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Building A House
More and more people are building their dream home in Spain as it is a cheaper alternative. When building a house all the same rules of buying a house apply and more.
There are lots of rules and restrictions on land in Spain, such as the required size before you can build and green zones.
The best way again is getting a good lawyer and using a professional real estate agency.
When choosing a builder it is advised to go and have a look at properties build by them, as this gives you a good indication of how good they are and what materials they use.
Make sure you do not pay the whole amount for the house in one go as it is best to pay in parts. First the Purchase of land, then foundation, walls and roof and the finally the finished house.
An Alternative to Bricks & Mortar
Generally I would say that if you look at the magazines showing the lifestyles of the rich and famous, you would be surprised at how many live in wooden constructions and how luxurious they are!
Attention: normal Building permission is required and a qualified architect for Spain is required.
Guarantees can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. The actual construction should then have the 10-year guarantee as required in Spain.
Make sure you are dealing with a reputable manufacturer who has been in business for some time and is not "jumping on the band wagon" of the new popularity for these types of construction.
The market in Spain has not matured sufficiently to give details of appreciation in value. In America and Northern Europe resales appreciate as much, if not more than traditional buildings.
Wooden Constructions are highly popular in all regions of America where temperatures vary to extremes. The general popularity is because of the healthy lifestyle provided by a timber construction.
Wood does not absorb moisture in the same way as brick or cement and the home is damp free. Wood gives a naturally high insulation, providing cooler summers and warmer winters.
Wooden homes have extended overhangs from the roof, which provide extra shade in the summer and greater insulation when the sun is lower in the winter.
Pre-Fab Wooden Houses Do Need Building Permits
Sure, it sounds great. You have this plot of land in the country, see, which is zoned rural, or "rustico". The only hitch is that you can't get a building permit because you don't have enough land to build a house.
Depending on the municipality and on whether the land is irrigated or dry, you might need 10,000 square metres, or even 25,000 square metres to get a building permit.
So your land is useless, except for Sunday picnics, and worthless, because nobody can build on it.
Now they tell you that a prefabricated wooden house, a beautiful little cottage can be shipped to your land in pieces, assembled there, and no permits will be necessary, because you are not really "constructing".
Stop and think a minute. If you make a proper foundation for the house, you will need a building licence to do that.
You cannot connect it to the drains without a licence of "primera ocupacion". If you excavate a septic tank, this requires a permit.
Yes, you can camp on your land. In a tent for an extended period, and you can place a wheeled caravan, which probably has a chemical toilet, or a holding tank, on your land as well, and live in it during your visits.
In fact, to obtain the building permit, you will have to have a set of architect's plans and clearance from the College of Architects, which authorises building plans before they can be submitted for licences, when the houses are made of stone wood or metal and glass.
Town planners admit to a sort of grey area, in which, for example the construction of sheds for agricultural implements is permitted on rural land.
Regulations vary, but these sheds might be limited to 60 square metres, for example, and they are not to be used as dwellings. People who make such sheds are granted a permit to build but not a permit to inhabit.
If they later expand the shed, turning it into a cottage, and inhabit it, they are in violation of the law.
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