Having an eye on a plot, now what?

You want your own dream home and you are having an eye on a plot, now what do you do? You’ve been dreaming of a home designed entirely for you for a while now. A perfect symbiosis where you can live your best life. A place where you experience the peace and strength to be completely yourself. After looking around Funda for a long time, you’ve finally found the ideal place to have that dream home built. Now what? What are the next steps?

Having an eye on a plot: the building rules

On every site, there are rules governing building. What and how can be built. Most of those rules are in the zoning plan. Zoning plans can be viewed online for each location. These rules in themselves are understandable to everyone. However, there is a certain amount of interpretation in them to really get a sharp picture of what can and cannot be done.

Take an architect with you to the lot

If you’re lucky, the selling real estate agent will know about this in outline. To really know if you can realize your dream home, it is wise to bring an architect with you. Find an architect who is willing to go with you to the lot you have your eye on. It is his/her job to interpret the building codes correctly. And to use those frameworks to test whether your housing needs are possible on this lot. A good architect can help you in the follow-up process with a design that exceeds your expectations.

Construction cost indication

Important at this stage is to know what your budget is. You have probably already listed what you can and want to spend. For the construction costs of a detached house, keep in mind €850 per m3. Is your dream home realizable on this lot with what you can/want to spend? Then you can make an offer. If the seller accepts your offer and you both sign the contract of sale, the plot is yours/yours.

Surveying your housing needs

That is when you discuss your wishes with the architect in more detail. The architect guides you through a conversation in making your living wishes concrete. The architect and possibly you yourself will come up with sample projects to determine the atmosphere, what spaces you want in your home and where they should be located. As a result of that session, there will be a program of requirements. That is the basis of the design.

Sketch design from your architect

The architect will get to work and after a few weeks will come up with a sketch design, possibly with some variants. In the sketch design you will see the outline of the house, a principle layout and suggestions for materials. The architect will discuss this sketch design with you/you and you can give your feedback on it.
With that feedback, the architect can make adjustments and further develop the design into a preliminary design. Unlike the name suggests, a preliminary design is already quite far developed.

Next steps in the construction process

The architect also discusses the preliminary design with you. If you are satisfied and agree with the final version, the next phase begins. The design is then worked out into a final design. Based on this, an environmental permit can be applied for. That procedure takes about 12 weeks. They will also prepare the design for tendering. That is, a few contractors will be selected to make a bid with construction schedule for the work. You can then work with the architect to select a contractor to do the work.

Implementation and delivery

If you wish, you can hire the architect to check on your behalf during construction to make sure everything is going as agreed. Once the contractor has completed the work, your house will be completed. Congratulations, you had your eye on a lot for your dream home, now it’s a reality! At Stilst, we can guide you through the process. Do you have your eye on a lot? Or do you already have clear housing needs but no plot yet? Let us know and we will be happy to help you! Send us a message or contact us on LinkedIn.