A home is the single largest investment a person will make in their lifetime, spending time, money and energy searching for that ‘perfect home’.  Location, price, décor and the condition of the property are also factored in, and each buyer will have a specific need or certain criteria that needs to be met when purchasing their new home.

It’s not surprising that more people are wanting to take control and build their own property.   New figures show the demand to build homes has increased, with over 33,000 signed up to Right to Build registers.   This is an 80% rise compared to this time last year according to research from the National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA).    The Government are trying to make it more accessible to make this an option. Councils must help people secure plots and mortgage lenders are being encouraged to provide specialist deals for self-build projects.

What are the benefits of building your own home?

• From choosing the land, design and structural layout of the property, with advice and input from architects, construction and project managers. You ultimately get to make the choice.  Ever found the perfect property but it’s not in an area you desired or keen on an area but not the right property?   Building your own home takes away any of these issues.  You make the decision on fixtures and fittings, flooring, bathroom, kitchen and any other additional extras you want to add in such as technology.
• A new home will be more efficient, complying with current regulations on energy efficiency and health & safety.  Environmental concerns?  Installing solar panels into roofs or cavity wall insulation could help and this could save you money on energy bills.
• A new home will be made with all new materials, you’ll not have to worry about toxic materials such as asbestos or lead paint.
• Building your own home comes in considerably cheaper than buying an already built property or buying a property from a developer. If you budget correctly your home could also be worth more than 20% than its combined land and build cost.   Stamp duty will also be charged on the cost of land rather than the value of the finished home.
• The level of satisfaction of being part of your home build project from start to finish.

What should you be prepared for?

• Finding the right plot can be challenging even with government help and relaxed planning restrictions.  Although the price of land can be affordable, not always.
• While your new home is under construction you may have the additional cost and inconvenience of trying to find another home to live in while your new home is being built. You could find yourself paying for two properties for quite some time.
• Managing a project can be stressful and time-consuming, problems can come up unexpectedly, you will need to work with various contractors at the same time. Cash flow could also become an issue, whether this be due to mortgage lenders only releasing their funds in stages of the projects to unexpected costs of materials or work.  Having some savings to fall back on can always help.

Choosing the right builders will always make the process much more simple.  Up to Plate, always make sure our customers have a project and cost plan which includes all construction costs.  Covering all stages of the project and we use as a reference throughout the process.  We understand how stressful it can be and we take time to build our relationship with you, making sure the process as smooth as possible.  For more information on our new build properties you can find in the New Build section in our website.