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Building Your Own Home

Self-building is increasingly popular in the UK, where over 20,000 people build their own homes each year. Building your own home not only allows you to choose where to build a home and to design it yourself, but to ensure that the quality of materials and workmanship is first class. If you want to be far from the madding crowd, you can buy a plot of land and have an individual, architect-designed house built to your own design and specifications, or to a standard design provided by a builder. You can even literally build it yourself, as many people do, although you will need professional help with some jobs and work must be approved by building inspectors. If you’ve got a choice, avoid building a house during the winter – start in the late spring and with a bit of luck you will have finished or be doing the interior when winter comes around.

Building permission can be difficult to obtain in some regions (depending on what you want to build) and building a home isn’t recommended for the timid.

It’s advisable to employ contractors and manage the project yourself if you’re up to it, otherwise you will need to engage an architect or builder to do it for you. Some self-build schemes involve a group of families building their homes together under the guidance of a self-build project management company, such as Wadsworth Landmark ( 0117-940 9800).

Never forget that it will take longer, cost more and be much more work than you ever thought!

The good news is that on completion, self-build homes are typically valued at around 25 to 30 per cent more than the total building cost (land, labour and materials).

Planning Permission

If a plot doesn’t have planning permission, you will need to decide whether to apply for outline planning consent or full planning permission. Outline planning consent is a sort of agreement in principle and a way of ‘testing the water’ if you’re unsure whether full planning permission will be granted. The costs involved are less, but you cannot start building until full planning permission has been granted. When outline planning consent has been given, you can submit detailed plans for approval. Alternatively, you can make an application for full planning permission from the start. This will save you time, but if it’s refused you will have wasted money on producing plans and drawings (although you can minimise the risks involved by taking expert advice). If you employ an architect, he will apply for planning permission on your behalf, although it can take weeks or even months for a decision. If an application is refused, don’t give up as plans are often passed on appeal or altered plans passed after a second or third application.

Application forms are available from your local council’s planning department. The Department of the Environment publishes a booklet, Planning Permission: A Guide for Householders, available from planning offices, and the Royal Town Planning Institute ( 020 7929 9494, www.rtpi.org.uk) publish a leaflet entitled Where to Find Planning Advice.

Building Costs

When building your own home, land and building costs are usually separate, with the cost of the plot (see above) usually comprising around 25 per cent of the total budget. Building costs vary depending on the region, the quality and which of the following options you choose:

• Do most of the work yourself (DIY) with the help of sub-contractors (cheapest);

• Use all sub-contractors;

• Use sub-contractors and a main contractor;

• Employ a main contractor (most expensive).

The cost per square metre varies from around £50 per ft2 (£550 per m2) for a standard quality home in northern England using the DIY method, to around £150 per ft2 (£1,650 per m2) in Greater London for a job using top quality materials using only a main contractor. The average cost of a good quality, spacious, three to four-bedroom family home of around 1,600 ft2 (150m2) is around £75 per ft2 (£800 per m2) or £120,000 (costs vary considerably – shop around). See Homebuilding & Renovating magazine for information about how to estimate your building costs.

If you’re buying materials yourself you must pay VAT, but it can be reclaimed on completion of the project by applying to your local Customs & Excise office.

Many companies sell pre-fabricated or kit homes for self-builders, which can be built in 12 weeks or less. The cheapest homes are kit, timber-frame houses, where you buy the frame and supply the bricks and other materials separately. American and Scandinavian-style timber homes are becoming increasingly popular and are offered by many companies, including Advanced Timber Technology (www.adtimtec.com), Border Oak (www.borderoak.com), Fleming Homes (www.fleminghomes.co.uk), Frame UK (www.frameuk.com) and Robertson Timberkit (www.timberkit.co.uk).

One of the advantages of timber homes is that they’re energy-efficient and have exceptionally low heating costs. It’s also possible to build a striking Japanese-style home, which can be built for around half the cost of a traditional architect-designed house, although you may have difficulty obtaining planning permission (which applies to anything out of the ordinary). However, you have a better chance if your plot is in a secluded position and doesn’t over-look (or isn’t over-looked) by other properties.

Another option is a revolving wooden house which you can spin through 360 degrees at the touch of a button! This way your terrace can always remain in the sun and you can wake up to the sunrise and go to bed with the sunset - in the same room! Revolving homes are (not surprisingly) more expensive than traditional wooden homes, but not astronomically so. There are a number of specialist builders/designers (most of which are outside the UK) including Rotating Homes in Canada (www.rotatinghomes.com), Lighthouse Projects in Australia (www.lighthouseprojects.com) and the Colani Rotor House in Germany (www.hanse.haus.de).

Mortgages

Special self-build mortgages are available for those who wish to sell a property at a profit after building it (see Build It or Homebuilding & Renovating magazine for a list of lenders). The average mortgage for self-builders is usually 75 to 80 per cent of the cost of the land and building combined, with payments made in stages as building progresses

Architect-designed Homes

You should expect to pay at least 10 per cent more for an individually-designed house than for a standard builder’s or developer’s offering. An individual architect-designed house may also command a much higher selling price, as there are always buyers who will pay a premium for individuality. When looking for an architect and builder, it’s advisable to obtain recommendations from local people you can trust or alternatively you can contact the Association of Self-Build Architects (0800-387310, www.asba-architects.org).

An architect should be able to recommend a number of reliable builders or contractors, but you should also do your own research, as the most important consideration when building a home is the reputation of the builder. You should be wary of an architect with his ‘own’ builder (or a builder with his own architect), as it’s the architect’s job to ensure that the builder does his work according to the plans and specifications (so you don’t want their relationship to be too cosy). Inspect other homes a builder has built and check with the owners what problems they have had and whether they’re satisfied.

Planning permission and building plans must be obtained in advance and if you build without planning permission, in the wrong place or deviate from the plans, you could be forced to demolish the property! The local authorities never turn a blind eye to planning infringements.

If you employ a builder you should ensure that his work is covered by the NHBC Buildmark 10-year warranty or the Zurich Municipal Building Guarantee scheme.

Contracts

You should obtain written quotations from a number of builders before signing a contract, which must include the following items:

• A detailed building description and a list of the materials to be used (with references to the architect’s plans);

• The exact location of the building on the plot;

• The building and payment schedule, which should be made in stages in accordance with building progress;

• All costs, including the architect’s fees (unless contracted separately), landscaping (if applicable), permits and licences, and the connection of utilities (water, electricity, gas, telephone) to the house, not just to the building site;

• A penalty clause for late completion;

• The retention of a percentage (e.g. 5 to 10 per cent) of the building costs as a guarantee against defects;

• How disputes will be settled.

Before accepting a quotation, it’s advisable to have it checked by an independent building consultant or engineer to confirm that it’s a fair deal. You should check whether the quotation is an estimate or a fixed price, as sometimes the cost can escalate wildly due to contract clauses and changes made during building work. It’s important to have a contract checked by your solicitor, as building contracts are often heavily biased in the builder’s favour and give clients few rights. You will also need insurance for yourself, your architect and contractors.

Information about building a home is available from many sources, including:

• Homebuilding & Renovating magazine (01527 083 4400, www.homebuilding.co.uk).

• Build It magazine (020-7772 8300, www.buildit-online.co.uk).

• The Association of Self-Builders (0704 154 4126, www.self-builder.org.uk).

• Federation of Master Builders (FMB), Gordon Fisher House, 14/15 Great James Street, London WC1N 3DP (020 7242 7583, www.fmb.org.uk).

• House Builders Federation, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4JX ( 020 7608 5000, www.hbf.co.uk).

• Timber and Brick Homes Information Council, Gable House, 40 High Street, Rickmansworth, Herts. WD1 3ES (01923-778136).

The National Self-Build Homes Show (020 7865 9042/020 8466 4066) is held at Alexandra Palace (London) in September and Homebuilding & Renovating magazine organises a number of shows for self-builders throughout the UK (www.homebuildingshow.co.uk). A wealth of books are published for self-builders (www.buildstore.co.uk/whyselfbuild/books), including The Housebuilder’s Bible by Mark Brinkley (Rodelia Books – (01487 824704).

Copyright © Survival Books Limited 2005

“Buying, Selling & Letting Property” 2nd Edition, David Hampshire.
Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying, Selling & Letting Property” 2nd edition, by David Hampshire.

For extensive, annually updated information about buying, selling and letting property, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net

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