Building the Dream

TRAVEL | BARBADOS | REAL ESTATE

How we finally got our Barbados home

In the last installment, we’d settled on our dream home design, and were almost ready to start building. The next step was to get modified drawings and secure planning permission.

First we had to finalize what our version of the design would look like. There weren’t any already constructed, but our architect was able to send over plans of a modified design she’d done for a client. Our person on the ground — my mum — met with her regularly to keep things ticking along, handing over money from the local bank account we’d set up for the mortgage.

Meanwhile emails were flying back and forth as the final design took shape. We had to consider:

• adding a granny flat, as my mum would be living with us

• home offices since once we moved we’d both be working from home

• fitting in the appliances we needed

• adding 240V sockets for our UK appliances so we didn’t have to replace them all (Barbados typically runs on 110v)

• finishes like light switches and lamp shades

Then it was time to submit the plans to Town Planning and wait for approval. Planning permission had been known to come through in a month, but three months was a more realistic estimate. While I can no longer remember the exact date of submission, I do know that we got planning permission five months after starting our discussions about the final home design. The next step: get the darned thing built, but even that would end up taking longer than we thought.

Part of the reason is that a self-build has a LOT of moving parts. We’d needed to get approved plans before we could finalize our mortgage. And to do that, we had to raise some more cash in the UK, most likely by selling and moving again to free up some equity. Though homes were still selling quickly, it would still take a couple of months to raise our 10% deposit for the contractor.

So, despite getting planning permission in May, we were unlikely to start construction till September. Even that turned out to be a pipe dream, because bureaucracy was working against us, and we couldn’t get our bank to finalize the last part of our mortgage (it was approved in principal, but needed a couple more signatures).

That meant another trip to the island — this time for a month — to camp out on their doorstep till we got the paperwork we needed to FINALLY get everything moving.

It must have happened eventually, but I don’t know when, and it wouldn’t be the last run in we would have with the bank. Over the course of the build, people changed roles and paperwork requirements changed a couple of times, and that proved to be a very frustrating aspect of the build.

Eventually, though, it started ticking over. During that time we made a couple of trips to the island. We did all the usual things you do when you’re buying a home. We chose appliances, tiles and paint. And we had meetings with our architect, contractor, and the bank at different times.

All along, the house was taking shape. I can still remember the thrill of being able to walk through our partially constructed home.

By the time construction had started, my mum was traveling around the world (Dubai, Canada, the US, and visiting us in the UK), so I roped in my sister-friend to liaise wherever we needed a local representative.

In between times, she supplied photos and information, plus useful tips on moving back to the island, something she’d done herself a few years earlier.

Finally, about 14 months after starting the build, our dream home was ready. Four months later, we packed our belongings, and finally moved to Barbados.

Catch up on the rest of the series below:

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© Sharon Hurley Hall, September 2020.

Sharon Hurley Hall is an anti-racism writer, a professional B2B writer and blogger, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.