Guys please I need advice and suggestions. There's this three-bedroom bungalow I'm building in my mum village through a cousin who is a building contractor.
Aside fencing the property which is about two plots, I have put in approximately N2.5m yet the house is still on "linter" level. When I became mad about it, my cousin told me he put in a lot in building "sucker pit" and leveling the bad landscape.

Now I sent him N1m for him to do the roofing, conduit wiring and possibly plastering but he just sent me a text asking for more money for the same purpose.

Please, is he trying to drain me or are things that costly now that a 3bedroom house in a village takes up to N5m to build.

You can't just send him money like that, there is something called "break down analysis".

Get him to send you the list together with the total amount of the items listed then you go find out for yourself the legitimacy of the quoted amount and how much those materials cost before sending him money.

SirJeffry:
Guys please I need advice and suggestions. There's this three-bedroom bungalow I'm building in my mum village through a cousin who is a building contractor.
Aside fencing the property which is about two plots, I have put in approximately N2.5m yet the house is still on "linter" level. When I became mad about it, my cousin told me he put in a lot in building "sucker pit" and leveling the bad landscape.

Now I sent him N1m for him to do the roofing, conduit wiring and possibly plastering but he just sent me a text asking for more money for the same purpose.

Please, is he trying to drain me or are things that costly now that a 3bedroom house in a village takes up to N5m to build.

Lalasticlala, please help me get suggestions on this.

You need to listen to the 10 crack commandment by Biggie. Never mix family and business. Your construction is business n ur cousin is family.
Op, I have a relative who is into dstv, one very close one is an electrician and another supplies diesel but I do not deal with any of them. That way I can sack or send the person to jail.

For me to know if you are being cheated, it will be nice knowing the location of the project and a plan of the house. There are a lot of factors to consider when 'costing' a house. Factors like local labour, cost of materials in that environs, etc.
If your project were to be in Lagos, I might have made an offer.

danowena:


You need to listen to the 10 crack commandment by Biggie. Never mix family and business. Your construction is business n ur cousin is family.
Op, I have a relative who is into dstv, one very close one is an electrician and another supplies diesel but I do not deal with any of them. That way I can sack or send the person to jail.

For me to know if you are being cheated, it will be nice knowing the location of the project and a plan of the house. There are a lot of factors to consider when 'costing' a house. Factors like local labour, cost of materials in that environs, etc.
If your project were to be in Lagos, I might have made an offer.

never mix family with business is a good advice. But not all families will loot your money meant for building a house. My both parents handle anything about property for me and i can tell u all is going well......same with my friend too; his brother is the one building for him back home (not all family members are beast).


Sirjeffry the big mistake you made was sending the money in "bulk". Try and send the money in batches.

You still need a trusted person to monitor the house if not; you will end up spending 2m on a 1m house and the standard of the house even after paying the double will be another disaster cos he will try to take corners just to make more money from u.

If you be chairman.......... I mean "Oga at the top" , you can use one of our builders here on Nl.

SirJeffry:
Guys please I need advice and suggestions. There's this three-bedroom bungalow I'm building in my mum village through a cousin who is a building contractor.
Aside fencing the property which is about two plots, I have put in approximately N2.5m yet the house is still on "linter" level. When I became mad about it, my cousin told me he put in a lot in building "sucker pit" and leveling the bad landscape.

Now I sent him [b][/b]N1m for him to do the roofing, conduit wiring and possibly plastering[b][/b]but he just sent me a text asking for more money for the same purpose.

Please, is he trying to drain me or are things that costly now that a 3bedroom house in a village takes up to N5m to build.

Lalasticlala, please help me get suggestions on this.

1m can't finish that job.

Never mix building constructing with families,they will always want to find a way to drain you since they know you are not in town.

aaronson:
You can't just send him money like that, there is something called "break down analysis".

Get him to send you the list together with the total amount of the items listed then you go find out for yourself the legitimacy of the quoted amount and how much those materials cost before sending him money.

well said sir

SirJeffry:


Now I sent him N1m for him to do the roofing, conduit wiring and possibly plastering but he just sent me a text asking for more money for the same purpose.

Please, is he trying to drain me or are things that costly now that a 3bedroom house in a village takes up to N5m to build.

Lalasticlala, please help me get suggestions on this.

1M cannot do the works you listed here o. It even depends on the type of roofing sheets. That 1m cannot buy some types of stone coated roofing sheet only.

