[SteveChester]

Hi, anybody done this? Can't seem to find my ideal house so why not build it!

I don't mean doing the actual brickwork myself but paying someone to do it.

[isleaiw1]

Tried once. Realised very quickly that land to build on was the big issue, if you wanted it to build on a builder would want it to build twice as much on which made getting land at a price which didnt make your new home a turkey was VERY difficult...

Although I might be looking at some land now in case I fancy it again....

[NotGotABimmer23]

As above, the plots for sale are far too small (for the price) to build a nice house and have a good garden, drive etc

Any plot you find that you think would make for a nice 4 bed detached a builder will want to build 3+ houses on and so they are priced accordingly.

The other option is buying land without planning permission, but clearly thats a risk.

[stefan4]

My Mrs is an architect so this will happen at some point! Lol.

Infact, because where we live now is perfect for the kids while not being necessarily our 'dream' house Im pushing to build up some capital that will allow us to get some land once something comes available, even if we wouldn't build on it for some time.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by SteveChester

Hi, anybody done this? Can't seem to find my ideal house so why not build it!

I don't mean doing the actual brickwork myself but paying someone to do it.

If you have the money anything is possible, buying a run down house on a nice plot with a plan to demolish and restart is the best way, that way you don't have to pay VAT for the build.

But just bare in mind for a realistic budget you can essentially double what ever initial numbers you get quoted!! .

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

But just bare in mind for a realistic budget you can essentially double what ever initial numbers you get quoted!! .

^^^^^

Most important quote in any self build.

Self build is quite common up here. Often by someone with a building trade. Land/plot is the issue, unless the family own a croft and can get appropriate permissions for another family home.

I actually bought someone else's self build, the guy ran out of money and had to sell. I finished the interior.

My family have build houses, extended and completely renovated properties. Not for the faint hearted. You really need some skills, to help get stuck in yourself, or pay the rates after taking a deep breath.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

^^^^^

I actually bought someone else's self build, the guy ran out of money and had to sell. I finished the interior.

That is exactly what I did - went to look at a design when I was looking at the land I didnt get, the land went to about double what we wanted to pay so bought the house we'd viewed after the guy who built it had a business setback.....spent £30k finishing it and still own it!

[SteveChester]

Thanks I appreciate it's not a trivial task - I'm going to do a lot more research into it!

[JR1664]

As suggested above I guess you could buy a property on a large plot (bungalows on corner plots seem to be favourite). You don't have to totally demolish the existing property but can expand, go up , out etc as long as similar has happened in the road so its favourable for planning. That seems to be the 'the thing' around here and something we've looked at doing in the past.

[SkyJawa]

Grand Designs put me off for life

Though TBF they are always trying to build as much as poss for their budget with no contingency planned for all the things that will go wrong. Never ends up costing what they think.

[The0pportunist]

Is it just as easy to get a mortgage to self build on a plot of land?

[aquazi]

I did it 5 years ago… love the home now… and allowed us to have a house that we wanted, within our means and crazy value now - but at the time was serious stress!

Any specific questions just ask!

But key bits are architect, funding, project management, supplier management and do your research on land regs.

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by SkyJawa

Grand Designs put me off for life

Though TBF they are always trying to build as much as poss for their budget with no contingency planned for all the things that will go wrong. Never ends up costing what they think.

Producers love jeopardy, if there isn't any they will fake it.

We need to make it look like you're running out of money...But I'm not I've got loads, yeah even so just pretend please, see it's here in the script we sent you along with the requirement to have a baby during the build...

.

[TouringPleb]

Just learn from Grand Designs.. whatever you think the budget will be, double it and however long you think it will take, triple it!

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by SkyJawa

Grand Designs put me off for life

Though TBF they are always trying to build as much as poss for their budget with no contingency planned for all the things that will go wrong. Never ends up costing what they think.

I love Grand Designs, so when the chance came up to actually do something dramatic to our current house I just couldn't let it pass.....No one needs a double hight kitchen, but you live once so why not .

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by The0pportunist

Is it just as easy to get a mortgage to self build on a plot of land?

No, mortgage companies will happily lend you £££££ based the LTV of the existing property, I think you will need to work very hard to get a substantial loan from any mortgage company for something that doesn't exist.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by The0pportunist

Is it just as easy to get a mortgage to self build on a plot of land?

They generally will lend against the value of the land and then against the value of the property that is being constructed but in tranches at agreed build points and with certain retentions so you need a builder that can go along with that...

