Filipina expat in Dubai owns three apartments, wants 10

Dubai is a city that never fails to run out of success stories. Several expats tried their luck here and it all paid off eventually. Some win millions of dirhams in raffles, the others get kilos of gold and there are some who – thanks to their financial knowledge were able to successfully navigate their way into achieving good fortune. The latter is the case of Gina Gelvero – a Filipina expat based in Dubai who has been in town for more than a decade.

Gelvero’s story starts like most Filipino expat stories in Dubai: Financially illiterate and satisfied with getting their salary. During her early years in Dubai, Gelvero didn’t know much about investing her hard-earned money into another source of income; the Filipino Times reports.

It was only after thirteen years that she wised up and started buying apartments in the Philippines.

Her efforts payed off and Gelvero now owns three apartments in three different cities. She has been paying for them on a 24-month instalment basis at zero interest rate.

Currently, Gelvero is looking into purchasing another apartment in another city in the Philippines. She said that she plans to get six more apartments within 10 years – that’s one apartment every single year!

When asked about her decision to invest, Gelvero said: “I wanted to have passive income so even if I don’t work, I will have something to rely on financially. We should not just depend on our monthly salary. What if you suddenly lose your job?”

Gelvero plans on renting out the apartments.