Do you want to build your house and you don’t know where to start? Financing, finding the ideal land, defining the construction project, administrative procedures… it is necessary to proceed in the right order to make your project a success and to avoid wasting time. Let’s take a look at the first steps to take for your future construction.
Financing your project
The first stage of your project must be linked to its financing. It is indeed essential to go through the calculation box to take stock of your financial capacities. You need to list your financial resources (income, pension, etc.) and the amount of your daily expenses in order to know as precisely as possible the balance you have left to live on. Evaluate the amount of your personal contribution and the expenses related to your construction as a whole.
All these points will be essential for you to solicit banks and lending organizations in search of a mortgage. You need to build a solid case based on important advantages, but also clear in your wishes and expectations regarding your project. To better understand your capacities, we advise you to turn to your usual bank, which will be able to help you assess your borrowing capacity. However, nothing forces you to do business with it, but this meeting will allow you to clear your horizons by laying down certain essential bases.
You can use the services of a mortgage broker. This professional can guide and assist you in defining these amounts and in building a solid file. He will then take care of canvassing the banks for you in order to obtain your satisfaction thanks to his dense network of contacts. If some brokers are free – and in this case remunerated by the bank with which you do business – the majority are paying, but you only remunerate your mortgage broker if he manages to find you an interesting offer and to give you satisfaction. The broker can also help you take stock of the aid you can claim.
This first step allows you to identify the amount you are likely to be able to borrow to bring your project to life. You thus have a benchmark sum that will allow you to no longer progress blindly.
Find the right ground
The choice of your land is an important criterion. You now know your financial possibilities, it’s up to you to choose a land that corresponds to your budget.
The choice of land is a decisive step, because it determines the location of your house and your living environment. You must therefore take into account the location of the land in relation to amenities, schools, shops, transport and other important points according to your expectations and your needs. Also check with the town hall of your municipality to find out about the possibilities of construction around your land in order to avoid unpleasant surprises in the years to come (subdivision, building, railway line, etc.).
The choice of land is also conditioned by its orientation. The living rooms are generally open to the south and the bedrooms to the north, but it all depends on your desires. In any case, take this into account in relation to your house project to avoid having to review all of your plans. The size of the land is also essential, because it should allow you to easily set up your house and enjoy sufficient green space for your outdoor moments.
Also be sure to study all the features of the terrain. An isolated site, with an unconventional shape, too close to the neighborhood or even on a slope may require specific arrangements and lead to additional costs that must be considered. The same applies to the nature of the soil, because soil that is too hard requires an additional cost for the establishment of the foundations, like clay soil.
Finally, if the choice of land is yours, be aware that undeveloped land costs less to buy, but you will need to plan between 5,000 and 20,000 euros to develop it at your own expense.
For your field research, several possibilities are available to you. You can go through the online classifieds, but you can also get information from the town hall of your municipality, local notaries or contact real estate agencies. Be aware, however, that the latter charge their service very often very expensive compared to the work provided.
Administrative procedures
Far from being the most pleasant although it is essential, the necessary stage of the administrative procedures is long and very often perilous. We advise you to go to the town hall of your municipality and consult the documents relating to town planning and the construction of individual houses. Consult the PLU (local urban plan) in order to define the prohibitions and the constraints to which you will have to submit to build your home in the town.
Take the necessary steps to file your building permit, because the file is tedious to compile and the answer can be long to obtain.
When your site is chosen, do not wait to request the necessary connections to the site and your home. Drinking water, electricity, sanitation, telephone, gas… all these procedures are long, especially if your land is not serviced and if an extension of the network is to be expected.
The manufacturer’s choice
Now is the time to choose the professional who will be in charge of building your new home. Do not hesitate to go around the companies to get an idea of the proposals and budgets, but rely above all on word of mouth. Some professionals seem very serious and competent on paper, but the feedback from their previous clients may be of a different opinion.
Expose your desires and your budget and ask for quotes in order to compare them before committing yourself. Also make sure that the builders present you with the proof of their subscriptions to the ten-year guarantee and the insurance of perfect completion.
Avoid deciding on a whim and do not hesitate to visit other sites carried out by the builders that seduce you, in order to get a real idea of what can await you.
This choice is essential, because it is important that your builder takes your wishes into account. It is up to you to define the house of your dreams. The builder’s mission is to advise you in order to optimize the spaces and the environment (exposure, orientation, layout, etc.) and to offer you solutions when your budget does not allow you to achieve certain desired points. If you do not master the field well, prefer a builder who will offer you a turnkey project accompanied by a complete CCMI (Individual house construction contract). Professionals accustomed to working with a stable and solid team inspire more confidence than those who call on craftsmen in the sector on an ad hoc basis, sometimes without knowing them. Finally, remember to take out property damage insurance that will protect you in the event of poor workmanship on the construction site.