removal of load bearing wall absolute newbie

hi guys
just joined the forum.

my husband and i are complete and utter newbies!! we have only ever lived in an appartment and have just bought a house.
so basically we know what a hammer is and how to use that but thats the scope of it (basically :B)

we have about a 3m wall that is load bearing we want removed.
so, yodas... what do we need to do?

i know we need council something or other.... do we need to get drawings to them? how much does that cost? how long does it take?
what do you think would be the price range on something like this for a builder?
we would be happy to gyp it etc, its just the removal and framework we need a builder for.

we just have no idea the cost and time frame for something like this. like would it be $700 or $7000 to get something like this done...
were living with my parents at the moment so we want it all done ASAP so we can move in
sorry im such a noob! gotta start somewhere:;
TIA


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