The other way is to agree a final price for the house when built with the builder and pay when done (and therefore mortgage when done) but that probably means a bigger profit element for the builder who is funding it and less ability to change the plans as you go as that will change the agreed price....

To answer the specific question, not as easy as not as many offer it - but a mortgage broker should be able to find you someone...

[aquazi]

In terms of mortgage we were fortunate in that through “addland” we found land that already had permission to build with local infrastructure. There was a Bellway development adjacent with houses already in contractions with prices- which halifax were able to use to calculate the LTV.

They release funds in stages… foundation, construction, roof etc.

I did far more work myself then intended… cable lying, studwork, tiling even removed some scaffold - which is harder than people make it look! as dealing with multi contractors who love to make excuses!

But our modest double story 5 bed was completed in 20 months… i have a another house i was renovating/ extended take longer!!

[C320]

I've always wanted to do this as have my parents. We have a few family friends that did succeed and they've been super happy.

As pointed out already, it's getting the land in the right location that is the challenge. Whenever my parents were looking at land, we were always outbid and instead of building a 4/5 bed house a developer would snap it up and build 3 houses on the same plot turning a bigger profit!

The cost of the land is a masssive percentage of the cost of most properties in this country (especially in the South East!). Building a house is reasonably cheap / cost effective in comparison to the market value of the property.

The bulk of the cost is definitely the land, then depending upon taste & style you can spend a fortune on kitchens and interior finishes, smart lighting etc.

Still a dream of mine which probably won't be realised for me (not in this country at least!)

[JD6]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Producers love jeopardy, if there isn't any they will fake it.

We need to make it look like you're running out of money...But I'm not I've got loads, yeah even so just pretend please, see it's here in the script we sent you along with the requirement to have a baby during the build...

.

Definitely true of Grand Designs. How many of the projects run into financial difficulty half way through (just before an ad break…) and yet they end up choosing seriously high end kitchen and bathroom fittings at the end, like £1k on a tap or £5k on a bathtub. That’s a pretty clear demonstration that the financial difficulty is not genuine.

Fortunately the project turns out to be a triumph…

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by JD6

How many of the projects run into financial difficulty half way through (just before an ad break…) and yet they end up choosing seriously high end kitchen and bathroom fittings at the end, like £1k on a tap or £5k on a bathtub.

Its actually easily done!! We are spending £200k on the structural build for the house extension, so why would we than skimp on say paying £50k for a kitchen versus £25k, when the finer details is what you interact with every day?

Additional borrowing is also never going to be a small figure, if you are going to borrow an extra £100k, asking a bit more for higher cost finish items makes sense.

Remember GrandDesigns was about building a house YOU want to live in, not maximising profit for development or resale, so as long as things are affordable who really cares about the cost?

I recon our final build cost will not be far off £300k (original budget was <£100k!!), for that amount on paper we are going from a 4 bed room bungalow to a 4 bed room bungalow and loosing the main family bathrooms in the process!!!

For us anyways its about the chance to live in a home we really have 'designed' for what we want and no one else. Financially it makes zero sense, and we don't even need any extra space. Builders are suppose to be visible today for some final discussions before work starts in late summer.......cannot wait.

SteveChester I'll let you know if we are still sane in 6 months time, but given we first had the idea of doing some building work back in 2019, time really does fly. If you are serious getting your finances in order now is probably a good start, as without ££££ its a none starter, and the sums involved aren't pocket change to people so require some careful planning and risk assessment. Once you have an ideal of what you can afford, than finding plots etc can start, but it all takes time, which actually gives you a chance to plan and work out how to financially to support the project.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by C320

Building a house is reasonably cheap / cost effective in comparison to the market value of the property.

It depends on what you are building surely? Standard builds are 'cheap' but once you start put in 'Design' elements it all adds up very quickly. Funky designs need supporting, steels need good foundations, glass isn't cheap, open spaces need heat/ventilated setups, even fire suppression - we possibly having to fit a sprinkler system pending fire inspection once the kitchen is in.

If you are building from scratch the last thing I would want is a bog standard house, if you are just going to build something that looks like everything else in the area just buy a pre build one. Saves you loads of money and time!!

Clearly land in a good area costs, but a decent 4 bed house with funky design elements can easily be a £400k build to first fix. Not an insubstantial amount, and if you go nuts on finishing add another £200k+ to the bill, probably alot more based on perfect choice!!