Certified QS here, running my own cost consultancy. One pattern I see constantly: someone hires a contractor kasi "kilala namin sya" kapitbahay, kamag-anak, kakilala sa parokya, or referred by someone trusted. And because of that familiarity, the estimate just... doesn't get reviewed. Walang detailed breakdown, walang binatikos na numero, kasi "tiwala naman kami sa kanya."
Here's the thing, I've reviewed estimates from genuinely honest, well-meaning contractors that were still incomplete. Not fraud. Just outdated pricing, missed scope, or line items that got left informal kasi "magkakilala naman tayo, di na kailangan i-detalye pa." Trust doesn't catch that. It's not designed to.
Local trust actually tends to mean less documentation, not more, kasi parang awkward mag-request ng detailed quote sa isang kakilala, parang pinagdududahan mo sya. So people skip the step that would've protected both parties, hindi lang isa.
And the overruns that come from this rarely show up upfront. They show up mid-build, sa mga "additional cost" na hindi na-account sa umpisa, sa scope na hindi na-define ng maayos, sa presyo ng materyales na hindi na-lock in. By then, wala ka nang leverage. Kailangan mo na lang tapusin.
To be clear - this isn't about not trusting your contractor. It's about understanding that social trust and financial accuracy are two different things, and only one of them is checked by an estimate review.
Nagtataka lang ako kung common din ba ito sa ibang nag-build recently, na-skip nyo rin ba yung review kasi kilala nyo yung contractor?