FLI introduces rental pool for condotel

Filinvest Land Incorporated (FLI) has given real estate junkies more reason to purchase condominium units with the ground breaking of Grand Cenia, a 25-story hotel and residential tower that will soon rise along Archbishop Reyes St. just across Ayala Center Cebu.

Unlike most condotels, Grand Cenia introduces the concept of rental pooling wherein owners of units will be getting a share of the hotel’s income based on the size of the unit and the number of nights that the rooms were made available by the unit owner. The rental pool income will then be divided among the condotel unit owners on a quarterly basis.

Joseph M. Yap, president and CEO of FLI told The Freeman that because of the boom of the tourism industry in the city and the projected increase in the number of tourists, there will be an increase in the demand for rooms specially those located in business areas.

He is confident that investors would get the return of their investment in just a few years with at least 13% return in the first five years.

He added that the project is the biggest and the most ambitious that the company undertook in Cebu City. However he declared that condominiums are not a foreign turf for the Filinvest Group with its subsidiary, Filinvest Alabang, being involved in several condominium projects in Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang. 

“The property is set to be finished in 2011,” Yap said adding that the company invested close to 1.5 billion pesos for the project.

While waiting for the company’s permit to sell, FLI vice president for Visayas and Mindanao Tristan Las Marias revealed that they are already accepting reservations. “We have already received a number of inquiries among balikbayans,” he said.

Condominium units is the property of choice for foreigners who frequent the country since there is no restriction set by laws for foreigners to own such properties. Las Marias emphasized that condotels with condotels, condominium owners would be able to earn from their investment even before they are able to pay off their units in full.

Las Marias bared that an international hotel management group will be managing the Grand Cenia ensuring the quality of the administration of the property to be that of hotel standard.

The Grand Cenia will also have condominium residential units which can also be rented by the owner upon arrangement with the hotel management, commercial spaces, office spaces, and other hotel amenities like function rooms and a pool.