan nyo updates sa picture.Until now ginagawa parin half done ang construction and developments. Ewan ko lang kung alam ni Lucio Tan ito mukhang kahit this year di ma tuturn-over based on the date na scheduled turn-over.
bkit kaya starting october 2010 hanggang feb 1, 2011 walang progress sa construction ng manors. yung mga nakapost na pictures sa website construction updates walang pagbabago since october 2010. dapat may turnover na ng camilla building this january, pero hndi pa gawa. so deleyed din yung dalawa pang building na i-turnover this june and december???
Hello Kim,
There’s an online forum where people discuss issues regarding North Belton, here.
I hope you get your answers in that forum.
Thanks for dropping by.
hi, this blog is very helpful especially for first time home buyers. i am planning to get a unit at The Manors NBC. Any update on turn-over dates? Water supply? DO they deliver units on time?
Hope to receive a reply from you guys. Thank you and more power!
Thanks Makoy, I’m glad I was somehow able to ease you apprehension.
True, I’m very much fascinated with Filipino design geniuses like Architect Bobby Manosa. Not just architectural design but real estate design and planning in general.
Other geniuses that come to mind are Pelino Palafox, Jr., a world-renowned architect and urban planner and another National Artist, Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr., the Father of Philippine Landscape Architecture. These are the people I want to meet and perhaps interview. It’s a shot in the dark, but who knows?
About the link regarding pirated software, I’m surprised to find the name of Arch. Conrado Onglao. He’s the architect of the Ayala’s in Phase 12 of Ayala Westgrove Heights. Also called Crestwood, it’ the first phase in AWH that offers house and lot package.
I don’t think the fact that Belton’s architect used pirated software will have any bearing on the project itself. The project is long way past its design stage; it’s now in the execution stage. Not because my friend is a sales director of NBC, I honestly think that NBC is a good buy. They may be slow in constructing their buildings but I’m confident they shall be delivered eventually. Sobra lang talagang dami ng projects ng Eton. The company is just a little over 3 years old but they have already started at least 30 large-scale projects.
Again, thank you so much and my best regards
Hi Jun,
Thanks for your prompt response. I was really impressed with this kind of blog you have. Its very informative and helpful especially to people like me who knows very little when it comes to real estate development. Good topics, keep them coming!
In your blog I noticed your admiration to great building geniuses for instance of National artist Bobby Manosa, I hope you could post more topics regarding best Architectural/ Structural Firms here in the Philippines. In this way buyers will be informed of how great reputation this hard working people have and will be at peace knowing that such manpower and talent is behind the realization of their dream houses.
Today I have just googled the Architectural firm “Adrian T. Chua and Associates” for the North Belton Communities and i was surprised that their office was raid by NBI just this month for having pirated AutoDesk Softwares. Im just wondering does NBC knows about this? Will this affect the architectural plans for NBC?I thought architectural firms who have big project like this usually had sufficient FUNDINGS to support their tools and workforce. Im not jumping to conclusion that these firm has no good reputation (im also not saying they have), but it somehow affects my judgement that how come do such company allow their reputation to be ruined by not using licensed tools. Anyway, i have no idea how costly a autodesk tool for them not to buy legitimate ones.
The news was from this link: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20101026met6.html
Moving forward I was relieved to see that NBCs’ structural firm was “Aromin & Sy and Associates” I was really impressed to see that they were behind 3 of the tallest known buildings in the Philippines, the PBCOM Tower, GT Tower and Petron MegaPlaza. This boost confidence for buyers like me that somehow, on the lighter side im still investing under good hands. Well I was not so busy these past few days so I was able to be vigilant and spent time researching about ETON. I do hope you could also raise this to the NBC director which happens to be your friend. I have already added this blog to my favorites together with Bo Sanchez blogs. More power and continue your very helpful insights.
Hello Makoy,
It used to be that a developer cannot sell a project unless it has secured a License to Sell from HLURB. The sale is valid but would subject the developer to sanctions from HLURB.
But this policy has been relaxed by HLURB because it felt that such a requirement has hindered developers from starting new projects. So, the decision was made to encourage new real estate development by making some prerequisites for applying for a License to Sell as post requirements.
For example, condominium developers can now sell their projects by securing a Temporary License to Sell (TLS) from the HLURB without first securing a Building Permit from the local government, a costly and time-consuming process. There are times when this process becomes time-consuming and costly because there are some local government people involved in the approval of the Building Permit who “want a piece of the action.”
The TLS is good for six months, after which, the developer should submit the required Building Permit plus other requirements to secure the License to Sell. In case the developer fails to do so, you may demand from the seller the refund of the amount you already paid by filing a complaint with the HLURB.
