A new home

[Frank Woolf]

The deal for the land where we will build the house is done. With a lot of help from my Nephew Roy and Girl Friday Ruby we have cleared all the undergrowth so I can now see more clearly what we have to work with.

My nephew Russel and his girlfriend Gail used my home made theodolite to do a survey of the lot measuring the relative heights at points over a 10 meter grid so I can see accurately where the slopes are to find the best places for the house, fish ponds, etc.

We built a simple footbridge over the gully so we can easily cross over and have marked the entire perimeter with madre cacao and malunggay. The perimeter is 400 meters long so we cut malungay from the tops of those already there and brought loads more from our lot in Toril. Roy also got a few large bundles from friends.

For those not familiar with these trees. Madre cacao grows very fast. If you cut branches off and stick them in the ground they are usually rooted and growing within a month. It is great for making natural fencing. Cutting off all the top growth just makes it produce many more branches. Another reason it is used to mark perimeters is because if your neighbor tries to cheat by uprooting and moving the madre cacao it dies so its obvious it has been moved.

Malunggay is a one of the wonder trees. It grows like a weed but has much nutritional and medicinal value. It also makes a great fertilizer and has many other uses. I intend to eventually replace all the madre cacao with malunggay. Sticks cut from a tree and planted also grow quickly but it will take time to find enough for 400 meters of perimeter.

The first picture below is the little bridge. The second is the view from where the house will be and the third is the road along the front with the existing madre cacao along the front perimeter at the right of the picture.

[Frank Woolf]

We currently have a six year old Honda CRV that has only done about 30k and is in near perfect condition. We now have three 1 hectare lots, one half hectare lot and a 300 square meter lot that are all accessed by unpaved roads that are pretty rough in places. Using the CRV on a regular basis on these roads would destroy the suspension so I went looking for a car built to work off road rather than a car that can go off road.

As I see it, apart from a Hummer that would be too wide for the roads and way too expensive, only the Land Rover and the Toyota Land Cruiser fit this description. Both of these are expensive but the Land Cruiser is cheaper than the Land Rover and is in many ways a better car.

I can't afford either one new so I had to look for second hand.

My initial search was disappointing as the prices for second hand Land Cruisers were all very high. I then found that a long time friend, Rudy, in Manila had one that had a newer, better engine installed as well as beefed up shock absorbers, raised suspension, big wheels with all terrain tires etc. For those interested in Land Cruisers, the original was the 2L engine. The new engine is the 3L which has a reputation of being bullet proof. He offered it at a good price and delivered it to Davao, using the opportunity to have a short holiday by driving the car from Manila to Davao.

We have already used it for pulling out small tree stumps which it did very easily. I can drive it through the worst conditions without worrying about anything other than the comfort of the passengers. There are a few minor things to be fixed but nothing too important.

[Frank Woolf]

We broke down the two shacks that were on the house lot. Sorted the usable wood from the rotten and termite riddled wood and burned all the rubbish which was most of it.

When we went back a couple of days later to sort out the good wood that could be used we found local people taking it all away!

We planted a few coconuts I had from our Toril lot and started clearing all the undergrowth from the food forest area. When I say clearing I mean slash and drop. The undergrowth is all cut down and spread over the ground as mulch for the remaining plants. We drank a lot of sweet young coconut juice from the trees on the lot but the bananas are not so good so a few varieties of bananas have been added to my list of plants to get, including my favorite Lacatan bananas.

I found out that some types of bamboo are very spikey. One of the clumps of the very thick, strong bamboo had lots of mostly small dead branches all tangled under and around it in long grass. My leg was dripping with blood when I walked in the grass without seeing it. With the help of my Girl Friday, Ruby, I cleared almost all of the tangle away because I am afraid the children or even the dogs could get badly scratched up. By the time I finished I looked like a bomb victim. I had blood running down my arms, hands and legs from about 25 long scratches. Even my t-shirt was soaked in blood. I looked terrible but it looked much worse than it really is. The sweat made the blood run down my arms and legs and it was just scratches that stopped bleeding after a few minutes.

