The program “Baytak Amer” (Your Home Is Prosperous), hosted by Engineer Enad Khalaf and broadcast on Al-Majd Satellite Channel, featured Engineer Muzakir bin Daghsh Al-Qahtani, who is passionate about housing issues and building a home for life—a goal shared by everyone. He has written several articles in Al-Iktisadiah newspaper, which were later compiled into a book titled *How to Build Your Home… Step by Step*. Al-Qahtani says that what motivated him to do this was a shared concern about the importance of home ownership and the engineering misinformation found in some books and references.
Your Home is Prosperous
The program’s guest explains that the idea for the national project to build and purchase homes arose from the need for ordinary citizens to gain engineering, economic, and technical awareness so they can own suitable housing, Several regulatory bodies, such as the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the Saudi Engineers Association, are behind this massive project. The project is making significant efforts to reach its target audience of citizens through training courses, workshops, campaigns, field visits, and the “Your Home is Prosperous” programs broadcast on Al-Majd TV. The project faced several obstacles in its early stages, particularly regarding how to harmonize language and standardize terminology among our partners—including engineers, media professionals, and economists—so that citizens could understand it.
Planning to Build a Home
Planning is the most important factor in building a home; if the planning is sound, the results will be excellent, because planning is the foundation of the ideal home. However, many members of society do not pay attention to the culture of planning, which begins by asking questions such as: How do we choose a home? How do we acquire a plot of land? How do we choose the appropriate and suitable design? This is because many designs have flaws that lead to defects that become apparent during the construction phase.
The project provides solutions to all these questions through its various activities and its communication channels with the public via media outlets and social media platforms. Al-Qahtani emphasized saving as a crucial factor in planning and highlighted its paramount importance in home construction. In response to a question from the program host, Engineer Enad, about the feasibility of taking out a loan to build a home for life, Al-Qahtani elaborated, explaining that if the borrower has 30- 40% of the construction cost, it’s acceptable, but saving is far preferable because a saver builds a home within their budget without straining themselves with loan repayments.
Guidelines for Sound Planning
There are many starting points for sound planning, the most important of which are identifying one’s personal strengths and weaknesses, and allocating 20% of income to savings and 10% for emergencies—this applies to individuals with responsibilities and obligations. As for young people at the beginning of their lives, savings should amount to no less than 50% of their income or salary. Next, they should pay off debts, find additional work, set priorities, and make precise calculations for a construction budget based on current market prices.
Advice from Saudi Engineers
Engineer Hamad Al-Shagawa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Council of Engineers, noted that they provide advice and guidance to individuals and groups in the engineering field as partners in raising public awareness and assisting citizens in building their homes, and emphasized the importance of designs in ensuring a successful, aesthetically pleasing, and smooth construction process.