As to your question: “…is it really safe to avail of units even if other bldgs still has no LTS?” To conclude, it will never be legal to sell a condominium without a License to Sell. Securing it can be delayed for six months but it can never be totally done away with.
About delayed completion of projects, it’s a very common problem in the real estate industry. Majority of developers over-promise but under-deliver, specially when it comes to the turnover of units.
One of the most important things that are indicated in the License to Sell is the date of completion of the project. But in spite of this, many projects still suffer delays which means that developers are able to go around it. If immediately moving in to the unit is not so much of a concern, I wouldn’t mind a little delay as long as the project will eventually be delivered.
If you encounter a serious problem with your unit, and I only mean very serious ones that will undermine your hard-earned money, contact me and we will personally talk to the Sales Director of North Belton Communities, who happens to be a friend.
I will not guarantee anything but we can try… and try we will.
Thanks a lot for dropping by.
I recently ask the HLURB regarding the License to Sell of the Manors, and their reply is that only buildings 1,3, and 13 (Bianca, Diana, Emilia respectively) have the LTS which is 22780; CR No.: 21483 (as displayed on their website:http://www.beltoncommunities.com/the…ommunities.htm ). They also told me that bldgs 2,4,5 and 12 are still on process. I would like to ask if is it really safe to avail units even if other bldgs still has no LTS? Also, I noticed that the construction phase seems slow, Is there a possibility that the date of turnover might be moved again. Or did the developers already adjusted their workload to deliver expected turnover dates? By the way if you are wondering why im so anxious about is because I also availed one unit from their condo. This is just my first time to avail a condo unit. Its my hard earned money so I am little bit worried.
Hello Anna,
Isn’t it possible that the poor water supply in North Belton is a result of the water crisis that many parts of Metro Manila have been going through the past several weeks? Though, the worst seems to be over, we still suffer from intermittent water supply interruption.
The most I can do is show your comment to the Sales Director of North Belton, though, I cannot guarantee that he will reply to it.
Thanks a lot, Anna.
I heard the terrible situation in North Belton. The water supply is really poor considering that the first building is not fully occupied yet. I think they cannot serve the community in their plan and there is so poor administration support.
Hello Ms. Anna Gabriel
North Belton Communities happens to sit on two cities – Caloocan and Quezon Cities.
The first permit to be secured when developing a project is the development permit from the local government.
The development permit from the Quezon City government was secured on time. It’s the permit from the Caloocan government that took time to be released which resulted in the delay of the construction of Bianca. This delay resulted in a domino effect that also delayed the release of the succeeding permits related to the construction and completion of the project.
Right now the installation of the Meralco power lines is ongoing and is expected to be completed end of March or start of April (again, this was delayed because of the delay in the release by Caloocan of the development permit). To meet the power requirements of those who will move in to Bianca, Belton has provided a generator that will be able to power 50% of all the units by the end this month.
Thanks a lot for dropping by.
@ Kers M., sadly, not all brokers/realtors are created equal. There are some who will promise you the moon and the stars just to get the sale. Others will discourage you from buying a project if he (the realtor) honestly thinks that the project is not right for you.
You, as a prospective property owner, should be clear on what you value most when choosing a type of house. Please read my 2 maiden posts: Perfect type of housing, part1 and Perfect type of housing, part 2
And it is the realtor’s obligation to offer you the type of housing that will perfectly answer your needs. Otherwise, he is nothing but a typical agent who’s after the commission and without any concern for your interests.
Thank you so much for dropping by.
P.S. There’s a forum where I started a thread titled:
Bad experiences in your real estate ventures
I strongly advise all my readers to read it.
P.S.S. Thanks again
My friend acquired a unit from north belton communities in BIanca Bldg. The original date of turn over was supposedly June 2009 but until now she was not able to move-in to her unit inspite of all the required payments had been made.
what do you think went wrong with this project? 8-months already passed but no definite date of moving-in and no official announcement from eton.
Last year, me and my wife went there to see the site. We’re assisted by a female broker. I like the designs of ETON compared to other developers/designers who boast their works with burloloys. The broker didnt asked our college background (we’re engineering and architecture graduate), so she is wondering why I just keep looking on every details and corners of their model units.
That time, we’re after the West Wing project, sadly the site was not yet cleared so it’s a little disappointment, especially when the broker narrated continuous marketing dribbles. She knows we agreed to visit their site because of the West Wing but what was built there are for Belton’s. But I would say, ETON projects (residentials) are excellent, at least, on paper/brochure.
Knowing how hard you and Ron work, I’m sure that time will come very soon.
Thanks a lot for dropping by, Joyce.
Jun, grabe talaga this blog of yours, congratulations on a job well done. WHen God blesses me with wealth, I’m running to you for advice to buy property!