Help and advice

[Kmmilner]

Hi my partner and I have found a barn that we would like to convert into a house. The barn is currently owned by my partners father, planning permission has been granted to change it into 3 dewelling. We are very new to this and need help and advice as to how to proceed next. The whole site has been valued at £270,000 with our bit at approx £100,000. As it is a family transaction there are no agents involved yet. We need to sell our current property, arrange finance for the new one, get quotes for build costs etc but dont really know where to start first. Any help and advice to get us started would be great.
Thanks

[TheDoctor4]

Hi

Have you had a chance to have a look at the DIY Projects area at all: http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects.htm especially the projects relating to Self Build.
They are presented by a company called "Self Build Self Help" and they specialise in this area and may be able to provide you with the information you need!!

Regards

[welsh brickie]

Best advice is to employ an architect to oversee the project.
The quotes you will recieve off builders will increase due to unforseen circumstances.And could be at least 40% above the origional estimate.
Employing an architect is expensive but will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Once you design the plans with him stick to it! any changes will cost you dearly,
He will also provide a schedule of works and will stick to the price you agree on.
When agreeing a contract put in a penalty clause,if its not finished in the time frame you can recoup late penalty fees.
MOST IMPORTANT do your homework when employing your architect,Check his work and recommendations,if hes good he wont mind
.Also when the plans are drawn up go through everything down to the last nail.