building own home in Cyprus

[donjee]

Hi everyone.

firstly can I just say how helpful everyone on here seems to be. I have been reading threads on here for a while now and so many of my own questions have been answered and addressed; this is a brilliant site.

My actual question is regarding building own home in Cyprus. We are quite fortunate to have inherrited some beautiful land in Cyprus and we really want to go down the route of building our own home on it. I have researched quite a bit and have lots of pages related to this saved in my favourites section but wondered if anyone here had done the same and if so any advice they would give.

I have read that you need to allow approximately £500 GBP per sqm of build, did you find that to be so? I have also read that a concrete (traditional Cyprus build) takes approximately 18 months to 2 years - is this correct?

I have found a timber frame company and wondered if anyone knew anything about this as an option - apparently this is cheaper and quicker. Can it withstand elements etc?

Anyone give me an idea of how much achitects cost/ good ones to use etc?

Any ideas/opions would be really gratefully received.

Thanking you all in advance.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by donjee

Hi everyone.

firstly can I just say how helpful everyone on here seems to be. I have been reading threads on here for a while now and so many of my own questions have been answered and addressed; this is a brilliant site.

My actual question is regarding building own home in Cyprus. We are quite fortunate to have inherrited some beautiful land in Cyprus and we really want to go down the route of building our own home on it. I have researched quite a bit and have lots of pages related to this saved in my favourites section but wondered if anyone here had done the same and if so any advice they would give.

I have read that you need to allow approximately £500 GBP per sqm of build, did you find that to be so? I have also read that a concrete (traditional Cyprus build) takes approximately 18 months to 2 years - is this correct?

I have found a timber frame company and wondered if anyone knew anything about this as an option - apparently this is cheaper and quicker. Can it withstand elements etc?

Anyone give me an idea of how much achitects cost/ good ones to use etc?

Any ideas/opions would be really gratefully received.

Thanking you all in advance.

Hi , Welcome to the forum.

The approximate cost of a standard build is 1,000euros per square metre. Timber frames don't work out much cheaper.
You need to make sure you find a reliable builder as having a place built here is very stressful.
I know of Cypriots who had their homes built and say never again so if they find it stressful imagine how stressful it will be for Brits.
However as long as you are prepared for up and downs anhd you use a good builder, if you have a nice plot of land it would be cost effective way of getting a nice home.
Things you will need to check out though.
Is there access from a public road to it? If not you will have to get access maybe over a negihbours land and that can take time and expense. If you do not have access you will not permission to build.
How far is the nearest electricty away? That can be expensive if it not close.
How far is water away?
There is a lot to take into account.
I wish you luck.

Regards Veronica

[kimonas]

Getting the permission (liscence) to build is the biggest hurdle - it will take losts of shouting and persuation to get plans through the planning system here. It took my wife the best part of a year to achieve preliminary planning permission (and she is a feisty Cypriot who knows the lingo and the right people to shout at). We have had some experience of house building over here - it is very stressful. My advice would be to investigate Cypriot construction companies very thoroughly. Our experience is that they work extremely slowly and the standards are decidedly average unless you shout at them constantly to get things done properly. Our next build is going to be with a Bulgarian company whose work seems very professional and the standards are high.

Concrete is very messy and the environmental impact is massive - it is also expensive to heat and keep cool as they simply absorb the heat during the day and release it at night. Although not much cheaper, composite buildings - steel box frame with timber frame roof and internal structure, resin impregnated chipboard, plasterboard, foil lined and external plaster or stone skimmed buildings are much easier to keep cool and cost hardly anything to heat in the winter (whereas concrete builds simply turn into cool boxes in the winter and cost a fortune to keep warm). There is a wide variety of quality with such build companies with the worst charging a small fortune for a very shoddy chipboard house, and the best charging the same for very well constructed environmentally friendly buildings that look and feel very good. The eastern European (and German) companies are offereing the better deals and the best experience when it comes to excellence of craftsmanship and quality of build.

As Veronica has mentioned it is the hidden costs that often catch people out, it will cost a couple of thousand euros to have the land properly surveyed (a necessary part of getting building permission) and perhaps some legal fees to resolve boundary issues with neighbours - and then there will be quite a lot of conditions based on the permission - like commitment to build walls and pavements around the property. You will also have to ensure there are readily availbale services - water, electricity etc. Almost certainly you'll have to opt for a sceptic tank as if the land is even slightly off the beaten track there will not be any facility nearby for sewerage. Getting these things sorted early is essential as the building companies often use the lack of basic services (like water hoses etc) on site as an excuse not to continue building later.

