Best Posts in Thread: Getting started on building a house

Hi Neal,

I really had to think long and hard before commenting. As most people know, our company owns this site and we are also in the Construction business, so though we do advertise our own businesses here, we try not to blatantly troll on it for work. I will try to answer to some of your concerns without promoting our own, lol .
Typically here it is not unreasonable for an architect to charge you 3.5 to 5% of the contract price to oversee the work, however what they usually do for that fee is handle the construction management without the use of another contractor. That he wants to charge you a management fee, then have you enter into a contract with an independent contractor, would concern me a little 9you are paying his fee, plus the markup of the contractor). A secondary red flag is that he would be "managing" or "overseeing" a contractor he regularly deals with, and I would personally wonder how close their relationship is and how truly independent he is. I guess if it were me, I would want some one overseeing , in which there are no ties. Having said that, I do know Jet Construction from a competitor standpoint, and can vouch that they usually do very good quality work and are reputable (never heard of the other contractor personally).

He is correct that most of us contractors do want to enter into a fixed sum price. Just easier and cleaner that way, however you are right to be concerned about the quality of materials. It is easy for a contractor to save a few bucks by using substandard materials, the main ones being steel or hollow block. Easy to get here, and unless you know what to look for then easy to be taken for a ride. Honestly it has even happened to us, however when we did catch on we did what it took to rectify the problems because we just do not want to be faced with the sh*t if the building fell down, regardless of how much we could have saved. Again, if you go with a guy like Jet, I think you would not have this problem.

Several other things touched on here that you need to be cautious about. If you do not get the right contractor, you will leave yourself exposed financially. Most contractors,, and sub-contractors, just do not have the capacity to finance their work. Most will have to always be asking for advances and if they underestimated the job, or something goes wrong that they have to fix, in all likelihood they will not be financially able to finish. Either you give them more money or they walk. As a contractor, when we get a price from a sub, we always allow more than what they quote to insulate ourselves from a big hit.

The other thing is having the work done while you are not here. I do not want to cut Filipinos down, but again typically a Filipino contractor doing work for a foreign client while the client is not here usually does not end up well, and not necessarily because the Filipino is trying to screw the foreigner. The problem is more related to communication, transparency and cultural differences and expectations. The Filipino may have all the best intentions in the world, however they normally just do not understand what a foreigner expects. What you or I may consider as goes without saying, is something they may not have any concept of, and most Filipinos either do not have the language and technical capabilities to communicate with you as you require to nip small problems in the bud, before they become major problems. As an example, we ourselves are foreigners so do have a better idea of what a foreigner expects as western standards but most of our clients are overseas for the better part of the construction process and even we have issues. To minimize this issue, we have web based site cameras that our overseas clients can log into and see what is happening on their site at any time. We also have site pictures taken of everything everyday and upload once a week for our clients to review. On Monday we usually start getting the emails from clients asking questions for clarification. Many times this has saved us all , lol. To make a long story short, regardless of which Filipino company you get, (and there definitely are some reputable ones in the area), they probably will just not be able to communicate properly with you overseas and odds are pretty good that when you get back , you will be in for some unpleasant surprises.

A few last notes:, Typical design fees are around 250 p/sqm, but that does not include engineering stamps, structural analysis, or fees for the building permits. Design time should be 2-4 weeks and you should get a building permit pretty quick if all the requirements are fulfilled properly. When it comes to finishing items such as tiles, granite, faucets, water heaters, etc, best to just have the builder give you a budget schedule (eg 200 sqm for tile). If someone tries to specify one now, it will probably be out of stock when it comes time to buy it. Then you are at their mercy and could get dinged with extras that may be out of whack. At least if you have the budget schedule included as part of the contract, you will have a clear baseline if you have to choose other items.

Anyway hope some of this helps Neal.

