In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I agree with Gardahomes, the restoring costs have been originally underestimated and it looks as if the second house needs a lot of work just to get it to "al grezzo" stage. Try to get professional help to ascertain the extent of the works to be carried out and ask for several quotes before deciding.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=seang;84708]Hi there
I'm pretty new to this site, did post the below but not had any response, so think i've posted it in the wrong place.
Anyway, I bought a house in Abruzzo about 14 months ago in the village of Prata D'ansidonia. It's actually 2 houses joined but no access to each other internally.
The front house is fine, all renovated and I decorated last summer. The back is building site, roof caved in, walls need re-strenghening, floors need re-claiming, masses of rubble to clear, water+waste, gas, electric installing, outside pointing, guttering....the list goes on!!! It has the potential to be 2 double bed, kitchen, dining, living, garage and cellar, roof turning into roof+terrace and small garden.
When I bought the house the prices I was given as a guide for renovation to Al Grezzo seemed reasonable and within my budget, so I had a couple of quotes from Geometra's/Builders for full renovation and Al Grezzo. This is where I got a shock. Quotes ranging from 50,000E (Al Grezzo) to over 100,000E for full renovation.
I've contacted a number of estate agents in Abruzzo region for help, and so far had no response.
I'm trying to find several Geometra's/Builders I can ask for quotes; if anyone can point me in the right direction. ARe the above prices right and I was mis-guided completely when buying.
Luckily I have friends who are builders, carpenters, electricians in UK, and I'm pretty handy on the DIY front, so I think most of the internal works I/friends can do, just need the outside making good and the utilities getting into the house.
I even have a friend who can make the windows for me and install them (if this is allowed in Italy). He can make them to any plan/design, any wood to keep within the rules, put up internal walls, stair cases etc.
I've not spoken to many people when I was last in Italy but I seem to be getting mixed messages. Do you definitely need a Geometra's to put in all the planning permission, oversea builders, contractors, utility companies, or just a good Builder who can do everything. So far I've been told either will do, you don't need both.
Anyway, I'll stop waffling on, but if anyone can help, I would be very grateful
Thanks a lot
Sean
[IMG]http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/images/italymag/misc/progress.gif[/IMG][/quote]
Hi my name is Steef living for 4 years in Abruzzo we are restoring propertys for normaly prices so if you want to have a good quotes it is important to let us see your property first butt the distance from Pescara is also importent.
Regards Steef
Tel 00393201732631
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Hello Everyone
Thanks for the info that's great, any information is a big help as I've been struggling somewhat to find details since finding these forums.
I'm not sure how big house is exactly in measurements, but roughly
roof space turned into 2 double beds (4 metres by 4 metres, bathroom 3metres by 3 metres. Downstairs living 5 metres by 3 metres, dining 4 by 4, kitchen 3 metres by 2. Then garage and cellar underneath the whole lot
I was told for putting in a bathroom and kitchen would be around 5000 euros each including all labour, which I thought was pretty much same as England for basic installation. I've just installed a bathroom and kitchen in my house here in UK for a lot less but did all the labour myself.
Then to make the rest of the rooms good enough for decorating/tiling etc would be 2000 euros including turning lost space into 3 rooms (2 beds, living, dining, garage and cellar = 12000)
Roof terrace mixture of quotes from 15000 euros to 25000 depending what I needed/wanted.
Adding it all up incl 25000 for roof comes to 47000 euros (37000 if using lower roof quote) and all I have to do is basically paint/decorate and tile internally I was really pleased. For Al-grezzo I was quoted roughly half the price of full restoration.
Then the cost of clearing rubbish and making the walls stronger which I wasn't given any prices for that unfortunately but didn't think it would be all that high based on the above.
When I was quoted 50,000 just to make the shell good I had a bit of shock. Got another couple of quotes and pretty much the same price.
Sorry this is turning into another essay.
Steef thanks for your details. I'm not sure when I'm next coming to Italy, maybe June/July for a few days but I'll contact you before I come over, it would be good to get more quotes, but sounds like I was told the wrong prices when buying. I'm about 1 hour 15 minutes from Pescara, roughly 78KM.
Thanks again to everyone.
Sean
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Ah, that's meant to say loft/roof space not lost space. I can't type today
thanks
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Kitchen and bathroom are the two most expensive rooms per sq meter. 5000 depending on your tastes might not cover the appliances. But even going with low end cabinets etc I bet you would be hard pressed to be much below 2000 for the two rooms. Plus labour. Plus any work to fix up the rooms. So depending on the current state of the two rooms 5k could be possible or it could be wildly optimistic.
That kitchen sounds tiny. 6 sqm ?
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
what about plumbing and wiring for the whole house? was that in the original figures? Al Grezzo usually doesn't include this so it doesn't really mean you'd just have to tile and decorate. And see my comments above about DIY plumbing and electrics...
Roof: ours cost 25,000.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Electrics and plumbing were included in the prices I was given, basically everything was included in the prices for full renovation apart from tiling/painting. The Al-grezzo quotes I've been given from a Geometra was just to fix the shell of the building and roof (excluding windows and doors).
This is where the shock came as the Al-grezzo quote was was above the prices I was led to believe for full renovation. Sounds like I'm finding out I was led down the wrong path and is confirming my plans to look at selling and buying something much smaller already finished.
Cheers
Hi Sean
In my experience estate agents always underestimate costs for restoring. And it always costs more than you think it will.
As a rough guide calculate about 1000 euros per square metre for a full restoration. Obviously this figure can vary.
Out of curiosity, how big is the house that needs restoring and what was the figure the estate agent told you when you were buying?
You do need a geometra for the plans, permissions and signing off. A lot of the work you can do and oversee yourself but I wouldn't skimp on the Italian electrician and plumber as they need to sign a certificate that will enable you to get utilities. The utility companies will only fit meters and set up a new account if you have all the right certificates and signatures (even in some cases copies of the plumber's registration with the chamber of commerce, copy of passport etc).
Sorry I can't be of more help. Try contacting adriatica who is based in Abruzzo, he might be able to help.