The guy we asked to repaint a portion of our living room ceiling came in the other day after the hubby said he was not satisfied with the quality the first time he did his job. After I told him exactly what to do, I went up to my room/home office to work and checked back on him after an hour.
He was on a break. Apparently, he was waiting for the first coating to dry before applying the next one. But upon close inspection, I saw that he did not follow directions. He painted only three sides and not the entire wood portion.
“Can you please paint these portions too?” I asked.
“Ah, okay mam,” he said. I then stayed for a few minutes to watch, then went up.
When I came down again, I saw that he missed two more sides and asked him to repaint. Perhaps noticing that I will not settle for anything less than a well-done job, he asked me to inspect his work. Getting a flashlight to look at his work closely, I told him that I wasn’t happy with the way the white cornice molding had splotches of red paint which made it look like it was bleeding a little bit.
“But mam, all the other cornice moldings I have painted, even upstairs, have some sort of red in them,” he said.
Can you understand why at that point I wanted to tear at my hair and choke him with my bare hands?
“That doesn’t make this okay. Can you please fix it?” I said.
So, he applied paint thinner to the cornice molding. After I looked at his final output, I let him go. Take this: he even had the temerity to ask me for referrals if I had friends who needed to repaint their homes.
Good thing we didn’t have to pay for his services. Since we bought the house only two months ago, the owners are paying for all the repairs we requested, as well as some that well, go beyond the usual after-sales service.
I count myself and my husband lucky, even with some of the headaches we are experiencing now. Other homeowners that I interviewed had to deal with leaks, toilet problems, seepages, door lock issues—just some of the hundred-and-one things that could go wrong even in a new home. Those who bought foreclosed homes are especially vulnerable because these are often sold on an as-is-where-is basis.
So it makes sense to plan for these hidden costs, because the financial drain doesn’t end after you’ve paid your down payment and settled your budget for the monthly mortgage. Here are other hidden costs you should get ready for:
- Taxes, fees and charges, insurance and other incidental expenses. In our case, we had to shell out more than P50,000 even before our home loan was released.
- New furnishings. When you move in, you’ll want to replace your old refrigerator, oven, living room set, beds—the temptation to replace everything you have with something new will be so great. Set aside a budget for this or condition your mind to keep the refurbishing at a minimum if you want to be more careful with your budget.
- Repairs and maintenance. It would be a big plus if the owners or the developer guarantee that there will be no major repairs and if there are, they will shoulder it. If not, you have to set aside a budget for this as well.
- Homeowner’s fees and utilities. If you are moving to a subdivision or condominium, make sure you know how much you need to cough up for homeowner’s fees, garbage disposal, fees for guards, etc. You will also pay a premium for water and electricity in some of these developments.
i will soon be minding these things too in a couple of months.
When our condo developer calls me, I will have to inspect my home for problems. I know I don't have to sign the "acceptance form" if there are findings however minor. I know people promise to fix things but not keep their word. Once I sign the "form," payment of dues will commence.
It's a good thing that in my current home, there are "people in the neighborhood" who are reliable in building things and did a great job. They only tried to alter my room design arguing it's against the rule of feng shui, as if I believe in it. Just glad my own will prevailed...
my present problem is to find dependable people to work on my condo, people I can trust to do the work withut much supervision at a less cost. I will get a heart attack if i get a construction company with a name
@paetechie, if my experience is any indication, trusting ANYONE to do a good job without supervision is an exercise in futility. I suggest you make time to visit the working guys often and really let them understand from the very beginning that if their output is not what you expect, you will ask them to redo everything. Alam mo na ang Pinoy :)
The problem with that "acceptance form" is that it will take more than a week of living in your new home to discover some of the things that need to be fixed. But then you will be required to sign the form BEFORE you move in!
Sometimes, it keeps me thinking if a home is really an asset or a liability because according to Kiyosaki, anything that flushes cash is a liability and anything where cash flows in is an asset. Viewing these expenses, is a home really an asset or a liability?
Hi Salve, this is so true. We had our share of this kind of problems with our home. It's just good that I have a Dad who is a Jack of all trades. Work quality and cost is not so much of a problem. All of our home improvements were done by my Dad from fencing, landscaping, built-in cabinet, kitchen cabinet, roofing, electrical, painting jobs to other minor repairs.
The secret to these kind of hidden costs is planning. We didn't do all the improvements all at the same time. If budget permits, we'll give in to this want else we need to wait and save for it.
salve, i can't supervise but I can and will inspect. perhaps minimum supervision at least unlike others where you need to monitor every single move. When i had my home renovated, i bought all materials myself from tiles, pipes, sink, toilet bowl, even p-traps, bidet, wall sockets, light dimmers, phone and cable TV sockets. I even went to the store personally for them to mix my desired paint color. (short of DIY style, eh?)
The only supervision I really did was with the telephone wiring since the electrician didn't know how to wire telephones and install phone boxes and cable TV connections so i just had him lay the cable wire but it was i who installed the phone boxes. He even fumbled on the two-way switch but i was able to correct the mistake. I came short of having my room with structured cabling so there's no unsightly telephone wires and cable tv co-axial cables visible.
the workers, particularly their leader, worked efficiently and cleanly, no problems with paint smudges like what you experienced. The tiles were evenly laid with crevices cemented cleanly.
the workers were paid daily wages (arawan) while the electrician for every socket/joint
i don't know if i can still do that for my condo though :(
millionaire acts, for me there's a right time for buying a home. it can also increase your net worth in the long run because properties do appreciate and can sometimes be a good hedge against inflation. another issue here is buying THE RIGHT property--one that has good resale value and can be bought at a good or fair price. Kiyosaki was also talking about the US market, which is very different from ours. Three are peculiarities in the Philippine housing market where demand for homes is very, very high because of the huge housing backlog. So there's a really good market for houses here.
What's wrong, I think, is forcing yourself to buy a property when you don't yet have the cash flow to meet mortgage payments and the ability to increase your home equity as high as you can. That makes you vulnerable to foreclosure, which can be really ouchy.
Ella, can I borrow your Dad? hehe. But I suppose even with him around, there's still a cost right? His time, his efforts and the raw materials. Its good that you were able to spread out the repairs, or else the expenses can really take a big bite out of your budget.
paetechie, you said:
"I came short of having my room with structured cabling so there’s no unsightly telephone wires and cable tv co-axial cables visible."
pare, teach naman you-know-who to do this for me. hehehe. kidding!
yaan mo...
when i get to see you-know-who tomorrow I will tell him :P