Why Architects Can Help Spot Winning Properties

You may be contemplating on acquiring winning properties or getting into property markets here in the Philippines either for long-term family investment or development projects on the side. Although shopping around for good deals, securing a bargain, or trying to pick out the better lot in a village is more about understanding how investment numbers work, the physical problems you later encounter while trying to work on a project with your architect or contractor are as much important in making informed decisions.

The oldest rule of thumb goes with the saying “Location. Location. Location.” But that isn’t really being helpful. What exactly is a good location? How can we just look at a land enough to agree that it is a good spot?

Architects are trained to look into the many conditions of land and could be one of your better allies in the property markets. They mostly help out with the technical inquiries of the land. As a practicing architect ourselves, we often get asked about project issues and risks that we thought could’ve been avoided during site selection processes had the buyers only knew how to look for signs in winning properties.

Here are 8 pointers on how Architects can help you spot a winning property:

1. Orientation

When site hopping, architects normally bring a small compass with them. Generally, there are two things to remember, there are hot sides and cool sides to the land. Where the compass points to the South-West side, that area is going to be baked from long sun exposure and are mostly assigned to utilities like service entrances, garage, pump rooms, or laundry. The North-East side is the more comfortable side usually assigned for bedrooms, lounge, or patio areas. Knowing how the site is situated could generally provide you an idea of how to match your future building projects.

2. Prevailing Winds

We live in a tropical climate. Sadly most Filipinos don’t realize that but just to reiterate, our winds have unique traits to this country. We have half of the year where monsoon winds come in from the Northeast side called Amihan and another half of the year when the whole thing flips around to the Southwest side which we refer to as Habagat.

Managing how winds operate in an area affected by barriers and deflections from other structures could increase or decrease your air-conditioning load requirements and thereby reduce your recurring operational and maintenance costs for the entire life cycle of the building. Winning properties are often surrounded by natural airflow at any time of the day.

3. Zoning

Zoning ordinances and regulations normally set the limitations on how you use your property. In essence, you cannot simply intend to develop a commercial establishment on agricultural land or develop residential housing units in an industrial zone without bearing some of the legal and technical consequences.

The Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) maps out the zoning ordinances and prepares the Comprehensive Land Use Plan guidebook here in the Philippines. It would be wise to consult your architect of the restrictions or coordinate with the city engineers’ office.

4. Disaster Areas

Maybe there is a good reason why some properties are real bargains and why people are trying to get rid of them. Living near any fault areas are not encouraging but then again when the tectonic plates do move, the impact would be equally devastating to everyone within a large radius. It would be good to have the technical information at hand before any land purchase.

Another threat that occurs frequently is flooding. Not only do we experience heavy torrential rains but our dependency on outdated national drainage and sanitary systems aren’t exactly that reliable. So when you decide to locate in an area without conducting due diligence, embrace flood realities.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has an online facility called the Philippine Flood Hazard Maps where you can go check places affected by the 5, 25, or 100 year Flood Hazard zones. This information could provide you a sense of risk involved with your particular investment.

5. Water Run-Off

Remember that water seeks its own level. Be observant of level differences not only within the project site you are looking at but also around the area at least a block in radius. Again, being in a tropical country, water management is always crucial to the design of a project.

Architects walk around the streets and observe areas that are higher or have depressions where large amounts of rainwater might collect. Try to determine if the terrain permits natural water run-off with nearby creeks, rivers, or ponds or if the surrounding ground surface allows enough permeability.

See how previously built fences or retaining walls are performing in the area. If they seem to be tilting but not due to poor workmanship, bearing cracks with eroded reinforcing bars, then chances are that water in the area gets to accumulate in the soil. Best to investigate any flooding history in the area and ask about existing municipal drainage or sanitary systems.

6. Surrounding Community

How are the economic conditions situated? It is always good to note the proximity to commercial establishments, restaurants, schools, medical facilities, transportation terminals, road networks, and other amenities as well as how the local vibrancy affects the mobility and culture of the place. Winning properties are often surrounded by the conveniences of neighborhood services.

Security is definitely a key ingredient. You may want safe access routes with well-lighted roads, hopefully, less vagrancy or informal settlers, and definitely with better visibility to barangay halls or police stations. Before you acquire a property, include in your budget plans the cost for surveyors and contractors for fencing up the perimeter immediately.

Noise can also affect the sale or rental of a place depending on what your intended project plans are. Of course, selling a townhouse project for young couples trying to raise children may not go well with constant noise coming from open roads with vehicular traffic such as trucks and motorized tricycles.

7. Neighboring Structures

This is different from economic activity. What we are investigating here are the physical attributes of neighboring buildings adjacent to the site, in front of the site, as well as to the rear.

Architects would probably start first by identifying the tall structures in the vicinity. This gives a fair gauge as to the allowable building height limit as mandated by local laws as well as the geotechnical conditions of the soil for it to withstand such structure. In effect, that early visual information can already open up the types of project possibilities a real estate can have.

Something to watch out as well are the road right of way to rear inside lots. Sometimes the declared lot area size in the Transfer Certificate of Title may not accurately reflect the amount of square meters you might have to give up for the right of passage.

Are there electrical lines in front of the site that could possibly obstruct future operations or entry of heavy machinery during development and construction stage? Although you can coordinate with Meralco with the transfer of these lines, the request alone can cost a lot of time and money. Related to this, also check to see if the building materials used surrounding the site are fire hazardous or prone to other catastrophic events.

8. Shape Of The Lot

As much as architects are drawn to fascinating shapes of a lot, understand that the irregularities of the lot also proposes complexities in maximizing the potential of the project. Therefore the complexities may propose for a longer time needed to balance the structural with circulations, architectural design, and other utility requirements. But then again, such design challenges from an oddly shaped parcel of lands consequently create the character and the interest in building forms. Winning properties often take a regular shape that is easier to maximize land use.

Another thing to note that vehicular access and parking areas can take a good chunk of equity away from the frontage of a property. That is why most developers prefer shallow but wider frontage over deeper lots with a narrow frontage because they can manage without the need for a common corridor road to reach the end units.

Spot Winning Properties Like An Architect

So there you have it.

8 pointers to help you look at winning properties with a technical eye and save you lots of trouble further down the road when you start working with your architects and contractors. If you have anything else to add to the list or would have questions for architects, we would love to hear them! Kindly leave your comments below or follow us on any of our social media accounts. For any inquiries about Philippine architectural or property development projects please feel free to contact us.

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