Scottish Elises

We are thinking of putting up our house for sale in the next couple of months and whilst looking around the market we have not really found anything that really ticks all the boxes - i.e. combination of being in the country, rustic charm, modern interior and that all important garage space.

Got me thinking about the possibility of self-builds as we can specify exactly what we want (plus the Aberdonian in me likes the VAT back option on completion ).

Just wondering whether anyone has undertaken anything and if they could offer any advice/contacts and all importantly would they do it again.

George

Ps Couple of magazines already bought - completely open to renovate/buy-demolish or just plot/build (plus the magnitude of other options as turnkey etc). Also aware that it is on everyones wish list to do but not that many people actually end up going down that route.

Did it 14 years ago and currently doing it again. Well worth it IMO

And my new garage is 16m x 7m with a full size loft

I'm pretty jealous of your current garage space. More is just greedy

Will follow this closely as George's post could have been written by me! Problem in this neck of the woods is availability of plots. Anything tends to be bought by development companies. Would love a decent garden for family and dogs but more money can be made by selling to cala etc to stick a dozen houses on each and every acre

I have done 2.. One in Scotland and another in France. Sure I have old web pages for builds somewhere.

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My sister bought a £300K property, demolished it and rebuilt new. Last year she sold it for £1000K which turned a good profit but maybe not as much as it could have done with more experience. There was much pain on the way - the usual things like the builder going bust, contractors making a bigger jobs than necessary etc, etc. I think her advice would be to get an experienced project manager on your side (and I mean working for your interests and no one else), avoid the temptation to over spec, and make sure you avoid bull sh*t (know your stuff).

She is now doing it again, but this time her experience has probably reduced the cost and stress significantly.

Good luck.

It should also go without saying that you'll need cash or a lot of equity in current property to pay for it. You won't be able to get a normal mortgage against a property that doesn't exist.

Also consider where you would be if the whole thing failed for some reason, or if you lost some or all of your income mid way through the build, etc., etc.

Of course the probabilities are that the project will complete, if late and over budget, and you'll end up with your house, but you should not ignore the potential risks and their impact on your life.

Cheers,
Robin

Robin,

Good points there however I believe there are I durance policies that you can purchase to cover the "disaster" scenarios.

Still in the initial stages of determining whether this is viable as the major stumbling block at present is finding plots that are decent enough size but don't cost the earth. Not even looking at plots without services/planning permission as I don't want to buy a bit of green land and then find its not habitable.

We have good equity in the house but options are
- buy a plot and then wait for the house to sell to start the process
- sell then start looking
In some ways I think the plot determines which way to go. More than likely if we do sell then the idea of renting long term may be just throwing money down the drain. Don't think I could do a Petrocelli (anyone remember that program in the 70's/80's)

Currently looking at rightmove.co.uk to find plots, found that plotbrowser.com does not have many plots for sale up our way. Ideal way would be to get in before people go to the estate agents to cut the commission so may be an idea looking at the land register once we determine our ideal location and canvass that way.

George

douglasgdmw wrote: Not even looking at plots without services/planning permission as I don't want to buy a bit of green land and then find its not habitable.

As long as there's a road; electricity, water & phone shouldn't be too expensive.....

We're on LPG and have our own water treatment plant. The gas is probably 50% more expensive than being on the mains but a new house can be built super-insulated and you can look at other options like a ground source heat pump or wood pellet boiler. The water treatment system can be operated & maintained for about the same cost as you get back on your council tax / water rates (unless you want to sign up to a 24/7 maintenance contract). Obviously the initial capex for these is higher but then the plot will be cheaper!

We bought an existing old croft house / barn (with 3acres) instead and demolished 70% of it but rebuilt it authentically from outside. We paid £220,000 for it and spent £150,000 on it (budget was £120,000 = ooooops). House now valued at £375,000.

We won't loose but neither will we gain either. We do however have our perfect 1880 house with bags of character (small though)... Lots a different ways to approach it.

At the time stressful first time around and I took 6months off between jobs (fully paid lucky garden leave!). So glad I was on site everyday throughout = major major benefit working across trades

We will do it again sometime soon I guess

We've just put a deposit down on a house although it won't be built until next year. The builder is offering a bespoke, high quality product with a number of traditional features such as natural stonework, sash n' case style windows, natural slate roof etc in a modern, energy efficient package.

I've managed to tailor the house to my requirements - the first being a large treble garage!

I'll PM you the details for info and further food for thought, George.

Who's building them Chris ?. We are about to move as well but can't be bothered with the self build hassle but there is limited period property on the market at the moment.

PM sent with a bit more detail Mike but its http://snowdropdevelopments.co.uk/asset ... ochure.pdf

Very nice Chris