Getting hold of a decent architect is a bit of a problem, we wasted lots of time and a considerable amount of money for plans that would never have got off the ground because of local conservation issues that the architect should have known about but was too proud to enquire about. We abandoned the project in the end. Another architect had to redraw plans with the correct pitched roof (most planning authorities require a very shallow pitch in rural areas) and had the cheek to ask for a second fee for the re-drawn plans - he backed down eventually - but you have to be wary of dodgey practices like this. An architect will normally want to be invovled as a project manager - plans and architect fees on a medioum to large project will likely cost anything from 5-10k euros.

Local construction companies often take their time in building - I've friends who have been building for well over 5 years! The design and build companies using composite materials can design and build your house in under six months. The down side is that you have to pay the accommodation/food of the build team and their airfare- plus the cost of transporting the materials in containers to your site. Variation clauses however are built into the contract (something that is pretty alien to Cypriot construction companies) so it is in their interest to get the job done as effieciently as possible. There are some German companies that will put your house up in two weeks - but they are extremely expensive!) I would recommend budgeting for 1000-1500 euros per square metre (depending on your tastes).

It may also be worth bearing in mind that normally a self-build in Cyprus is not really much of an investment in that it will be difficult to sell it on. People here build to live in the houses rather than sell them later - if you're in the great position to have a beautiful plot to build on and it would be possible to build your dream home there - go for it, but don't view it as a long term investment. Chances are you'll not be able to sell it on without a loss (unless a developer has their eye on the plot for further builds).

Self-build is stressful, but if you do your homework and don't expect it to be hassle free, it can also be a very rewarding experience if you end up with the house of your dreams...

Good luck!

[donjee]

thank you both so much for your time and trouble in responding to my post. Kimonas, you clearly have alot of experience in this field and your advice has been really useful. Given that we may not be able to fund being in Cyprus while building can see from your experience that this could lead to major problems. I clearly have alot to think about.

Our plot is beautiful and is within close proximity to other houses built on neibouring plots and a main road on two sides of the plot. I know that the man who has the land imediately adjoining ours needed our permission to make an access road through our plot to his own plot in order to build his home there but my mother in law turned him down many years ago. This would need some investigating.

I like the idea of an eco friendly house and Im grateful for your suggestions - the thought of waiting 5 years for a completion is a little scary!!

I hope you dont mind me coming back to you with other questions at a later stage.

Kind Regards.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by donjee

thank you both so much for your time and trouble in responding to my post. Kimonas, you clearly have alot of experience in this field and your advice has been really useful. Given that we may not be able to fund being in Cyprus while building can see from your experience that this could lead to major problems. I clearly have alot to think about.

Our plot is beautiful and is within close proximity to other houses built on neibouring plots and a main road on two sides of the plot. I know that the man who has the land imediately adjoining ours needed our permission to make an access road through our plot to his own plot in order to build his home there but my mother in law turned him down many years ago. This would need some investigating.

I like the idea of an eco friendly house and Im grateful for your suggestions - the thought of waiting 5 years for a completion is a little scary!!

I hope you dont mind me coming back to you with other questions at a later stage.

Kind Regards.

The average length of time to build an individual house including time to get planning permission etc is about 2 years. You would have to be extremely unlucky in your choice of builder for it to take 5 years.
Whereabouts on the island is your land?

Veroncia

[donjee]

its in Larnaca.

It used to be called (and do forgive my poor phonetic spelling of its name) Panayia dou Ambelliou. I think it is now called something like Panayia dou Medusa?

Its right in front of gorgeous little church.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by donjee

its in Larnaca.

It used to be called (and do forgive my poor phonetic spelling of its name) Panayia dou Ambelliou. I think it is now called something like Panayia dou Medusa?

Its right in front of gorgeous little church.

It sounds lovely.
Make sure you get recommendations from people you trust and make certain you see some finished work of whichever builder you decide on.
It is also very important to get firm quotations with everything in the contract.
It is not uncommon for builders to conviently miss vital things which were agreed so you must have everything in writing.

Veronica

[donjee]

thank you for your advice