Building vs buying?

Hi, I am planning to move in Valencia next year and will appreciate help from peoples who knows trusty builders. Please send me some info about them. I bought a 880 Sqm land and would like to build a single story with 4 bedrooms. I would like to find plans or any kind of suggestion about designs. Thanks

 

Actually this a very helpful thread. I can see a few issues that I haven't really considered, but now I'm aware of....much appreciated. At some point we'll likely build on our lots near Bacolod for a part-time home, but I'd like to cast out an interesting observation. I showed some photos of houses in various Bacolod subdivisions (and those houses do look very similar to many of the expat homes in the Dumaguete area) - to a couple associates who are into environmental architecture. The feedback I got was that the houses I showed them, almost without exception, were poorly designed for the climate and locality. They advocated, for starters - high roofs with good air extraction, wide verandas all-around, and elevated floors on concrete stumps with wood or aluminum surrounds - pretty much what a house in northern Queensland looks like. I actually saw a Queenslander home in a Bacolod subdivision. It looked odd compared to the Euro/Filipino designs that surrounded it....But I bet the owner finds it comfortable and cheaper to run. Anyway, my two centavos....And thanks for the contributors who warned about electrical cabling in the wrong places and cheap/Chinese fittings...Good points that could save a lot of aggravation and expense...

 

I am quite surprised at the constrution time scales there in Dum,

I will be relocating there soon and have built 2 houses from scratch in Angeles city, (both with same contractor)

They were decent sizes first 150 sqm bungalow 3 bed 2 bathroom swimming pool etc etc, took just under bar a few days of 3 months.

second bigger 180 sqm with larger pool took just over 3 months as we had to demolish a building there first,

I paid 15,000 pesos a SQM Plus extra for perimeter wall 3 metres and a 6 ft deep 30 odd sqm pool,

Tryed to add pics but google chrome keeps crashing when i try?

So I am a few weeks away from our purchase of land and wonder if it may be worth my while to bring a team there to build, I must add I will never pay Per sqm again, i shall do all buying and have a labour contract only, i think this way will keep costs down much more,
As i have read some people here have relatives who can do work, i would like to see their work and find out their costs, here in angeles city a bricklayer for instance is 350-400 pesos a day and expect around 180 blocks for that to be laid.
Electrition 400-500 pesos a day , plus i would always buy them a light snack mirianda 10am,

i have also build using the guys to just do a pool at another place and landscape also can work out pretty cheap if you get the right people,
I hope to build a 2-3 story beach house next year, will see how i get on!

Thanks

 

pictures

some pictures of my first build, took just under 3 months

was a excellent home, sold in 2 weeks of marketing it!