Self-build is a phrase that is becoming ever-popular in the housing market. Hold on, what precisely is “self-build”? It’s a home you build yourself. Not necessarily only by yourself, but you place yourself in the position as foreman, architect, planner of your house and allow trained workers do the job you tell them to do. More and more individuals are doing just that – in fact, the army of “self-builders” in the UK outnumbers the amount of properties being developed by any professional developer. The aim of self-build is to create a house to your precise specifications, not a template that the large developers work to.
I’m sure you’re formulating this thought right about now: “But I’m not a builder”. The good news is that getting involved with a self-build project doesn’t have to involve you with the physical aspects of the property building (in point of fact, just 5% of self-builders actually get involved with the actual building work). Even when it comes to design, quite often this is delegated to a professional designer.. Self-build, more often than not, is about you articulating (in laymen’s terms), what you want to the house designer – who then creates a design based on your necessities. This design then becomes the blueprint the builders work to. See? It’s not required to have any proactive participation in self-build. Having said all that, the DIY fan can use self-build as an opportunity to save some wonga by helping out with the aspects of self-build they have experience in – it’s your choice how much involvement you want during the build.
Self-build sounds pricy, but actually it’s more often than not cheaper than purchasing an already built home of the same specifications (up to 30% cheaper). That’s not all, self-built homes sell very well too – as much as 25% higher than the development costs, so you can view self-build also as a means to invest your money, rather than just a place to live
You must ensure the team of workers you choose are 100% competent and that they can develop as a group. Without doubt, you will need workers with lots of experience, particularly with specific types of building machinery, such as floor saws using diamond blades, wall saws, angle grinders, masonry saws and stihl saws. With a skillful group of workers, you are also increasing the safety levels of the build.
This article is merely an introduction to self-build, and I hope it will encourage those of you who are perhaps a little daunted by such projects. It needn’t be time-intensive, and you won’t need any specific skills, but you will need to be cautious as to who you hire, and you will need to carefully work out the budget of the project.
