ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: HOW MUCH DOES A HOUSE CONSTRUCTION COST IN THE PHILIPPINES?

The cost of constructing a house in the Philippines currently ranges from 15,000 to 20,000 per square meter of the total floor area of the house ( excluding lighting fixtures, grills, perimeter fence w/ gate & landscape). This is an aggressive estimate based on prevailing construction costs and meant for budgetary or reference purposes only. A more detailed cost estimate can be determined once the plan and design of the house is done. The costs may vary depending on the following variables aside from the basic reference on total floor area:

Type of finish standard to elegant Timetable a rushed construction would typically require more manpower than regularly needed to meet the shortened construction timetable Lot location if the location of your lot is lower than the road and would require landfill this will also add to the cost

One alternative is to give your budget outright so that the Contractor/Architect can customize a plan and house design that would fit your budget and specifications. Outright costs are house design fees and processing fees for building permits. At CMBuilders we offer complete all-in package for hassle-free house construction. Once you avail of our house construction services the design fees are refundable or deductable from the entire project cost. We will take care of everything for you from plans to processing of building and occupancy permits. After turn over, it will be ready for you to move in. You dont have to worry if budget is a concern , we are able to suggest alternative materials or offer options without sacrificing quality. Just tell us your budget and we will work on it.

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Q: WHAT IS THE TERMS OF PAYMENT FOR HOUSE CONSTRUCTION SERVICES?

For terms of payment, when the building permit is released a 25% down payment will be required to start commencing on the actual house construction. Balance can then be paid thru monthly progress billing.

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Q: HOW DO I GET STARTED WITH MY HOUSE CONSTRUCTION PLANS?

You will need to give the lot plan and deed of restriction as well as detailed specifications of your desired house:

Number of bedrooms and bathrooms Number of levels or floors Type of finish Desired size Design type you may also give sample designs that appeal to you which would be very helpful in articulating your design preferences. You may also choose from house designs available. This will then be customized to fit your lot plan and requirements going thru consultation, presentation and approval from the owner.

Once the house plans and design are done a detailed cost estimate will be presented. After approval of investment cost and signing of contract, all necessary permits such as building permit need to be secured and finally commence actual house construction.

If you are availing thru a bank or PAG IBIG house construction loan the complete house plans and Bill of Materials are required. Our Engineer can be requested to be onsite when the Bank Assessor comes to calculate the value of the lot and house construction cost. Usually banks approve 70% of the value of the house construction cost estimate and lot.

It is also advisable to indicate a budget range you are willing to invest so the Contractor will be able to advise what can fit within your budget. Otherwise you may discover that when the cost estimates are presented, the budget you have in mind does not match or you may not be able to afford the investment required based on your desired design and specifications.

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Q: DO YOU OFFER DESIGN SERVICES? WHAT WILL I GET IF I AVAIL OF A DESIGN PACKAGE?

CMBuilders offer 1 Set- Original copy

house

design

services

for

minimal

fee.

This

includes

the

following:

3 3 3

Architectural Structural Electrical Sanitary Sets - Blueprint

Sets Sets Sets - Bill of Materials

Structural Technical

Computation Specifications

*Includes Floor Plans, Elevations *All signed and sealed by our Engineers & Architects

and

3D

Perspective

of

House

Design

These documents are also the usual requirements for bank financed house construction loan or PAG IBIG house construction loan.

The design fee is REFUNDABLE/FREE when house construction services is availed through CMBuilders .

^ Back to Top Q: WHY CANT I JUST HIRE A FOREMAN TO SAVE ON COSTS? WHY DO I NEED A CONTRACTOR/ ENGINEER?

There are several things that you have to consider when deciding which option to take in your house construction plan. You have to weigh carefully your priority between quality and cost. There is no such thing as the highest quality at the lowest cost. You always have to choose or strike a balance. If you want quality, it will cost you more. If you want low cost you will get what you pay for. If you choose low cost , on the long term you will have to spend more on repairs and fixes as well as yearly maintenance. Overall the costs would have been the same if you chose quality in the first place. On some cases, the owner ends up spending more repairing leaks and defects.

Foreman can indeed build a liveable house, maybe even a nice house at the onset. But a Foreman is not an expert on other critical subjects like structural safety. Chances are your roof will leak or your walls will tilt. There is also the danger of collapse in case of tremors and short circuit electricity problems which may cause fires.

An Engineer/Contractor on the other hand is an expert on the field of construction having undergone years of study and board examination to insure that standards on quality and safety are strictly adhered to such as the Philippine Building Code. Otherwise in case of complaints their professional license maybe revoked.

As an analogy when you have to undergo surgery you would want to go to the expert in that field of study and insure that the Doctor doing the surgery is certified. You would not want to go to a Quack Doctor, a Nurse or even an Unlicensed Surgeon just so you will get huge discounts or low price, your life maybe on the line. The surgery may appear successful at the beginning but you are not assured of any long term side effects. What is worse is when you develop problems and have to undergo another surgery to correct it. Then your expenses would have doubled had you sought the services of a Licensed Surgeon in the first place.

