Next time you think of moving, why not consider building your own home instead? Each year, about 20,000 people in Britain choose to build their own home rather than buy. For many, the experience is a roller coaster ride of extreme emotions — ecstasy when materials arrive on time, agony when windows don’t fit. But if you plan the project well, it can be a smooth ride, and most self-builders will tell you it is worth every ounce of effort.
When I became editor of Build It magazine three and a half years ago, the majority of the population hadn’t the faintest idea what the term “self-build” meant. Now, thanks in no small part to a wealth of television programmes on the subject, most people understand it means what it says: building your own home.
Yet self-builders remain a minority in this country. On the Continent, about 60% of all new housing is self-built. In Britain, it is just 10%. So what motivates people to go for this ultimate form of DIY and how easy is it to follow their example?
The first thing to understand is that building yourself is not just about manual labour. In fact, these days you are more likely to see a self-builder work strategically rather than physically. Typically they either project manage the operation — organising supplies, building schedules and the workforce — or act as chief executive, the main decision-maker and the reference point for all the professional tradespeople.
Some self-builders, of course, are keen to get their hands dirty, helping with bricklaying or plastering, for example. But most prefer to continue their full-time jobs while employing professionals to design and build a home to their own specification.
A whole service industry has blossomed around this new kind of self-builder. Design and package companies, such as Potton, Custom Homes and Carpenter Oak & Woodland, aim to take the hassle out of the whole process by providing a range of services, from land-finding, house design and planning through to project management and construction.
You can normally choose how little — or how much — you want them to do. Those who go for the turnkey approach need do little more than say what they want and watch the process from afar.
Those who want a more active involvement can work with the firm on designs and planning and project-manage the rest.
Potton, one of the biggest design and package companies, has seen its self-build business increase by more than 36% in the past five years.
One reason for self-build’s growing popularity is that it has become easier to finance. Until a few years ago, self-builders were required both to buy the land and finance a large chunk of the building costs upfront.
BuildStore, a self-build specialist that provides loans, insurance and plot listings, saw a niche in the market and in 1998 launched “accelerator” mortgages that release money upfront in tranches during the building process. Such financial packages have made self-build a viable option for many more people, including first-time buyers.
Today, you can typically borrow up to 95% of the value of the land and the build from lenders, such as the Norwich and Peterborough, Nationwide and Ecology building societies. About £2.2 billion a year is now lent to self-builders, roughly a quarter of it through BuildStore. John Hay, head of product development at BuildStore, predicts the loan market will continue to grow by 10% a year.
What lies behind the decision to self-build rather than buy an existing property? “Primarily, it’s because people want a home according to their design and location,” says Christopher Heath, chairman of Custom Homes. “They want better proportions in their rooms than they can get in a house built by a commercial developer. As an example, a developer would build a five-bed house on a 1,600sq ft plot of land, whereas a self-builder would do it on a 2,800sq ft one.”
Size was one of the main reasons David and Tricia Blundell from Kent decided to build their own home. With two teenage daughters, Charlie and Laura, the couple wanted six bedrooms so there would be plenty of space for everyone. But buying a home of that size “off the peg” was way beyond their budget.
Self-building was an affordable alternative. The Blundells bought a plot for £250,000 and spent £365,000 on the building. The finished result has been valued at £1.35m — more than double their total spend. “We are living in a house we couldn’t have otherwise afforded,” says David.
Similarly, Allan and Carole Craigen decided to embark on a self-build project in Bamford, near Rochdale, after searching for a farm or converted barn to buy and coming to the conclusion that they could not afford the size of home they wanted.
“We realised that if we bought something for £200,000-£300,000 and then spent another £100,000 getting it to how we wanted it, we would only just get our money back if we decided to sell,” says Allan.
It made sense for the Craigens to build from scratch instead. Their 5,380sq ft, five-bed room home cost £450,000 to build. The land was another £100,000. An existing house of similar size would have cost at least £800,000, so self-building has saved them £250,000.
For many, self-building is not just about getting a larger, more affordable roof over their heads; it is also about building a home that fits their lifestyle. We are all more design-conscious these days. Shopping for furniture and other household goods is often less about acquiring necessities than an expression of personal style.
