Would you build from scratch? Where to begin?

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We have begun toying with idea of building our own house and leaving london. Has anyone done this? Where do you even begin to look for land?

We did this, but we moved from London to Ireland to build and saved a fortune in the process.

Finding the site is often the hardest bit, it certainly was for us. You need to think carefully about what you want and find the most suitable place for you.

I'd suggest getting hold of some self-building magazines as they are a source of valuable information to get you started, and they will have lists of sites for sale in the classified ads at the back. I found them invaluable for ideas when we were considering building. Also make friends with as many estate agents in the areas you are considering as even if they don't have sites for sale they may have contacts.

It's worth doing, as you should be able to save roughly one third of the cost of buying an existing house and of course you get exactly what you want, budget permitting of course. You'll save more if you can project manage yourselves, but unless you know what you are doing and have lots of time, project managing is difficult and can be a real headache. We opted to let our builder look after it for us, but if we ever moved again not likely we'd take it on ourselves.

From buying the site, through getting planning permission, building the house and finally moving in took us almost two years, so it's not a quick process.

plot browse, housebuilding and renovation and Build it are good websites to start with. Other options include looking for houses that are in such a bad shape it is cheaper to knock down and rebuild than renovate. They need to be priced appropriately though. We reckon it will be 3 years for us from buying to move in and there are still potentials for delay.

Wow, I wasn't planning to move so far out of london that I landed in Ireland but it's an idea! How do you find it there vs the uk? A house in really bad shape that needs knocking down is another option. Where did you live while it was being built? We would need to sell our current house to fund the new house. Is there some sort of bridge financing?

You can register with the local council of the area you want to build. You will find it online but they will have a self build register (every council has to have one since April 2016) which will show you current available land for sale which either has or very likely to be granted planning permission. The self build magazine is great and full of useful info. Also cost depends on type of construction you want etc and also dont forget you can reclaim vat at the end. Its a nice refund!

Oh and dont forget that self build mortgages are a much higher percentage. Id forget a bridging loan if i were you they are disgustingly expensive and you can borrow on land LTV and build LTV. either you rent but how will you manage that AND mortgage paymrnts or you like onsite in a static caravan you hire. That way you arnt liable for two lots of council tax etc.

Haven't done this personally, but most of my family built their own houses on land owned either by our family or their partners' family. Others have given you some good advice, but one thing my sisters always say is that they should have visited loads and preferably lived in a couple of other houses but drawing up their plans as they just went by what was in the home build magazines and what the architect said (i.e. what he had already drawn up and could easily hand over.)
If you know what kind of house you'd like, visit lots of them. Especially if it's different from what you're currently living in. Ask your friends about the bits they love, bits they hate, the small, everyday annoyances. Think through every stage of your life, where you are know, if your family is going to get bigger, how you'll manage when your kids are little, when they are teenagers, when they move out to uni or whatever when they move back in cause they can't afford rent
The great thing about building houses is that they can be done in stages, a lot of people I know built it so there was enough loft space to convert into rooms. They didn't have the funds or the need when they first built it, but as the kids got older and needed more space they were able to do it up to create gorgeous bedrooms for tweenagers that will grow with them and a bathroom that will be needed when they are two teenage girls getting ready for nights out!

Gosh do people really live in a caravan for years, with kids? I think I'd lose it. I suppose we could sell and set aside a few years of rent.

Yep, they really do. Not everyone, but a lot of people.

I just wrote a detailed post, pressed something on the keyboard by accident and lost the whole thing. Grrr. I'll start again.

We were planning to move to Ireland anyway (DH is Irish) but decided to self build to get as much for our money as possible. We've been here a long time now & are well settled & happy, with a lovely house of course

We didn't live in a caravan while we built - with small DC I'd have lost it, totally - but rented a house for a couple of years.

It took a while, but we eventually found a site with outline planning permission, and bought it using cash from the sale of our UK house. We then designed the house, applied for planning permission and once that came through got the mortgage, which we drew down in stages as the build went on so didn't have full mortgage repayments until we moved in.

We were fairly sure what we wanted so I drew up a rough design for the house then got an architectural technician to draw up detailed plans for the builder to work from. In some ways, although we saved a lot of money by not using the services of an architect, we might have avoided a couple of design niggles if we'd done so. There are a few things the technician didn't notice that an architect would have done, which we have to live with, but I think there are always things you'd change anyway, you never get a perfect house.

Architects' fees are expensive and are usually worked out as a percentage of the cost of the build, I can't remember exactly how much. Choosing the right architect is important too, you need to chat to a few and make sure the person you use shares your vision and doesn't try to give you what they want, rather than what you want - or as happened to friends of mine charge you a fortune for plans they'd already drawn up for someone else. Picking the wrong one can be an expensive mistake as if you change your mind you will still have to pay them.

I did it and would do it again in a heartbeat but it's not for the faint hearted. Your biggest issue anywhere within a hundred miles of London will be finding a plot or a 'knocker' - you;ll be in competition with professionals and developers who will want to put two properties where you;d put one. We were really lucky - happened to see a tiny ad in The Times one sunday for a plot a few miles away. Got in the car and looked at it within an hour, offer made and accepted within two hours. Nearly gazumped several times.

Once you've got your plot then the fun starts - planning consent, budgeting, designing, tenders, where to live while it's going on, funding....

Ours is a knock down which is habitable (although not nice) so only have to move out when the builders start. So we will rent for a year. The house had been on the market years but due to various restrictions wouldn't be appropriate for a developer.

Definitely yes to really thinking about what you want. We put so many hours into thinking about how we live now and how that will change as the kids grow.

The architect is great but he has suggested a few things that are not suitable with young children. But they key is that he is great at listening and totally takes on board when I have a reason something doesn't work. But he also challenges us when we are suggesting something where he can't see the value. We picked him mostly on gut feel that he was the person we wanted to work with and so far that has worked out well.