[Frank Woolf]

The signs of global warming and its effects, and the fact that we have reached peak oil is now obvious to almost everyone. This will mean rising temperatures, serious water shortages, escalating electricity costs, rising food prices and food shortages, etc in a very few years. I hope to reduce the effects on my family as much as I can while also keeping the cost of building a house to a minimum.

I am starting with a Mediterranean style house then making changes to the design. Being Mediterranean style it is already designed for a reasonably hot climate. It is also quite a simple design that works well with low cost floor tiles and simple white painted walls.

Saving Electricity
Davao is a lot hotter than the Mediterranean and gets no really cool season so the fireplaces and chimney in the original design will be replaced with air conditioning ducts but there will be no central air conditioner.

Instead, there will be a very cheap to make underground pipe system consisting of nine 4” PVC pipes that start in a group in the basement, go out and around rectangles over a 50 x 50 foot area and return to the basement. The basement itself will be used for cool dry storage away from rats, rain, etc. In the end of each PVC pipe is a small 12 volt computer fan that is run from batteries charged with solar power during the day. The fans take air from the already cool basement and push it through the pipes.

When the air in the pipes returns to the basement it enters the air conditioner duct which leads to the main lounge and the master bedroom above it. This very cheap system can reduce the air temperature by at least 5 degrees C, more likely by 8 degrees C. So under most conditions a small electric fan would be the most that would be needed in the rooms. These fans can be 12 volt fans also running from the solar charged batteries. With any luck the air conditioners and ceiling fans will rarely, if ever, be used.

To save more on electricity a solar water heater will be used to heat water in a hot water storage tank which will connect to all bathrooms, kitchen, etc. This system is very cheap, easy to make and has zero running costs.

Saving Water
While there is currently no water shortage there almost certainly will be in a few years so saving water is an important part of the design.

All water from the roof will got to a very large tank that is mostly underground and may simply be a sealed off part of the basement making it very cheap to build and further cooling the basement. Water can be used directly from this tank for washing cars, cleaning the house, etc.

The overflow from the water tank feeds a simple pond system where Tilapia will be reared. Water vegetables such as kangkong, water cress and water chestnuts will also be grown in the ponds.

The overflow from the ponds can be directed to a simple irrigation system or to a nearby gully.

The ponds will have maximum and minimum levels so water from between the two levels can be used for irrigation during dry spells.

All “grey” water (water from wash basins, showers, laundry etc) will initially go to the same septic tank as water from the toilets but will go via a t-junction outside the house. If it becomes necessary later to reuse this water it can be diverted at the t-junction to a filter pond where rushes and reeds will filter the water. The filtered water can then be used for irrigation or even used for flushing toilets.

The windows of the house are all positioned so that updrafts coming up the hill will flow through the house in almost any direction but will mostly be front to back or back to front where most windows are. The two story high entrance hall and family room can be also used to create updrafts by opening a window at the top which will draw in cooler air at the bottom or from the cooler basement and vent it out at the top. Cooling can be assisted by evaporation at the small fountain in the center of the spiral staircase provided the humidity is not at a very high level.

More Cooling
Almost all ground floor windows are shaded by porches. The one that is not under a porch will have a trellis with shade plants so there will be no direct sunlight through windows on the ground floor to create heat. Most upstairs windows will be shaded by trees or by plants on trellises. And of course curtains can be used.

The original design had a two car garage. This has been stretched to double its length to create a workshop for working on cars, household repairs and improvements, building boats, etc. The roof of the garage/workshop is a roof garden accessible from all bedrooms and will have an overhead trellis covered with cucumber, melon, grapes and other food plant vines to create shade making the garage/workshop cool.

If I reach the point where I cannot climb stairs the part of workshop or one of the porch areas can be cheaply converted to a downstairs bedroom by just adding a partition wall.

There are many more aspects of the house design that are intended to reduce living costs to a minimum, help grow food, create a cool environment, etc but this page will be ten feet long if I try to cover it all here. I will cover more details later in pages about Permaculture and Feng Shui.

