Best Posts in Thread: Construction Materials/House Construction Cost

Most definately buying or building is mostly for our family... a roof over their heads lasting long after I am gone is my ultimate goal....

 

As he said and I concur, the purpose is not to make money but to give stability and know that loved ones are sheltered and not under someone else's roof...

 

We are expanding our fence now, along with putting some tile down in the dirty kitchen. Not sure how much land we are adding, maybe 700sqm to put in a pool and a few other things ( part of the land is on the other side of a dyke/ creek that runs behind the house and will not be fenced.). so far materials has cost us just over 100,000 peso which includes an estimated 3500 hollow block. For labor we are expecting to pay 500 peso per day per carpenter, we are getting 2 of them, and 3 helpers at 400 peso per day. We are estimating 3 months for work to complete, meaning another 165000 peso. Total should come close to 300000 peso. I am unsure if this includes sealing/painting the wall or not. Hopefully not to much more than this.

 

Friends can become enemies so very quickly, especially where 'business' is concerned. So tread with care.

If you know "experienced" people (and if they are locals) then I would expect them to have been able to answer your original post - "I just would like to ask if anyone here knows where I could buy affordable yet durable construction materials?" If they don't know then I would be concerned.

 

For us we are still working. We are building now so that when we retire everything will be paid off and our expenses are as low as they can be. If we waited until SS age to retire it would be a bit easier, but we are working hard to build and save money so we can retire at 58/59 years of age. We don't want to wait until our 60's (full retirement for both of us is at 67 1/2). By having everything paid for allows us to take the reduced benefits at 62 and just paying out of pocket until then.

Family is of course important, both in the Philippines and our kids and future grandkids here in the USA. Giving everyone a safe place is important to us, and reducing future costs for the kids to visit is important. My wife had built a house in Dauin before we met that part of her family lives in, and she started a house in Bacong for us that we are still making it our own. It has 3 bedrooms 2 baths plus a dirty kitchen that has another 2 bedrooms and a bath. Another part of the family lives in the dirty kitchen with a niece and nephew inside the main house that we are paying their college for.

The initial plot of land was just shy of 700 sqm, and was enough for what we started. But since we decided we wanted more land for a pool and a few other amenities we have bought the surrounding land and are extending the wall around a portion of it, leaving a portion of it with just a wire fence for gardening.

As this pandemic has shown, there could be future times where quarantines could happen, and having everything we want inside our walls helps assure the quality of life we want in retirement regardless of the circumstances. This could not be attained if we were renting a place. So for us, the upfront cost of building is worth the price for our longer term security and financial goals.

 

I agree with both Jens and Notmy. House is long term for wife and boy. I am able to do this for them because I can and want to. If I die how long would the money I left them last if not invested in a house.

 

I agree with everything you have said when comparing owning with renting - except you did not include 'stability'. Landlords can vary so much that one can never be certain of staying in the same place for a long time. Cases of VERY bad landlords turn up on this Forum from time to time. Some renters are lucky and find a good one, so stay there forever. But my wife is a bit fed up with moving and I need to give her stability before I go - that to me is the ONLY reason to buy rather than rent, but it is not for my own needs.

I have warned her that an owner could find a neighbourhood annoying (again, many cases of that reported here) and then has the difficult job of selling and moving and that in an earthquake or other disaster an owner is not able to relocate almost immediately - but being an optimistic Filipino she thinks these things don't matter as they will probably never happen.

 

27,000p smtr is build house only. Wall, gate, landscape, and of course lot separate. My last house the cost of the house was only about 65% of the total cost

 

So when a quote of 27,000 per sq metre is given, is that just the house, with fittings (kitchen, CRs, tiles etc.) or does that include the grounds (perimeter walls, car port, exterior paths, etc.)?

I think I once read here that a perimeter wall (can't member the dimensions) can cost P500,000.

Which means that a 200 sq m house could cost P5,400,000 plus perhaps P1,000,000 for external work plus the lot price (at P5,000 per sq metre on 500 sq m, that is P2,500,000) - giving a grand total of about P9 million. Perhaps soon it will be cheaper to build in our home countries and commute here daily.

 

Based on a generous monthly rent of 30000, I could rent a quite fancy place for over 20 years before coming even close to 8 million. And that does not even factor in all the stress that comes with the whole process, necessary repairs and renovations over the years or the fact that I don't have to finance that sum upfront. Doesn't work from a financial point of view.

I think one must really value the added privacy, the ability to have everything "exactly" as you wish, and having a garden etc in order to go this route. Obviously having a nice piece of land already available would help as well. On the other hand, there goes your privacy if the wife's family lives next door