Building your own home
Tuesday, 24 March 2009 3:44 PM
A man's home is his castle, and if recent statistics are anything to go on, he's the builder of the castle.
AboutProperty recently reported on how the recession had caused an increase in the number of people building their own home.
While the prospect may seem daunting, information from Buildstore found a surge in new 'self-building' recruits this year, with enquiries up 37 per cent. The reason, they said, was homeowners wanting to 'build their way out of the recession'.
Falls in the price of land could be one reason for the UK self-build surge, as well as the increase in contractors available to work on such projects, but whatever the reason, it appears more of us our donning our hard hats and steel capped boots to create our dream homes.
Some 20,000 of us build our own homes every year according to Buildstore, who recently started a series of self-build courses, which has seen more than 250 people take part to learn more about the practicalities of creating their own home.
The company provides a 'start to finish' approach to aiding the self-builder, including finance, land purchase and trade materials, as well as providing the UK's only permanent centre for self-builders and renovators.
Tim Doherty managing director of Building Services, says the self-builder must be prepared to work hard and know their limitations. He says: "I think the current climate couldn't be better for people who want to think about self-building, because firstly, land values have fallen in the same way that in general property has. Secondly finance is still available from self-build lenders. The third reason is there are generally more trades people available this year while developers aren't building as much.
"You should usually allow four to six months to buy and purchase land. I would then allow another four to six months to get your design sorted. Self-build will then take on average between nine and 12 months, which is around two years all in all, start to finish."
Of course, one of the major reasons to lead self-builders down the building route is the ability to create their own environmentally conscious additions to their home right from the outset, rather than tacking them onto their existing home. Tim says while developers will be predominantly led by profit, self-builders are much more willing to include new technologies to their home, such as solar panels.
Tim says: "The successful projects are a result of diligent planning. The more research you undertake the better. The first golden rule is always work out the budget you feel comfortable with right at the beginning; you must be aware of all the costs. Work out a contingency plan too so that nothing comes as a surprise.
"The easiest way I can describe the 'self-builder' is to put them into three categories. Firstly, 'traders', and that is a euphemism for someone who will do most of the work themselves. These people will inevitably be lead by budget. At the other end of the spectrum you have the 'executive builder'; they have made the project work but have commissioned people to do it for them, while they continue with their normal day jobs. The third is the 'self-project' builder, who will manage, organise, employ, but still carry on with their normal job. I would say about 30 per cent of self-builders are traders, another 30 per cent executive builders and 40 per cent self-project builders.
"The most sensible self-builder will know their limitations. However, with a little bit of training you can do a lot of things yourself. Tiling, roofing and laying drains can be taught. The average self-builder should be able to do an instant up lift of 30 per cent by taking on the build themselves."
It can be done.
One couple to have successfully gone down the self-build route is the Keenan's. The couple are currently approaching their third self-build project, following the success of their first two homes.
The Keenans, Tracy, 36, and John, 43, are renting a home in Renfrew in Scotland, having just secured plot number three. They began self-building in 2001 when they bought a plot of land near Glasgow for £30,000.
They then borrowed from BuildStore using its 'Accelerator' product, which allowed them to access lump sums of cash in advance of each stage of the build. They spent a further £75,000 building a detached home and doubled their money when they sold in 2004.
Project number two was more ambitious. Tracy describes the house as being a traditional Scottish-style build with a grand turreted entrance which opens directly onto a large dining hall, with a white-render exterior, and with five bedrooms and three large reception rooms. The Keenan's moved in just in time for Christmas 2005.
Once again they used 'Accelerator', as well as Buildstore's 'Tradecard'. They created a large sum of equity from the home and sold it at the end of 2007 for £500,000; again almost doubling their money.
Tracy says: "Some of our goals and objectives have changed from our first two houses and we can afford to be choosy as we've made a lot of money with our previous two self-build homes.
"We have found a really special plot in Renfrewshire after a lot of searching using www.plotsearch.co.uk, sympathetic local agents and even knocking on doors and talking to people about hiving off bits of their gardens!
"I cannot recommend self-building highly enough as a way to scale the property ladder quickly and to get a home that you can truly call your own. But it is hard work, and it takes dedication, so I would urge everyone thinking about it to get lots of advice and approach the experts."
The Keenan's are currently taking their time with plot number three, as Tracy has just had a baby daughter last summer.
Tracey added: "At first it was a bit daunting, there's so much to learn. There is no point going to a high-street lender; you are effectively buying something that doesn't exist and it takes a huge leap of faith.
"This third time though, we won't only be building for profit - we'll be building a dream home for ourselves and our daughter.hopefully for many years to come."
And apparently the Keenans aren't the only ones to be self-building right now.
Last weekend, the Homebuilding and Renovating show was held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. The turnout was good, indicating the revival which self-builds are seeing in the UK market place.
Show director, Nick Noble, says: "Pre-registrations were good but we were not entirely sure what to expect. Seeing the queues on the first morning was reassuring and our exhibitors left on Sunday evening with smiles on their faces and loads of good leads and orders. Clearly this sector of the building industry is working!"
Timber frame companies have also seen an increase in the number of enquiries from self-builders, according to the UK Timber Frame Association (UKTFA).
Geoff Arnold, chairman of UKTFA, said: "Timber frame is growing in popularity rapidly through the UK as the benefits to self-builders are recognised.
"It is the most environmentally sustainable mainstream method of construction, which plays a significant role in helping to protect the local and global environment, as well as delivering high quality low energy homes using a fast and efficient construction process.
"For self-builders, timber frame has many major advantages, including sustainability and durability, which is particularly important in our current environmental and financial conscious climate.
"It also brings relatively short on-site build time, with timber frames erected approximately 30 per cent faster than brick and block, depending on the complexity of the design."
And the cost of self-building or renovating could be due a significant reduction, if measures to reduce construction and maintenance VAT are followed through by the government. The Get Britain Building campaign is hoping the reduced VAT will encourage more of us to 'Get building'.
Brian Berry, director of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said: "Cutting VAT to five per cent on maintenance and repairs would be a huge advantage for self-builders looking to renovate or refurbish their home.
"At the moment anyone who buys a dilapidated building with a view to renovating it and making it a home must pay 15 per cent VAT on all the works done to the building. However, if they knock the building down and start again they won't pay any VAT!
"This is clearly unfair and is causing many of our old buildings to be pulled down which has an impact on our heritage legacy. Cutting VAT would mean that more homeowners would consider improving their property thereby providing more work for small to medium sized building companies who are suffering greatly due to the recession."
Sarah Garrod
