Hi,
I was hoping someone would be able to give me some advice as my husband and I are hopelessly confused!
We've put a holding deposit down on our dream house which we've subsequently found out is a protected structure. The house needs complete renovation, it's a late 1800s structure and has no central heating etc, needs damp proofing, it also has no bathrooms upstairs and the bathroom and toilet downstairs need to be knocked through and removed so that we can put in a kitchen.
We are on a very tight budget and bought the house on the understanding that we wouldn't need an architect for this, we had our friend who's an established builder come round and he gave us a 50-70K budget to do the whole job, and 70K is the maximum we can afford.
Now that we've found out it's a protected structure we obviously have to get planning permission and it looks like we need an architect as well - is this correct? We don't need any design advice as we know exactly what we want to do, we just need someone to draw up plans for us as the house is and then tender plans for how we want the house to be - I'm presuming these are then the same plans that can be sent with the planning application.
We keep on getting quotes for around the 4/5K mark from architects etc or architect and structural engineer teams to draw up plans to give to the council and submit the application etc which basically takes the project out of our budget and means we might have to walk away which would be heartbreaking.
So my questions are:
[*]Do we have to have an architect involved for a planning application for a protected structure?
[*]Can we just get an engineer to draw up plans for us and then submit the planning application ourselves? Would this be cheaper?
[*]All we need is someone to draw up plans for the house as is and plans for the house as we want it (with no input from them), I feel like this shouldn't cost very much but maybe I'm wrong? Does anyone have an idea of how much it should cost for someone to do this?
[*]Will the council refuse the application for a protected structure if it's just the homeowner submitting it?
Sorry for the very long email! We're getting completely muddled by all the different things everyone is telling us! Maybe we're in over our heads.
Thanks for any advice.
You don't mention the size but even a tiny 1800s protected house will swallow your 70k budget in a heartbeat!
I bought a 1938 semi in Dublin last Oct that I've completely renovated and extended - final bill will hit 160k....
Unless you are prepared to draw the works out over time (build as you earn) or have family/friends in the building trade who can do you great deals - I'd walk away now.
Will the conservation dept insist that an architect oversees it?
Wrote a big long reply and it just deleted itself - aaaargh!
ONQ: You say "I'd have expected you to pay at least ten grand in fees even if the work only comes in at €100,000."
What do you mean by this? Fees for what exactly? If we agree a fee beforehand for drawing up the plans and I am overseeing the project, what are the fees for?
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