Condominium Shopping

This beautiful ancestral house is inhabited by ghosts. No kidding! I’ve been ignoring the footsteps, the weird sounds, odors and the cat getting spooked for the past 8 years. We moved to Makati in 1998 and thought it was the best decision we ever made. Sure, it took only 15 minutes to my husband’s office. Luijoe was only 4 years old. He cried every night the first few weeks because he wanted to go back to our cute bungalow in Pasig City. He often said that “This house is not beautiful. Let’s go back“. He’d stare forlornly by the window sill.

In early 2000 we already knew that this house didn’t bring in good vibes. This led us to purchase a house and lot somewhere in Sta. Rosa , Laguna and thought of moving the whole family to the south. That meant looking for a new school for the girls and Luijoe. Unfortunately, Luijoe died May 27, 2000 and our plans got shelved aside. Moving out took a backseat because we were too stressed out in our bereavement. The house is being rented out to a Japanese family who want to hold on to the house because it gave them “good luck”. We can’t move in there yet. So I don’t know. Can a house affect good or bad vibes? I think so.

Let me spare you the sordid details but ever since we moved in here, family life seemed more chaotic. After my small talk with Ali Sotto last week, she told me that she moved out of the same Makati village we currently live in after her beloved Miko died. She said the place gave her bad luck. I know this sounds silly, but that finally convinced me that we had to move out of this ghostly er..ghastly house.

1. I can’t ignore the footsteps upstairs when no one is even up there. I thought I was imagining things. Even the maids hear it.
2. I can’t ignore the cellphone vibrating from the second floor.
3. I can’t ignore the cat hissing at an unseen person/object in the dining room. The Spirit Questors even saw the spirits. Long story.
4. I can’t ignore the unusual perfume that I smell as I type here in the computer room.

This doesn’t happen every day but when it does, it freaks me out.

Eventually, we will retire in our lovely country home but we want to move out of this place by next year. Today, we started visiting condominiums. Oh my god…how expensive. It was depressing to view 20 square meters of space selling at 1 to 2 million pesos. I’d need 3 units for livable space. The downpayment and the monthly payments are financial challenges. I am getting a headache trying to compute if we can afford a second mortgage. Bah.