Parrot on a PorchA Journey Toward the Little Mansion Dream

Yesterday was our scheduled Little Mansion construction visit at Batasan. Our excitement is really building up now because it’s nearing its completion and perhaps, the finishing will just be done in less than a month. The roof structure and beams have been placed, tiles on the 2F bathroom have been placed as well as the floor tiles on both bedrooms and in the balcony. A portion on the wall of the master’s bedroom has been likewise “holed” for the aircon. Except for some structural revisions on the “roof latching”, everything’s good and passed the expectations of my perfectionist Engineer Dad. Well, it’s his expertise having been working in the Middle East as a structural engineer in one of the biggest firms for about 20 years so I have but the highest respect and regard for his inputs.

God-willing, if the house gets finished before the month ends, we can start working out the loan with PAG-IBIG right away. We didn’t pursue the application before because there was a conflict on the type of loan application (purchase of lot and construction of house) and the construction permits (named after the developer) that time so we just deferred the application..to just wait for the completion then apply the loan as “purchase of house and lot”. This means we have to attend again the PAG-IBIG loan counselling for the second time because the first has only 6 months validity from the attendance date. We’re just fine with it and we’re in no hurry anyway. At least, I get to review the process and the requirements again as well as ask about the insurance inclusion of the loan. I kinda forgot if the husband has to go medical exam like those of no exam life insurance.

We’re also scheduled to start buying home appliances by the 3rd week of this month. We don’t want feel the burden of a “one time” shopping so we’ll buy them one at a time.

We're almost there..woot!

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…of Little Mansion’s progress as of January 9.

We’re yet to pay the construction site a visit again this coming weekend and we’re expecting that it’s about 60%-70% done. In a month or even less, we might be seeing a fully made up Little Mansion. That’s the advantage of having just a meager sized property, it’s a lot easier and faster to get it done. How I wish I could blog and describe more about the construction aspect but sorry, I know nothing about the materials used and all these construction terms. I leave that to the husband and to my Civil Engineer dad who’s homebound here to the country for a vacation this weekend. His wisdom about house construction, layouts and floor plans and even about metal buildings will certainly be sought. Perhaps, we’ll definitely consult and ask him about all these stuffs.

The developer who happens to be our wedding principal sponsor (thus, the complaisance and flexibility) gave us the go signal to canvass in a local construction supplies and tile shop for Little Mansion’s walls and flooring. Together with the husband’s aunt interior designer, they went to Wilcon Depot last month and here’s what they tentatively came up.

This isn’t the final list as we’re yet either to go back to the shop or browse online for the two bedrooms’ flooring which might probably parquet floor types.

For the Living Room:

Romangres Byzanthine Pentelic Porcelain Rustic Semi-Glazed Tile

For the Hallway (Kitchen) – I think this is for the service area (dirty kitchen)

Mariwasa Loft Tokyo Floor Tiles 30x30cm

Flooring, Wall and Boarder for the T & B on the ground floor:

Flooring: Romangres Noble Marrone 25×25cm
Wall: Romangres Enigma Beige 25×33cm
Boarder: Romangres Listelo Ditany Arvada Bisquit 7.5×25cm

T & B on the second floor:

Flooring: Romangres Noble Blue 25×25cm
Wall: Romangres Grey Ceramic 25×33cm
Boarder: Romangres Torelo Oasis Azzuro 3.5×25cm

For the Kitchen:

Flooring: Romangre Inserto Dittany Beige
Wall: Ramongres Marmara Dark Beige
Boarder: Listello Marigold Marmara Beige

Last weekend, we dropped by at the Developer’s office to get a blue print of THE house’s floor plan. An aunt who has an interior design background is helping us out in conceptualizing and planning the furniture (its location, size, color, etc). This is definitely one of the things I look forward to the most as we think of how to make Little Mansion even more homey, cozy and just lovely place to live in. When we visited the site last week, the foreman thinks, with the way things are going, it will be finished just as scheduled, hopefully before February ends. What a great timing because little A and I are celebrating our birthdays on March. While I originally wished for a pair of faux sapphire earrings, this will make the best and perfect birthday gift. But on a second thought, it won’t be bad too if I get them both. LOL. Well, there’s Holsted Jewelers anyway who offers high quality jewelries at a bargain.

As we are in the midst of having our own house (which I fondly call LM for Little Mansion) built, I’m sharing this important point I’ve noted down in considering when buying a house:

Location – It is a must that the location must fit one’s lifestyle. The questions usually asked are: is it close to your workplace or to public transportation routes? Accessibility is a prime concern and that is one of the major factors why we liked LM. It’s just near the major thoroughfare, Commonwealth Avenue and just a few minutes away from the Memorial Circle. It’s way nearer than Fairview and other far north key places and has a close proximity to prime QC districts and establishments. Two grocery stores, a wet and dry market, a school, a chapel and a general med clinic are nearby. It’s interesting also that I saw a couple of specialized clinics a few blocks away from the village gate. I saw a dental clinic and a STD testing center signs. The area is well secured as it has a centralized and guarded entry and exit gate. There’s also a sari-sari (convenience) store just near our gate. We’re yet to fully explore the vicinity but I think the important considerations are all covered so far.

