Guide how to build a vacation home

Guide how to build a vacation home

You want to build a vacation home and have countless doubts and questions. In this guide, we bring you the most important things that will make the process of building a vacation home easier.

1. Purchase of land for construction

The first step to building your vacation home is to buy the land you will build on. Choose a specific micro-location that is desirable for building a holiday home and ask acquaintances, friends and ultimately trusted real estate agents. When choosing a plot, we advise you to take the following steps:

• Come to the plot several times before you buy it, preferably at different times of the day.
• Go around the lot and pay attention to the access road and what surrounds your lot
• Pay attention to your neighbors if you have them and, if possible, ask about the location of the plot. Sometimes the neighbors are the biggest problem of your new vacation home.
• Check the plot in the land register and cadastre to see if everything is in order
• Be sure to check whether it is a building plot, how big an object you can build and what are all the conditions you must fulfill in order to obtain a building permit. In our opinion, this is the most important step you must take before deciding to buy.

2. Selection of an architect

We suggest that you engage an architect or a verified architectural office before the purchase process to give you the best information on what kind and size of house you can build on a potential plot. The best way to choose an architect is to review his past works and see if you like that style and design. Of course, pay attention to the reviews of former clients and ask former clients about his work, attitude towards clients, and speed of completing tasks.

Look for an architect who will perform all the necessary actions for you and who cooperates with the authorized geodetic office in order to get all the necessary information and services essential for obtaining a building permit in one place.

3. Idea project

After choosing an architect, it's time to create a conceptual project of how your future house will look. Prepare for the meeting with the architect. Prepare pictures of houses that you like and be sure to think about the number of rooms, the layout, and the location of individual rooms. Give all the information to the architect and let him do his work independently.

After the architect has made a conceptual solution, it would be preferable if he presented it to you in 3D format. That way, you will be able to best experience the house and the design itself. Take enough time to think about everything and possibly guide the architect additionally if you do not like the conceptual design or it requires corrections.

4. The main project

After you have received a conceptual project that you like, the creation of the main project begins, which includes a whole series of other projects (architectural project, mechanical project, electrical installation project, etc.). After creating the project and collecting all official approvals, the project goes for approval. That is, a request for obtaining a building permit is sent.

5. Implementation project and cost list

Most investors skip the implementation project because it is not necessary for obtaining a building permit, but it is crucial for the construction of your future vacation home. That is why we advise you to create a detailed implementation project with detailed cost estimates. Get involved as much as possible in the creation of implementation projects with all the details, proposals and suggestions in order to anticipate all possible details and costs. At the end, you will receive a cost estimate that will be the basis for collecting bids for execution. That is why it is important that the cost estimate includes all the work down to the smallest detail in order to avoid large unforeseen costs, which will certainly occur without this step.

6. Offers and selection of contractors

This is definitely the most difficult and important task that will largely determine the future of your facility, but also the part where you have to prepare for the biggest challenges and patience. Do your research on all potential contractors. Today, it is not easy to find a reliable and high-quality contractor, and if you do find one, be prepared for a higher construction price. Submit the cost estimate you received in the previous step to potential contractors. When choosing, do not immediately reach for the cheapest offer. Follow a few important rules:

• Ask about the owner of the company and the company itself. Especially with former clients. See what Google has to say about the owner and the company.
• Ask them to give you information about the houses they built and ask the owners to look at them and talk about how satisfied they are with the construction and the building even after several years.
• Choose trade rather than d.o.o. Craftsmen are liable with all their assets, while d.o.o. it is only responsible for the assets of the company, but not for the private assets of the directors.
• Pay attention to construction deadlines and agree on penalties for lateness.
• Contract a guarantee for the performed works and define it in detail in the contract and, if possible, obtain a bank guarantee or promissory note that will be security for the orderly fulfillment of the contract.
• Have a lawyer write you a construction contract and advise you on the entire contracting process

Hold meetings with all contractors before making a decision.

7. Choice of work supervision

Supervising the works is an obligation during construction, and we suggest that you be supervised by the architect who made the main and executive projects. Don't expect too much from supervision, that is, expect exactly what you agreed on. You will have to follow most of the things and details yourself.

8. Start of construction and construction process

When the work starts, it is important that you are fully involved and that you are on the construction site every day, regardless of supervision. If you can't afford to control the works every day, hire a professional, that is, a project manager. This is a person who has experience in building holiday homes and will carry out daily inspections of all works and installed materials on your property on your behalf. A professional person (not official supervision) will seem expensive and unnecessary, but as a rule, every euro you will pay is worth it, provided of course that you hire an experienced professional.

Prepare immediately for problems in construction. Missing deadlines, additional costs, unforeseen works, and changes during the works are something without which no house has been built. It is only important that you keep everything under control and that most of the deviations are objective, and not problems on the part of the contractor and his mistakes.

9. Completion of construction and obtaining a use permit

After the completion of construction and the handover of the works, it is necessary to submit an application for the issuance of a use permit. After the technical inspection by the authorized referent, and if everything is properly built in accordance with the project, you will receive an Usege Permit.

10. Renting a vacation home

After obtaining the use permit, you can submit a request to obtain a categorization for renting your vacation home. After that, all you have to do is contract cooperation with the best villa rental agency in Croatia, that is, with the Home Rent Agency. Our experts will help you prepare the villa for rent, give you all the necessary instructions and ultimately rent your facility at the best prices with excellent occupancy.