[Frank Woolf]

I got some bad news today.

The architect sent his first estimate of the cost of building the house. It was more than 1 million pesos higher than I was expecting :eek:

Apparently I may be able to save that much by making it one floor instead of two so today I have been looking at ways to redesign it so its all on one floor. There are other benefits like some internal walls can be removed because they are no longer needed to support walls above but getting a good airflow through the house will be more difficult with only one floor.

[Frank Woolf]

We have almost stopped working on the house lot because everything we plant is just destroyed by the cows. All the dwarf coconuts I planted have been ripped out of the ground and chewed up. We will start again after the fence is put up but it will take a while just to get the permit.

We applied for the Barangay permit which was initially denied because an agent who didn't sell the land didn't get her commission! That was easily settled and we got the Baranguy permit but that is just the beginning.

We now have to get a permit from City Hall and there is a long list of requirements like drawings of the lot with the placement of the fence, drawing of the fence and its construction, a bill of materials and costing all signed by a civil engineer. Then there is a long list of other papers and a form to be filled in in triplicate.

Almost all is done so hopefully we can get the permit soon.

[Frank Woolf]

The fence permit for the house lot is almost ready. There is a delay because they are now starting on improving the barangay road and so the fence has to be moved in a little at one end of the lot to allow for a wider road that may be made someday.

We went to the house lot and beach lot yesterday. At the house lot about half the madre cacao and mulunggay I planted to mark the perimeter has been ripped out and thrown on the ground and all the new plants I planted have been completely wiped out by the neighbor's cows. I will be asking the barangay chief to warn these people that I will file an official complaint if this keeps up and if its possible will sue for damages. I have had enough.

At the beach lot all the tenants on the land that was originally to be in my area have gone. The tenants in the part that was not in my area until we agreed to a change are still there because they were not given notice until more recently.

So we still can't do much on either of the lots. I can't plant or do anything on the house lot until we have a good fence and a guard installed. I can't do much at the beach lot until the last tenants move out and I can clear away their buildings.

It seems the original architect lost interest after I asked him how we can change the design to get the price down so after six weeks with no further reply I contacted another architect. This guy went through my plans, made some good suggestions and will now do a draft design based on what I want.

[Frank Woolf]

It turns out that the "little bit" that they don't want me to fence off is nearly 20% of the property so this is a big deal

This seems grossly unfair. The reason I cannot use the land yet is because I have to build a fence to stop the stealing and the neighbors cows destroying everything I plant. Now I have to change the plan so I leave 4.5 meters down the short end for them to maybe one day make the road wider and 4.5 meters all the way down the long side for a sub division road that is privately owned by somebody else.

This means I have to give away nearly 900 square meters of land to feed the neighbors cows for years until maybe one day they might build a road and they buy the land. I accept this for the baranguy road but I really have a hard time giving up a huge chunk of land for a private developer to build a road I don't need and is nothing to do with me. If you are buying land I suggest you carefully check things like this.

On the good side it seems they cannot use that land without buying it and if I don't want to sell it there is nothing they can do. I hope this is true.

The biggest problem caused by this is that the house plans we were working on have to be heavily modified because the usable land is now narrower and I have to put the house close to the back perimeter to allow space for the driveway and garden at the front. This means the three bedrooms at the back would have the light blocked if anyone builds on the adjacent lots. I just spent two days redesigning half the house and making it smaller so we have space at the front and light for the bedrooms.

[Frank Woolf]

Went to the house lot today to plant some bananas where hopefully the neighbor's cows won't find them. We hid them amongst the weeds where it will be difficult for the thieves to see them and steal them before they are established.

The young cows were on our land when we arrived but this time we took the dog who strongly objected to them being there. We let him chase them away and they disappeared into the bushes some distance away.

The first thing we noticed is that the thieving neighbors have been harvesting all our coconuts. There were no full size coconuts left on any of the trees and there were some open half shells on the ground. A pile of about 30 coconuts they had cut down and not yet taken away where on one side.

