Direct Labour - House Build over a few years - Investment

Hi People

I am thinking of buying a site in Louth where i am from. I currently work in Dublin and earn between 90K - 120K a year. I am thinking of buying a site and building my house over a 5-6 year period for Cash (Direct Labour) and maybe have a small mortgage at the end of it.

When i receive planning do you have a certain timeframe to build you house ?

I have an apartment in Dublin, would i be beter off just buying another apartment and renting it out.

Thanks
LM

Generally planning permission last for 5 years from date of final grant. So any building must be "substantially" complete before the five years elapse, "substanially" complete generally implies that the structure must be roofed and finished externally, doors, windows etc.

Carpenter - Thanks for your reply. Looking at 2700 Sq Feet - Direct - Stone finish - Good Materials - What price to finish so i can move in, would you reckon ?

Don't know, would you finish it out in its entirety for €200k? Plus a lot of footwork on your part.......

200K would be my Budget for 2700 SQ Feet not including Site cost and they are up around 120K - 150K per site in South Louth. Maybe someone with experience in this area can comment.

How's it going LouthMan.

If you buy a site without planning you have 5 years as Carpenter said where the permission is valid from the time it is granted. Generally, before the planning consent is out of date, you need to have the project completed to the foundation/dpc stage to satisfy the local planning department. In some areas it could even be accepted with basic groundworks completed and trenches dug.
If a site already has a planning consent either outline or full in place, then you are already on a timeline and you need to be sure there is enough time remaining for you to submit your design if you want to apply for changes, wait for approval, find a builder and then get started.
If a site has outline planning permission, then you have to apply for full planning within 3 years of the date of issue. If you get full planning permission granted, then you do not get a further 5 years, but the 5 year term starts from the original outline permission granted date.

Build costs always have the piece of string analogy.
There are many many factors affecting the costing process. Site conditions, house design (4 walls or complex design), construction method, external finishes, internal finishes, windows, heating systems and on and on ...

If you are really looking for a finger in the air type approach then ring an architect or civil engineer in your area and ask what the current build cost per square foot is. These figures tend to reflect the lower to middle spec standard as applied by a general contractor, but it will give you a rough figure to work with. For direct labour knock off 25% to get an idea of what you could be looking at.
But any number of things could throw these estimates out. As soon as you start spec'ing luxury finishes in bathrooms, kitchens and floors, large amounts of glazing, high end electrical specs, slate and stone on your roof and walls etc, then your cost per sq ft starts to go up rapidly.

Another rough guide is the old one third/two thirds site value/construction costs. This is obviously just a real finger in the air approach.

If you are planning to build over 5 or 6 years, be careful to factor in labour and material cost rises into your budget.

Hope this helps.

AndyH
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Thanks AndyH -

AndyH - I looked at your site - Looks well - Do you have an example of a project plan and what i need to cost for each stage by any chance ?

Louthman,
we are working on a couple of things along the lines of a project plan and cost guides at the moment. Should be publishing something in the coming weeks.

AndyH
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another factor worth considering IMO is the insurance aspect, i am in the process of building by direct labour and the peace of mind knowing that i have a self build policy ( Hibernian, though there are other providers) is worth its weight in gold. Most policies are for either 2 years or 18 months, they can be extended for a short period, but if you are going to take 5-6 years best to advise insurers from the begining.

Also I priced around (wexford) about 5 years ago and the increase in labour costs over 5 years is huge, eg the cost of a plasterer has almost doubled ( supply and demand).

Not sure how things are in Louth but in the seaside village i'm building near if a building is left half built for a long period of time there is usually problems with rubbish being dumped and general vandalism ( sorry to generalise but it usually Dubs on holiday)
Good Luck !

Re insurance, I received a quote from Wrights for 2700 sq ft. building it was 3000euro, would this quote be similar to yours for self build insurance

LouthMan - Do you know any good blocklayers in the Louth area..?

Builder- the insurance premium is rated by location, size and reinstament cost so each csae is individualn ( my house is smaller). Wrights are a broker and the policy is undrwriten by St. Paul, both they and Hibernian are strong insurers. I would get a quote from both and compare, think Wrights is for 18 months and Hib for 2 years.