There are many people who have aspired to design their own house, and make it a reality. Based on our first-hand experience and what we have previously discussed in our blog “How much does it cost to build a single-family home?” we would like to share with you the 5 most common problems faced by a non-professional developer who has decided to build their own home. Since our aim is always to meet our client’s needs, in addition to the problems we will also figure out how to sort out these difficulties.
These problems revolve around 4 basic pillars: money, time, bureaucracy and the lack of technical knowledge that usually we as ordinary citizens tend to encounter. Many times, these lead us to make wrong decisions.
These are the 5 most common difficulties in the development of a construction project:
Budget increases
An increased budget. As to the myth about builders’ lack of transparency, there are a series of expenses that are not taken into account when thinking about the budget for your future home and which are not related to the construction itself. Expenses related to your home legislation such as notary, registry, Stamp Duty (AJD), valuations, or those derived from technical studies, such as topographical or geotechnical studies, without forgetting taxes, licences and insurance. All of these represent a significant percentage, which explains the importance of the closed price concept, that considers these costs.
When will I be able to enjoy my home?
Another highly controversial aspect of this process is time and the lack of accuracy when it comes to giving an answer to the question: when will I be able to move into and start enjoying my house? When undertaking the construction of a house we must distinguish the following phases:
- The technical project, its design and development which can take longer than expected due to whims or the developer’s lack of ideas. As well as the application for permits, licences and pre-construction work, which varies depending on the local councils and construction companies.
- The construction itself, which, based on the design, the land and the building company, can last between 12 and 20 months
- And finally, the final stage of construction, which is again closely linked to the authorities, the supply companies and the building company’s after-sales service. The fact that there is only a single representative speeds up deadlines, not only by controlling administrative procedures but also by improving the client’s communication with the different agents required to build a home.
Licenses
It is easy to “drown” in the endless paperwork of licences, taxes, permits, insurance and a wide range of other factors that hinder the entire construction process. An experience of dealing with the administration and the water, electricity, gas and telecommunications companies facilitate this arduous task, capable of unsettling any well intentioned person who wants to comply (as they should) with the legal precepts and the Spanish bureaucracy.
Advice
Not all of us have the spatial vision to recognise whether a 20 square metre living room meets the needs for a wide-open space in our ideal house or whether the 80 cm window provides sufficient light or not in our main bedroom. If we add to that the lack of technical knowledge, it is very easy that when the house is finished we experience certain disappointments that we could have avoided with tools such as the home configurator or advice from professionals throughout the process with more than extensive experience.
Closed price
Finally, and as in any other sector, fashions and recommendations from our environment can also guide us towards such subjective decisions that differ from what we really need or want and that, just like the lack of spatial vision or technical knowledge, can lead to disappointment once the construction is finished and there is no possibility of making amendments.
Once again, the technical, professional and objective assistance of a company will be crucial to the success of your project and will guide you through the whole process. As you have seen repeatedly throughout the post, these problems can be minimised thanks to the turnkey concept and closed price, where from the beginning the clients know the price, the design and the deadline, counting on a single interlocutor to build the house of their dreams.
Would you like to check it out? Visit our projects section where there already are many clients who placed their trust in personalHOME.