We put the coconuts in the car and took them home. They are no longer fresh so they are not much use to us but I would rather throw them away than let the damn thieves take them.

On the bright side I checked the position of the perimeter relative to the road down the long side. Most of the malunggay and madre cacao we planted to mark the perimeter has been ripped up and thrown on the ground but a quick check showed that the perimeter is not far from where they want me to put the fence so I won't lose as much land as I first thought.

[Stonegate]

We have had similar occurences at our lot in Pangasinan. Caribou, goats and chicken in the lot. Trees cut down for charcoal, mangoes and coconuts disappeared. Our solution was a temporary barbed wire fence and a caretaker from the local barrio. We, like you, are planning a house on the lot but our plans are not as far advanced as yours. Your cooling system is intriguing.
We will follow your progress with interest.

[Frank Woolf]

Welcome to the site.

I am right now making some gadgets to make 4 " square holes for fence posts then we will have 7 foot high posts with wire mesh at the bottom and 4 strands of barbed wire at the top. If that is not enough then the top wire will be electrified.

I am also building a nipa hut for a guard. Then the biggest problem will be finding a guard I can trust.

I hope my experience is like yours and the fence is enough.

[Stonegate]

I think your fence should do the trick. We have no mesh at the bottom but can live with the chickens and occasional dog. Eventially it will be blockwork wall with wrought iron at front (road) and beach end with coated wire mesh at the sides. It is a largish lot and we need to save pennies.
We were very lucky and have a relative of the previous owner as caretaker, worth his weight in gold. Good luck in your search.
When you build your house it would be benificial if you were there. We had a house built in Pampanga when we were abroad and regret it. When you are away, quality control is also away.

[Frank Woolf]

Actually the main reason for the mesh at the bottom is to stop my dogs getting out so I can get let them run around wherever they please. Later there may be chickens, geese, ducks etc that I will need to keep inside. As soon as the fence is up I will be planting loads of nice spiky borganvillia and similar plants all around the fences.

I want to be able to relax knowing is will be very difficult for thieves to get in.

I totally agree on the supervision. I will hopefully have a guard to check everything in and out and intend to build a lock up storeroom for building materials. The architect will visit twice a week and I will probably visit every day.

I never thought about having a wall at the main gate end of the lot. I will check with my feng shui advisor to see if that is good or not. The perimeter is 400 meters long so I don't want a wall all around and it would be too expensive anyway.

[Stonegate]

Having a big lot has its downsides, one of them being the cost of building a wall around it. My lot boundary is similar length to yours hence the combination of fence and wall. Fortunately my lot is rectangular and the short sides are road and sea side. So cost of wall will not be prohibitive.
My wife has the same idea of putting thorny plants along the fence line. She has suggested bouganvillea.
Getting quality is a big problem in PI. I watched some pretty pricey houses being built close to us in Pampanga and they look fine after painting but under the paint is a different story. Problems to look for, rebar should be washed in fresh water just before shutters are erected, rebar should be spaced off the shutters - the architect will tell you by how much, the constituents of the concrete should be measured carefully and be exactly as the architect (or yourself) specifies-particularly the cement and water, watch the welding on roof trusses (if you are going for steel), make sure that they finish the roof at the eaves properly or you will get birds nesting in the attic, allow at least two weeks before painting over concrete or plastered walls, make sure the wiring is installed with an earth and that the building is earthed (we use earth leakage ciruit breakers for safety). It seems as if you will be able to monitor the construction which is great. It would be wise to be there for all concrete pours. Oh, and if you can get them to vibrate the concrete the durability will benefit. (Just becausde the cement is not in the store room does not mean it has gone into the concrete)
Unless the Architect is a family member, or you put the fear of death into him during the early stages, he is unlikely to supervise to your satisfaction.
I have observed that if the site foreman knows his onions then you will stand a better chance of a good job being done.
I hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs, but all of the above have given me problems on a 4 years old house. Someone should benefit from my hardships.

