Built my own house .....and loved it! AMA

[Tinkobell]

Realise this is not exactly a novelty these days....but wondered if any budding builders have any Q's. I loved building a house. Would do it all again if I could! Ask me anything about that highs, lows and any build info.

[FabulousSophie]

I want to. Did you start off by including everything you wanted, and then prioritising and paring down according to your budget? It's the budgeting that terrifies me, and the thought that if I have cut out the things I would like, I would not be happy with the final result, which would not be worth the trouble of building. I accept that with my (very) high standards I would probably spend a lot more than the final house would be worth, but that doesn't bother me exessively!

[vinobell]

id love to know more but don't really know what to ask... i guess how did you start? was it a fairly 'standard' place (no offence intended) or a bit statement grand design-esque?

[silkpyjamasallday]

Ooh I’m super interested, I just lost out on a bit of land at auction today, we were planning on building our own home. What sort of land did you build on and how did you acquire it? How much did getting services to the site cost or were they already there?

[Tinkobell]

Yes. To begin with we specked everything out that we wanted. We did tenders. All came back over budget. We then worked with the architect to reduce the items we didn't need or could live without. This included the number of light points, a non functional chimney, the kitchen and bath budgets, tiling areas (full tiling not necessary these days) and a very expensive parapet roof edging! We then came back within budget plus a small contingency of just 2%.

[iwishicouldbelikedavidwatts]

when you say built - do you mean commissioned people to build or did you lay the bricks etc.?

[PintOfMineralWater]

Are you from a carpentry background or did you learn as you went?

[Tinkobell]

@vinobell.....never planned it. Had a lovely old arts and crafts house but found out it was swamped with water under floors therefore building was worthless. Land is valuable. Got a bank loan. Stamp duty to move was nuts. It was a spreadsheet decision . The self build was easily the best option.

[TyrionsNextWife]

I would love to build my own house, but I think finances would put a stop to it

If you used a mortgage, was it harder to get then a normal mortgage? Did you go over budget, or use your slush fund by the time you finished?

[SantaClauseMightWork]

Wow. What a useful thread!

Can you please tell us what your background was? Did you have family help? How much did the project cost and how much did the land cost? Can you actually buy land for such projects in England now?

[FabulousSophie]

I've read you can only have two out of the following three:

1. Quick
   
2. Good quality
   
3. Cheap
   

Is this true? And which did you opt for? How much did you spend per square foot?

[Tinkobell]

@silk.....services all in situ. Had the land. Know others who've bought probate properties and also used land finder.

[Tinkobell]

@fab. I'd say we got
Quick - 12 months inc demolitions and ground works
Quality - standing in it 18 months on with zero snags
Cheap - south east, doesn't exist. Did a tender ...had a QS review, we reviewed it too, bank reviewed it too. You're not going to like this....£1900/sq metre inc full fat architect fees....all fees actually.

[Tinkobell]

@Tyrions....no we didn't borrow from family or use any credit cards. We just borrowed and saved up. Self build loans are quite slow to secure. Times have changed since the 2008 crunch and there's lots of due diligence .....bank wants to know they'll get their cash back if your project goes tits up. We used Handelsbanken - loan rate good, fees were extortionate, but they were very responsive and easy to deal with.

[FabulousSophie]

Is that internal sq metres or external? I saw on grand designs once that getting a QS and budgeting down to the last paper clip is the way to go.

[Tinkobell]

No I'm not a carpenter but I am a landscape architect so I could do all the garden and external works plans.

[FabulousSophie]

I've got cash, but I don't know how far it will stretch. Did you use a project manager, or did you manage the trades yourself?

[ajandjjmum]

Came on to ask how you found the land, but see it's not relevant in your case!

[Tinkobell]

@Fab ....if you want to avoid sleepless nights each budget MUST be stuck to or ideally underspent. Each QS works their own way and you need to find one to suit you. Remember though that if you borrow from a bank, that bank may want a QS appointed - they either suggest their own QS or will check the credentials of the one you want (RICS). You pay the QS directly yourself but they are working for you and the bank.

[Tinkobell]

@Fab....for a decent build contract with a principal builder employed, THEY should provide the project manager to schedule trades. I fear if you try and do task bundles and schedule yourself you may not get value for money. On a new build you are VAT exempt and it's the principal builder who has to retain receipts and reclaim his VAT off HMRC each quarter.

[Tinkobell]

Always internal sq metres but bizarrely does include voids!

[Tinkobell]

@vino....apols late response. Not a grand design. Big though - 5800 sqft, 3 floors. I was there everyday! 😁

[FabulousSophie]

Did you budget first and then get pp according to your budget? Or did you get pp first and then hope you could afford to build it? I think that is what flummoxes me!
And what materials did you use for the structure - brick, concrete block with stucco, green oak, etc?

[Tinkobell]

@fab.....to get a rough handle of affordability to begin with we spoke to friends who'd build and a number of builders ....we were fishing for a rough £/m2 for our area. But builders are understandably cagey on this ...they fear that you will expect the earth for any sum verbalised and at the end of the day, it's the technology, finishing specs that can really bump up the cost.
Once we had a rough figure we then briefed the architect and sought outline planning.

[VelociraptorRex]

Ooh what a great thread! We're not building from scratch but doing a massive renovation - was everything completed before you moved in, or did you "camp" in a nearly-completed house? Did you have a completion date you were working to, or did you just go with the flow as it were, and move in when it was ready? Did you have another house to live in, or did you have to go down the caravan on site route? (Sorry, our house is keeping me awake with these questions at the moment!)

[FabulousSophie]

My preference would be to build the structure and architectural features (internal and external) to a really good and solid quality, and then cut my cloth according to my coat on the the mod cons, etc once I had a super quality structure. Do you think that could work? I'm more interested in getting the architecture and build quality top notch, than having the latest jacuzzi, hand made kitchen or surround sound in every room.