One of these days, the husband and I will sit down for a brainstorming session as we will draft our 2010 financial goals and plans. With our “little mansion” project as our top most priority goal, it is already given that saving up measures and frugal spending will be strictly observed in the months to come. In fact, I am already preparing myself as my budgeting skills will be tremendously put to test. No luxuries, no whims, no unnecessary expenses. Simply put..no travel plans and most especially, no extravagant shopping. Looking back at my budgeting and shopping attitude last year, I could say that I fared well and I’m already pretty geared up for this year. The “little mansion” project has been indeed a big motivation. I just hope and pray that we’ll be continually blessed with lots of work opportunities so it will translate to bountiful earnings and more savings as well. If everything goes well as planned and hoped for, we could probably take on our other goals like venture on a business franchise. I got motivated while browsing FranNet.com where I chanced upon great franchising opportunities that are surely a big hit in the business industry today. If this might be a little shadowy, then we can pave way for a more exciting and fulfilling “project” instead. How does baby number 2 sounds? Hmmm, let’s see.

It’s the start of a new year and I bet everyone’s anxious and looking forward to what 2010 has in store for us. Well, for me and hubby, this year will be a remarkable one. This is the year when we’ll finally unfold the dream of having a place that we can call our own after four years of saving up for it. As recounted on this blog which was put up to specifically monitor and account the development of our housing project, the “little mansion” as I fondly name it, is now being constructed and is targeted to be finished by mid-February. Yep, that’s next month. So just imagine how really excited we both are. The last time we visited the site, they have put up the foundation, beams and walls. So by now, with less than 2 months before the target completion date, I bet they’re about 60% through or even more. That’s the advantage of having a “little mansion”, the construction can take place in almost a flash.

While we shopped during the holidays, the husband and I have also started scouting and canvassing for furniture and appliances. We saw various custom cabinets Richmond designs in a nearby local furniture shop, similar to the custom kitchen cabinets Richmond featured in OldRiverCabinets.com and we both agreed that the kitchen cabinets Richmond are the best option to complete our kitchen furniture. Design excellence, luxurious finishes, true-custom features and exceptional craftmanship – just the perfect cabinet furniture to adorn and complete a family home.

It’s been a while since I last shared updates about the Little Mansion Project. How I wish I have the luxury of time to blog about the recent development in details. But with all these offline events that I am committed to attend and with all these hustling and bustling activities in preparation of the Holidays plus being swamped with online works, with best efforts, I’ll try to make a brief overview one of these days. All I can say is that the excitement is REALLY getting more intense. *wink*

Meanwhile, I’m sharing one of my workstation inspirations from Sergi’s works which I hope I’d be able to incorporate in our little mansion.

Just simple yet very spacious and functional.

Yesterday, we submitted the necessary housing loan application documents to our developer, consequently of which, they’ll submit along with the required documents coming from their end to HDMF. So we can now officially say that the waiting for the approval (and crossing fingers) begins and hopefully we receive a good news by the end of the year or by start of 2010. We could have submitted the application earlier but unfortunately, it took time before the husband was able to collate the documents. Accomplishing the form was the easier part though. We didn’t need the assistance of an accountant just to aid us furnish the income-related questions.

In Nevada, there is a Las Vegas accounting firm than can help businesses and individuals do their tax and financial computations. KondlerCPA is a respected leader in the financial account world that provides exceptional accounting and business financial solutions whose CPAs are very much raved about by thousands of satisfied clients for their expertise and professionalism.

It’s every couple’s dream to have a place that they can call their own. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a simple structured and less extravagant abode. What’s important is that they have their own sanctuary where they can start to build a small family and a household they can fully control on their own. However, it’s understandable that couple may not have the start-up purchasing means for a house not unless they have already saved for it before settling down or they are handed down through an estate or they’re gifted big time by their parents. For some, they opt to rent a house or live with their parents for the mean time while they save up for the house.

The latter is our current setup as we work on the establishment of our little abode. With supportive parents, we are on our way, little by little, to reaching and realizing our major goal..hopefully by mid-year of next year.

It’s no doubt that buying a house is indeed a one big project and that it takes time to process. The major hurdle usually is the financial part. But couples who wish to buy their own home have actually several means to take on that will aid them realize this big dream. The most popular, most exhausted and the easiest way is through Mortgage Lending or Mortgage Loans via government initiatives or bank programs. Mortgage loans are basically long term loans, usually a period of 30 years or less, where periodic payments are calculated according to the money value (over time) formula. Monthly payments are often fixed but can also be subjected to repricing over a certain period depending on the economic situation. Over this period, the loan little by little reach its maturity as the principal component of the loan would be slowly paid down through amortization.

Here in our country, the government through the Home Development and Mutual Fund provides easier means to acquire property for the average Juan through lower interest rates and more flexible terms compared to banks.