02/10/2026
I spoke with an owner whose unit does ₱20k on long term but his amortization is ₱35k.
He pays ₱15,000 a month to own a condo someone else lives in, and the bank just repriced him to get there.
Keep reading, because this is the conversation almost nobody has before they spend money on a condo.
His long term tenants left when POGO left, and the 28sqm studio in Makati has been empty since.
He is not trying to get rich. His exact words were, I just want to break even.
So we ran it live on the call.
₱35,000 to the bank.
Add electricity, water, internet, and dues, and you are at ₱42,000 to ₱45,000 a month just to hold the unit.
Add cleaning and laundry for every guest.
Add a manager at 20%.
That studio needs to gross ₱55,000 to ₱60,000 a month from Airbnb before he sees a single peso.
Then he did his own math out loud. Even if I renovate, I wait 8 to 17 months to get that money back, and I'm still paying the bank the whole time.
He was right.
So I told him I would not take it under management. Not because it can't work, but because 20% on a unit that tight eats the exact number he is trying to protect.
I told him what the unit would need to do, what it costs to find out, and that the cheaper path is running it himself.
No renovation. No listing. No contract. Just the real number before he spent anything.
For perspective, my own 37sqm studio in Makati had the same problem. Long term rent was ₱20,000 to ₱35,000 and my amortization was higher than that.
It did ₱954,386 in its first 12 months, about ₱79,000 a month, because I built it to match the top listings in the market instead of the average.
Same city. Same unit type. The difference was the math I did before I spent anything.
Here is what I've learned running this exact conversation with owners in Metro Manila:
- Every unit has four options, not one. Airbnb, mid term (1 month minimum), long term, or sell. Rank them by how much of your ACTUAL monthly obligation each one covers. Not what the agent said. What you pay.
- Your break even is not your amortization. It's amortization plus dues plus utilities plus internet plus cleaning, plus 20% if someone manages it. Most people are off by ₱15,000 to ₱25,000 a month before they start.
- Never model on the average. The average Makati listing does around ₱375,000 a year at 51% occupancy. The top listings do double or triple. If you can't build to the top, the average will lose to long term rent, and you should know that BEFORE the renovation, not after.
- Your fit out has a payback floor. If total launch spend can't come back in under 12 months on realistic numbers, the data is telling you something. Listen to it.
- Sometimes the answer is not Airbnb. I've told owners that to their face. It's the reason they trust the times I say yes.
The owner from the call got a one pager that week with his real numbers. He and his wife are deciding with data instead of hope.
That's the part I want more people to have.
So I turned that call into seven questions. Amortization, dues, tax, what the unit does today. It shows the real number you cover every month and whether Airbnb, long term, or selling actually closes it.
If you own a unit in Metro Manila, run yours before you spend anything. One minute, and the number shows before you leave your name:
https://kuboflips.com/gap
