Quote:
Originally Posted by Ady
Good discussion guys, I am always happy to get different viewpoints. I tend to agree with preparing one's own layout as it will then include all the important aspects of your own personal living space, and then get involved with a professional who can take it forward and advise on tweaks that may improve things.
I have just drawn up my own design for a small place that should suit me (using a nifty piece of free software) and I am very pleased with the result. That was the easy bit, now I just need to find a piece of land to build it on, someone to build it, and yes even an architect, and start the whole process rolling...
Have you guys been through this already?
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we first moved to Portugal about four and a half years ago, we bought and old farmhouse to restore, we have been through the whole planning process for ourselves and for clients, so pretty much upto speed on whats involved, how long it takes, costs etc.
right now were building a new 3 bed house (that we designed ourselves) and a 2 bed cottage (also our design)
you cant beat the experiance of building your own house, it can get difficult dealing with, architects, builders, engineers, council etc. but as long as you do your homework and know what you want and dont allow yourself to be advised/bullied into building something you dont fully like or using a builder, architect, engineer that you are not fully cumfortable with then its a fun experiance. make sure you budget well and allow for some overspend, and be realistic about timeframes for planning and building.
what area are you looking in?