Buying Unfinished Property ..Another Option

[propertywatch1]

Hello All
For those of you out there who are thinking of property here in Hurghada there are alternatives to buying on developments that costruct the property from A to Z.
One of the options open to you is to buy an unfinished property (just the shell) You may have not considered this before but it gives you an oppertunity to build your ideal home. You can plan how many and where you want to place your bedrooms and bathrooms etc.
Although this way is not as easy as buying off a developer...it does have its rewards. However it is not STRESS free and can still be a long project. But its financial rewards out weigh the stress factor.
When i relocated to Hurghada from the UK over a year ago a bought a fully furnished apartment in El Kawther. I then decided to buy an unfinished property so as i could design the inside to suit my needs. What my intention for this post is to inform anyone out there who is thinking about doing the same. Here i will post photos showing before and after... i have started with one corner of the roof area where you will see emerge a bedroom bathroom and bbq area.
I will add to this post over the next few days to show how you can transform a building shell into a 3 bed 3 bath 3 balcony and private roof terrace. Hope this is informative and shows you another option to purchasing property here in Hurghada.
I know most of you will have to have the work done for you by builders out here but dont let this put you off.I was fortunate to apply my skills alongside the workmen i chose as you can see on one of the pic constructing my BBQ. I am now in retirement !!!!!

[propertywatch1]

Hello Everyone
Just a quick footnote.. this posting is by no means a sales pitch it is just here to show all of you out there who have been wondering what to do regarding buying an un finished property.

[awahee123]

I did think of this option before buying my apartment finished.It would be ok if you have a few contacts,however would be a problem if you are a first time buyer who hasnt been to Egypt.
Most properties are basic shells some without any electric and water.
I also found the work that needed doing was been quoted at many thousands of pounds in some cases half of what the property cost was.
The main concern is also the quality of the finish I have seen some villas at megawish that were terrible on the finishing side so it could have its ups and downs.

[propertywatch1]

Hi
As promised here is the next installment for those of you out there who are thinking of going down this route. These second lot of pictures are showing the living area being finished from the bare brick.

First stage is to install all plumbing work and electrical cables.Then the walls are covered with cement (mahara). Note for those who do not already know cement is used instead of browning and plaster. Then on top of this to seal it ready for painting a substance called magoon is used. Colour is added to this to distinguish the different layers applied.Before each layer of magoon the surface is sanded down.
There are two varients of magoon .... premix magoon plastic and magoon abaladeen hand mixed.The second being the best of the two.The magoon is applied by spatula and believe me this is an art form i tried it myself and gave up.

Then when a smooth surface is achieved paint can then be applied.I hope this is informative and gives you some idea into the construction processes.

[propertywatch1]

Hello Everyone
Here is the next instalment on finishing. Here are the celings i had done.They are made by hand right there on site from gypsum and fibre strands. The celings are 2 levels with 2 corniches each piece is made about 4 foot long hung to dry and then applied to the walls. There is a large variety of different styles and designs.

[propertastic]

I agree with Awahee. We were totally appalled by the terrible finishing standards that we saw on supposedly 'finished' apartments. It looks as if they apply paint with a hosepipe, joints had huge gaps in them, many cracked tiles, etc.

I can see that it's the perfect option for someone like RedSeaFurniture who lives in Hurghada and is the practical type himself. But for a regular buyer who can't pop out to Hurghada that often, I think that they would really end up regretting it.

[propertywatch1]

Hello Everyone
One of the most challenging parts of this project was to redesign the staircase. I know the external walls dictate the general shape but most staircases i looked at before deciding to go this way are circular on the ouside edge.

This means that you can see the step effect as you look and walk up the staircase. Also you have to either fix the metal stair rail to the top of the granite/marble or to the side either way it will show the risers and treads.

I then decided to change the outer shape of the stairs and to do this i had to extend the width of the stairs to allow me the room to add a dwarf wall on its edge to hide the treads from view.

This also helps when sweeping the stairs as it keeps the dust from falling over the edge.....thats not to say i do the sweeping!!.

Careful measurements had to be taken for both the risers and the steps to work out how the outer wall will look ( had to be the same all the way up the ) steps to the roof.

It will make more sense looking at the photographs. You will see the re-enforced cage to extend the width and the dwarf wall. This now has completly changed the shape of the staircase.

[awahee123]

Good pictures redsea ,if anybody was thinking about this route of buying a property (unfinished) would you be able to help them with contacts for all the finishing,
are good tradesmen readily available?

[propertywatch1]

Yes W.A: If anybody is interested in going down this route it would be a pleasure to help. I have kept contact details for all of the Tradesmen who worked on my villa with me.
I think you really have to watch them work and decide who you will employ some are of course excellent but you do obviously have to watch them. But for me i worked along side them to show what standard i expected from them.

[awahee123]

Anybody else out there actually purchased an unfinished property, if so hows the finishing coming along????