RENE J. CASTILLO: Former Medical Student

Coming from a family of medical doctors, young Rene aspired to be a doctor himself. After completing his degree in General Science, he went to medical school. But Rene’s life course changed when he met his uncle Atty. Venerando Joson who introduced him to real estate business in 1988. Since then, Rene did not look back at his medical books. His  real estate  practice eventually led  him to luminaries such as Dona Bea Zobel, Atty. Juan Miguel Madrigal Vasquez and Andrew Tan.

He sees the importance of having a good mentor early in one’s real estate career. Rene is open to be one. That is great to know from  the 2011 Vice-President of  the Pasay-Makati Realtors Board.

What is your educational background? What were you considering as a career when you were in high school or in college?

I took up my Bachelors of Science degree in General Science as my preparation for medical school. This is to follow the footsteps of my maternal grandfather, father and brother who are medical doctors.

What was/were your first job/s prior to your shift to real estate?

I worked as a medical technologist assistant for my father’s laboratory to gain experience for medical school.

What were your reasons for shifting to real estate?

My uncle, Atty. Venerando Joson introduced me to real estate after one year of medical school proper in 1988. As a licensed real estate broker, appraiser and consultant, he took me in to his V.B. Joson & Associates Inc. real estate company as his agent to represent him in Manila. His company was based in Davao City.

How did you prepare for your shift?

I listened to my uncle, Atty. Joson very well as part of my training to this new career in real estate. Aside from his theoretical lessons, he brought me along to his high powered meetings with his clients such as San Miguel Corp and associates such as Cuervo Appraisers Inc. to name a few.

What would you consider to be your major achievement or most memorable experience in your real estate practice?

Three major achievements. One was my dealing with my client, Dona Bea Zobel. She was a business partner of my Greenhills neighbor, Paula Araneta-Tantoco. They asked me to show them my industrial lot listings for their consideration for their furniture export business. I brought her around Muntinlupa and Cavite. She fell in love with my client’s Cavite property of the Pulido clan of General Emilio Aguinaldo. Furthermore, I was referred by Dona Bea to her associates for their real estate requirements. Two was my association with the pre-selling condominium specialists, Globo Realty Inc. of the Vasquez-Madrigal clan. My late boss, Atty. Juan Miguel Madrigal Vasquez hired me as an agent in 1988. Working through the ranks, I got my break as a project manager in 1989. Atty. JMV assigned to me the Platinum 1000 residential condominium along Annapolis Street Greenhills with its developers, Antel/Quadrillon's  Elsie Chua and La Elegancia's Richard Lao. I refused to join Elsie Chua’s group due to my loyalty to Atty. JMV. It was during the launching of Platinum 1000 in a hotel that a Chinese man came to see me. He was a new player and wanted to seek my marketing advice for a condominium. He just purchased a property along Annapolis Street Greenhills for a high rise development as well. After an hour of consultation, he showed me his brochure that had his company printed, MEGAWORLD for his very first project, One Beverly Place. My third major achievement was my affiliation with Mr. Andrew Tan who still listen to my advice.

What would be one major piece of advice you would want to share with someone who is considering to shift to real estate?

To seek a seasoned and honest mentor when starting. I don’t mind if you consider me since I will share you 21 years of practice in this business. The recent passage of RESA Law might make a difference in the practice especially if implemented strictly for people considering a shift to real estate practice.

What other details about yourself would you like your fellow brokers and your clients to know?

I specialize in selling or leasing Greenhills East village. I am a resident of GEA since 1966, I have seen the development of Ortigas area. This is why I am fortunate enough to be considered as a lead broker of a 77 year old developer called Ortigas & Co. Limited Partnership (OCLP) with its development of 3 residential towers and an office/hotel tower in the 16 hectare Greenhills Shopping Center. It’s first residential tower, Viridian is 53 storey high with 50 residential floors to be launched in Feb. 2011. Unimart will be transferred to the Club Filipino Drive where Gloria Maris is presently located to pave way to an office/hotel tower. Another development will be the 10 hectare Capitol Commons. It is located along Rotunda Shaw Blvd where the former capitolyo was. This is a joint venture project of OCLP with Ayala Land. I created the San Jose del Monte City Bulacan Realtors Board Inc. San Jose del Monte City is the first city in Bulacan when passing through Quirino Highway from SM Fairview. You will be entering Tungkong Manga and is the site of Greggy Araneta’s 234 hectare Colinas Verdes Subdivision with Sta. Lucia. This area is a site of development thus a good investment since properties are still cheap. Giant retailers such as SM, Robinson, PureGold, Sta. Lucia to name a few are landbanking in this area. The reason for this is the city’s high elevation. After Ondoy’s devastation to low lying Pasig, Marikina, Cainta and patches of Metro-Manila, this city is being perceived to be the next boom town.

 
RENE J. CASTILLO. 47 years old, 21 years in real estate
Landline : (632) 372-2962 , (632) 664-4673