Gord

 

I was a carpenter for many years in the US, then became a contractor and then a building of homes. From my 50 years experience in construction I will agree with Gord as well as the others. Even if you get a good building/architect it will be difficult as there are questions that come up along the way and the decisions need to be made quickly or the work will stop.
JET, or JT as I have heard him called has an excellent reputation in the community although I do not know him personally.
I have built one house here for myself and it was an eye opener. I actually put my tools on and worked alongside the workers. (at nearly 70 at the time was not something I wanted to do) The materials here, in many cases are not the same as used in the US and some of the methods they use here are and will be a disaster in the future. For example, electrical wiring is twisted and then taped to make a connection here, it is standard. In the US a wire nut is used to connect wires together.
We bought a house that was already built by a reputable builder. After about a year the floor tile, (ceramic), started to come loose, just one here and there at first, then most of them started coming up. When they lay floor tiles here they soak it in water just before laying. After a few months of this growing problem it occurred to me that used to happen in the US many years ago and was caused by tile setters soaking tile before laying. It was OK at first but usually years later, 6 or 7 in our case they started coming up, just as these tiles were coming up. This something that the tradesmen pass on to their protégées. Soaking of tiles inn the US this is now prohibited and the problem with tiles coming up has stopped.
We replaced the tile throughout the house and as the tile setter was about to start he was soaking some tiles although he had been told not to prior to the work. I was there and told him again not to soak the tiles which he argued with me about. He was concerned it would not turn out right. I showed him the box the tile came in which stated, "do not ein water prior to laying". He did a great job on the tile.
My point is that you need to know what you are doing and getting a knowledgeable, experienced contractor is the most important part of what you are about to endeavor.
There will be paint colors, tile colors, cabinet designs, lighting, plumbing roof color, exterior wall color, trim colors and many more decisions that YOU must make that will be next very difficult to make from a distance.
Good luck in your decision, I agree with every post made here. I too have lost lots of money investing in ventures here and have never had even a return of capital let alone return on investment.

 

It seems one of the main concerns of your post was to make sure that you are dealing with honest folks. I will just toss in my 2 cents of opinion here as someone who has had projects done for me by Gord and his company. Gord helped me to find my house and I purchased it through his real estate company. After that his construction company did a very major remodel for me in which we took a large one story house, pulled to roof off it, and added a second story. This was a major project as the first story was not designed from the beginning to support a second story, so additional supports had to be incorporated into the first story and then massive big steal beams had to be constructed on site to create the structure for the second story to be built on. All of this was done while I was still living in the US and it was great to be able to log onto the site cams and watch the work in real time, and just about every week I would receive a big batch of pictures and descriptions of where we were at in the process. When we arrived here everything was completed and ready for our move-in. I am absolutely confident that we could not have got a better quality construction, or a better cost than what Gord was able to deliver for us. My recommendation to anybody who is considering doing anything relative to real estate in the DGT area (buying, selling, building, remodeling) ... your first step really needs to be to talk with Gord, he is so knowledgeable and experienced with all the 'unique issues' of working in this area. If you are overseas I would highly recommend that it is very much worth the expense to come here in person and see your property and meet with Gord to discuss your plans. Whether you ultimately use his services or not, certainly you will come away much better informed.

 

I'm living here now for 25 Years and haven't build anything....but my general advice is, just wait for your retirement, come over here and start it when you are here....

 

I know nothing about building here .... but I do know that any business-type arrangement with family/ friends has the potential of going badly wrong. It is very difficult to pull-up someone who you are close to and so standards can slide and then you may lose what you really wanted to achieve AND also lose your friendships.

Find someone who you are fully detached from and can have a go at if things start to go wrong - never mix business and emotions.

 

I was reluctant to write here first, as it might mislead you or give you "false" hope...but I will write anyway-

I actually build a house while I was not on site, just one trusted person. This is in Cebu around 10 years ago.
The result was very good. This might not be the "usual" outcome.

I had a very good architect - running everything (from project management to his own building company - so no contractors needed). Sadly he died a few years ago, he was really good in every aspect.