In house construction, we are talking about investing your savings which might have taken you a lifetime to build. Therefore you have to insure that the house you will have in the end is not only beautiful but structurally safe and sound and something that will last for a long time for you and your family.

One important thing that you also have to consider is warranty and after sales service. We have heard many stories about freelance Engineers or Foreman disappearing after getting the down payment and doing mobilization. Or after the house is finished the Foreman cannot be contacted anymore to fix defects in workmanship. We encourage you to avail the services of a registered company which would be able to guarantee 15 years of warranty on structure and insure prompt after sales service. You have to insure that the Contractor or company is legally liable for any defects on structure.

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Q: HOW DO I INSURE THAT I AM GETTING THE BEST VALUE FOR MY MONEY?

First you have to choose a reputable company to undertake your house construction plans. You also would want to check or talk to previous clients to know how their experience was engaging with the Contractor of your choice. You need to choose a trustworthy Contractor. In this day and age you may encounter Contractors promising you the sun and the moon and offering big discounts. Be very wary of this. As we have mentioned there is no such thing as high quality at a low cost. Quality comes with a price but as experience would show it is all worth it in the end. If not the risk of being short-changed in the quality of building materials is very high. No one goes into business for charity. The discount given to you will always be taken out of quality one way or another. You might discover after turn-over of your house that the cement is not buhos , the walls have cracked or the sizes of the steels used in the foundation are not up to standards. In time you might encounter leaking roofs, tilting walls and sinking foundation.

Also other Contractors might be able to submit a low cost estimate at the onset or offer big discounts but it turns out that there are a lot of hidden fees or additional costs that needs to be added which were not explained to you in the first place. Sometimes it is too late to know because you were deceived into starting the project and have given mobilization and payments. By that time, you are already tied to the Contractor and they can always stop construction if payments are withheld.

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Q: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR A HOUSE CONSTRUTION TO FINISH?

It would typically take an average of six months to finish a house construction project. Although it is possible to finish earlier or even longer depending on the size and design of the house. There is also the option to add more manpower if a timetable shorter than six months is desired but it may add to the cost investment.

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Q: IF I AM AN OFW OR OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY AND WOULD WANT TO BEGIN HOUSE CONSTRUCTION IN THE PHILIPPINES, HOW DO I GO ABOUT IT?

If you are an OFW or outside the country and you would like to start building your dream house in the Philippines or invest your hard earned money in real estate properties such as apartments or commercial buildings, we can work with your representative here typically a relative who we can meet to review the house designs and details. We can send you the designs thru email or discuss thru Skype and video call either in msn or yahoo. It is important that detailed requirements are communicated and approval is given to insure that the house that you will have is exactly what you wanted.

Monthly progress report will be submitted together with pictures so you may be able to see the development of the house construction. Some clients go Bank home financing or to PAG the IBIG Philippines loan is every available for other OFW month housing loan to and do an are actual easy to ocular. fulfil. rating.

requirements and

Client references are also available if you would like to check our track record We guarantee response time within 24 hours for inquiries and request for teleconference/discussion.

customer

satisfaction

What are the costs of building a house in the Philippines?

The cost of Philippine construction should not be estimated by simply getting the total floor area and multiplying it by the cost per square meter. The cost on a per square meter area basis is merely a reference and does not hold true for all kinds of houses, whether one floor or more. Each house like its occupant is unique. The price normally depends on the design, location, materials & method of construction, even the timetable will adversely affect costs. In getting the cost of construction, our practice is to itemize all scope of works based on plans which are designed by a Philippine architect using all your parameters and requirements. However; this takes a few days. For quicker, budgetary purposes, we can estimate construction costs by adding 'bare unit cost' plus the 'finishings cost' (which we know from our experience) and multiply it by the total floor area. It is just a quick basis/reference of how much (more or less) your house will cost. Bare unit cost Approx. P 10,000 to P 12,000 per square meter (ground floor plus the next floors.) Includes all the following: structural works, earthworks, foundation, walls, flooring, embedded items, steel roof framing etc. Finishings Approx. between P 5,000 and P 12,000 per square meter (ground floor plus the next floors.) Includes all the following: items like plans, professional fees, permits, structural work, architectural works, plumbing and sanitary works, electrical works, tapping of utilities (except deposits to utility companies like power, internet and water), taxes, supervision, tools and equipment, tiles, lavatory and water closets, doors, roof system, kitchen, paint etc. Or in short; owner will just receive the keys of the house. Excluded are furnitures, swimming pool, fence, landscaping, expensive lighting and plumbing fixtures like bath tub, chandeliers, remote control gates, air con units, alarm system, generator set. Example: Floor area 100 sq.m. ( 50 sq.m. ground floor plus 50 sq.m. first floor ) Bare unit cost P 10,000 per sq.m. Owners discretionary finishing of P 5,000 per square meter. Therefore: ( P 15,000/sq.m. x 100 sq.m. = P 1.5M)