Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)
  • Building a House, Plots of Land, Mortgages
  • MrGrim
    Full Member

    Has anyone had a house built with little or no experience?

    My current house is on the market and I’m trying to decide on next steps for if/when it sells. The houses I’ve been looking at buying recently are shifting fast in the decent areas and It looks like I won’t get a lot for my money.

    I’ve looked at a plot of land which is near a B road and has mains water, electricity and gas nearby. The plot has outline planning consent for a 4/5 bedroom house.

    My idea would be to buy plans and submit for planning permission. Assuming the permission is granted based on the plans, buy a timber framed kit house and arranged for a local builder to lay foundations, build house and all associated trades along with arranging for services before any work takes place. I would live onsite in a static caravan.

    I know I’m skirting over a lot of detail, but how easy is this for a semi idiot? I’m not looking at doing any of the work myself other than finishing.

    Also, does anyone have any experience for getting a mortgage to build a new house? When I sell my house I will have the cash to buy the land and don’t mind renting for a few months before getting the planning permission and caravan sorted.

    Budget wise, the plot I’ve been looking at is £60k, with about another £100k max assuming a mortgage company will lend me it. The kit houses I’ve seen look to be about £50k delivered, leaving £50k for services, building, fitting and groundworks (landscaping, driveway etc).

    Am I crazy? 😯

    It would be good to hear from someone who has done similar.

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    Not done similar (just renovated a semi derelict and empty for 50 years house myself) but one rule – whatever sum you keep for the unexpected – double it.

    If I was to do it myself (and I do often think about it), I would seriously consider a Huf House

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    You won’t get anything like a Huf House with a build budget of 100k. Sounds like it’s possible – Building for under 100k – but I think you’d probably have to think about doing a bit more than finishing.

    You could be on telly as well

    mastiles_fanylion
    Free Member

    Probably not 😀

    konagirl
    Free Member

    No experience I am afraid, but we looked at the possibility of building from scratch a few years ago. We decided against it at the time but might consider it again in a few years (finances pending!).

    I would say your decision really depends on your attitude to risk, especially if you are borrowing in order to build. What happens when you run out of money before the house is habitable? What if/when something unforeseen occurs/is uncovered and you need an extra 20% of your build fund? Contingencies used to be about 20% of the build, I think now a lot of people aim to make sure they can obtain up to 40% just incase. (Once you have built your dream house, most people don’t want to scrimp on the fittings, so end up with high-spec bathrooms, kitchens etc.)

    At this stage, think about: are you going to project manage or pay your builder to, or get in someone else to? Stress vs. cash!

    And: research everything – realistic max and min costs for everything – e.g. connection to services costs a fee from the suppliers in addition to the groundworks and materials costs; what kind of foundations will you need (what geology, i.e. is it clay that needs deep piling or on bedrock? Is it on a slope that will require groundworks and shoring-up? Groundwater-levels and damp-proofing?); consider not only the cost of the house frame but does it include things like insulation (external and internal), also recently costs for first-fix have gone up with copper prices. Make a spreadsheet and work out whether or not it is actually affordable.

    Sorry if that sounds negative, but good pre-planning reduces risk and avoids (some) nasty surprises, along with a good contingency fund!

    I don’t know anything about mortgages I’m afraid; we were looking at purchasing a house to knock down and start again, but we would have been living in our home and remortgaged+cash that so the risk lay in our home, rather than in the build (which gives the banks a lot more security).

    Let us know if you decide to proceed, as I would be very interested to know how it goes if you do!

    MrGrim
    Full Member

    Thanks for the replies so far and thanks for the detailed response konagirl.

    I may sell my house and see another house already built that is perfect, but I’d like to at least explore all the options. I may not know much about the process now, but I’m usually quick at picking things up and have mates in various trades who can help me out. I also have family that have done several self builds and an uncle who is a glazing manufacturer so he will be able to give some good advice.

    I’ll add to this thread if anything comes from it.

    Any more advice in the meantime would be excellent.

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member
    qwerty
    Free Member

    I have absolutely no building experience and am currently building a garage (after demolishing two and doing groundworks), I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a headache, cheaper yes, but a headache. I’m learning as I go and seem to be quite good at doing things the hard way or twice!

    I think the way to go would be to play at being project manager, shop for the best prices, Google everything, liase with contractors but ultimately let them to do the physical construction. It would cost more than a pure self build but would be completed far quicker, to a better standard, with less cock ups and stress.

    joeegg
    Free Member

    My brother has built quite a few upmarket houses both to sell and for himself.
    On the last project he built 6 large detached and project managed it himself.
    All the trades quoted separately and as he lived on the site he saw the day to day work that was going on.As he had houses built previously he knew what to look for and was quite ruthless in dismissing tradesmen from the site if the work was not up to standard.Remember,you’re paying the wages.
    I have had properties built in the past and left it up to one builder to sort all the trades.This has never gone smoothly as the builder just thinks up excuses when someone doesn’t turn up and you have no contact with them.
    It just needs a bit of common sense and forward planning,with patience when it goes off course, but its worth it in the end.

    brickwizard
    Free Member

    we done a self build 4 years ago. Finance then was easy, much harder nowadays. I used buildstore who released the money in stages. these stages had to be signed off by our architect.
    Make sure you do all your costings before you start, its amazing how it all adds up.

    ocrider
    Full Member

    We got the nod from the consultant architect last week only to be vetoed by the mayor yesterday because he doesn’t like wood panelling.

