Why you should not invest in DMCI Homes. Actual complaints, bad experiences from real residents about poor quality, management and maintenance.
POOR PLANNING
DMCI planners made the grave and irreversible mistake of not checking zoning that called for the construction of Conducto/Kaginhawaan Bridge on one of the residential property borders, resulting in the lack of any safety or outdoor perimeter between one of the residential buildings (Danube) and the Conducto/Kaginhawaan bridge.
NO CONSULTATION WITH HOMEOWNERS WHEN IT COMES TO EXPENDITURES
DMCI decided to repaint the buildings - exterior only - starting with the three buildings facing the Conducto / /Kaginhawaan bridge without prior consultation and without proof of bidding guidelines, charging all residents 8 million pesos starting this October for the three buildings alone when we were not consulted on this. There are 12 buildings within the property. Instead of prioritizing the construction of the security perimeter wall, as you could just hop inside the compound, the Danube residential building and the parking lot from the bridge; they prioritized the repainting as they were just after their marketing gains.
The motive and timing behind this painting initiative is questionable, and at best marketing, in favor of DMCI, but which is unjustly charged at our expense. There is no such thing as coincidence.
It is extremely obvious that it is a desperate rescue and marketing effort brought about by the error, or even absence of an urban planner, who did not do research on zoning and misinterpreted the map that they committed the irreversible mistake of building the Danube building beside the Conducto / Kaginhawaan bridge without any safety or outdoor parameters. They prioritized the repainting of the three buildings fronting the Conducto / Kaginhawaanbridge, which are strangely at the back of the property, and are not the oldest buildings. Equally strange is how they started the painting of the back of the building which is fronting the bridge, instead of the front. They use poor-quality paint that easily peels off only three months later.
They undertook this project as early as May, with the one of the painting companies sending a bid as early as February, but the management did not bother to consult the homeowners even if we are the ones who will shoulder costs. We were only informed of the multi-million repainting project in August, and the charges were reflected immediately the following month.
This 20 percent increase in monthly charges, which the PMO aims to implement immediately, once again without prior consultation of homeowners, could be misused to finance the parameter wall, which they are building as a desperate effort to address security problem and the lack of safety perimeter. It should not be charged to us but to the negligent developer and planner, or the absence thereof of a planner. When we asked DMCI to present a document that they will shoulder costs of the perimeter wall, up to now, months later, they cannot present any.
DOUBLE STANDARDS BENEFITING MARKETING AND DMCI; NOT HOMEOWNERS
DMCI is so hypocrite and has double standards — the indoor gardens, maintenance, quality, cleanliness and painting are neglected and yet they spend so much attention to the outdoors. In fact they will only repaint the outdoors and not the indoors of the buildings.
If they are sincere about providing quality service, quality living and are concerned about the actual residents as opposed to potential clients, then they should give equal if not more attention to the indoors, where we, residents, live, but they are just after their own marketing gains. I reckon these maintenance costs of the outdoor areas is part of the reasons they need to increase unjust dues, and as such should be charged in part to their marketing as they should have an allotted budget for this.
VERY POOR MANAGEMENT
Even if you are a home owner and if you have problems, the Property Management Office, its staff Dionisio Montevirgen and Joseph Carizo will not and cannot address problems. If at all they manage to solve anything, it will only be a band-aid solution. The DMCI Area Managers Jayson Lucea, Peachy Fabricante, Operations Manager FB Rapinan are equally incompetent, irresponsible officers. You will emd up getting so frustrated making follow-up calls, emails, visits and resolving nothing. I've never seen the PMO staff doing rounds in the buildings, proactively checking compliance, doing quality, maintenance or quality checks. If they are doing their job, or at the very least delegating it, we don't even need to report problems to them. The PMO is ignorant that they should in fact represent us, the residents. Residents are at the mercy of the PMO when they should be pro owners/residents.