Once we have acquired such design statements, what could be better than a home built to show them off?
The Craigens’ home, for example, is a contemporary art-deco house. Another couple, Martin and Monica Stansfeld, wanted to create a unique tower house in Angus, Scotland. The result looks more like a fairy-tale castle than a family home. It didn’t cost a king’s ransom either — the 2,700sq ft property was built for just £275,000.
If a desire for more space drives many projects, self-building also reflects changes in the way we live.
Much of Britain’s housing stock was built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Kitchens then were seen as very functional places, separate from the main living areas.
Now the kitchen is the centre of family life, so self-built homes often feature large open-plan areas for cooking, eating and relaxing.
Knocking down a wall or two in an existing Victorian semi can create the same effect, but it is always going to be a compromise. In a home built from scratch this combined living space can be integral to the design.
Self-built homes can also be ideal for retirees or the disabled, who want to live on one level and are unwilling to settle for a flat.
David Moakes, 72, and his wife, Carolyn, 64, are a typical case. Once their children had left home, they decided to build themselves a bungalow near Peterborough.
This was no ordinary retirement bungalow, however. First of all, there was its size: the footprint is more than 3,000sq ft. A key feature of the house is e design reflect the Moakeses’ wishes, too: the couple do not like corridors, so they opted for a central courtyard instead. Their home is also stuffed with gadgets, including a heat recovery ventilation system that purifies incoming air and keeps it at a desired temperature, and a central vacuum system.
“We looked around for bungalows but we could not find one that incorporated all the elements we wanted,” says David. “Building our dream home seemed the only option.”
Yet it cost them just £160,000 to build — and, a rarity in the building world, it came in at £40,000 under their original budget. Part of the saving was because David designed the house himself, which reduced the fees.
His approach to sourcing materials was also important. “I am a tough negotiator,” he says. “I shop around to find a good price. If someone doesn’t want to supply materials at a price I am happy with, then I walk away. If they do, then we have a deal.”
Modern heating, ventilation or cleaning systems, like the ones installed by the Moakeses, often feature in self-builds. In fact, self-builders have so enthusiastically embraced the concept of heating rooms with pipes laid in the floor that Britain’s underfloor heating industry relies heavily on them for its survival.
Home automation systems that link entertainment, lighting, security systems and automated curtains are popular with self-builders. With a remote control, you can change television channels from the comfort of the sofa, so why not be able to dim the lights or change the music, too?
In a new-build, it is relatively easy to install such a system, and all the unsightly wiring and cabling will be tucked away within the structure of the building from the start.
Ultimately, however, money is the big motivator for many self-builders. All going well, once you have completed your project, you should be sitting on a capital gain of about 30%. The savings come not just from avoiding the property developers’ margin of profit — typically about 20% — but also through reclaiming any Vat levied and, in most cases, by doing some of the work yourself.
Joe Martoccia, sales and marketing director of Potton, believes many people now look upon self-building as “more about building for investment” than just about constructing their ideal home, reflecting the wider trend of looking to bricks and mortar as an alternative to conventional pensions.
“People tend to borrow up to 95% of the value of the home during the build, then reduce their borrowing once it’s built, to a loan-to-value ratio of below 75%,” says Martoccia. By investing wisely, self-builders can reduce this even further, often by selling the house they previously lived in and using the proceeds to pay off part of their self-build mortgage. Provided
property prices continue to increase year on year across the country, it is a pattern likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Once they have completed one self-build project successfully, some people go on to build a second, or even a third home, reinvesting the profits they make.
“I’ve seen a rise in the number of people using self-build to become mortgage-free,” says BuildStore’s Hay. “They typically try to build three to four homes.”
Be careful not to go too far, though.
If a self-builder has no intention of living in the house — or houses — they propose to build, loan providers consider them to be a developer. This affects the type of mortgage they can obtain. Borrowing will tend to be on commercial terms, usually at a higher rate of interest, and the lender will typically advance only up to 70% rather than up to 95% of the value of the land. There are also tax implications: in particular, any profit made will be liable to capital-gains tax.
