A step by step guide in building your house in Philippines
Are you a homeowner or lot owner?
Well this blog is meant for you. Majority of Filipino homeowners and lot owners are clueless on the process of building their homes here in Philippines. Whether how to start from bare lot or to renovate their property. As an architect and contractor with years of experience, we will guide you on the process and assure you to gain some knowledge from this blog. So let's get into it.
Check and prepare your documents
Verify your property line
Hire a professional
Check, verify and finalize the design
Application of building permit, payment of construction fees and licenses
Construction stage
Punch Lists and Turn-over
Move-in to your new house
1. Check and prepare your documents
Owners should prepare their documents related to their property like TCT (Transfer Certificate of Title), tax declaration of lot and current tax receipt. What if you are not the registered lot owner or your lot is still under mortgage? You need provide duly notarized contract of lease, contract to sell and deed of absolute sale. These are the major requirements to start building your dream house. It is advisable to acquire checklists from your city's planning department to check other requirements (soil or boring test, neighbor's consent, brgy. clearance, etc.) to be complied on your part.
2. Verify your property line
Owners must secure their lot through a document/drawing called "Location Plan/Relocation Plan". Aside from it is a part of the application of bldg. permit application. This document shows the boundary of your property/lot and ease your mind that your neighbor didn't took part of your property or you didn't go beyond the neighbor's property line. It is advisable to secure this document by doing a land survey conducted by a "Geodetic Engineer". No other person or professional is allowed to measure, survey, verify and certify (geodetic engineer will sign and seal this document) the boundaries of your lot. On your property, the geodetic engineer will place and set permanently the cylindrical concrete marker or "mohon" to know the physically the boundary pint of your lot.
The contractor or owner can negotiate of who will pay the professional of fee of the land survey. It can be included in the contractor's quotation or can be paid separately by the owner. It depends on the negotiation between the owner and the contractor.
3. Hire a professional
After checking and completing your requirements, the next step is to hire an "Architect". The architect will help you on planning and translating your design ideas for your house. From the practicing experience of architects, they can plan, layout and study every part of your house with your given requirements and space considerations. The architect will conduct site visit to inspect the physical condition of your lot including existing utility lines, vegetation or trees, wind direction, sun orientation, and etc. These factors are considered in order to incorporate on the design and achieve a conducive, efficient and functional space for the occupants. These are just part of the preliminary service of an architect. Check our blog "Services of an Architect and Allied Professionals." for the complete services of an architect.
4. Check, verify and finalize the design
It is important to come up with a finalized design and plan for the architect to start the contract documents necessary for the application of bldg. permit. Owners should check and approve the finalized design and layout. Do not worry about the technical part of the drawings because we are sure that the architect will guide and tour you inside your house even if it is on paper. The architect will also present to you a visual presentation (perspective) on what will it look like after the construction.
Checking and finalizing the designs and layout will also help you stick with the approved construction budget. In some instances, owners request abrupt change during the construction phase. It is feasible. But any change not indicated on the approved plans/drawings have cost implications for the owner. The designing architect can charge you for design and drawing revision costs (depending on the signed agreement of the architect and owner), while the contractor may request change order payment before starting the change in actual construction. So the point is to finalize and fully understand the plan and design presented to you by the architect. It's the architect's responsibility to make sure that the owner fully comprehends the plans and designs.
5. Application of building permit, payment of construction fees and licenses
So you already finalized the drawings and design presented to you by the Architect. His next step is to translate it into construction/working drawings that will be used for the application of bldg. permit and for the construction itself. Submission of the contract documents together with your property documents for the bldg. permit may be expedited by your architect, the contractor, or the owner, depending on the agreement made.
In terms of fees, licenses, bonds, and duties, commonly it is paid by the owner and not part of the architect's professional fee or the contractor's construction quotation due to the official receipt released by the city hall (planning, zoning, fire dept., etc.) will be under the owner's name and the assessment of fees will only take place after the submitted contract documents and requirements. If you are inside a village or subdivision, the admin requires a construction bond before commencing the construction, it is also the responsibility of the owner to pay it. In some cases, the contractor includes these fees on their quotation as part of the bidding process executed by your hired architect. Again, it all depends on your agreement.
Check the "Services of an Architect and Allied Professionals." for more information.
6. Construction stage
Now it is time to start the construction after receiving the approved bldg. permit and notice to proceed. The waiting game for the released bldg. permit varies depending on where city or province the project will be constructed.
In this stage, the owner, architect, and contractor are the main players. If the owner hires the architect as his consultant, it is advisable that the owner should only coordinate with the architect in terms of site status reports, progress billing, design, and other matters in construction. This will prevent misunderstandings in the construction and strictly follow the drawings and design. At this time the architect and the contractor are responsible for the technicalities of the project until they finish the construction.
The main responsibility of the owner is to pay accordingly the contractor on time, for the project to not cause delays. The architect will give the recommendation to the owner if it is acceptable to pay the contractor base from the progress billing and report submitted by them (contractor).
Check the "Services of an Architect and Allied Professionals." for more information.
7. Punch lists and turn-over
The construction is now at 90 percent in progress, what to do now? At this time, punch listing is very important, these are the items listed that have to make good of the defects. The architect together with the owner and contractor shall inspect the structure and make sure to correct all the seen defects at a given duration. This will also assure the quality and safety of the delivered project.
During this time, the contractor can now draw the as-built drawings and apply for the occupancy permit or certificate of occupancy. The contractor shall secure this document but the fees vested shall be paid by the owner.
After the punch lists have been corrected, the occupancy permit applied, and the whole project is finished, the contractor will issue a "turn-over certificate" and keys to the owner for acceptance of the project.
What if there are minor repairs in workmanship after the turn-over? Let us check the next on the lists to answer this.
7. Move-in to your new house
You already moved in, and everything was fine, now you saw minor defects or repairs to do. Do not worry because a contractor has a warranty for your house, and the most common is one year in warranty. Common warranty clause is "the project is free from an inherent defect in workmanship under normal use and circumstances except inherent defects which are not within the immediate knowledge of the contractor or for which he may not be aware of for circumstances beyond his control" and "under his warranty shall be limited to the repair of any parts which are satisfactorily verified to be inherently defective in workmanship." This means that the contractor shall make sure that the workmanship of his workers must be of quality from the start of the project. But in some instances, we're living in an environment full of natural forces, earth movement, wind, sun's heat, etc. These factors may affect the newly built house to some damage. Wall hairline cracks, paint discoloration, etc. We think that a good contractor may consider these flaws to be rectified, depending on your conversation.
So that's it. We hope you'll have a good journey together with your architect and contractor. Everything will fall into place, and the key is coordination, communication, and doing your responsibility.
Polymath Builders
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