By CHRISTOPHER STEINER

Forbes.com

August 2, 2009

Scott Patterson had his faith in the stock market severely shaken over the past year, so he decided to look around for something more solid in which to invest his retirement savings. The 43-year-old owner of a gutter-cleaning business settled last month on a three-bedroom house in Athens, Ga., which over the years has attracted a steady stream of renters from the nearby University of Georgia campus. Patterson put down 20% of the $127,000 sale price, or $25,400. After debt service, taxes, insurance and an allowance for repairs he’ll clear $3,500 this year. That’s a 12% return on the capital he invested (including closing costs). Depreciation deductions can shelter a good part of this from taxes.

“This just seems like a better bet right now than adding money to the IRA or SEP,” he says of his retirement account alternatives.

Until the housing bubble filled investors’ heads with the notion that real estate is a way to get rich quickly, the nation was populated by millions of investors, like Patterson, who valued properties based on the rent they could earn. With real estate prices down 50% or more in some areas, the landlord game is back in vogue. And like Patterson, many potential players are carefully comparing it with the returns they could reasonably expect by sticking their money in other places.

Click here to learn more about America’s luckiest landlords  at Forbes.com.

Fire and liability insurance for a landlord will cost around $900 per year for an apartment building with up to four units, says Julie Parsons, vice president of Allstate’s consumer household unit.

PORTOVITA

P. Tuazon Avenue cor 14^th Ave.,  Cubao, QC

(Across SM and Alimall, Araneta Center)

PRE-SELLING 26-STOREY CONDOMINIUM TOWERS (2011 Turn-over)

From Goldland Properties and Development Corp. (reliable service since 1987)

48-months installment NO interest

Reservation P30,000.00

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

• Located right across the New Araneta Center
• 26-Storey twin towers under construction (2011 turn-over)
• Retail arcade at the ground level
• NORTH TOWER 2^ND – 17^TH LEVELS WILL BE OPERATED AS CONDOTEL (an income generating scheme for unit owners; will be fully furnished)
• 18^th – Penthouse Residential
• LAND & BUILDING WILL BE FULLY OWNED BY THE UNIT OWNERS (CONDO CORPORATION)
• Walking distance from the mass transit systems MRT-3 (EDSA Route) and LRT-2 (Recto, Manila Route)
• Walking distance from bus stations to major provincial destinations
• Araneta Center is currently undergoing total development into a cyber-business center; offers total entertainment, shopping, leisure and dining pleasures (within walking distance of Gateway Mall, Farmers’ Plaza, Shoemart, Alimall, Shopwise, Makro, Plaza Fair, Rustans and the Araneta Dome)
• A few minutes ride from Philippine Heart Center, Quezon City General Hospital, St. Lukes Hospital, National Kidney Institute, Quezon City City Hall, SSS, Census, LTO and other government offices, major TV Broadcast stations like GMA7 and ABS-CBN and PTV4
• A short ride from the University of the Philippines (UP-Diliman), Ateneo, Kostka and Mirriam, St. Josept, St. Paul and other schools

FEATURES

• 6 high-speed elevators
• Secured entrance
• 2 entries to the parking
• Balcony in selected units
• Over-head water tanks
• Drying cages at the roof-top
• Emergency power supply
• Option to combine 2br and 1br units (selected only)
• Turn-over units will be ready-to-live-in
• Option for fully furnished units available
• North Tower directly by P.Tuazon Avenue (Entry point)
• South Tower with view of Camp Aguinaldo and Ortigas Business District

AMENITIES (6^th level)

• Covered all weather adult and kiddie pools
• Fountain area with retail shops
• Spacious lobby on each tower
• Gym and concession spa
• Gazebo with Playground area
• Lush Green landscapes
• Functions rooms and Ballroom (4^th floor)
• Concierge service (ground level)
• Badminton/Basketball court (roof deck)

UNIT SIZES

• Studio Units -  18sqm and 20sqm
• 1bedroom – 25.75sqm and 29sqm
• 2bedroom – 38sqm and 41.25sqm
• 3bedroom – 83.25sqm., 86.75sqm.,
  
• 3bedroom – 92.25sqm., 96.50sqm

Parking Slot priced at P475,000.00

PRE SELLING PRICE AND TERMS