You Decide ...

You Decide! Yes, you decide.

What a great feeling when you decide on what to do. You have the capacity to decide on things on your life. What better way to exercise this right than to decide...

Where to live..

Who will be my neighbors..

How big is my room..

To have just the right size of kitchen.. Or to have a grand kitchen..

To have a master's bedroom that has a view of the sunrise.. or the sunset..

..you decide

Now for all these to happen, here is the question:

Do I go to an architect or go straight to a builder?

My suggestion is go to an architect you know or one recommended by a very close relative or friend who has worked with one.

Of course, there are a lot of advantages when you know the person. One is that he or she will look after your best interest (well..hopefully. Nobody wants a bad review.. ) and two, he can be a good source of advise in the full course building your dream home..

It will be hard to ask questions you do not know you should ask.

This only comes from years of experince.

There is another option. You can go to someone you know who works in the construction industry. You might know someone who works for a contractor and is familiar with building condominiums and houses. they can give good advice if they are not the one building your home. We need unbiased minds here.

You can even get advise, as mentioned earlier, from someone who already built their own home.

Ask them what did they do right and what they did wrong.. If given the chance to do it again, what would they do differently. What were the issues between them and the builder.

Start with the right information. The right path will be easier, much easier if someone can guide you along the way.


Emil M.

Mindset of a home builder - Get the Details & How to Approach Changes

Welcome again Dreamers!

Lets look closely at the mind of the home builder - thats going to be you when you start to build your home..

If I will have a single tip for you right now, it will be : Know what you want and get as much detail on the architectural plans before having it bid out to contractors.

The more details the plans have, the closer the cost of the contractor/s to your actual building budget.

There is no really perfect plan. But it does not mean you will leave the details as the construction is already going-on. And it does not mean you will not make changes as everything is happening. You have all the right to make the changes. But make it early. How early? The earlier the better.

Here are a few examples:

If you want to get a feel on the layout of the house with respect to the total lot area, have your contractor lay it out in the ground before you dig any foundations. At least you get a feel on how big or small the whole house is going to be. You can even layout the individual rooms in the ground floor or the upper floors. Just do it one floor at a time.

Any major or minor changes, let your architect or builder know about it and see if you can still make the changes.

Some changes will or will not cost you anything. but just make sure the changes are made in writing.

If you want to make a room bigger, decide on it before the walls are starting to come up. 

If you want more electrical outlets, decide on it before they start plastering the walls and making it smooth.

 The simple concept is - if its already there and it needs to be removed and installed again due to changes, it will cost you.. it will take additional labor and additional materials which you have to pay.

 But you have to ask yourself, do i really need it or do i just want it to impress.. Can I afford it? Am i already tight on my budget?

 If the digging already started and you wan to push the whole house back so you want to have a larger frontage, you will have to pay for the wasted work done. if you can afford it - do it. its your house anyway. 

Tip: Some subdivisions or villages have a minimum set back for the front, sides and back. like 2 meters at the sides and back and 4 meters at the front (Check you local government and village requirements. you can even have it inspected just to be sure you will not start work that does not comply with the requirements).

Let a competent construction manager or architect guide you..

Questions to ask for Your Home, Your Dream

One night, I was thinking what were my lessons learned in the course of helping people build their dream home.. The list below is not comprehensive. I just made a quick draft on the important questions and questions people did not know they should ask!

1.       What do I want? (Minor fixes, House extensions, Complete renovations [retaining the basic structure], Complete house from the ground-up?

2.       What is my budget? (Very, very important!!)

3.       Do I need an architect or do I go to Contractor right away? (Clue, go to an architect or civil engineer who knows construction or construction management but not the one who will be your contractor)

4.       How long do I want to finish the project? (by Christmas, Anniversary, 6 months, 1 month, etc.)

5.       Should I consider the seasons (Summer, Rainy) when deciding when to start and finish?

6.       Should I ask any building restrictions in my area? (Subdivision, Barangay, City limitations like property set-back, roof height, architectural style, building layout or maximum usable area)

7.       Can I build rooms or structures that I can have rented-out.

8.       Do I have to pay for a construction Bond (to the subdivision or Barangay or City hall)

9.       Where is the best place to familiarize myself with the different finishes inside my house?

10.   Is building the house on my own better than having a contractor do it for me? Is there any other way?

11.   When can I add another bathroom?

12.   Should I already know the furniture layout at the design stage?

13.   Does it matter where I put my aircon?

14.   Should I be worried about termites for my new house. Is it for old houses only?

15.   Can I build a fishpond or swimming pool anywhere I want in my property?

16.   Can I put a generator anywhere in the house?

17.   Can I build my fence as high as I want?

18.   How do I plan my house so I can easily extend or build another floor in the future?

19.   Should I hire a project manager or can my architect also do it?

And a hundred more questions to ask.

