DickieB

Hi All. My first post - I’m here to absorb as much as I can for a while, I have nothing planned yet, but I’ve wanted to self-build for as long as I can remember. Having grown up in a Swedish-style bungalow, most houses just don’t do it for me, they could be so much more. Hopefully self-building can achieve this. We are in our mid-fifties (OK, mid to late 😳) and currently live in a traditional Victorian semi. We’d like to build or renovate for a “forever” home, with at least the potential for a downstairs bedroom and bathroom. We have probably enough capital to buy a plot and get foundations down, but will need to sell our place to do any more. Unfortunately our current house has cracking so we’re in the middle of an interminable subsidence claim with our insurers. So that, plus the downwards movement in the property market, means we’ll be hanging on for a year or two before committing to a plot unless the perfect one appears and is irresistible. Our only experience is the renovation of a cold and damp Welsh farmhouse which (combined with a 100% second home council tax premium, soon to be 200%) eventually defeated us. We learnt a lot about not trusting builders. ☹️ Looking forward to the adventure (I think)! P.S. so many acronyms already! Is there a sticky post or similar that lists them all?