posted on 23 January 2006 10:49
by
Forum Admin
In the beginning...
SUMMER 2005.
We didn't want to move away from the town we are currently living near because the children have settled so well at school and we love the area and the people. But could we find a house within our budget that wouldn't then need an enormous amount spending on it? Not a chance I'm afraid! Bought some land instead.
We looked at three building companies and settled on the last one we visited. They were as friendly as the previous two but overall they seemed more professional and better organised (we shall see). We had a look at the standard house plans until we found one that covered all that we required and they gave us the standard price for this property. Before they would give us any additional costs they wanted to have someone look at the land and ascertain where the services were in relation to the property and how much would need to be dug out for the foundations. A week later they came back to us having drawn up the initial plans and gave us a price. We then made some changes to the original plan (no fuss here, very helpful) and were given a revised price. Once we had agreed the plans - they dealt with all the planning application paperwork (thank goodness) only problem here was a document missing from the application which was quickly sent off and consent came through two weeks later.
Having received our planning permission we had another meeting to discuss the internal details. We changed the plans again (no fuss). Also added another Velux window (they will deal with additional planning consent). Meanwhile, work due to start (groundworks) within the next fifteen days.
We will keep you posted, warts and all...........................................
NB Our French is improving and we can understand a great deal of what is going on but, even so, we have employed the services of a translator (very reasonable) and well worth it for the peace of mind.