[Frank Woolf]

I have the same benefit with the lot shape. It is about 30 meters by 166 meters with the road and entrance along the 30 meters at one end so a front wall just to look good would not be expensive. The beach lot is entirely different with a 40 meter beach line then a one hectare almost triangular shape behind but I won't need to fence that I hope. The villagers planted madre cacao every 10 inches around the entire perimeter for me so thats probably enough. I asked for every ten feet but they put them every ten inches :)

Thanks for the tips. I may do the wiring myself to make sure it is done right and yes I will be using circuit breakers and earth leakage trips. I can easily buy them in Hong Kong if they are not easily available in Davao.

I guess the obvious question is how can you be sure the cement mix is correct if they mix it when you are not there? I can of course try to be there when they mix but if they want to cheat they will try to mix it when I am not around.

I will also watch for salt in the sand. They my use beach sand because its cheap then the salt will make the concrete crumble.

[Stonegate]

You are absolutely right. the chlorides in sea sand result in reinforcement corrosion which in turn results in expansion due to corrosion products. This then causes the concrete to spall.
To be safe use river sand or wash the sand with fresh water. Maybe a local readymix supplier (if there is one) can supply concrete with washed/river sand.
Leaving the sand heaped in the rain to allow the rain to do washing does not work as it results in higher concentrations of chlorides lower in the mound.
The stone should also be washed.

[Frank Woolf]

This project is very much a learning experience for me which is one reason for this forum. While I share my successes. mistakes and problems for others to learn from and for my own record keeping I also get to learn a lot from those who share their experiences and knowledge.

I have been thinking of using sand from the back of my beach lot. It is course sand with tiny pebbles in it that has washed down from the surrounding hills into a gully so it has been washed thousands of times every time it rains.

Other than tasting it I have no idea how to check if it is OK. The locals used it to make hollow blocks for their houses so maybe its OK but if I am not sure I will just by sand. The problem is even if you buy it how can you be sure its not just beach sand being sold as washed river sand?

[Frank Woolf]

I got the Barangay permit approved that says the fence will not interfere with any roads etc but then it had to go to City Hall.

The city hall engineer said I have to move the fence in 4.5 meters on two sides because one day they may want to make the 6 meter wide road 15 meters wide and they don't want to pay for the fence. This means effectively giving away 20% of the lot because someday in the distant future they may want to make a four lane highway where there is currently an unused dirt track accross a field!

I eventually agreed and sent new drawings of the fence position. Then they sent blank forms that they want me to sign before they will release the fence permit. One clause on the form says I agree that they can take as much land as they like any time they like! At that point I handed it over to my lawyer.

I really don't understand what is going on. If they want to buy the land now to build a road I have no problem with that but effectively giving away 20% of the land because maybe one day they will build a huge road is a bit hard to accept. Being told I have to sign a document that gives them the right to take whatever they want whenever they want is just too much. I would rather forget about Samal and stay in Davao.

My lawyer will talk to them to try to clarify what this is all about.

[Stonegate]

Try using the below link to an article about landowners who had there land seized for road construction.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20091028-232742/SC-orders-Pasig-City-to-pay-five-land-owners

If it does not work check today's internet version of the Inquirer.

[Frank Woolf]

Many thanks for the info. Now there is a precedent that could be very useful.

There has been no mention at all of compensation for the 900 square meters they want me to give up by not fencing the entire house lot.

I am now looking for land for land around Davao city as I cannot feel secure investing my life savings in building a house on Samal. If I find something suitable I will sell the house lot on Samal.

I have a similar problem with my new beach lot because just before I bought it the city hall engineers dug up the land on both sides of the road that runs through the lot. They installed a culvert and left a massive trench wide open with huge mounds of dirt and boulders. The next time there was heavy rain the water through the culvert caused a landslide with boulders and tons of mud coming down to, into and around the house. The unfinished bathroom is 3 feet deep in mud and boulders.

The culvert blocked up within a very short time but I need to hire a back hoe to clean up the mess and ensure the water does not continue that way because it will wash away the foundations of the house and the pier. The mud flowing into the sea has already destroyed all the coral and created a sand and dirt slope where there used to be a coral wall full of marine life.