With so many reasons to self-build, it is surprising that the proportion of the population doing it is still so small. Even if the number of self-builds a year doubled, it would still be only one-fifth of all new homes built.
There is a simple reason why self-building isn’t more widespread — the lack of available land to build on. Many aspiring self-builders never get past the early planning stage because they are unable to find a suitable plot.
In response to this shortage of land, Build It magazine recently launched a campaign, More Land Please. It aims to persuade the government to ring-fence a proportion of land for self-build projects, to keep it out of the clutches of property developers who build homes for profit. Self-builds tend to be more environmentally friendly and they create sustainable communities because people tend to live in these houses for longer.
For this reason, surely more should be done to help the growing number of Britons who want to build their own homes? Next time you visit an estate agent, don’t ask him about houses but about building plots on which you can create a home designed and built around your own lifestyle and needs.
For details of Build It’s campaign, visit www.buildit-online.co.uk
Carpenter Oak & Woodland, 01225 743 089, www.carpenteroakandwoodland.com; Custom Homes, 01787 377 388, www. customhomes.co.uk; Potton, 01767 676 400, www.potton.co.uk
Self-build: a 10-step guide
1 Land
A suitable plot is not just any site with a For Sale sign. It must have permission to build on it. You are looking for at least “outline planning permission”, which means a plot has the blessing of the local planning department to build a home on it, in theory. Typically, this will specify the size of the house that you can build.
To find plots of land, try estate agents and land-listing firms, such as Plotsearch (0870 870 9994, www.plotsearch.co.uk).
2 Initial budget
Work out how much you can afford to spend on your build. Talk to a specialist self-build mortgage adviser to find out how much you can afford to borrow. Remember: you can usually borrow up to 95% of the cost of the land and up to 95% of the build cost.
To work out your initial budget, deduct from your maximum potential spend the cost of land (typically 30% of the overall budget), then divide this figure by the size of house you want. If it works out at £750 per square metre or more, then it’s affordable. If there’s less cash in the pot per square metre, you need to build more cheaply or construct a smaller house.
Arrangers of specialist self-build mortgages include BuildStore (0800 018 5740, www.buildstore.co.uk) and Advanced Flexible Self Build Mortgage (01259 726 650, www.afsbm.co.uk).
3 Insurance and warranties
Once you secure a plot, take out site insurance. It should cover you for public liability (in case anyone visiting or working on the site has an accident), employer’s liability (to cover subcontractors, builders, friends and family) and site cover (damage from theft, fire, vandalism and natural disasters). Look into personal injury cover, too, to protect yourself on site.
To protect the fabric of your building, obtain a structural warranty, particularly if you think you might sell it within 10 years — mortgage lenders increasingly demand that new-builds have this cover, and obtaining a retrospective warranty is very expensive.
For self-build insurance: Self-Build Zone (0845 230 9874, www.selfbuildzone.com), Self-builder (0800 018 7660, www.self-builder.com), BuildStore (0800 018 5740, www.buildstore.co.uk) and DMS Services (01909 591 652, www.selfbuildonline.co.uk).
For structural warranties: NHBC (01494 735 363, www.nhbc.co.uk) and Zurich (01252 377 474, www.zurich.co.uk).
4 Design
You could design it yourself, but realistically you will need professional help to ensure that your design meets building regulations and legal requirements, such as party-wall agreements. Use computer-aided design programs for the initial work, then leave the detailed plans to a house designer.
To find an architect, contact the Architects Registration Board (020 7580 5861, www.arb.org.uk) or the Royal Institute of British Architects (020 7580 5533, www.architecture.com). For ones with self-build experience, try the Associated Self-Build Architects (Asba) network (0800 387 310, www.asba-architects.org).
An architectural technologist can also help with design. Contact the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (020 7278 2206, www.ciat.org.uk) to find one.
Alternatively, a team from a design and package firm will work with you.
5 Construction type
There are two main types of building construction in the UK: timber-frame and masonry, aka brick and block. The latter is the preferred form for most builds in England and Wales, and all the construction happens on site. Timber-frame is most popular in Scotland, with the frame made in a factory and brought on site.