POOR SECURITY
It is strange that just a couple of years ago, the PMO bought at the expense of homeowners an ID machine reader at the front gate but which was not utilized and became a complete waste of money. It is very inconsistent to be strict on one entry point while the other entry point, the one beside the bridge, can be easily accessed from outside without any hassle. The PMO also allows the entry and use of the gym, pool, basketball court and clubhouse to outsiders, when they should have been intended for residents only, hence, compromising security especially since there is not enough guards to even man the gate and the residential buildings. The gym use for instance does not generate any income as they do not check who among the users are homeowners and those who are outsiders. Even if they charge guests to use the pools, more often than not, they are also not monitored.
NO WALKABILITY
There is no walkability or concern for the elderly. The residential buildings do not have wheelchair access so what happens when there's no electricity or the elevator is not working?
TOXIC AIR POLLUTION
Residents of DMCI Homes Riverfront Residences and East Raya, two properties in Pasig, are exposed to toxic air pollution. The STP or Sewage Treatment Plant is right beside residential buildings inside the compound, and is emitting toxic smell every day but especially at night and early morning. The mere fact that it is emitting bad smell suggests it is toxic and can cause respiratory illnesses. The extent of this air pollution is so big that the building where we live is not even close to the STP and yet we can still smell it, including neighbors outside the compound, living along P. Bernardo Street.
DMCI has been highly irresponsible in addressing this air pollution. There have been complaints from residents (even on Facebook page of Homeowners) and yet the Property Management Office or PMO did not act on this! And this has been going on for years now which means poor engineering and infrastructure. How come the STP is right beside a residential building? How come the DMCI did not plan the land area well to isolate this building from the residential buildings? That is very materialistic, unethic and immoral of DMCI to cramp and build as many buildings as they could without allowing for space between the STP and residents.
Read more here: healthrisklivingindmci.blogspot.com
NEGLECTED RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
Our buildings badly need maintenance. If they do building inspection, as is the norm, then they would've known a long time ago that the poor-quality paint has already peeled off
The gardens in the building lobbies are awful and need better plants and maintenance. The gardeners are only tending to the gardens outside. We do NOT leave outside the buildings. We live inside the buildings. So they need to give it as much or even more attention than the outdoor gardens. If this is their marketing strategy to attract people, then they're doing an awful job at it because people will look at the buildings and they will see the huge difference. The back of the elevator has been designed to contain plants but since property opened way back 2009, DMCI has not planted a single plant there and they are using all sorts of excuses, such as they don't have plants but they have plants for new subdivisions they are developing; that they need time to grow plants, but this excuse has been going on since 2009 and they never worked on it. Why do we have to call their attention to it? Why didn't they take the initiative to ensure plants are there before property opening? The gardeners were told to water the plants inside the buildings only once in two weeks even if, mind you, the roof is see through so the sun and heat penetrate and it's summer! At 41 degrees, no matter what plant you have there, they will die. Meanwhile, they water the outdoor plants every day! And they cultivated plants for the jogging path in time for their Easter party to attract customers. That is so hypocrite and so skin deep because the building interiors where residents live do not have well-tended gardens.
SECURITY AND NOISE POLLUTION PROBLEMS
Although it is a residential and NOT A COMMERCIAL property they have the basketball court and the clubhouse rented out to outsiders for parties and events, which is uncalled for and just a pathetic, cheap money-making scheme. The clubhouse and the amenities inside are intended for residents only and should be respectful of our right to privacy. There was a delivery truck at 7 in the morning and and a truck pulling out as late as almost midnight, loading and unloading plastic chairs and huge tables with metal railings that cause such an irritating and disturbing sound and which awakened residents. When they accept payments for these events, they don't even hire additional staff and guards. The guards are to look after our safety and our property, and not to act as traffic enforcers to event guests who wish to park their cars. This is extra work for them and the guards are unable to focus on what they should be doing - protecting us, the residents, and our property. Likewise, the cleaners are distracted and are pulling their efforts in maintaining the clubhouse when they should be cleaning and looking after our buildings. DMCI admitted to having the function hall rented out to attract potential customers (per Raquel Alfafara of Main Office Property Management) at the discomfort, lack of privacy and security of us, residents and homeowners. The function hall is not designed for such events with deejays, hostings, music as the windows and walls are unable to contain the sound and noise inside. We should be able to sleep and enjoy silence whenever we want and not only after midnight. The property manager DJ Montevirgen is unable to address a problem as simple as not allowing this unit owners to let their dogs stay in their terraces during sleeping hours. These dogs would bark at anything they see and disturb neighbors.
