HAMADRYAD

For people who are only interested in hard facts and figures and also for putting a little backspine to this blog I thought it would be helpfull to create a page with information on different subjects I encounter with during the project. So keep an eye on this page, because it will keep on growing!

Formalities

Buying a ground and putting a house on it is not something that just happens from one day to an other… you need to follow a procedure.. here’s my attempt to put a list of all things that you have to do before getting the first stone on the ground.

1. 1. Checking the register
      Before you sign anything you have to go to the register and find out following stuff:
      - The registernumber (>”Kadasternummer” en/of “perseelnummer”) of the ground you want to buy. This might be different from the ones the owners gave you, because it changes all the time.. so it’s important to be able to point out the ground on a map
      - The terms and conditions of the building regulations (>”Bouwvoorschriften”)
      - Ask for a copy of all the plans they have in different scales, you might have to go to a different department or even to a different city (ask them!)
      - Ask them whether there are ANY fines on the ground or on buildings/structures standing on the ground (this is very important, because when you buy the ground you automatically take over al fines!)
   2. Making first contact with the bank
      When you agreed a price with the owners you can go to the bank to ask them what a loan will cost you… Remember we are dealing with recreationground! This means not many banks are willing to give you a mortgage (>”Hypotheeklening”)! I got one at “Het landbouwkrediet” this was the only bank willing to give me one!
      Also ask them about extra costs that are involved when you get your loan… normally you’ll have to pay the notarian aswell as some costs for the mortgage.
      Take into account that you’ll approximately have to pay about 6 to 10% costs involved with paperworks by the notarian and the bank.
   3. Closing a deal with the owners of the ground
      You first have to make an official “selling deal”. Actually this is no more than a piece of paper that includes your contact information and that of the owners. It has to state that you are buying their ground and at what price. It also has to include a description of the ground and if there are buildings and structures on it, whether they are included in the selling deal or not.
   4. Getting yourself a notarian
      You are obliged to get a notarian and it’s better if the owners get one too.. This way both of you are represented and the notarians can do their job. You don’t pay more for 2 notarians… they just devide the summ…
      It’s better to ask the notarian how long it’s going to take… some take 2 months others take 4 months… There is also a legal maximum of time they can spend… Normally that’s 4 months.
   5. Getting yourself an architect
      If you are planning to build a house on the ground, you have to have an architect (at least when the building is bigger than 30m²)
      When you design your own house it’s not very diffult to get an architect who wants to put his signature underneath it. But I also wanted an architect who is interested in the project and who is willing to share some ideas. So don’t take just any architect.
      He can also give you a better idea of the prices that are involved with the building.
      You can get an architect going for about 2500 euro’s if it’s just about a loghouse or chalet. You’ll need about 700 more for the isolation inspector (yeah…. that’s a new one since this year!)
   6. Returning to the bank
      At this moment you can make a deal with the bank. You can wait a little for the rent to come down, but don’t wait too long, because the procedure at the bank takes at least 2 months and probably 3 to 4… but you can speed it up a little if you tell them it’s really urgent…
      You’ll need a copy of the selling agreement and all information of both yourself and the owners of the ground. You’ll also need to proove that building on the ground is allowed… so bring your paper with the terms and buildingconditions with you.
   7. Wainting for the notarians…
      When they are ready with all the paperwork. you can make an apointment with both notarians and the owners of the ground. This is the glorious moment when you sign the offical contract! It is also the moment to adjust the contract a little… you might want to put in a clause about the fine and that the owners are responsible for fine that rested on the ground before you agreed to buy it.
   8. Waiting for the bank
      When the bank has done all the paperwork , you can get your money by signing the mortgage and showing them the notarian deed. You’ll also have to proove the costs you make if the loan also includes the house.
   9. Paying the bills
      

That’s about it… but that’s all I know for now…I’m at stage 8 for the moment..

Costs

Well… this is the most common problem for people these days…

Houses and grounds have become very expensive …

And you might think building on a recreation zone is cheap! Well… it’s true… but it doesn’t come for free…

What are the costs? (again.. this is a temporary view on things.. in time I might discover other costs…)

- Buying the recreationground: a normal price is about 60 euro/m², My ground is 2 500 m² and I bought it for about 60 000 Euro (wich is very cheap actually!)

- Notarian deed: You’ll have to pay the notarian for the work he’s done… you can count about 10% of the groundcosts for his costs at the time being… that would be 6 000 Euro’s in my case. By now I allready payed the notarian and I can give you the exact amount of money I needed to pay: 8. 174 Euro. This includes 8. 054 Euro for the notarian and 120 Euro Ground taxes (< ‘Grondlasten’) for the first year. So it was a little bit more than expected…

- Architect: When you’re building more than 30 m² you’re oblidged to  take an architect! Depending on what you’ll build he’ll ask a certain amount of money.. for a chalet he’ll agree on about 2500 Euro…

I agreed on 3 000 Euro’s with my architect to design the ow-impact house. But I also agreed that i’ll be doing allot myself. As I’m an engineer and I also did two years of architecture I can have a good input. (I’m asking around for the plans at the register, helping to designing the main structure, thinking of technical sollution and making a 3d-Model). This way  my architect agreed to help me out for a reasonable fee.

- Insulation inspector: This is a new one… You’ll have to pay a man who will check your insulation and ventillation… it’s new since this year… he’ll cost you about 700 Euro’s.

- My first plan was to buy a loghouse at Rhino Loghouses

They are really cheap… I would have payed about 30 000 Euro’s  for the loghouse… but than it’s not including everything…

- Roofcover: 850 Euro

- Roof insulation: 1066 Euro

- Floor insulation: 560 Euro

- wall -innercover: 2700 EURo

- Impregnate:1150 Euro

- Reïnforcement for green roof: 1000 Euro

- Plumbing : 300 Euro

- Fundaments: 2000 Euro

- Digging Well: 1000 Euro

- Powersource: 1000 Euro

So in case I would have builed a loghouse, it would have cost me about 49 000 Euro’s without the ground and 109 000 Euro’s with the ground. Which would be the same price of a VERY small house in the city.

Because I changed plan I had to make a new estimation. So this is what I plan to pay to build a Low-Impact house:

- Fundaments: 2 500 Euro

- Wooden skeleton with roof-structure: 18 000 Euro’s

- Roof covering: 1 000 Euro

- Roof Insulation: 1 500 Euro

- Strawbales: 500 Euro

- Loam: 2 000 Euro

- Lime: 3 000 Euro (I haven’t checked this!)

- Windows: For free (using glass I could find somewhere)

- Door: For free (one is made from the same glass as the windows, the other I’ll make myself)

- Electricity: 2 000 Euro (I’ll install this temporarily. I hope to live without electricity in three years)

- Digging well: 1 500 Euro

- Plumbing: 500 Euro

So this is allot cheaper than building a loghouse, but it is a hell of a lot more work!

Sub Total 1: 32 500 Euro

But there is more to take into account:

Formailities and services:

- Architect: 3000 Euro

- Insulation Inspector: 700 Euro

- Notarian: 8 000 Euro

Sub Total 2: 11 700 Euro

Total = 44 200 Euro

Offcourse you’ll have to buy tools … but most of them are usefull aftwerwards, so I’m not taking them into account for this calculation.

<To be continued>