5m without the finishing included ..., lol you are on a long thing..,
am not saying that ur contractor have eaten ur money.., but they are some factors we consider in estimation... Building in the village does not mean u are not going to spend big money on the project.,,,, what matters is the quality of the project..,
things to consider :
* the type of foundation
* will it carry underground beam
* the cost of material in that location
etc..,

note
you can contact ude building consult for ur building design and construction ... Call or what's app us 0814 4149 500

ur doped by ur family builder...

I'm sorry, I will Neva say anytin against d man in person..

I believe ur not new to dis forum Sir... everyday we preach on getting some1 who is capable for ur constructions..

but due to d fact DAT many client think professionals are too costly... some lack trust in dem when it comes to money.. they eventually fall into endless pit.....

it also happened to person close to me...... d site is in Ibadan.

even if he is a professional. u can't tell me sir DAT u ave Neva heard of family plus business is equal to bad results..

I see dis as wailing after smacking... u kno d right thing but u purposely left it undone... so deal wit it...... cheeeeers!!!!

FreeWorld23:
never mix family with business is a good advice. But not all families will loot your money meant for building a house. My both parents handle anything about property for me and i can tell u all is going well......same with my friend too; his brother is the one building for him back home (not all family members are beast).


Sirjeffry the big mistake you made was sending the money in "bulk". Try and send the money in batches.

You still need a trusted person to monitor the house if not; you will end up spending 2m on a 1m house and the standard of the house even after paying the double will be another disaster cos he will try to take corners just to make more money from u.

If you be chairman.......... I mean "Oga at the top" , you can use one of our builders here on Nl.

Okay o o...I and the person I quoted below still maintain my adopted rule of thumb - Do not mix family with business. I do not even want to find out if they are beasts or not. I have seen enough cases and heard enough stories.

signature2012:

1m can't finish that job.
Never mix building constructing with families ,they will always want to find a way to drain you since they know you are not in town.

danowena:


Okay o o...I and the person I quoted below still maintain my adopted rule of thumb - Do not mix family with business. I do not even want to find out if they are beasts or not. I have seen enough cases and heard enough stories.

funny!

Now is the time to travel home and confirm things for yourself.

Prices of building materials have tripled. All the same he give you breakdowns and reciepts and invoices.

Go get a quantity surveyor

SirJeffry:
Guys please I need advice and suggestions. There's this three-bedroom bungalow I'm building in my mum village through a cousin who is a building contractor.
Aside fencing the property which is about two plots, I have put in approximately N2.5m yet the house is still on "linter" level. When I became mad about it, my cousin told me he put in a lot in building "sucker pit" and leveling the bad landscape.

Now I sent him N1m for him to do the roofing, conduit wiring and possibly plastering but he just sent me a text asking for more money for the same purpose.

Please, is he trying to drain me or are things that costly now that a 3bedroom house in a village takes up to N5m to build.

For the things you listed, 1 million won't do, but I will advise you ask for a break down analysis from him and cross check your self

Chai!

Burn the house, Who u epp?

You should have a breakdown analysis sir and an agreement on what will be spent.
i also dont know why he keeps on collecting money if its inadequate for the but na our way.
Get a breakdown. Compare it on the forum.
Save yourself stress.

except you are using zinc otherwise 1m is crap, roofing longspan aluminum should be about 750k without labour

U need to to do a market survey on Ur own. U must know the current price of cement, sand, granite. rods etc. U must also have the contact numbers of Ur supplier. U deal with them directly . ur cousins should just supervise for u. For example, if u are mixing cement, it is necessary for u to know the cost of how much they are mixing one bag and how many bag goes for how many head pan of granite. My guy shine Ur eye if not na basket business u go dey do.

Ones parents are the surest bet to monitor or handle projects in addition to engaging professionals.
Even if my parents eat out of the money, it's allowed.
I hope the op is able to ascertain the quality of the build and to know if it's being followed according to your plan.
Or did you just send money for him to build you a 3 bedroom bungalow.

Is the OP living in the international space station? Go see things for yourself ooO! Get a breakdown situation report and put left to right to ascertain the true state of your building! Good luck

MY ADVICE- You will not die or have any strange attack, My bro, you re giving the contractor a chance to drain you, You are not there with him, no break down analysis on how he is spending, he just call and give you stories on phone and the next thing you do is to transfer, don't nag at him, even if you re mad, don't show it to him, be wise in dealing with people from the village, I think what you have spent so far should have completed the roofing and even sock away pit....so go there and look things out yourself, if you feel cheated, get someone else to monitor the project an make sure you look closely to the estimate, try breaking it down.