To speed up the building on site, other construction methods can be used, such as Sips, structural insulated panels, and Panablock, prefabricated panels of cement and insulation, to form all or part of the structure. However, they tend to be more expensive.
6 Home systems and materials
Work out with your designer what types of systems you want in your home. Heating is a large component of a build, from the type of boiler, fuel source and radiators to solar panels and underfloor heating. Built-in vacuum cleaner and home automation systems also need to be considered at the planning stage rather than during the build itself, as their mechanisms are hidden in the structure of the building.
Similarly, if you want to specify materials, such as insulation, floors, windows and doors, now is the time to do it. A change of materials could not only affect wall depths and supporting strengths of the build, but also cause costly delays.
7 Detailed planning permission and building control
The design needs to be approved by the local council’s planning office. Your chosen designer will submit detailed plans for approval. Once detailed planning permission (DPP) is granted, you will have to stick to the specifications detailed on the plans. Your local planning office will need to be notified of any changes as the build progresses.
Once you have obtained DPP, notify the council’s building control department of your intention to build, so that it can check the work complies with building regulations. Work will be monitored throughout the build by regular site visits from a building control officer.
8 Final build costs
To avoid going over budget, work out detailed build costs — the exact cost of all materials. Give this list to a builders’ merchant for sourcing materials or get a contractor or project manager to do it all for you.
Alternatively, you can do it yourself by hiring a quantity surveyor to work out the detailed costs (called a bill of quantities or materials’ schedule). There are also software packages that can work out the costs. Try HBXL (0870 850 2444, www.hbxl.co.uk) and Easy Price Pro (0845 612 0265, www.easypricepro.com).
9 Project-managing and planning the build
There are several ways to oversee the construction work. You can employ a project manager to organise subcontractors, the build schedule and ordering of materials and tool hire, or ask a main contractor (one builder) to do it. Some architects will also take on the role, especially if they have been involved at the design stage, but check that you both agree on what he or she is taking on, ideally in writing. To save costs, you can manage the project yourself, but you will have to be able to visit the site regularly and sort out problems as soon as they happen, whether with personnel or with materials not turning up on time, and so on.
10 Finding tradespeople and confirming building costs
The best way to find tradespeople is through word of mouth. Try self-build internet forums (such as www.buildit-online.co.uk) for people in your area and advice. Once you have one reliable tradesperson, ask them to recommend others they have worked with successfully in the past.
Trade bodies can also be a useful source of information and many maintain online lists of accredited tradespeople. For a builder, groundworker or bricklayer, try the Federation of Master Builders (020 7242 7583, www.findabuilder.co.uk); for an electrician, contact the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (0870 013 0391, www.niceic.org.uk); for a plumber, get in touch with the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (01708 472 791, www.iphe.org.uk) or the Council for Registered Gas Installers (0870 401 2300, www.corgi-gas-safety.com).
Finding a plot
The single biggest influence on people’s self-build budgets is the cost of land, but prices vary widely. Not surprisingly, plots within easy reach of London and the southeast or near cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff are the most expensive. The further you move away, the more you will get for your money. Plots will also tend to be larger.
Prices in Scotland start from as little as £10,000; count on paying at least double that in Wales. Other affordable areas are: Essex and Yorkshire, where prices start at £40,000; Devon and Cornwall (from £50,000); and Hampshire and Hertfordshire (from £65,000). At the other extreme, prices in London and the home counties begin at £100,000, but more typically reach at least £250,000.
Within built-up areas, one solution is infill plots, such as former industrial sites or pieces of land with abandoned buildings. An increasing number of homeowners are also ready to sell off chunks of their back gardens. This practice, known as garden-grabbing, does not always go down well with the neighbours, though.
It can also make sense to knock down existing houses and replace them with one or more typically larger dwellings. Common targets include 1960s bungalows and other poor-quality housing stock with little architectural value. These sites have the advantage of already having electricity connections, gas supplies and mains sewerage. The government is keen to encourage building on such sites rather than in remote areas without transport, services or schools.
Statistics taken from Plotsearch, www.plotsearch.co.uk, a land-finding agency with 5,000 listings
