Buying Or Building A House

[Travis]

thank you Grant & Braddo for the info & thank you Braddo for the photos of your very nice house

[joeatmanila]

For sure building your own house.Ready made house are done with the lowest quality materials, the nice looking paint is not what the house is.Second hand houses are hidding a wealth of unpleasant up to disasterous surprises.It is never exactly as you want it, you always compromise. First and foremost talk with your self and ask what you really want from the place that you live in. Answer honestly and write it down.City-urban-nature-beach-combination of all or the scheme that you like.How big land would you need.Look at your budget what you can spend for land.Have in mind an average price for building a good house is about 20-30k pesos/m2 finished and with the various rip offs included. (manila prices)Look at your budget and give a 20-30% more allowance, that will cover last minute changes or upgrading materials that our wives ALWAYS request.By now you know where you can build what.Find the lot you want. Do not ask the price if it is a private seller. Do not show your white face on the initial meetings of price negotiation, put your wife or her brother or so appear there with an owner jeepney or a bike or just a trike, pull out a cheap cellphone and not the latest iphone.Negotiate and negotiate, you can get up to the half of the price discount sometimes. Never show your face until the final price is set and same for wealth.Ok you got your favorite spot. Now you need someone to build it. You are entering the mega gates of scams and rip off in Philippines. Be ready for a nerve braking experience.You have two options and let me explain in details:Option A:You find an engineer and he makes your plan, blueprints and approve it through the authorities. cost 40-50K pesosYou get your own foreman and crew and pay them by day, you buy the materials and tools and go on. Labor is about 400p/day the foreman and 250-300p/day each worker. Calculate a crew of 5-6 peopleAn 100m2 house they should finish it in 4 months provided you give them the materials needed in time and you are there your self every day 8-5 supervising them. Very important detail, if you do not supervise them constantly...good luck!!!!Advantages: You get the house as you want it, you learn all about construction etc, you place the materials you want, you DO KNOW how your house is made, where each and every iron and cable is passing through, how your plumbing is etc etcDisadvantages: If you cannot read the plans and apply them on the project...better forget this option. You need to undersdand these plans see the mm of the iron works, the ties, the electrical scheme and wiring and being able to see them on the actual project. So your house will not fall apart on the first earthquale or typhoon.Your crew might go away to a more profitable project and there you are trying to find a new crew. No worries, the plans are there and they can take over from where the other stopped. You work your self by being there all the time. It is a nerve braking process dealing with all the small scams of who stole the hammer or the left over paint etc. You deal with all the hardware stores and their constantly increasing prices. Option B:Find an engineer or a contractor to make it for you. You think is worries free but...mind you and read below.They tell you it is in "3 gives" and the last one is upon delivering of the house...dreams are for free!!!Make them to give you a detailed "scope of work" and better use the assistance of an experienced lawyer with cases as such, so to make a proper one. Check each and every material he is going to put if it is according to the specifications. Hollow blocks, thickness of steel bars, quality of tiles, thickness and quality of cables, They ask you the first give in advance so they start, you give it. Before they are even in the middle they ask the second give and they convice you ti give it. They ask you the 3rd give (an excuse is always coming up) and they are at about 50%. They go to 75-80% and then they ask more. Their logic behind this scam is that you will not do anything to them since it will cost you more to hunt them down than pay them extra to finish.So when they reach the second give, pull out the scope of work and tell them you will go legally through the barnagy and the CACT (arbitrator authority for construction issues, their resolution is as fast as a month and good as a court order but you'll need to take their decision to a court in order to legaly hunt them down). Do not give unless they have done the agreed. The 3rd give do not give it unless they have reached 90-95%. Hopefuly as soon as they hear you asking to make a scope of work through a lawyer they get the goosebumbs that you are not neive and they better do what they are supposed to. In that case they keep on sweetalking you or your wife to do this or that upgrade for a cheap price, do not get fooled, they do that so to claim it was you who went out of the scope of work and that is why they runned out of budget and ofcourse win the CACT, where in that case you'll pay them the damages. Accept nothing out of the scope of work, agree on nothing out of it too.Hopefully you find a good contractor and finishes your house without much trouble or expends but this is the exception rather than the rule.Know the following. if you have to go to CACT you are not required to have a lawyer but DO get one to go there with you. When the engineer will want to talk why he did not finish the what was on scope of work, tell him that is not the topic. The topic is that you did not finish and what will be done after that. if their decision is not honored by the contractor (expect will not) then you take him through the court blaming him that he did not honored their decision and he is loosing no matter what. if he has any personal properties you go after them, if not you can go even after his own furniture or the salaries of the company he might be working extra. It is better you do not end with this ordeal but i am stuborn to hell when someone fools me and since i want to be a law abiding citizen i follow the procedures. Long but at least i get to pay him back.Anyone who might have construction issues and disputes feel free to contact me, i learned the hard way, my advice is for free.Ready to get a house in Philippines? Do not worry it is not as bad as it sounds. I enjoy it and still do!!!