Who is this service for?
If you’ve found your Galician property and it needs restoration, updating or modification or if you’ve found a building plot and want to construct a property you now face the challenge of making sure the building comes out as you want.
If you are able to be on site regularly and/or are doing much of the work yourself then you should be able to control this.
If, however, you can’t visit the site regularly and/or can’t communicate adequately (either due to lack of Spanish or lack of knowledge about construction) with the architect and builders doing the work then, unfortunately, the chances are that you’re going to end up with something that falls short of what you expected and costs more than you wanted.
Galiciaproperty’s plan and manage service can help avoid this.
What does this service provide?
In order for building work to come out as planned the following needs to be in place:
1) A clear design made for the works which:
a) has forseen and solved at least the major technical issues that will come up during the build
b) complies with the relevant planning restrictions and building regulations
c) is realistically achievable with the available materials and builders
d) is comprehensively detailed (all electrics, all plumbing, all tiling plans based on actual tile choices, exact specifications for window frames, fittings and any stonework, etc.)
e) has been realistically costed to come within the available budget with some contingency available
2)The relevant professionals engaged to attain all necessary building permissions – this will typically be a Galician registered architect and/or architectural technician (note that whereas in the UK plans can be produced by anyone technically capable in Spain you need the official stamp of the relevant registered professional) as well as a Spanish registered electrician and gas fitter (if applicable) to get services connections and the occupation license.
3) Competent and reliable builders engaged to carry out the works.
4) Perhaps most importantly, if you can’t be there yourself you need someone you trust and can communicate without language barriers with.
This representative needs to be regularly engaged with all of the above people, have a clear understanding of exactly what you want and to communicate with you (in person or, if you live elsewhere, by skype/phone with photos and email reports) as and when needed to ensure that your design for the property is not compromised and to keep you informed about progress and issues.
From the above, galiciaproperty’s plan and manage service can directly provide items 1) and 4), and can arrange items 2) and 3).
If you want less than this, for example a plan (2D or 3D) drawn in CAD or just some general consultancy then please contact us with your requirements and we’ll normally be able to help.
What does it cost?
This service is priced using a completely transparent, low cost pricing formula:
- Payment is in advance on a top-up basis (using Paypal).
Taking payment this way means that we don’t have to spend time and money chasing debts and nor do we have to pass on the cost of non-payers to other clients. - Travelling time is factored in separately.
Travelling time and car running costs are significant factors in many builds and restorations. Rather than hide these costs inside a higher hourly rate, we prefer to itemise them separately. Likely travelling costs for your project will be agreed with you right at the start.
And the actual prices:
- £12 per hour for all time spent on your project including all correspondence and any driving time.
- £0.25 per kilometre for all driving (agreed in advance) related to your project plus the cost of road tolls.
- Phone calls as requested and any other costs incurred, at cost.
Why we partner with local professionals
Although our Galican representative David is a UK qualified architectural technologist he is not currently registered to be able to apply for building permissions in Galicia. In any case he prefers to partner with local professionals on the basis that he doesn’t have full knowledge of the plethora of local planning restrictions nor the personal contacts within the administration that make things happen more smoothly in Spain.
You, as the client, don’t pay more for architectural services for your build, instead you get a team with David doing certain elements (communication, design, CAD drawings), Galician professionals that we work with obtaining the necessary permissions, and the overall total cost less than or equalling what a Galician architect would charge for doing all of these elements themselves.
It is valid to pose the question “wouldn’t it be better just to get a Galician architect to do everything?” ….to which, even if we didn’t have a vested interest, we would answer an emphatic “no”!
It’s vital that you can communicate clearly and regularly with whoever is managing your build and it’s essential that they fully understand the design and your requirements when dealing with the aesthetic decisions and minutiae that come up during a build.
Addtionally, having seen a lot of new build Galician property, we feel that we understand and can design more north European concepts such as light distribution and open plan living a lot better than many Galician architects seem to be able to.
Finally, the design and management aspect of building and restoration is David’s real passion and we are motivated to do the best value, most thorough job we can for every client in order to build our reputation in this area.
Contact us about this service
To contact us about our restoration/build plan & manage service please use the form below: