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Building your own home
If this is the first time you have built a house, you may feel daunted by the prospect of turning your idea into reality.
Getting started
Building your own home can be both satisfying and stressful. So plan well ahead at the beginning of your project. These plans are crucial as most self-builds often change during the projects, for example you may decide to move a window or adapt a living area. Ideally any changes should be minimal and not impact too heavily on your budget. However, hurried or vague planning will lead to escalating costs and push back completion dates.
Remember that you will need to put in a planning and building regulations application, which can be made to your local council. You could also get alternative building regulations consent from a private company.
Designing and building your house
Local solicitors can provide names and addresses of architects and building contractors. Yellow Pages also gives names of manufacturers and suppliers of 'kit house'.
Some building contractors and kit suppliers can provide a choice of house designs which, if suitable, may avoid or reduce the need to employ an architect.
However, an experienced architect can greatly reduce the amount of time and effort that you might otherwise spend climbing the hurdles involved in building a new house.
More information about finding an architect can be found in the leaflet entitled, 'Finding an architect', published by the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Considerations
Budget
Plan your budget very carefully. Work out what you can realistically afford to pay - particularly if you intend to borrow money - and allow for:
- increases in interest rates,
- what you think the development is going to cost you
- allow at least 15 per cent extra for contingencies from the start
Also bear in mind that if what you are borrowing is on the security of the house, the amount you can borrow will be based on the lenders estimate of what the final value will be but won't give you the full amount until it is completed.
Project planning
Draw up a project plan, setting out what needs to be done, when and by whom from the earliest stages of finding the site to furnishing and moving into the finished house it will almost certainly take longer than you think.
Also think about:
- if you are going to sell your present home to help pay for the development
- where you are going to live while building is taking place
- what it is going to cost
Your skills
Consider realistically if you have the skills and experience to do some parts of the build yourself and whether you can rely on friends or relations for their skills or help, at the time you will need them to be done or just to help with the labouring. You will probably need to pay specialist contractors to do some of the work, so make sure you have made planned for this.
Remember - unless you have all the necessary professional skills, employ a qualified and experienced architect to design the house and make sure you provide them with a clear brief of what you want. Unless your architect also has a planning qualification and experience, you should also consider employing a planning consultant.
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