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Building a House from Scratch
Words Barbara Akinkunmi
Around 13,000 people successfully self-build every year, says Assistant Design Manager Barbara Akinkunmi.
The idea of building your own home seems very exciting, especially because a new house is one of the best ways to create a home that is tailored to your specific lifestyle requirements and needs. Although it may seem impossible to do within the UK, people successfully self-build every year - less than 10% of these people choose to be involved in the process by taking on the building work. Majority chose to be much more involved in the design stages, choosing tradespeople and deciding on finishing touches.
Many self-builders manage to build a home for much less than the average UK house price. A self-build home is likely a great way to get extra space compared to buying a pre-existing property. However, to ensure your project comes in on a tight budget without compromising the quality that you desire, you’ll need to carefully consider your build route and make sensible choices! Embarking on the journey to self-build a home is one that you must willingly take on, so I’ve provided some insight on what that may involve just to give you a clearer understanding on how to prepare yourself.
Choose your route
From building your house on a DIY basis or acting as your own project manager to a completely hands-off approach through a package supplier, the main routes available include:
DIY – building most of your new home yourself & self-manage subcontractors - Saving you around 30-40% on the total price, employing help as and when you need it. You hire tradespeople directly (builders, joiners etc.) and you buy all materials yourself, directly from the merchant.
Professionally managed via a main contractor with subcontractors - You employ a main contractor or package supplier to build a watertight structure for your house. You then employ subcontractors to carry out the remaining work. You buy all the materials yourself.
Main contractor - You employ a single main contractor who takes care of everything. This requires the least involvement from you.
Choose your self-build route depending on how much time you can devote to the project, your budget, your skillset and how capable you are of carrying out jobs yourself. Regardless of the route you take, the self-build process requires careful thought and plenty of planning and you will need to make key decisions even before any building work begins.
Most projects are managed by a main contractor/builder or subcontractor for the homeowners, however you can choose different routes for different stages of the project, depending on home much time you have, your skills and available budget. The more you can be involved, he more money you can save! Once you’ve decided to self-build you’ll need to consider a series of questions: what are you building, where are you building, when will it be finished, who will build it and how will it be built.
Location – find an area to buy a plot/property
Unlike the normal housing market, individual building plots are not so obvious to find –this will require a lot of effort, work and even flexibility in your desires to secure a good one. Flexibility, combined with the ability to focus your time and energy on the hunt, will give you the best chance of success!
A common mistake people make is searching to broadly, however if you focus and narrow down your search to specific and manageable locations, you’ll likely receive more efficient results. It’ll be beneficial for you to even drive around your selected towns when looking for potential building plots. These could be infill sites, side gardens or disused garage blocks, but all may have potential.
Locating the right site can literally appear to be overwhelming however no need to worry! There are incredibly useful online resources such as LandInSite and PlotSearch to help assist you. General property-hunting portals such as Rightmove also allow you to refine your search to ‘land’ only. Aside from this, it’s also good to check with the local council by sifting through planning applications in your target areas. Local authorities publish a register of these on their websites. It could be that the applicants are looking not to build, but to sell the plot on. Write to the applicants and ask if they are interested in selling to you. If you are lucky you might just get a letter back inviting you to discuss the matter further. In most cases, details of the owner or agent are included and there is nothing to stop you from contacting them directly.
When assessing your plot also look out for any access issues and title deeds to ensure these deeds are absolute rather than possessory or negotiate on the plot price accordingly.
Consider the cost & plan your finance
One main thing you’ll need to have in covered is the funding for your build and having the finance available right from the start will be crucial in sealing the deal on a plot. Although you will be looking for the perfect plot to go with your perfect house, you need to be realistic about what you can obtain within your budget. Self-builders need more money up front than conventional homebuyers. They usually have to buy their building plots and fund their planning applications before they can get loans.
You’ll need access to money to buy a building plot, to pay for professional services such as architectural designers’ fees and any site surveys required, and to fund the build itself. The money may come from savings, equity in your existing home, through a self-build mortgage or a combination of all three. Surprisingly few high street banks provide formal facilities for self-build finance, so you’ll likely need to approach a specialist provider.
Remember, you’ll also need to account for the cost of your plot, which will consume a sizeable chunk of your budget and set aside between 10% and 30% of your budget as a contingency. Build cost + plot cost + contingency = < the value of your finished house.
Self-builders should expect to take as long as six months to get their finance in place and have 25 per cent of the cost of the land and building materials upfront. Before they can apply for a mortgage, they also need to have full or outline planning permission. One thing to note is that the project may likely cost more than you planned, take longer than expected so it would be wise to even have more finance available just in case. On average, a self-build house will cost somewhere between £1,000 and £3,000 m2 to build. You’ll also need to be aware of the factors that may cause your build costs to skyrocket, such as Location, Size, Plan, shape, layout, Specification & personal Involvement. Changing plans can cost you dear.
A simple design can save money on your house build. If you build a house with a complicated design, it is likely to increase both your labour and material costs, so it is best avoided if you want to keep costs low.
Hire a project manager, architect & structural engineer early on in your build
Establish your team – Architect, Engineer, Project Manager. When you decide to build your own home, it is generally best to do so through a licensed general contractor who will project manage the build & subcontractors for you.
You can establish contact with and line up a builder/main contractor/package company/subcontractor during the design and planning processes. Much like finding a designer, choosing a builder requires plenty of research. It’s best to meet with them to discuss your project and to ask them to quote (your designer can help you to prepare tender documents). It’s also a good idea to visit a project they’ve completed and to talk to previous clients. The best builders and subcontractors will be booked up months in advance, so it pays to start your search as early as possible.
Consult with your architect & engineer on your design from early! Hiring an architect & structural engineer early on in your project is a great tip to build your house on a budget because their fee is based on the overall build cost, so you might as well hire them at the earliest opportunity. Architects really add value to the project and fill your knowledge gap, especially as you’ll likely have little knowledge on Architectural or Structural design and relevant building regulations that need complying by. They’ll also help with providing plans and design & access statements etc. required for planning permissions with the local authority. Design and access statements justify a proposal’s design concept and have to accompany all planning applications. Most authorities have guidance notes available to help you and some authorities refuse to register applications unless you include these in your submission. Your engineer can iron out structural problems while in constant dialogue with your architect, ensuring your design is thoroughly thought out before building work commences. It is vital that your design is fixed before starting any build work.
Insurance
As soon as contracts are exchanged on your plot, you will need to have insurance — usually a specialist policy for self-builders. A comprehensive self-build policy is advised and will cover any public liability, building works, employers’ liability and personal accident.