Idea of spending retirement life in DMCI Homes’ community excites entrepreneur couple

Retirement can be daunting for some people. 

“What would I do?”, “Where would I live?”, or “Where do I go?,” are just some of the questions that come to mind when one approaches retirement age.

But for entrepreneur couple, Glen and Sol de Mesa, retirement is simply the next chapter in their lives—and one for which they’ve happily prepared for a few years now. And they couldn’t be more excited. 

Glen and Sol are into many businesses and they lease properties in their hometown in Bacoor, Cavite. They have three children, two of whom have families of their own. Their youngest child had just graduated from college, and is their only child who is still living with them. It seems that for the de Mesas, their life is about to change—and for the better. 

“At the end of the day, talagang kami na lang dalawa,” Sol said. 

That coming of that “end of the day” is inevitable, so the couple decided to make another investment: a condominium unit, one that is near their hometown. Ten years ago, they already bought a family house in Cavite that spans around 100 square meters in area. They have also bought their two children their own respective houses which are also near the de Mesa family house. 

Then, a few years ago, when their children had started to move out of the family home, the couple thought to themselves, “malaki ’yung bahay for the three of us,” Glen recalled. But at that time, they were also thinking of adding the condominium unit to their list of investments.  

They scouted their hometown’s area, and asked advice from their friends about the good developers in the country. Eventually, they came across a then-pre-selling medium-rise residential development of DMCI Homes called Alea Residences in Bacoor City, Cavite. 

While the building was barely built at the time of their visit, the de Mesas were already sold on the location. “Accesible sa lahat, sa Manila, going to Tagaytay. Punta kang Bacoor, Imus, Las Piñas, mapupuntahan mo in such a short time lang. Kaya sabi namin, ‘Okay dito, parang nasa center siya,’” Glen said. He also noticed that the area was not crowded, and “maganda ’yung ambience, ’tsaka hindi pa polluted ‘yung area.” 

They also compared it with the other properties that they had surveyed, and found out that the Alea Residences offered more reasonable unit prices. 

“Value siya for money,” Glen noted. “’Tapos ’yung amenities niya, okay.”

Without much thought, they bought a unit and a parking space. Less than three years later, they’re now thinking of sprucing up the place and make it their “bahay bakasyunan.” 

Moving In 

Glen and Sol don’t deny that they also thought about renting out their two-bedroom unit. “This one sana, for business or investment lang,” Glen recalled his first reaction when he saw their newly-turned-over unit. “Nakita namin, nag-decide kami, gusto namin tumira dito. Safe siya, relaxing ’yung area.”

They also observed that the buildings are designed to respect the privacy of the residents: there are just enough units per floor. Glen shared, “Paglabas mo ng unit mo, hindi crowded. Hindi ’yong paglabas mo, pinto na ulit ang kaharap mo.” Sol seconded, “Para ka lang nasa sala.”

“Kasi we’re living in a spacious place. Sabi ko, kapag condo, napakaliit niyan, definitely. Pero ‘nung nakita namin ang DMCI, livable siya. ’Yung place niya, talagang maganda,” Glen further shared.

“’Tsaka paglabas mo, hindi mukhang building. Hindi tulad ‘nung ibang condo, crowded. Pag dipa mo, abot mo ’yong kabila. Dito hindi, e. Parang bahay lang siya. Maayos. Nagtrabaho ako sa hotel, alam ko ’yung size ng hotel. Gano’n ’yung mga common condos. Eto (Alea), hindi. Eto, pagpasok mo sa loob, private. Bahay mo talaga, hindi parang kuwarto lang.”

In the coming weeks, the couple said they are planning on decorating their future “retirement home.”

But for now, Sol said they just want to enjoy their new place with their children and grandchildren. 

“Siguro one of these days, papasyal ko dito mga anak at apo ko,” Glen thought out loud. “Makita din nila ang fruit of labor namin.”

Alea Residences is one of the developments of DMCI Homes, a real estate company known for building quality resort-inspired communities in Mega Manila, Baguio, Boracay and Davao City. Each of its properties is built with world-standard craftsmanship borne from D.M. Consunji Inc.'s over 60 years of expertise in the construction and development industry.

To learn more about Alea Residences and other DMCI Homes projects, call (632) 324-8888.  News and other updates are also posted on the company's official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.