The first step to take, is to secure a parcel of land that suits your needs. In case of a subdivision is important to make sure the land in question has Final Approvals from all the relevant Authorities.
Once the land and subdivision approvals are in place, we advise to get in touch with the above mentioned Professionals to whom you explain exactly what you would like to build, as well as your budget in case you already know how much you can spend.
Initially the Architect or Draftsman will find out from the relevant authorities if in fact approvals will be granted for the construction of the building you have in mind. If that is in order and you did not already do so; it is advised to find out from a Mortgage Company or Credit Union how much money you qualify for, because it does not make any sense to start the designing if you do not know how much you can spend on the building, because you might end up with a very nice building on blueprints but no money to build it. Once you also know your budget, the designing phase starts and will be done according the budget.
When in collaboration with the Architect the final design is achieved, the original plans are drawn.
From these originals, 11"x17" Prints are made (Blueprints are no longer required), which are submitted to the Town & Country planning division with the necessary applications.

It is of course important for an Architect and/or Builder (and in some cases a Land Surveyor), to view the proposed building site, before being able to come to an agreement on design and price. This is also essential to make sure if the building you have in mind is feasible and affordable, and also to determine if approvals from the relevant Authorities will be granted.

The site viewing and consultation fees are as follows:

• Anywhere in South Trinidad (San Fernando and down): TT$300. or US$50. (per required Professional).
• Anywhere North from San Fernando to Port-of-Spain / Arima: TT$400. or US$65. (per required Professional).
• Anywhere in East Trinidad from Toco down to Guayaguayare: TT$600. or US$100. (per required Professional).
• Anywhere in Tobago TT$1,000. or US$165. (per required person).

The cost of the Building Plans depends of course on the design and company you choose, but it can start from as low as TT$6,000. or US$1,000. in Trinidad and TT$8,000. or US$1,330. in Tobago, for a simple and basic 3 bedroom "flat" home (meaning a square or rectangular home on ground level). Please note that these cost examples are not applicable for structural designs which have to be done by an Engineer, those prices depend on the type of structure to be designed.

• Architectural Design
• Structural Design
• Complete drawing of the plans
• All the prints necessary for submission to the relevant Authorities
• All design layouts and sketches
• Any additional or detail drawing(s),if any, required by Town & Country planning division, or Regional Corporation.

• WASA approvals
• Licensed plumber Plans
• Structural Engineers' Plans
• Submission of plans to Town & Country

Once a price Agreement between the Architect and the Client is reached, both parties enter into a Contract.
The process of obtaining your building plans is usually done in 3 stages, and the payments are made accordingly;

1. The designing; At this stage the Architect starts to make sketches which can be changed up to 3 times at no additional cost as long as the type and style of building does not drastically change from what was initially agreed.
2. At this point a final design is reached and the Architect will start the drawing of the official building plans.
3. The submission to Town & Country and the Regional Corporation and follow up until plans are approved.

1. The first payment, is ? of the agreed price, and represents the Designing phase. This payment has to be made in advance.
2. The second payment has to be made before the Architect starts the official building plans.
3. The final payment will be the last third of the agreed price PLUS the total of the additional sketches and additional Design costs (if any). This payment has to be made before the plans are submitted.
   Please note: the last payment is NOT made, after the building plans are approved, but BEFORE the submission to Town & Country.
This for the simple reason that the drawings were completed at the time of submission, and as mentioned above, submission to Town & Country is a separate service.

In general it takes less than 4 Months for the plans to pass, but sometimes Town & Country requests changes or additional detail drawings, after which the plans have to be resubmitted. In this case it might take up to 6 Months. Once a plan is submitted, it is out of the Architect's hands and there is little or nothing he can do to speed it up. It is simply a matter of waiting until it passed all the different Departments.
If a plan is not approved for some reason, the building inspector will make a note of what in his opinion needs to be changed or added. The Architect then will make the necessary adjustments after which the plans can be re-submitted. There should be no extra charge for this (unless changes to the plans are made by request of the client), because it is part of the Architects job to deliver approved building plans. After the plan is resubmitted it will generally only take 3 to 4 weeks for the plans to be approved.
Once a plan is approved, no more changes can be made to the drawings and the actual building, because during the construction regular inspections by Town & Country officials will take place.
If you want to make changes during construction, a plan amendment can be made at that time. It is however allowed to make small changes, such as changing the size of a window, but nothing that will affect the structural integrity of the building.
It might be interesting to inform you that besides Architectural Home Designs we also provide Structural Designs & Structural Calculation services.