The land both sides of the road and the road itself is part of the property and therefore is all private property but they did all this without asking permission. The damage they caused will cost 25,000 to 50,000 (maybe more) to put right.

For the benefit of any others in a similar situation I will post the article you referred to in case it is taken off the Inquirer site.

[Frank Woolf]

SC orders Pasig City to pay five land owners
By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:41:00 10/28/2009

Filed Under: Crime and Law and Justice, Construction & Property, Government
MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has ordered the Pasig city government to pay for private lands it expropriated about 19 years ago and converted into a municipal road.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, the high court third division said the Pasig City “acted in utter disregard of respondent’s proprietary rights. Such conduct cannot be countenanced by the court.”

In 1980, the Pasig city government converted a 1,586 square meter land owned by Jovito Luis, Lidinila Luis Santos, Angelita Cagalingan, Romeo Luis and Virginia Luis-Ballesteros into a municipal road it named A. Sandoval Avenue.

Thirteen years after, the local government in a resolution authorized the payment of the expropriated property. But the appraisal committee assessed its value only at P150 per square meter.

The five demanded that they be paid P2,000 per square meter, the prevailing market value in the area when the land was expropriated.

The Pasig city government disagreed.

The land owners filed a lawsuit and both the Pasig City Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals ruled against Pasig City, prompting the city government to elevate the case to the high court.

The Supreme Court said Pasig City “should definitely be held liable for damages” done to the property owners as it ordered the local government to conduct expropriation proceedings.

The compensation includes a legal interest of six percent per annum from the time of land expropriation until full payment is made.

The city government was also told to pay the property owners P400,000 in exemplary damages and attorney’s fees.

At the same time, the high tribunal reminded the Pasig city government that in exercising the power of eminent domain, it must respect the people’s property rights as the law provides that “private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.”

[Frank Woolf]

P.S.

The article will be very useful I am sure but in my case they are not actually taking the land. They are just telling me I can't fence it which is effectively the same thing because anything I plant outside the fence will be either stolen or eaten by the cows and horses.

[Stonegate]

Are you dealing with DENR or another goverment department? We have had no such problems. I would simply agree to do what they want and then fence in you whole property. Your offspring can face the consequences in the future. Are you friends with the Barangay Captain? At our Pangasinan lot we have made friends with and make use of the Barangay Captain. Have you taken any one "out to lunch"? My wife does all the initial negotiations and discussions with DENR or DAR as the case may be and brings me into the picture a bit later. I'm not sure what they are suggesting is legal. Visit Chan Robles web site and try to dig into the problem. Chan Robles are lawyers with a very informative web site.

[Frank Woolf]

No DENR etc involved. The barangay council already approved the fence permit for a fence on the perimeter and stated very clearly that it does not interfere with any current or future roads plans, etc.

My brother in law is a barangay councilor and he said just ignore City hall because it is a barangay decision.

My concern is that if I get all this hassle just for a fence on Samal then building a house will be a nightmare. I am already lining up properties to view in the Davao city area and will just sell the house lot on Samal.

I am sure what they are demanding is not legal but as I always say "In the Philippines, what's the law got to do with anything". Government people and big companies just do as they please ignoring the law and the courts.

[Stonegate]

In our dealings with DENR and the local DAR it has proved beneficial to take them to lunch afterwards and someone within the system has always been greased. Only a slight greasing by expat standards but it works.
You might end up with a lot that you can't get rid of even though it is by the sea. Check http://www.islandsproperties.com if you haven't already done so. Don't forget the s in islandsproperties.

[Frank Woolf]

This lot is not by the sea. It just has a great view but I see where you are coming from. Maybe I should ask the DENR about the fence permit.

[Stonegate]

It would do no harm to ask the requirements and restrictions. I have found them to be honest about the requirements but always willing to speed things up, for some grease. Let your wife make the enquiries whilst you sit in the car out of site. Good luck.

