The Butcher | Showbiz in 2022: Celebs move to their home dream homes

Any showbiz newcomer is always advised to invest on a car first because that vehicle will be useful when moving around while fulfilling work commitments. Second investment is a house.

Movie and TV stars today are lucky because they can easily invest on a rent-to-own condominium within the city It is important to live within the center of activities to save on time and gas.

Any property is always a good investment. This piece of advice works well in the Philippines because the price of properties here always go up – regardless of the state of the economy. The situation is different compared to the US where the value of real estate fluctuates.

In 2022, a number of local celebrities were able to move into their respective dream homes. Below are some of them:

DINGDONG DANTES AND MARIAN RIVERA

Dingdong is accustomed to living within the metropolis. He grew up in one of the saner and quiet sections of Cubao in Quezon City. His family home is in the shadow of the beautiful Immaculate Conception Cathedral in New York Street. Since that is his parish, he and Marian decided to get married there on December 30, 2014.

Prior to marrying Marian, Dingdong even put up his own bachelor’s pad on top of his family home’s two-story structure. The fact that he was able to add another floor to the Dantes residence is a testament to the structural integrity of houses built in the past.

In the case of Marian, this half-Spanish beauty was raised in Cavite. As a newcomer, she made do living in condominiums. She stayed, for instance, in San Francisco Gardens in Mandaluyong for a while. Later, she bought a condo unit in upscale Rockwell.

As a married couple, Dingdong and Marian moved to Bel-Air in Makati. Before 2022 ends, they were able to transfer to another Bel-Air property. This was the culmination of their dream – a house that suited all their needs, including a swimming pool where they can relax and even exercise.

The house, which they named Casa Dantes, is modern and quite spacious. At this point, Dingdong and Marian probably have very little to ask for in life – although nothing is perfect in this world. Dingdong must be the happiest man alive now: The queen of his fabulous home is a wife who is not only beautiful, but is also adept at the kitchen. And yes, she is also one who is willing to take a backseat for the sake of her family.

Add to that the fact that they have two of the most beautiful kids in showbiz: Zia and Ziggy. Of course, Dingdong’s career is flying high – what with the spectacular success of his daily show, Family Feud.

Since Bel-Air is centrally-located and is a safe and secure environment to raise a family, this Casa Dantes must be for keeps. Most likely, that’s where they will eventually welcome their grandchildren.

DREW ARELLANO AND IYA VILLANIA

This television couple chose to build their house in Taytay, Rizal. It’s a very simple house without the accoutrements usually found in celebrity homes. They started building last year, but are now ready to move anytime with their kids.

Since they have four young children, it’s not practical to build a house that will serve as a showcase. They prioritized the needs of their kids first. That meant putting up a playground for the enjoyment of the children. Clearly, this is not yet their forever home. But it’s a good start.

Their location may be far from the city, but, hey, what great view they have! The air they now breath is also so much cleaner than what we city folks inhale. Congratulations to the Arellanos.

BEA ALONZO

Bea Alonzo is one of the few local celebrities who knows how to invest in real estate. She chose to live in posh White Plains where property value continues to gallop.

She also chose to invest on a Zambales farm that is planted to mangoes. Of course, she can only maximize profits from that farm if she gives it her one hundred per cent attention, which isn’t possible given her work schedule in showbiz. And then, is she willing to sacrifice her flawless complexion by staying out in the sun in order to have a complete inventory of her farm’s yield?

But the price of that land will also increase as time goes by. It is also one wise investment.

In summer of 2022, the actress also shared with the public her investment in Spain – an apartment, actually. She bought this to enable her to acquire what is called in Spain as a Golden Visa.

A Golden Visa will automatically make her a resident in Spain and eventually become a Spanish citizen if she opts to in the future. But, first, she had to invest in this Iberian country.

Last November, she finally got her Golden Visa, which will allow her to stay in Spain as long as she likes. That will also give her another option if things get tough in the Philippines.

HEART EVANGELISTA

As a single woman, Heart lived for a long time in an expensive community in Quezon City called Woodside. It is located at the back of the Christ the King seminary.

Before she got married, she was able to finish her New Manila home – off Hemady Street. This was where she and husband, Senator Chiz Escudero, stayed right after their Balesin wedding in 2015.

Then toward the last quarter of 2022, Heart announced that she had purchased an apartment in Paris. This decision, of course, even fanned further speculations that she and the senator had separated. Heart has yet to address that issue – although she said in her social media account a day or so ago that “she’s coming back and that she’ll supposedly see him soon.”

According to Heart, she opted to invest in a Parisian apartment because she also has work there in the fashion industry. As per her computation, that’s going to be cheaper than booking herself in hotels every time she is in the City of Love.

K BROSAS

After renting in various places, K Brosas decided to finally build her own home – in a subdivision within the innards of the Filinvest 2 area near Batasan.

Unfortunately for her, it became a painful and traumatic process for her – no thanks to her original contractor, who failed to deliver.

Thankfully, K was able to continue with her house-building with the help of another contractor. In 2022, K has finally moved to her new home – actually a very simple, yet cozy one. The legal case she filed against the unscrupulous contractor continues though.

Go, K! People like those need to be taught a lesson. Building a home is the ultimate goal for most people. Let’s not discourage future house builders from achieving their dreams.