Are you building your house by direct labour or having it build by a building contractor?
If you are engaging the services of a building contractor you will need a building contract/agreement.
This will cost in the region of €500 plus vat but it may be the smartest investment you have ever made because it will protect you in the event that there are problems or disputes with the builder as the build progresses.
Planning Search
Regardless of whether you are building by direct labour or using a building contractor you should carry out a planning search in the local planning office before commencing. Alternatively you can have a search carried out by professional law searchers.
Things to look out for include
- The zoning of your site
- The zoning of the adjoining lands as you don’t want any unpleasant surprises down the road
- Any plans for the area, for example road widening schemes, published by the council or other statutory authorities
- Any compulsory purchase orders issued
Self Build Mortgages-Stage Payment Mortgages
Self build mortgages generally involve funds being released by your lender at various stages of the build.
This ensures that you draw down funds only when you need them and avoid paying interest on the entire loan from day 1-as the build progresses you draw down the funds in tranches.
You will need to be in touch with your solicitor to facilitate each tranche payment who will have given an undertaking to the lending institution to only release funds provided the bank’s criteria for release of funds are met. This will principally involve your engineer issuing a stage payment certificate.
This certificate will indicate to the lending institution what stage the build is at and the current value of the property to date.
Once your solicitor is in receipt of the stage payment certificate he/she will then make the request to the lending institution for drawdown of the sum indicated by the engineer to bring the build to the next stage.
Our fee for the administration of the stage payments mortgage, certification of title with the lending institution and registration of the mortgage with Land Registry is competitive. Contact us now for a quotation.
Building By Direct Labour
Many houses in Ireland are being built by direct labour in circumstances where a couple may have been given a site by family.
What is set out above is only some of the issues you need to consider when going this route. You will need a solicitor to protect your interests and advise fully on all aspects of your self build.
You may feel that you are incurring needless expense and have decided to self build because it appears a cheaper option than buying a house and you have been given a site by family or in laws.
But the reality is that the money you spend on legal fees will offer you the peace of mind and help avoid problems in relation to your property in the future.