A home should be a sanctuary of tranquility. When I go home, I want to relax and the last thing I want is noise pollution and pumping loud music or videoke from the function hall, which sometimes can be as late as 2 in the morning on a weekday night with drunk men howling and even the guards could not reprimand them because they are drunk and because the Property Manager of DMCI himself negligently allowed that the party last until 2am. Bear in mind, we, the residents have the right to relax and sleep at ANY time of the day. It doesn't have to be at 10 in the evening.
NO ACCOUNTABILITY
When there are problems, DMCI does not provide support or resources even with the STP problem mentioned above, which is their accountability as they made grave mistakes in terms of design, its location and its construction. So they ought to send budget and resources to rectify their wrong and given the scale of the problem, which affects the health of residents and could not be resolved by their PMO and yet, they do not send budget or resources. How difficult would it be to construct a small one-storey building when you could manage to build bridges and subdivisions? They claim that it was a case of "wear and tear" but if their property managers are checking the buildings and ensuring quality checks are in place, the parts would've been replaced before their due time or before they were broken. Besides, putting the blame on the parts is a lousy excuse because the building itself is not fully covered or sealed. It is only partially covered by plants! So obviously the smell leaks out of the building.
INEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT
Operations Manager FB Rapiñan, his secretary Raquel Alfafara, Area Manager Peachy Fabricante and her OIC Area Manager, Jayson Lucea, along with property managers for Riverfront, Dionisio Montevirgen or DJ and Joseph Otep Carizo have been most incompetent in addressing and resolving the problems.
POOR PLANNING
DMCI planners made the grave and irreversible mistake of not checking zoning that called for the construction of Conducto/Kaginhawaan Bridge on one of the residential property borders, resulting in the lack of any safety or outdoor perimeter between one of the residential buildings (Danube) and the Conducto/Kaginhawaan bridge.
NO CONSULTATION WITH HOMEOWNERS WHEN IT COMES TO EXPENDITURES
DMCI decided to repaint the buildings - exterior only - starting with the three buildings facing the Conducto / /Kaginhawaan bridge without prior consultation and without proof of bidding guidelines, charging all residents 8 million pesos starting this October for the three buildings alone when we were not consulted on this. There are 12 buildings within the property. Instead of prioritizing the construction of the security perimeter wall, as you could just hop inside the compound, the Danube residential building and the parking lot from the bridge; they prioritized the repainting as they were just after their marketing gains.
The motive and timing behind this painting initiative is questionable, and at best marketing, in favor of DMCI, but which is unjustly charged at our expense. There is no such thing as coincidence.
It is extremely obvious that it is a desperate rescue and marketing effort brought about by the error, or even absence of an urban planner, who did not do research on zoning and misinterpreted the map that they committed the irreversible mistake of building the Danube building beside the Conducto / Kaginhawaan bridge without any safety or outdoor parameters. They prioritized the repainting of the three buildings fronting the Conducto / Kaginhawaanbridge, which are strangely at the back of the property, and are not the oldest buildings. Equally strange is how they started the painting of the back of the building which is fronting the bridge, instead of the front. They use poor-quality paint that easily peels off only three months later.
They undertook this project as early as May, with the one of the painting companies sending a bid as early as February, but the management did not bother to consult the homeowners even if we are the ones who will shoulder costs. We were only informed of the multi-million repainting project in August, and the charges were reflected immediately the following month.
This 20 percent increase in monthly charges, which the PMO aims to implement immediately, once again without prior consultation of homeowners, could be misused to finance the parameter wall, which they are building as a desperate effort to address security problem and the lack of safety perimeter. It should not be charged to us but to the negligent developer and planner, or the absence thereof of a planner. When we asked DMCI to present a document that they will shoulder costs of the perimeter wall, up to now, months later, they cannot present any.
DOUBLE STANDARDS BENEFITING MARKETING AND DMCI; NOT HOMEOWNERS
DMCI is so hypocrite and has double standards — the indoor gardens, maintenance, quality, cleanliness and painting are neglected and yet they spend so much attention to the outdoors. In fact they will only repaint the outdoors and not the indoors of the buildings.
If they are sincere about providing quality service, quality living and are concerned about the actual residents as opposed to potential clients, then they should give equal if not more attention to the indoors, where we, residents, live, but they are just after their own marketing gains. I reckon these maintenance costs of the outdoor areas is part of the reasons they need to increase unjust dues, and as such should be charged in part to their marketing as they should have an allotted budget for this.
VERY POOR MANAGEMENT
Even if you are a home owner and if you have problems, the Property Management Office, its staff Dionisio Montevirgen and Joseph Carizo will not and cannot address problems. If at all they manage to solve anything, it will only be a band-aid solution. The DMCI Area Managers Jayson Lucea, Peachy Fabricante, Operations Manager FB Rapinan are equally incompetent, irresponsible officers. You will emd up getting so frustrated making follow-up calls, emails, visits and resolving nothing. I've never seen the PMO staff doing rounds in the buildings, proactively checking compliance, doing quality, maintenance or quality checks. If they are doing their job, or at the very least delegating it, we don't even need to report problems to them. The PMO is ignorant that they should in fact represent us, the residents. Residents are at the mercy of the PMO when they should be pro owners/residents.
POOR SECURITY
It is strange that just a couple of years ago, the PMO bought at the expense of homeowners an ID machine reader at the front gate but which was not utilized and became a complete waste of money. It is very inconsistent to be strict on one entry point while the other entry point, the one beside the bridge, can be easily accessed from outside without any hassle. The PMO also allows the entry and use of the gym, pool, basketball court and clubhouse to outsiders, when they should have been intended for residents only, hence, compromising security especially since there is not enough guards to even man the gate and the residential buildings. The gym use for instance does not generate any income as they do not check who among the users are homeowners and those who are outsiders. Even if they charge guests to use the pools, more often than not, they are also not monitored.
BAD DESIGN / NOT ENERGY EFFICIENT
The poorly-educated interior designer and architect (or maybe they didn't even hire one!) did not consider energy efficiency, solar source and lifestyle. The bedrooms are the brightest rooms, and therefore also the warmest, which make them not conducive to their function — for sleeping. Meanwhile, the kitchen and living/dining rooms are dark throughout the day and require constant use of electric lights!
NO WALKABILITY
There is no walkability or concern for the elderly. The residential buildings do not have wheelchair access so what happens when there's no electricity or the elevator is not working?
TOXIC AIR POLLUTION
Residents of DMCI Homes Riverfront Residences and East Raya, two properties in Pasig, are exposed to toxic air pollution. The STP or Sewage Treatment Plant is right beside residential buildings inside the compound, and is emitting toxic smell every day but especially at night and early morning. The mere fact that it is emitting bad smell suggests it is toxic and can cause respiratory illnesses. The extent of this air pollution is so big that the building where we live is not even close to the STP and yet we can still smell it, including neighbors outside the compound, living along P. Bernardo Street.
DMCI has been highly irresponsible in addressing this air pollution. There have been complaints from residents (even on Facebook page of Homeowners) and yet the Property Management Office or PMO did not act on this! And this has been going on for years now which means poor engineering and infrastructure. How come the STP is right beside a residential building? How come the DMCI did not plan the land area well to isolate this building from the residential buildings? That is very materialistic, unethic and immoral of DMCI to cramp and build as many buildings as they could without allowing for space between the STP and residents.
