• Holiday Villa Koh Samui

Buying a villa off plan

Changes to the design of your villa

Buying a villa off plan? Here are a few tips if you decide you want to make some changes to the design.

During the early stages of construction it may be possible to make some design changes to your villa, but note, during the early construction phase only. There is no point going to the developer after the concrete has been laid and saying, "Can you make the pool bigger?"

Small changes, such as asking for different tiles on the floor or bathroom walls, should be within the capabilities of all developers, but beware, as some of your changes may incur further costs for you, especially if you are asking for gold taps on the bath! If the changes you decide to make come out at a similar cost to what was originally specified for your villa then the developer should not charge you for this.

Other changes may be possible without further expense, as long as you notify the developer ahead of time. However, the architect will have to make changes to your drawings, in this example, incorporating the bigger pool, but the trade-off will probably be a smaller terrace.

Note: the size of your land plot is not going to change, so keep that in mind when you ask for another bedroom to be added.

Also, consider when asking for any structural changes whether this will alter the general look of the development. The architect, when designing your villa, had to consider the overall design impact each and every villa would have on the look of the development, so asking for something that might end up looking like the annex to the Taj Mahal is a waste of time, it is not going to happen.

If you want to go down that road it would be better to find a piece of land and build your own villa.