[Frank Woolf]

Thanks,

She will be here for a few days at Christmas so maybe we can try then.

[Frank Woolf]

Just a brief update.

I have decided not to bother with the fence permit and definitely never to build anything on Samal Island while the current city engineers are there.

I will sell all the land I have on Samal that is not being used and will invest in our land in Toril instead. I will build the house and set up the permaculture farm in Toril.

[Stonegate]

Sad that you are having to resort to such measures. We are building a toilet/shower block and fence (about 470 metres) at our beach lot in Anda, Pangasinan. We will let you know how it goes with permits. We currently dont anticupate any hiccups. Will now have to find out where Toril is.

[Frank Woolf]

Toril is a few miles (30 minutes) roughly South of Davao. Actually our land is outside Toril and I don't expect any problems there. My father is law was barangay chief for a long time and my brother in law is a barangay councillor. They both cannot understand why the Samal engineers are being so difficult.

Actually I just had a very interesting meeting with a friend who represents some top local politicians who have the same views I do. I will meet with them when I get back from Hong Kong to see what we can do to improve things, especially for foreigners. I won't say too much now but hope to make an announcement in July.

[Stonegate]

Good luck. Look forward to reading your posts in July.

We start our toilet/shower tomorrow on the basis that we will include it in the house building permit when the time comes (separate toilet/shower by the beach). Same applies to the fence. In Anda they want foreigners to settle so don't put obstacles in their way. No posts for a while as we have no internet at Caniogan and will be watching the building works and sleeping rough.

[Frank Woolf]

We gave up with Samal and other than the beach lot we will not invest anything more there. We will sell the land intended for our home and also sell the other two lots.

We also decided not to build on our existing land near Toril. I was concerned that we would have to cut so many trees for building and for planting veggies and fruit. Also the lot is very hot due to being surrounded with dense trees for miles in every direction. Lastly the lot is not as big as I first thought.

We found land in Bato, very close to the Toril town center. It was two hectares being sold by a Bato barangay councilor. He told me he bought it but never changed the title and then his son said he was not interested in farming so he would sell it. The previous owner would just sign the bill of sale. He owned the land next to it and seemed like a nice guy.

I got the land surveyed and most markers were in the correct places but a problem showed up. The land was a big rectangle with a fifteen meter wide strip going to the road. The problem was this strip stopped short of the road. The surveyors found that the road was in the wrong place and the barangay council had allowed people to build on the actual road space. The fifteen meter strip also widened to about 20 meters wide for the last 30 meters or so where it adjoined the sellers land.

It was agreed that the strip would be immediately fenced right to the actual road and the seller volunteered to put in marker sticks for the fences alongside the strip.

When I saw them I noticed that the part where it should widen had the surveyor's markers removed and it did not widen. I told him thanks and that I would just correct the position of the sticks.

Then he got really nasty and it turned out he never bought the land in the first place. He was just selling it for someone else. When we first found out about the land his staff told my staff that he would cover all costs including title transfer but this suddenly changed to me paying for it. Later he denied he had any staff even after he had sent his secretary to meet with us. He knew I wanted somewhere quiet and so he pointed out that there were only about 4 neighbors and none of them were close. What he didn't tell me was that he had subdivided his adjacent lot into 450 house lots and made it a subdivision that he intended to develop.

He continued causing numerous problems with the deal until I eventually had to give up. He obviously could not be trusted and even his lawyer was lying to protect him so I was also wondering if the one they said owned it really did.

At this point I was getting desperate. I had a team of builders waiting to start work and now I had no land to build on.

I avoided looking at any land in the barangay where this guy was a councilor and frantically looked at every piece of land I could find that may be suitable. Most were no good. With some the price suddenly increased when they saw I was white but I eventually found two and a half hectares of land 550 meters above sea level about 15 minutes from the Toril town center.

Since then I have been working flat out while handling dozens of problems caused by the owners not having filed for title transfer when their parents died, not properly assigning land to the tenants, etc, etc.

We have now at last actually started building so I will start a new discussion thread and post what we have done so far.