My first advice - Take it one step at a time..

Lets start with question number 1 and 2.

What do I want? What is my budget?

Lets assume you will build your new home. Wait.. Your Dream Home!

Everything starts with an idea. With a perception. Flip through some architectural magazines, go around nice villages, talk to your spouse about their ideas, talk to your kids even! understand what do you want. Don't live another's dream. have your own dream! Don't just accept the fads and fast recommendations of architects. it must have a deep connection with what you want and what you can afford. More on this in future articles.. 

Next, Do a quick estimate.

Do you already have a lot to build into? This is the easy part. if you already have one, you will need less money to build your dream home. No land yet? At least the prices are fairly straight forward and can vary depending on location.

Next, The house..

You may want to ask for a help of friend who is an architect or one knowledgable in construction managment. Know your needs and your wants for the size of the house. Needs are essentials, wants are just wish lists thay you can live without for now.

How big is the Lot? Is there a restriction (usually in villages) on how much of the land you can build on?

How many bedrooms? - what are their sizes?

How many Toilet and Baths?

How big is the dining room and living room?

How many cars do you want to park, or do you even need a car garage? 

Any other rooms? how big?

Hint: do not go to a builder or contractor. Why? you need an independent mind to help you put you ideas on paper but not necessarily urging you to start the project at once.. Don't go to an architect you do not know.. you need free (friendly) services first. opening all options.

Builders generally want you to build a bigger home. The bigger, the more profits they can potentially get.

Architects who charge per square meter of the house being designed want you to build a bigger home. The bigger, the more design fees they can potentially get.

Add up all the livable spaces inside your walls including the hallways, staris  in square meters and multiply them by 20,000 pesos ($445).

For example:

200 square meters  multipy by 20,000 pesos =  PhP 4,000,000 ($88,900)  for a 200 Sq.m. house.

The 20,000 pesos is just my average and quick estimate. You can have it higher or lower depending on the market values of construction materials.

Now you can start Dreaming!!

Comment on this Blog! Ask me questions! I will try my best to answer them.

Start Dreaming Now!

Emil Mendoza
emilmendoza2003@yahoo.com

Your Home, Your Dream - Welcome Dreamers!

Welcome to Your Home, Your Dream!

I'm so excited to share important concepts and advice in building your own home. its giving advice to make your dreams come true!

I am an advocate of advising people to build your own home instead of buying from the multitude of new houses from developers all over the country. Believe me, its much cheaper! But i have this to say - you have to have enough capital to start with this direction of building your own home. More on that in the next articles.

Here is the first idea. The developers build houses or condominiums and they are so tiny or are expensive for such a small space!

Imagine this sample brand new house for sale recently:

Floor Area: 40 sq. m. (430 sq. ft.)
Lot Area: 153 sq. m. (1,646 sq. ft.)
Location: Taguig City, Metro Manila
Price starts at Php 5.5M ($ 122,000.00)

Its PhP 137,500.00 ($3,050.00) per square meter of livable area! Oh my! And to think the size of the house is targeted to those just starting their families. Too expensive!

Or this brand new condominium for sale:

Floor Area: 80 sq.m.
Price: PhP 4M ($88,900.00)

That is PhP 50,000.00 ($1,110.00) per sq.m. (Oh my!)



A few years ago, I helped a friend of mine build their family's home. Although its not completely, totally, glowing paint and all finished new like what we see in the developer's model units, they prioritized building the actual structure and finishing the inside and making it livable. They are taking time to save up and slowly but surely finish their Dream Home! Take a look at the specs and close estimate on how much they spent for a huge house!

Lot Area: 200 sq. m.
Ground Floor area: 160 sq.m.
2nd Floor area: 194 sq.m.
3rd floor rooms: 63 sq.m.
3rd floor roof deck: 130 sq.m.

When they started to move in, they spent about PhP 6M ($133,300) to get the house about 90 percent complete! They saved a LOT..

This is 420 sq.m. of livable area PLUS a 130sq.m. roof deck!
My best estimate is they can finish the house with a total of 7M.

Excluding the roof deck - this is PhP 16,700.00 per square meter!!!

The whole property is divided into three - Her family, Her Parents, Her Siblings, and two rooms for Rent (Wow, what a game plan! passive income included..)

Now its your turn.


Build Your Home, Your Dream!