Profiles Asia Feature
Profiles Asia: Roberto “Bobby” Alvarez Jr. - In the World of Real Estate - 1st Quarter Issue 2023
Roberto A. Alvarez, Jr. or Bobby, is the Chairman and Chief Navigator, as he calls it, of multiple corporations engaged in real estate development – with products ranging from socialized and low-cost housing, residential houses and condominiums. Recently, the group has also entered into industrial park development, hotels and a township resort. He is also very active in socio-civic activities and is a well-known figure with the Philippine Jaycees and the Rotary Club. Currently, he is evolving to integrate and rationalize his business activities and create a master brand image – Noble Home.
The best way to really know Bobby and understand him is through the different events in his life.
Bobby’s life is not a rags-to-riches story- he was not a struggling scholar and hardly even studied. His story is that of youthful energy spent more on enjoying life, strong-willed and confident. As he matured, these were redirected to more fruitful pursuits and eventually became his foundation for innovation. An inspiring story that proves anyone can change and one’s success is driven by making the right choices.
“Pasaway” but …
Labeling Bobby as a “bad boy” is not totally appropriate – he drank, he smoked, he had many girlfriends, but he never gambled, never did drugs or anything illegal. So, “pasaway” is probably the more fitting descriptor of him as a young man.
In high school, Bobby had a terror Math teacher who “hated his guts”, – mainly because Bobby was the smart-aleck in class who could solve mathematical problems much faster using his own formula and not the teacher’s. Bobby recalls that at one time he wore wooden clogs to class and the teacher threw them out of the window onto the streets.
Years passed and Bobby says he is now understood and appreciated by the same “terror” teacher. Bobby stays in touch with his high school batch mates and teachers and regularly hosts fellowships for them. It was in one gathering, that the same teacher asked Bobby if he was willing to help sponsor a seminarian.
ServeQuest’s new building was blessed by Father Tony with Bobby Alvarez cutting the ribbon together with his former boss, now his business partner, Mr. Victor Chiong.
A Mentor to Father
The young seminarian, who hails from Ghana, is now Reverend Father Tony Boakye. Bobby saw the greater value of helping this young man fulfill his calling as a priest and as a scholar. Tony was ordained in 2018, completed two masteral degrees and now has a Doctorate in Philosophy from the De La Salle University – all magna cum laude.
Before Father Tony left for Ghana, he introduced Bobby to the nuns of his new congregation, the Franciscans of Our Lady of the Poor. Bobby now gives them monthly rice support and has donated a property as a site for their Church and home for aging priests and nuns.
Aside from directing his energy and resources to just doing what he feels is right, the story with Father Tony is also a reflection of Bobby’s mindset on being deliberate and ensuring that whatever he puts his support behind is worthwhile and sustainable.
First crossroad – the first job
After graduating in 1984 from the De La Salle University, Bobby had two job options before him. One was a position in Network Marketing for one of the large broadcast networks in the country. He knew he would be successful at it because he was neighbors with many of the senior officers of different advertising companies at that time. The other choice was a clerical position in a mid-sized, Filipino-Chinese owned real estate company that pays minimum wage. Bobby chose the latter option on the strength of the owner’s statement to him during his interview – “I cannot afford you, but I can teach you.” The opportunity to enhance his mind and capability was compelling to him.
In 1985, when the country was facing a financial crisis and interest rates were as high as 42%, Bobby was asked by Mr. Chiong to evaluate the company’s situation and his recommendation as to what to do next. The numbers were grim for a mid-size Real Estate company that relied mostly on debt financing for its projects. To avoid losses, Bobby faced the Board of Directors and recommended the closure of the company. He chose his loyalty to Mr. Chiong’s interest and his sense of what is right over his need for job security. Mr. Chiong closed the company and Bobby became unemployed. What remained though was the high mutual regard, trust and respect between Bobby and his first boss who is now a business partner.
Mr. Win-Win
Several months after the closure, Bobby was asked to be Vice President for Marketing of Land and Housing Management Corporation, a company headed by his father. Marketing came easy for Bobby, he always had an innovative mindset of creating win-win solutions. His personal sales production was sometimes even bigger than that of his sales group.
Aside from doing marketing, Bobby was asked to assist in negotiating a sharing arrangement between a debtor and a bank, wherein both parties couldn’t arrive on an agreement. Bobby found a way by selling the share of the bank to a third party, willing to fully settle the loan.
Finding the WIN-WIN approach for all parties – lot owners, builders, investors, and buyers – by looking beyond the obvious and innovating is characteristic of Bobby’s approach to business and to many of his decisions in life.
Mr. Jose Pardo and Bobby Alvarez witnessing the awarding of the 1989 TOYM trophy by President Corazon Aquino to boxing legend Luisito Espinosa.
Turning Crisis Into Opportunity
The Global Financial Crisis of 1997 adversely affected the real estate industry. Bobby faced the challenge head on, once again, by thinking outside the box. He transformed his marketing operations for a condominium project by offering to manage unoccupied units and turned them into “condotels”. This generated rental income for the unit owners and management income for Bobby. Along with offering his vehicles for rent as driven limousines, this helped him over the difficult times. The project’s developer also faced financial difficulties and allocated unsold units to their investors who Bobby approached and offered to help them liquidate by repackaging the product offerings and softening the terms of purchase to encourage sales – adopting “rent-to-own” schemes, allowing deferred payments on down payments and principal payments, and lowering in-house interest. The schemes proved successful in stimulating sales – a win for the Investors, a win for the Buyers with the softer terms, and a win for Bobby as he was able to generate a healthy commission even in difficult times. This also gained the trust of these investors, which will come in handy in the future, and cemented his reputation as a WIN-WIN problem solver.
Over time, while continuing to be successful in Marketing, Bobby faced challenges in being able to fully collect his commissions on time. Expectedly, Bobby was not pleased with this setup – he evaluated the situation and concluded that it would be best to be in control of the products he is selling, which meant becoming a Developer himself.
He shifted gears to become a Developer. It was a gradual start given Bobby’s limited capital, but with innovation and a WIN-WIN approach he started with buying, renovating and selling of bank foreclosed houses and lots. Feeling bolder, he went into bulk acquisition and retailing of lots and acquiring unfinished foreclosed buildings and redeveloping them into condominiums. He also partnered with developers, lot owners and companies that buy foreclosed properties who had difficulty selling their inventory, to offer what he calls the Patong-Bahay product – sale of lot (as broker for the landowner) and construction of house (as contractor for the buyer). Where needed, he had lots cut into smaller and more affordable units. The houses were all standard in design which resulted in faster and more systematic documentation and production. He also adopted the more efficient cast-in-place construction approach. All these allowed the offering of the housing unit to the end buyer at a markedly lower price than a regular house and lot sold in the area. It was a three way win for the Landowner, the Buyer and for Bobby. The Patong-Bahay was a major innovation considering it allowed Bobby to sell hundreds of residential units without having to own vast tracts of land. Bobby also became very active in the ROPOA program of Pag-IBIG, buying their acquired assets, renovating them and then reselling under Pag-IBIG financing. This allowed Pag-IBIG to liquidate non-performing assets more quickly and at the same time generate new loan demand.
Bobby still needed capital though, as he wanted to expand faster and enter more aggressive development like townhouses and condominiums. The investment came willingly from the people whom he helped before and now trusted his capability. So far Bobby has been able to deliver on these propositions and has been giving significant upsides to his partners and investors, and to himself. A separate real estate company was organized for each investment partnership for simplicity and transparency in operations.
