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