I was there on site when I finalized the plans with him. Also, I selected all materials like tiles, fixtures, windows (that was outsourced), etc, etc.

Nowadays the process might be even easier, with better internet connection. He sent me pictures every week and a very detailed expense tracking, comprised of:

• Cash flow statement
• Comparative analysis as of (estimate, actual, variance - itemized). Example:
  • - Item 12: cutting of coconut trees (commissioned)
  • - 1unit Aerogaz 4-burner stainless cooktop
  • - Less: Item 14: Swimming Pool Faucet (reclassified as unreported additional item below)
  • - Unreported Additional Items or changes ordered by (my person on site) for reporting period:
  • - 110V ceiling fans: labor charge of P600, chain, 1gang plate, puj fare (notice even the jeepney fare)
• Detailed costs - additional items (this were all the costs and any additional cost, which were not included in the original estimate. The costs were by sections: Additional cost, labor, materials etc. ). Example:
  • Date: atlantic#253432 (#20802): 80meters-stranded wire#10-thhn @31.20
  • cebu hardware#16603: 3meters chain, puj fare=37
  • 10 bags portland @215
  • 4 kgs common wire nails @60
  • labor: installation of ground rod
  • 4 days: carpentry/masonry-sanny paypa @330

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At the end I had a variance of around 80k (pesos). The house turned out very well (actually a dream). Many people walking by ask if this is a public resort and if the place can be rented (and no it cannot...)

So it can be done, but I would only do it with an architect you trust and manages everything. He was not cheap, but worth every cent (as far as I know he was also a consultant for the UN in environmental matters).

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Here man, Im in the same boat as you ( 2 kids, 46 years young, not in the position to retire to the phils yet), i work in china, but have been in and out of there for 9 years......i have tried several ways of trying to get surplus cash for a rainy day fund, or trying to get a few little things up and running there, but all to no avail, lost at every little venture ( from trying to get a little piggery to owning a tricycle then owning a jeepney) filipinos in general are a very very nice bunch of people, but when they get a sniff of a euro, peso or dollar, the DNA changes they are very likeable bunch, but when there is foreign money about it all changes, the only people you can trust are the people inside when you lock your door and that is it and even with the wife you gotta sit down and be direct with her as regards who gets what and why, and the end of the day she too is filipino, in the sense that she has a big heart too, and would like to help neighbours or family, you have got to see the wood from the trees (most of what i lost was to the closest around me, the cousin, the brother, the neighbour.........( im ranting )...............I would suggest you wait until you are ready to go the phils full time, do not try to run the show from the USA you will get raped every which way


if you cant be there for the whole time for the build you cant be there the whole time when its built either, who is going to run it for you, dont expect your wife to do it, if she has no training and look after two kids as well

time to finish, i am giving my tuppence worth as i am the same age as you more or less in the same boat as you, but i have been in and out for 10 years now, got my fingers burnt trusting the locals with money.....you will be on an absolute loser, by not being here.

you will be more or less trusting strangers with your lifes savings/kids future
their mentality is " he is a foreigner, he is rich, he wont miss the money, it will be ok, God is good, he have money/I have no money, my brother is sick......etc etc etc etc etc

they will clean you out.............i reckon i got creamed to the tune of a million pesos all told.

they just cant be trusted..........and police/lawyers/barangay captains/judges/courts will never come out on your side, it will cost you twice as much as you lost to try and get it back....dont dont dont do it

 

I hope others will too come on here and comment on the absolute folly of trusting the locals with money before doing a job, i cant recommend strongly enough, do nothing unless you are on terra firma here, and even then...................man I could spend hours on this topic, but short and sweet and long and short of it is, you will loose your bollox with this especially if you know nothing at all about building, this is not america.........there are no rules and regulations here as such........if you have some cash about would it not be feasible to do what you have in mind in america, and send the proceeds to you...........................you are on an absolute loser, they will squeeze you for every peso possible