Once we have the land and the financial resources to build our dream house, most of us would like to know when we will be able to celebrate with an inaugural barbecue or enjoy a relaxing evening on the porch with the family.
We should distinguish between several phases: one that will depend on us as developers; another on the technicians and the construction company and a time frame, which can be more difficult to foresee, given that it’s subject to administration, paperwork and bureaucratic procedures.
FIRST PHASE: DESIGNING OUR HOUSE.
This first phase can take between 3 to 6 months depending on the type of the project, the communication between the developer and the architect, and the workload of the technical team.
The clearer the developer is and the fewer ups and downs there are in defining the project, the shorter the period invested will be, which is essential given that the licences and the budget are dependent on the project.
SECOND PHASE: LICENCES, PERMITS AND BUDGETS.
Between deciding what you want to build and the first stone being laid, it can take anywhere between 3-6 to 12 months or longer, according to the decision of the local municipality.
Although there are some urban planning areas that are less operational than others, keep in mind that since 2020 a law has been in effect that speeds up these procedures, through the Entidades Colaboradoras Urbanísticas de la Generalitat Valenciana ECUV (private entities legally authorised to collaborate in carrying out verification, inspection and control activities to ensure compliance with the regulations in the municipal urban planning area) in the Valencian Community (more information).
In many cases this law has made it possible to accelerate these deadlines despite the obstacles of some municipalities that are still reluctant to accept ECUVs.
In addition to the licence application, budgets of construction works are requested from different construction companies, which can take between 2 weeks and a month, depending on the project.
THIRD PHASE: CONSTRUCTION
Once we have the licence and have chosen the construction company, the execution of the construction work begins, which usually lasts between 12 and 15 months. Lack of precision and communication with the architects or changes in the project are the most common causes of delays in construction.
This phase, which in turn is divided into different stages, presents different time frames. The most technical stage is the first one, which consists of foundations and structures being laid.
The second one is masonry, partition walls, enclosures and installations, where it seems that the work is frozen and doesn’t progress. Finally, a third one of laying finishings, which is the one that presents the most temporary stumbling due to the changes in the promoter’s criteria and the months already elapsed.
PHASE FOUR: BUILDING WORK LEGALISATION
When the construction company has finished, the keys are handed over and another uncertain period of several months begins, during which you can live in the house, but you depend on third parties, especially town halls and utility companies, to formalise this provisional status.
First of all, the project management has to approve the end of work, a document that the developer has to present in order to obtain the certificate of occupancy and the contract for electricity, water, and other utilities.
After the financial aspect, time is the factor that worries our clients the most.
The solution is to rely on companies like personalHOME that offer the “turnkey” concept, so that the developer does not “deal with” the bureaucracy alone and has a single intermediary in the whole process. Thus, the first design phase can be reduced to one month, either because of the existing models, whose basic and execution projects are already prepared, or because of the “ad hoc” architectural service.
Likewise, we are able to optimise the time in the rest of the phases due to our experience, which leads us to be familiar with the “ins and outs” of the administration and to maintain a perfect communication with the construction company, as a result of many works already completed.
We encourage you to watch the video of our latest project, in which you can see the construction of two personalHOMEs in La Font which starts with the signing of the contract on 28th December 2020, continues with the beginning of works on 4th February 2021 and ends with the keys handover on 16th March 2022 (more information).