There is no way a Million Naira would do the roofing, conduiting and plastering of a 3 bedroom apartment, no way, not even in this present economy where price of materials are going up everyday.
Though depending on your taste, 5Million Naira can not complete the project including the fencing.

I will blame you for this and not your cousin because you ought to have done stage by stage estimate before even embarking on the project at all. Better still get the service of an Engineer or a Quantity Surveyor to do the estimate for you.
The bible says in Lk 14:28-30 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?" KJV

1 million to roof,plaster etc a 3 bed? Your are either ignorant when it comes to building or actally trying to rip off your cousin. 1M would barely roof not to add plaster.

2.5M to get up to lintel stage is a good deal sef.

Going forward, ask for quotes for each stage so you'll know what exactly you are spending on and what to expect.

I think u made a mistake in d first place

U shud av considered 2 contractors and check out each of dia quotations before deciding

But with d situation now, just let him give u a breakdown of wat he has bin doing with d money and wat is needed to finish up d project at once

Also ensure he is doing d ryt thing

aftatechbiz:


1M cannot do the works you listed here o. It even depends on the type of roofing sheets. That 1m cannot buy some types of stone coated roofing sheet only.

Thank you jare
I see people that have never bought a block in their whole existence already casting aspersions on the cousin.

1M that can barely buy better roofing sheet sef. Abeg this thread is so funny with all the ignorant posts.

it's a simple matter.
get the list of items he has bought so far with their prices And do a review of it to compare with what is obtainable in that location.. end of story

the only thing that should add to the cost is fencing, if I know how it cost to fence, I would have come up with a possible cost for the rest.

You need a Qs

Have noticed that most people are ignorant of what a Qs does. Thus, they tend to boycott Qs services not knowing they are doing more harm to themselves than good. A Quantity surveyor is also refer to as a cost engineer, Construction economist among others. The common notation among the populace is that a QS is a surveyor as in a Land surveyor, while some with little knowledge see a Qs as a professional who determine the quantity of materials needed in any construction works. Thou, this is right but it does not signify who a QS is really is, determining quantity of materials needed is just 0.001% of what a Qs can do.
A Qs gives value to your money and some of the principal services of the quantity surveyor are;
Preliminary Cost Advice
Advising on Contractor selection
Obtaining Negotiation tender/ bid
Valuing Construction works
Feasibility Studies
Technical Auditing
Cost control and Post contract management
Project Control
Risk management
Security Management
Investment Appraisals
Condition Surveys
Financial Analysis
Asset Management
Property Management
Contract Auditing
Property condition appraisals
Procurement Management
Project management analysis
Cordination Engineering
WHY DO YOU NEED A QUANTITY SURVEYOR
Do you know it is essential to evaluate/estimate your conceived project to determine the cost implication before commencement to guide against project failure or abandonment
Do you know the feasibility of any construction project does not guarantee its viability ( value for money)
Do you know many contractors run at loss or abandon projects not because of materials or equipment but as a result of lack of efficient project management (Quantity Surveyor)
Do you know you can maximize your profit as a contractor by employing cost expert _( Quantity surveyor)
Do you know you can save money, time, materials etc on your project as a client if you employ cost expert ( Quantity surveyor)
Do you know you can avoid unnecessary waste before , during and after your project(s) by employing Quantity surveyors hence get value for your investment
Do you know the relevance of Quantity surveyors in budget preparation and analysis is indispensable.
This and many other are the reasons why you need a Quantity surveyor. Why not give it a try trial today and employ a Quantity surveyor/Cost expert/ construction economist in your project(s) and you would be amazed as to what you have bn missing.
For more information , contact 08134781882.

SirJeffry:
Guys please I need advice and suggestions. There's this three-bedroom bungalow I'm building in my mum village through a cousin who is a building contractor.
Aside fencing the property which is about two plots, I have put in approximately N2.5m yet the house is still on "linter" level. When I became mad about it, my cousin told me he put in a lot in building "sucker pit" and leveling the bad landscape.

Now I sent him N1m for him to do the roofing, conduit wiring and possibly plastering but he just sent me a text asking for more money for the same purpose.

Please, is he trying to drain me or are things that costly now that a 3bedroom house in a village takes up to N5m to build.

with what you are saying, you money seems to be well spent, however never mix Biz with family just so you do not come up with these kind of stories that will lead to not trusting your blood.be there on ground or get a person you can perform an inquest o n ie a contractor?
All you saying 1M will roof that size of house need to start Molding blocks first in teh first place, its evident you lot do not even own a shovel.