Being a victim of an unscrupulous contractor can be frustrating, financially draining, and totally irritating. I want to share this article with those who plan to build their new house after all the planning and daydreaming you and your spouse had hoped for, your very own dream house.
After what seemed to be the realization of our dream, my husband and I decided to get a bank loan to finance our new house. We started to search for model houses and builders from the internet to get things going asap. One house builder and contractor that got our attention was a construction firm called Solidcon Construction. My husband and I were so tempted by their ads that I immediately contacted their office the following day. I decided to bring a friend over to Solicon office and inquire about the ads and what they had to offer. They showed pictures of what they claim are past and ongoing projects and a new technology they had patented called "Waffle box building technology". We were shown some model houses and were told they could build the house in 24 hrs at a cost of P400,000.00. Hmmm, very interesting! We were told that they have projects in different parts of the Philippines and most of their customers were foreigners. At that time, I thought we found our contractor for our new house.
On our way home, my friend and me started having doubts that this contractor was too good to be true. We started doing research and found sources of information about Solidcon and their waffle box technology. We discovered that Solidcon Construction also operates under the names: Solid and Insulated Poured Concrete Construction Corporation, Your Home and Northcon. It also has a tie up with a company in Cebu called Sibonga. To our surprise, we learned that no waffle box house has been built yet. I also found out from a onetime client of Solidcon that they were baited with insignificant promises and taken advantage by this unscrupulous contractor with the assurance of low overhead and on time delivery. Their house was completed months overdue and had accumulated expenses they did not expect. I was told that there were a lot of problems during the construction because the workers were not skilled enough to do the work and they were paid below their expected salary. Their house was poorly constructed with leaks on the roof and so many other elements that were not done properly.
It is my suggestion to ask for and verify trade, and past project references of the contractor from suppliers and former customers for references prior to signing any contract. If you do not get satisfactory responses to your questions, find another contractor immediately. Do not accept excuses or make allowances. As a homeowner, your most prized possession is your home so be sure that you hire reputable, skilled, and competent tradesmen to work on your home. Make sure the contractor you plan to hire is financially stable and able to work on your house without any negative financial concerns that are not related to your project. Most contractors would ask for a 50% down payment during the early stage of the project. Thereafter, the homeowner is committed and could not back out of the contract agreement if he finds out that the contractor is not reliable. If you have any doubts or suspicions that something is not right or doesn't seem legitimate to you, seek advice from a competent source. Lastly, never make the poor choice to hire the lowest priced contractor. There is a saying "The lowest price generally comes with the highest cost".