For the next stage of building your home, or when you are in the process of developing a parcel of land, we advise to get a Licensed Land Surveyor.
Why a Land Surveyor you ask? Just check out the following reasons:

1. To layout a foundation of a house or building from a legally defined boundary in accordance with Town and Country Planning Setback distances as well as ensure that the foundation is set out on the correct parcel of land. Imagine the litigation or hefty payment to an aggrieved landowner that may occur by not following these guidelines.
2. When erecting a fence or wall. It is highly recommended a boundary redefinition survey is undertaken to avoid unnecessary litigation or payout that can occur by encroachment on another individual or corporations right to land.
3. For prospective purchasers: Verbal descriptions of land in deeds are no guarantee of an accurate physical description of land. After having a legal survey done, the licensed surveyor produces a registered survey plan, a copy of which is lodged at the Office of the Director of Surveys and can clear up any ambiguities regarding area, encumbrances and a correct and up to date physical location of the property relative to neighbours and physical features which can be used to update or rectify the old deed description.
4. Also for prospective purchasers: Even though a survey plan exists, because of its age it may not accurately describe any encumbrances or occupation that may currently exist viz. encroachment of walls, drains, roads, structures or even squatters!.
5. For landowners of tenanted land: If the tenant intends to purchase land, a land survey will be able to quantify an area occupied by the tenant, aiding the valuator in determining the sale price as well as helping prevent future discrepancies or disagreements with neighbouring tenants.
6. For landowners willing to transfer rights to family members subdivision of land may be also be undertaken in order to accurately transfer individual legal rights to aid in raising collateral for banks and mortgage lending agencies.
7. For land developers, house builders: It is recommended that a topographical survey showing spot heights and contour lines relative to boundary lines be undertaken to aid architects and engineers in designing the layout of structures as well as in the design of the layout of roads, drains, sewers etc. A Topographical survey can also aid in Earthworks design and calculation for land developers and Land development engineers.
8. Also for land developers: A surveyor can legally subdivide land in order to aid in transfer of individual title to prospective purchasers. Please Note that it is highly recommended that approvals be sought from Authorities such as The Town & Country Planning Division, Regional Corporations and Local Health authorities, WASA, T&TEC and Fire Services to aid purchasers in obtaining collateral from lending agencies as well as Certificates of Completion.
9. After the layout design is completed by the land development engineer, it is essential that a surveyor lays out roads, drains, sewer treatment plants etc to accurately reflect on the ground the layout design.
10. Environmental Impact assessments: Land Surveyors can provide Mapping Solutions for Environmental Consultancies applying on behalf of their clients for Certificates of Environmental Clearance from the Environmental Management Authority.
11. Surveyors can provide Layout and as built surveys for Building and Civil engineering structures with low tolerances of error. This is especially important where components such as glass panels, pre-cast concrete, metal is fabricated off site.

To prepare a Quantity Survey/Estimate is costly, and time consuming as no mistakes can be made. Therefore it is considered as a job by itself and charged accordingly. The prices for a Quantity Survey/Estimate vary from Company to Company, and are sometimes even "free" in which case you have to assure yourself that it is a real Q.S. and not an Estimate, because Q.S. are usually not free.

If you already have some floor plans and sketches with all the measurements, it is possible they can give you a very rough idea of what the construction cost will be, but you have to realize that, depending the time span between the rough estimate and the actual Quantity Survey, as well as the choice of materials, the price between the Estimate and Q.S. can vary quite a bit.
Besides that, it is also common that many customers start basic and simple, which results in an affordable rough estimate. Then the changing and adding starts, which could end up with a final Quantity Survey of 1-1/2 or even 2 x higher than the preliminary rough estimate. Therefore, it is important to note that every change or addition usually costs you thousands of dollars more ... rarely less.

If you have to get a Q.S. for a Mortgage or Loan, please check your Finance Company if they will accept a Q.S. done by our Company. Some Mortgagees have their own Quantity Surveyors. In case they insist you use one of their Quantity Surveyors, the prices underneath do not apply, most likely it will cost you more.