Hi, looking for a building company in the Jaen area who can deal with local town hall planning permission etc. They must have all working documents and permits available to be inspected by the architect and town hall. The architect is trying to push a couple of local Spanish builders for the job. Do you think It would be in my best interest to try a couple of ex-pat builders for quotes to see if their is much difference in costs?
Thanks

It depends on what sort of project you are planning.

If it's a major one I would go with the architects recommendations as he will have worked with them before and it is his responsibility to make sure it all goes to plan.

Personally I have only used Spanish builders etc for any work required as they have been recommended to me by friends and neighbours. For your own peace of mind would you be able to talk to people about the builders recommended by the architect and if you find Brits who are builders you would need to gain an insight into their previous work.

Rosemary

Is it in an urbanización your building, then everything should be pretty straight forward? Have you looked into prefab homes too? Friends in Germany just got their house built and the standard is amazing. Will also consider it later on.

Yes it is a big project. That is why I am leaning towards taking the advice of Fred and stick with the architects recommendations and use Spanish builders . Just need to be brave and pick one.

When I built my house the architects got 5 fully detailed quotes and between us we chose one. All the quotes were from Spanish building companies.

101% pleased with the final result.

In Spain, as I believe in Italy, you get a good bit more out of an architect than just someone who draws up the plans and lets others get on with it.

They will be your liaison with the Town Hall to ensure that local and national laws are maintained before, during and after the project. They will also act as Project Managers.

If you still have any further doubts on this I am able to provide you with contact details for a Spanish guy who is a fully accredited abogado in Spain and also as an English Solicitor. He speaks very good English and comes from the Valencia area IIRC.
I am living in the Granada city area.

hth
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So not even considering Fertighaus? I was talking about something like this
House Gallery
You don't have to worry about builders messing things up. You go to the factory, pick what you want and it's so much quicker.

Yes, nice houses but once you have bought one, then you find that you won't get to planning permission to erect it!

When you go to their website you will note that they have no representatives in Spain or Southern Europe in general, so are they suitable for the climate down here?

It was just one example, but their are plenty of others in Germany that do build in Spain. Schwoerer for example have built a few in Spain
Casas - SchwörerHaus KG
Climate is no issue, as you also get 40 + in Germany and winters are a lot colder, so houses need to be far more efficient. Getting planning permission won't be more difficult and these companies often help in the process.

Thanks

You're welcome. The list of companies is huge and I think Schwoerer is good, however it always depends on budget. The good thing about this type of building is that you know what your getting, less hassle and it's becoming more popular across Europe. Here's a virtual tour through one of the villages in Germany Fertighaus Ausstellung Eigenheim & Garten | www.musterhaus-online.de | Startseite
Pretty amazing. You might have to click on link twice and then you have 18 pages with 360 view.

Can they guarantee that they would conform to the Spanish building regulations and other local requirements like being built to withstand earthquakes?

If not, they would not get a building license. They would also have to conform to the structural and other requirements to be granted the mandatory 10 years insurance.

Some companies were selling prefabricated wooden homes from Scandinavia and they eventually went out of business as no one was able to get a licence.

An acquaintance of mine built a wooden house in Sotogrande ( Snottygrande ), I believe it came from America.
He has since sold it.

Vast areas of varnished wood do not appeal to me