Does anybody out there have any experience of the pro's and con's between buying a finished property, something that needs renovating or just a plot of land and building from scratch?

After a couple of recent viewing trips I seem to have leaned away from my original idea of a finished house to finding a peaceful plot of land and building something that suits. I think I would prefer central Portugal. If you have any advice it would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ady

I prefer Bulgaria as the countryside is really peaceful. My home is a brand new one and I ve bought it through bestbulgarianestates for 16000 Pounds Now some final touches are needed only

We bought a piece of land with a couple of ruined houses and some farm buildings on it, replaced and rebuilt into new house and little cottage. best way to do it is design and build, that way you get exactly what you want and at a much lower price, only problem is the time it takes to get the planning and build.

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www.gekkoportugal.com A guide to living, working and buying property in Central Portugal
www.chavetejo.com Central Portugal Registered Estate Agents AMI 7856

Thanks omostra06, I must admit that's the way I am inclined to go. Do you know where I could see a range of building plans to get more ideas?
Regards
Ady

Not sure about building plans, unless you speak with an Architect.
you can take a look at our build here.
Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

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www.gekkoportugal.com A guide to living, working and buying property in Central Portugal
www.chavetejo.com Central Portugal Registered Estate Agents AMI 7856

You should definitely get an architect to design the house for you for several reasons, but I would just name two

1 - an architect has the necessary knowledge to help you build the best house at the lowest cost
2 - an architect can help you in all phases of the process, from inception to completion

I dont tottally agree with getting an Architect to design your property, depending on how skilled you are personally at ideas, vision, design etc, then laying out the design yourself is the best thing to do, then simply get an architect to convert it into proper plans suitable to go into the planners. no one knows what you like and dont like better than you and your familly, so even after several meetings with an Architect, they still wont fully understand your taste and be successful at designing a property to suit your needs, best do it yourself. its also cheaper this way, as the Architect wont be doing lots of designs, layouts that you reject, planning your layout and design your self, you will end up with a better house. very personal to you.

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www.gekkoportugal.com A guide to living, working and buying property in Central Portugal
www.chavetejo.com Central Portugal Registered Estate Agents AMI 7856

I wonder if you have ever worked with an architect before from the beginning of a project.

Basically what your saying is the same as don't get a doctor in the beginnings of felling seek. First decide what medicine you want to take and then get a doctor to give you a prescription because you know exactly what is better for you and it will cost you less.

Let me make clear some point:

1. The fees of an architect are fixed fees, so rejected layouts are part of the work and no one is charged extra for that.
2. The fact that you haven't build a house before makes you less informed than an architect to deal with such issues as quality of space, lighting, air quality, construction cost, detailing, water proofing ....but most of all, quality of the space you gone be living for a long time.
3. Expertise in dealing with issues like permits, builders, Câmara and all the other people that is involved in a process.

Working with an architect is exactly the same as working with a doctor, lawyer or any other professional service. They will give you expert advice in what they feel is the best solution for you, now and in the long run. You have the power to decide to follow their advice / prescription / project. But most of all you have to trust in their knowledge the same way you expect that the people that use your services is expecting the best service and advice you can provide.

i have worked with architects on a few things, thats why iam saying that in my experiance its better to design a project yourself, as only you know what you want.
I didnt say dont use an architect, they will of course deal with the building regs, planning submission etc side of things, what i did say is if you have the skills, design the house your self as only you know what is best for yourself with regards to layout, space design etc, once you have your on personal design, then talk to the architect to have the whole project prepared.

I dissagree with you about architects fees being 'fixed' they are not, part of the planning and design of a property envolves a evoloution of ideas as the design takes shape, if there are changes and architect does and will charge for any changes he has to make. he may make changes in the begining for free but if there are changes during the planning period or indeed the build, he will charge more for these changes.

i dont think the fact that someone has not built a house before has anything to do with good design and layout, people live in houses they know what they like and dont like, dont get good design mixed up with the nitty gritty of drawing plans to incorporate building regs, permits, builders, Câmara, lighting, air quality, construction cost, detailing, water proofing and all the other people that is involved in a process.

what iam talking about is actual design/layout, the best people to do this is the client, if they have the skills, as i have said in the begining, this is my opinion, as an architect you will of course advice people to use your services, thats normal and there is nothing wrong with that.

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www.gekkoportugal.com A guide to living, working and buying property in Central Portugal
www.chavetejo.com Central Portugal Registered Estate Agents AMI 7856

As an architect yes I advice people to use the architect's services, not mine specifically.

"I don't think the fact that someone has not built a house before has anything to do with good design and layout"

It has. Most of the people don't like they're houses because they don't work for them the way they should. They like pret-a-porte and not tailor made. When dealing with an architect you can have an idea of a layout. We have clients that bring us plans drawn by them, but that is just a starting point. We always change the layout to something that the client wasn't expecting because we find what suits them the most, and believe it or not only an architect as the knowledge to do that.

My advice is always to present your ideas to the architect with a scrap book of what you like. This is more important than a layout. It doesn't mean that you gone have a house like a collage, but it helps a lot to understand the client and the type of house he is interested in.

Anyway, Is an healthy discussion and hopefully helpful not only to Ady but also to most of the people who intends to built is own house.