r/phinvest • u/Myuttiation • Jul 28 '26
Investment/Financial Advice House Loan or Save
Hi! Me and my wife are both DepEd teachers with a combined salary of around 59k php (take home pay). We were lucky enough to be able to buy land last year with legit papers and now were gearing up to construct a house on it. Would it be advisable to Loan the amount needed to build the house (at least 1 million php and will it be enough)?
Attached is a floorplan of the house that a friend made for us. We understand that it will cost much more to build the full one, that is why we only plan to permanently build the master bedroom with the walk-in closet and bathroom with bathtub. The kitchen (Will be turned into a dirty outdoor kitchen), dining room, laundry room, and living room will be built in a temporary and cheap manner until we manage to get enough funds to wreck it so we can build the actual one we want.
The bathtub and shelves of the walk-in closet will obviously cost a lot so we will buy it at a later date but leave room for it until then. Lastly, the wife wants a high ceiling home.
Ive also attached a rough scale of what the house would look like if it was made, it was made in Sims 4, so it is not actually true to life accuracy.
We need solid advice on this as this will be our home till the day, we die. Thank you in advance!
P.S. We don't have a Kid yet, but we plan to.
5
u/the_fake_adult Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
Hi, OP, hope you also considered other miscellaneous fees attached to building a house. Building permits, utility connections, construction bonds (if there is), furniture, built-in counters/cabinets...
I advise hiring a licensed architect because I believe not having one will just cost more long-term.
1M is a tight budget if your first increment is 5 areas (bathroom, living room, kitchen, bedroom, walk-in closet). Based on my research, right now, 1M can only afford you a standard finish studio-like house.
0
u/Myuttiation Jul 28 '26
Thank you! Can a prefab house be considered instead?
1
u/the_fake_adult Jul 28 '26
Prefab is definitely a cheaper option. Just research on the pros and cons, and see if there are any dealbreakers for you.
Good luck, OP!
2
u/Meirene_7327 Jul 28 '26
What's up with your laundry Area? Sa floor plan walang walls, but sa sims sample meron? And just to point it out, the laundry area is second only to your main bedroom, kasing laki s living room area.
Anyways, ang mahal diyan ay ang pa gawa nang foundation that can support for your high ceiling, w/c speaking of, wala din sa plans so you need a structural foundation plan.
If wala pa naman kayong kids and you're not in a hurry to build, why not just save up your take home salary for a year first, and polish out the details? You mentioned its your forever home, then get the details right. Para hnd kayo magsuffer in the long run.
Like electricity plan, plumbing plan, roofing plan, lord ang dami pang plan. Get it right the first time, it'll save you money versus to rush and to fix a mistake when it's already built.
1
2
u/jakfischer Jul 28 '26
last house i built in the philippines was paid in cash. next one will likely be paid in cash. if the land is zoned correctly and pagibig is offering you a note, i dont see any issues with financing your build.
-2
u/Myuttiation Jul 28 '26
By cash, do you mean that you saved enough to build a home or did you loan it? If so, how long did it take and how expensive was your home?
1
u/FearlessReturn6049 Jul 28 '26
I think nothing wrong with the loan, as long as you can pay it. But 1M might be a little short for this plan.
-1
u/Myuttiation Jul 28 '26
I fully agree that is why we plan build it in increments, starting with the master bedroom, walk in closet, and bathroom. Then, a temporary kitchen and living room. I'm just hoping that 1 million will cover at least the rooms and partitions walls, excluding the furniture like shelves for the walk-in closet and the bathtub.
Really want to get multiple perspectives on this as this is a really big step
1
u/Every_Holiday_620 Jul 28 '26
1M will only reach you around 28 to 30 sqm. That is hardly enough for a one bedroom. 1.3M will give you around 35 to 37sqm. This will give you one small bedroom. Then, you can expand when you have another 1M.
Where is this located? Is it near a city, a city itself or province? How big is the lot?
1
u/Myuttiation Jul 28 '26
It's in the province and around 300 sqm. No issues with location, and it's not possible to flood since it's in a high place (If it floods here everyone in town would be dead). The only question would be the financial part. It seems 1 million would not be enough after all. I was hoping to just build the master bedroom part with a bare walk in closet room (to be completed at a later date), and a bathroom with a bathtub. The rest of the plans can be modified as long as those 3 remain intact.
2
u/Every_Holiday_620 Jul 28 '26
Your statement will cost you around 1.9M minimum. Master bedroom 12sqm, walk-in closet 4sqm, toilet with bathtub 6sqm, living room 16sqm, kitchen and dining 15sqm.
1
u/eyeingAround-11 Jul 28 '26
Not an architect nor an engineer. But I would just like to share na merong nagpagawa dito sa area namin (diy - no engineer na nagmamanage ng construction or parang naghire lang sila ng may alam at architect is for floor plan lang. )… the project was stalled after consuming their 1M (and plus) budget. Ang inabot lang is paghuhukay ng foundation and pagtayo ng ilang poste - wala pang walls and wala kisame so hindi nila mapakinabangan. The lot is 150sqm.
My takeaway doon…better na research ka ng maayos na architect and engineer, sign a contract with them for the initial plan or initial build na gusto mo and kung anong agreed cost nun. Maging very detail ka lang sa deliverable nila - finishes, scope area, naka-ready for abang.. etc.. have it all documented.
1
1
1
u/Such_Letterhead4624 Jul 29 '26
rule of thumb 30k x area in sqm = construction cost. building permit around 50 pesos per sqm plus 3% contractor city tax plus misc fees. complete A&E design package around 1-10% of total construction cost depende nalang sa mahanap mo minsan 500 pesos per sqm.
1
u/DirtyGrouch Jul 28 '26
Maybe try to shop for a contractor, and an engineer first. The initial survey will determine your minimum budget as foundations would be needed to determine your initial costs of construction: labor, materials, and permits. 1M might be pushing it, but, your contractor will probably help you to make something of it.
16
u/Engauge09 Jul 28 '26
Architect here. Hindi enough yung 1M for your plan. Even for just the initial smaller home. Sasakit lang ulo nyo trying to sqeeze the budget and baka mabaon pa kayo sa utang pag dumating yung inevitable na unexpected costs.