Read more here: healthrisklivingindmci.blogspot.com
NEGLECTED RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
Our buildings badly need maintenance. If they do building inspection, as is the norm, then they would've known a long time ago that the poor-quality paint has already peeled off
The gardens in the building lobbies are awful and need better plants and maintenance. The gardeners are only tending to the gardens outside. We do NOT leave outside the buildings. We live inside the buildings. So they need to give it as much or even more attention than the outdoor gardens. If this is their marketing strategy to attract people, then they're doing an awful job at it because people will look at the buildings and they will see the huge difference. The back of the elevator has been designed to contain plants but since property opened way back 2009, DMCI has not planted a single plant there and they are using all sorts of excuses, such as they don't have plants but they have plants for new subdivisions they are developing; that they need time to grow plants, but this excuse has been going on since 2009 and they never worked on it. Why do we have to call their attention to it? Why didn't they take the initiative to ensure plants are there before property opening? The gardeners were told to water the plants inside the buildings only once in two weeks even if, mind you, the roof is see through so the sun and heat penetrate and it's summer! At 41 degrees, no matter what plant you have there, they will die. Meanwhile, they water the outdoor plants every day! And they cultivated plants for the jogging path in time for their Easter party to attract customers. That is so hypocrite and so skin deep because the building interiors where residents live do not have well-tended gardens.
SECURITY AND NOISE POLLUTION PROBLEMS
Although it is a residential and NOT A COMMERCIAL property they have the basketball court and the clubhouse rented out to outsiders for parties and events, which is uncalled for and just a pathetic, cheap money-making scheme. The clubhouse and the amenities inside are intended for residents only and should be respectful of our right to privacy. There was a delivery truck at 7 in the morning and and a truck pulling out as late as almost midnight, loading and unloading plastic chairs and huge tables with metal railings that cause such an irritating and disturbing sound and which awakened residents. When they accept payments for these events, they don't even hire additional staff and guards. The guards are to look after our safety and our property, and not to act as traffic enforcers to event guests who wish to park their cars. This is extra work for them and the guards are unable to focus on what they should be doing - protecting us, the residents, and our property. Likewise, the cleaners are distracted and are pulling their efforts in maintaining the clubhouse when they should be cleaning and looking after our buildings. DMCI admitted to having the function hall rented out to attract potential customers (per Raquel Alfafara of Main Office Property Management) at the discomfort, lack of privacy and security of us, residents and homeowners. The function hall is not designed for such events with deejays, hostings, music as the windows and walls are unable to contain the sound and noise inside. We should be able to sleep and enjoy silence whenever we want and not only after midnight. The property manager DJ Montevirgen is unable to address a problem as simple as not allowing this unit owners to let their dogs stay in their terraces during sleeping hours. These dogs would bark at anything they see and disturb neighbors.
A home should be a sanctuary of tranquility. When I go home, I want to relax and the last thing I want is noise pollution and pumping loud music or videoke from the function hall, which sometimes can be as late as 2 in the morning on a weekday night with drunk men howling and even the guards could not reprimand them because they are drunk and because the Property Manager of DMCI himself negligently allowed that the party last until 2am. Bear in mind, we, the residents have the right to relax and sleep at ANY time of the day. It doesn't have to be at 10 in the evening.
NO ACCOUNTABILITY
When there are problems, DMCI does not provide support or resources even with the STP problem mentioned above, which is their accountability as they made grave mistakes in terms of design, its location and its construction. So they ought to send budget and resources to rectify their wrong and given the scale of the problem, which affects the health of residents and could not be resolved by their PMO and yet, they do not send budget or resources. How difficult would it be to construct a small one-storey building when you could manage to build bridges and subdivisions? They claim that it was a case of "wear and tear" but if their property managers are checking the buildings and ensuring quality checks are in place, the parts would've been replaced before their due time or before they were broken. Besides, putting the blame on the parts is a lousy excuse because the building itself is not fully covered or sealed. It is only partially covered by plants! So obviously the smell leaks out of the building.
INEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT
Operations Manager FB Rapiñan, his secretary Raquel Alfafara, Area Manager Peachy Fabricante and her OIC Area Manager, Jayson Lucea, along with property managers for Riverfront, Dionisio Montevirgen or DJ and Joseph Otep Carizo have been most incompetent in addressing and resolving the problems.
Very poor or no planning prior to development led to this no safety or security
perimeter between the outside bridge and the residential building. You can literally
jump inside the compound/building and the parking lot without any hassle from the bridge.
The roof in our living room caved in because of faulty plumbing in the unit directly
above us. The yucky part is that it is happening again, this time around in the
toilet and as you can see it is from the toilet upstairs! This is one example of the
very poor construction and quality of DMCI Homes.
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