    I am not in the best of moods.

    Stoner
    Free Member

    Mrgrim, I did this two years ago. Am on holiday ATM but drop me an email with any qus etc and ill try and pass on anything useful ive learnt

    dewydd
    Free Member

    MrGrim, where are you looking to build and who have your used for you kit price. I work as a QS for a medium sized contractor in Argyll and would say that a 100K budget is very very optimistic, even if you were able to do some of the works yourself and act as project manager.
    As an absolute minimum I would be budgeting 1400 – 1500 / m2 gross internal floor area. Invariably most of the jobs we price end up being nearer 1750 – 2000 / m2.
    Things to be considered before it can be costed out properly include the site itself, is it a level with good ground conditions? is there rock to be broken out? is there somewhere on the site to spread the surplus spoil and if not where can it be disposed off? what will planning accept e.g. slate or tiled roof?, dormer windows? timber cladding or block & render?. Same with the heating, Building Control may require a renewables element e.g. air to water, solar thermal hot water, solar pv.
    If you are looking for a single contractor it may be worth speaking to your kit supplier as they should be able to recommend someone in your area. A NHBC registered contractor will also offer a degree of reassurance but is also another cost to be factored in.

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Any pricing you want I could help. Timber frame as I see it has one major pitfall, you need good scaffolders 😉

    br
    Free Member

    £60k for a fully serviced plot, hmm seems too cheap even in a cheap area.

    As a note the new house built near us had to pay for a new water pipe (about 200m) as the council said that the current pipe was only good enough for current properties plus one, so he had to pay just in case anyone else needed to build…

    Other services also may cost more.

    Plus what about foundations – 1m deep minimum is a lot of concrete.

    AD
    Full Member

    If you are serious, buy a copy of ‘The Housebuilders Bible’ by Mark Brinkley. I think it is up to the 8th edition now. Loads of useful advice and from my experience pretty accurate (read realistic) costings. We built a house 5/6 years ago (the sixth edition was out around that time).

    Accord Mortgages are well worth a look at in our experience.

    And definitely not being negative – self builds are great – but your budget sounds a bit optimistic unless you can do a lot yourself.

    chewkw
    Free Member

    Self build I like … keep it as simple as possible with open plan. None of those corridors after corridors waste of space.

    ocrider – Member

    We got the nod from the consultant architect last week only to be vetoed by the mayor yesterday because he doesn’t like wood panelling.

    I am not in the best of moods.

    Sometimes I wonder why they are so nosey in how other build their houses … yes, yes, I can hear some of you in the background calling for uniformity in design but get this … stop being nosey you bunch of maggots!

    big_n_daft
    Free Member

    As a note the new house built near us had to pay for a new water pipe (about 200m) as the council said that the current pipe was only good enough for current properties plus one, so he had to pay just in case anyone else needed to build..

    You must be in Scotland, different rules in England and Wales

    wrightyson
    Free Member

    Filling foundations with concrete is relatively cheap for what rhey provide to be fairI. Its the fact that it’s money that’s never seen again which upsets folk. I’d hazard a guess at no more than 30 cube without even looking at ground or design conditions! Which is 2k, not bad when you think about what it provides in the big scheme of things!!

    MrGrim
    Full Member

    Wow, just back online and have read all of the replies. The budget might be tight, but with careful planning and keeping costs to a minimum I think it might be possible (based on no experience 🙂 ).

    The plot of land has outline planning permission. No services are running to the plot currently, but there is an electricity pylon serving houses nearby, mains water and gas laid recently on the same road for some other recent houses in the area. The plot has been sitting on the market for a while and £60k is over the price being asked, so realistically it would be closer to £45-50k of an offer being made.

    The budget can be increased if need be. My main thing is LTV, so if I spend £170k on the plot and build, but it’s worth £250k then my LTV should be around 45%.

    Once I’ve sold the house, I will see what properties are currently for sale then work out costs in more detail if I want to go down the self build route. I have seen an architect in Glasgow who has designed something similar to what I could be after and has also assisted with managing previous successful.

    dewydd – I’m would be looking to build in either Fife or Perth & Kinross.

    Stoner – Thanks for the offer. I’ll wait and see what happens over the next few months and will definitely drop you a mail if I decide to go for it.

    therag
    Free Member

    I’ve bought land but not aplied for planning yet, I’ve been told by a local builder to estimate £900 per aware meter.

    therag
    Free Member

    Per square meter even. iPhone dictionary.

Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)

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