Misconceptions some have

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There are loads of misconceptions around build to let and having a home of your own design built for you, referred to as the self build route. On this page we are looking at the most common ones.

Self build does not usually involve people in any building work, the title comes from the historic  times when self builders used to have to build their own homes. Today the vast majority of self builders are commissioners, as are many property developers, they decide what they want, decide who is to do it and arrange getting it done. They may manage the project themselves instructing and scheduling individual firms or craftsmen, many employ a project manager to do this for them or may get a package deal where someone in effect does the build to their specification.

Self builders do not usually live in a caravan on a build site. Most modern mortgages allow for people to live in their existing home until the property is complete, then move selling their previous home. Over the last few years property has increased in price so often in the time they have been building their old house has increased in value far faster than any costs involved and many have completely furnished out their home from the proceeds. A few have used this windfall to add a pool in a pool house.

Self build if rarely cheaper if you go for a package deal from a single supplier. If the same person has done the drawings, controlled the planning, organized the supply of materials and labor, they have not had to compete with other tenders, so usually the cost will be higher than by careful buying. As the package provider often owns the copyright of the drawings and design you cannot once trapped switch to a more economic means of getting the job done. A package deal may look easier but can add 20% to the cost.

It is claimed that timber frame is better than brick and block or the other way around. There are lots of ways of building houses and all are about the same cost, all have advantages and disadvantages. Timber frame and some others cost more in materials, but as more can be done in a factory, they have lower labor costs. About 80% of houses in the UK are brick and block at this time. 

There are plots available. It is often said that you cannot self build as there are no plots available, but at any time we know of well over 14,000 plots available, and more come up all the time. Where a solitary self builder has a problem is that many sites are not lone plots but a part of a group. Solitary self builders are also not sufficiently prepared to be able to move fast enough when the right one does come up, and this is why you will have heard of people taking 8 to 10 years to get a plot.

Some mistakenly think that all self build are large expensive houses. In practice they cover the entire range from small to large, cheap to expensive. However as people gat around a 40% discount by this method, many go for a better house at the same price as opposed to spending less.  According to Build It magazine the average spend on a new self build is £190,000. Given that some are considerably above this, many must be far lower. The specialist self build magazines often have examples of homes built for under £50,000, some far lower.

Some think that you have to have the cash all available to build a self build, when your deposit commitment is less than with other houses. Today there are a number of mortgage sources that not only provide 95% of the land price and 95% of the build cost, but provide the cash in stages to line up with when it is needed. many also offer 95% of the value of the house on completion, which is of course far more than has been spent, releasing funds for furnishing, holidays or other uses. Commercial sources often promote 100% funding. Another saving is that stamp duty is only payable on the land if over £60,000, below this there is none, where if you had bought a completed home it would have been on the total cost of house and land.

Many people wrongly think that they cannot have the home of their dreams, when most can. Look at a home that a person wants, and find out the price, deduct 40%, to get what it would cast to produce via the self build route. Divide this figure by 20, to get 5%, the deposit required. If they cannot quite afford it still there are a few other things that can be done like not building the garage to start, but completing the house, remortgaging and using from of the surplus to cover this. You can to a degree do the same with some other items. Its not usually the deposit that presents a problem, most people can raise more than this on a credit card alone if they need to, its the earning multiples that building societies apply, that may present limits however with a house with a 40% discount, far more can qualify, even more if they stagger the development. When you purchase most houses you pay stamp duty on the full price of the house, with a self  build you do not, you only pay it on the land purchased sometimes.

Many people are led to believe that they will never be able to get on the property ladder, this is incorrect. The salary they are on is usually the limiting factor, in that most mortgages are limited to around 4 or 5 times the salary of people, but there are many ways around this, so as to get onto the property ladder. Building for 'buy to let' in a cheaper area is one route, developing a holiday property another. Sharing the ownership with a friend or relative and a whole vast array of methods to reduce the cost available through the Affordable Homes Project. Just the simple action of being involved with self build cuts the cost by around 40%, so allows far more people than realize it to qualify now.

Some mistakenly think that have to know how to build a house to get involved in self build, they don't. Its an advantage to know a little bit but not essential as you can use a project manager or even buy from a package company who will do it all for you. Knowing how something happens is far simpler than being able to do it yourself, so you can easily learn how the wires run around a home for the electric sockets, but leave it to the electrician to actually put them in and make them work.

Some mistakenly believe building a home takes a long time, it need not. If you set out to buy a house you have to find the one you want, are often held up in a chain, and then have to do all the formalities. This can take a long time. With a self build you have to know what you want to do, find a plot, organize the build and get it built. This is often about the same amount of time.  The actual bit of building the  house from the ground until its a waterproof shell can be anything from a few days to a couple of months, depending on the method used. In demonstrations and some shows, some nice show homes are built in under a week. Time delays, if they do occur, often are in getting planning approval, but this is often easier than people think when they know what they are doing. 

Some think that the first stage is to go and find a plot, it should not be. The first stage is in understanding what you want, where, setting a budget and understanding your requirements fully. Next getting an outline agreement for funding is ideal,  you are then in a position to know when a plot will suit you and be able to move fast to get it. Getting plots with others is easer, as many sites don't have a single plot but a number together and the site owner wants to sell them all, not just a part of the site. We of course feel that the first step should be in joining this club as we can help people identify their needs, in working out most things and in putting together people who want to get a site together.

Its cheaper to do this all through the club. Although joining either this club or the Self Build Homes Club, who are the specialist in all of this  involves a joining fee and subscription, this is far more than recovered by moving faster, being more informed and prepared, plus plots will usually be cheaper as we have consultants who are not emotionally involved to do the negotiating for you, and they don't get a percentage of the selling price like agents. Sites with a number of plots on, are not so sought by other self builds so prices lower.  Plus SBHC members get a clubs trade card which allows you to get trade discount on supplies. Both of the clubs total costs are covered by membership fees, it gets no income from other sales, commissions etc, members  know we are working for the members only, and we would suggest this is a unique benefit.