London - Upping sticks and buying your dream home isn’t what it used to be. Back in the good old days, before the banks went bust and property prices went south, the housing ladder was a one-way affair. The only way was up.
These days, it’s anything but. There are fewer buyers, fewer homes on the market - and there’s rather less money to borrow. Securing your ideal house has rarely been harder.
There is a solution. Why not go it alone and build your own instead? Yes, it can be hard work, but it may be the best way to get the home you want, where you want it - for a fraction of the cost.
A new BBC series, To Build Or Not To Build, charts the fortunes of a few of those who have rolled up their sleeves and are doing it themselves - from someone who is building their next move on a shoestring, to a couple who are splashing out more than £1million on an opulent des res.
But if you are tempted to give it a try, where do you begin? According to Simon O’Brien, presenter of To Build Or Not To Build, the foundation of any successful self-build project is homework.
For an overview of building your own home, specialist self-build publications, such as Build It & Home Improvement, self-build.co.uk, may also be useful.
Either way, the first thing to consider is your budget. Once you have established how much there is in your pot, you can then start looking for a plot.
Finding the right plot takes time. And even the ideal location may have hidden problems - leading to yet more costs. “The one pitfall most self-builders overlook is that digging holes costs serious money,” warns O’Brien.
“Most underestimate the costs of levelling an uneven site - and you never know what’s underground. Power lines could trip you up, for example.”
When it comes to the building itself, some self-build homes can be constructed from kits, but consulting a good architect is a must.
“Find out what your architect, project manager or builder has done before, then knock on the door of their previous builds and ask if they were reliable and trustworthy,” suggests O’Brien.
Remember when you price the project that many self-build projects end up costing more than expected (always budget for a 15 percent contingency fund).
You will, of course, need to get your plans approved by your local authority
But self-build is not an easy option. Doing it yourself has huge advantages and offers substantial savings - but it comes at a price.
“You have to ask yourself if you are prepared to write off two years of your life, not see your friends and family, lose time with your children and become a one-subject bore,” says O’Brien.
Then again, no one ever said that building a dream would be easy. - Daily Mail