Buying a plot and building a house you designed

[marco79]

Best to consult with an architect first, you will save money.
PM me if you want a referral

I'm a civil engineer and some of my friends/collegues draw up house plans in their spare time. Thanks for the offer though.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Or better yet, a good draughtsman (sp?). They are much cheaper than architects.

As long as you don`t end up impossible roofs, underground windows, and an inaccessible garage. I`ve heard some real horror stories. I guess its ok for smaller houses.
Architects are not all that expensive.. considering some make less on a house than an estate agent.

 

[moose007]

My moms friends a draughtsman and designed and built his house himself,and did a fantastic job.

Basically becomes a fulltime job if you build it yourself though.

 

[Greggle]

According to this article existing homes are 29,5% cheaper than new homes in the current market and building an average house will cost almost R1,5-million compared with the current price of an existing house of the same size at almost R1,1-million according to Absa latest Housing Review for the third quarter of this year.

 

[undesign]

As long as you don`t end up impossible roofs, underground windows, and an inaccessible garage. I`ve heard some real horror stories. I guess its ok for smaller houses.
Architects are not all that expensive.. considering some make less on a house than an estate agent.

Completely agree. That's why I said a good one.

The recommended architect fee for the house we are planning, based on the professional fee guide was R180,000 (full service, no discount). Realistically an architect would probably have quoted in the R60,000 range. Through trusted referral I got hold of a brilliant draughtsman that did it for R8,700!

 

[marco79]

If I recall correctly the going rate some of my buddies are charging for house plans, including municipal approval is about R35 per sq.m.

 

[satanboy]

Just be prepared for lots of S T R E S S...been there, done that.

 

[KittyKathy]

Hi,

We have just had an acceptance of our offer on a piece of land. I have made a few enquiries and it seems like we won't have enough capital to just hand over the project to a building contractor. What is the most efficient and economical way to get our house built? We will be building in an estate which has certain rules that we must follow eg. the building contractor must be NHBRC registered, etc