Building from Scratch
Building from scratch is a challenging, complex but ultimately hugely rewarding process that gives the potential for you to create the perfect property for your tastes and needs on the perfect land plot. This can be hard to achieve when buying existing properties. Think Slovenia have significant experience of building from scratch in Slovenia and a wide range of tried and tested specialist professionals and tradesmen, who together with our assistance can carry you through the complete process of creating your dream home - from finding the right plot right up to the point that you have the keys in your hands.
Finding the Right Plot
Land plots in Slovenia have various classifications and in the vast majority of cases building a house must be done on designated building land. Usually building land is located in / around existing settlements / roads and in / around existing or ruined buildings. Outline planning information will also tell you what size of building can be placed on a given plot and the approximate position / size of the building. We have helped various private and business investors finding plots to suit their needs and depending on the purpose of the purchase we can advise you on which areas you should concentrate your search. Please click for our current building land for sale.
The Building Permission Process
Please see our Building Permission Applications page for more information.
Choosing Architects and Surveyors
Once you have found your plot it is very important to choose the right partners. There are thousands of architects to choose from but not all of them do the same kind of job or charge the same amount for it. Local architects can be good value but often specialise in drawing more standard plans and conducting the logistical side of the building permission application process but are not so ideas / design based. At Think Slovenia we not only have relationships with a number of local architects but also Ljubljana based firms which are more ideas / design based or specialise in certain types of construction such as eco friendly builds. We also work with a number of tried and tested land / quantity surveyors around the country. Let us be of assistance in helping you find the perfect partner for your project.
Appointing Builders and Tradesmen
It is crucial to appoint the right contractors for your project. On most new builds clients look for a main contractor who can subcontract most if not all of the trades and offer a contract which is fixed at least in some ways. We have direct relationships with tried and tested building firms who can act as main contractors but also with quantity surveyors who can help create a list of works with target costs which is used as a basis to tender out works to several building companies of which the best is selected. The correct approach to selecting contractors for your project will depend on the scale of the build, timings, location and other factors.
Building Project Management
When building from scratch for many building types you must have a building supervisor who will sign off on the works - proving that the building is built according to plan, installations are of sufficient quality etc. This approval is one element of obtaining permission for use. The supervisor will also be able to offer different levels of project management assistance / supervision of technical aspects of larger projects.
Prefabricated Homes
Prefabricated homes are increasingly popular in Slovenia and abroad offering hi tech , high performance products and removing a lot of the uncertainty and mess form the building process. They also cut down on the time on the built process, with the shell of many prefabricated homes being put together in a matter of days. This said significant works will still be prepared to prepare the site / foundations etc and also to complete final works once the shell is up. Prefabricated homes also tend to be more energetically end eco friendly and the price is set before you start building so there are less hidden or unexpected costs. The downsides of prefabricated homes, there is no or very little scope for changes in the plans once these are drawn or changing layouts / internal walls later on should you need so in the future. There are a number of excellent Slovenian prefabricated home makers and as you would expect in a country of 60% forest also wooden frame and timber cabin suppliers too.
Ballpark Timings and Costs
For a single dwelling house:
Building land: Typically building land price range from 50 - 200 EUR/m2 dependent on the area/micro location. Prices riseto 1,000 EUR/m2 or more for premium city / resort locations.
Land surveying: Before you can file a building permission application you need a land surveying snapshot and formailise any borders where the new property is less than the standard allowable distance from plot boundaries. At the end of the build process a land surveyor will need to inscribe the new building in to cadaster of buildings. Total land surveying costs as above can be expected to be 1-3,000 EUR depending on requirements.
Architect: Typically 3,000 - 10,000 for initial ideal plans and then compiling building permission application. Typically putting together the application from first discussion to receiving the permission takes 6-12 months. Once permission is received you need detailed execution plans (PZI) before you can start work (plans need to be submitted in order to register the building site). Compiling all PZI plans is often higher than the cost of the building permission phase. At the end of the process the architect will need to compile and sign off on plans showing the final state which are usually very similar to PZI plans and are used to obtain final Permission for Use.
Taxes, municipal contributions & utility costs: Very difficult to estimate as varies so much from project to project depending on the location / size of building / location of utilities etc. However most projects will have costs in this area of several thousand EUR.
Construction: cca 1,000-1,500 eur / m2 including VAT for a reasonable building quality. Usually the "classic" building process form scratch will take 9 -18 months. Prefabricated homes can knock 3-6 months off the schedule.
Fitting & furnishing: Typically 10-15% of the value of the house with an average 3 month timescale for complete fit out, which can often be dovetailed with final construction phases.