selfbuilder91

I am wondering about the order of things when getting a self-build mortgage which will be used to cover the cost of the land as well as the build. From what I've read, these would normally be a part of the same mortgage, but I also gather that you need full cost estimates and drawings etc. for the mortgage application, but I presume you need to have the land before you can get an architect etc. involved to do the cost estimates and drawings etc.. so I am quite confused as to where one would start. In what order do these thing normally happen?

Thanks all. Sounds like it's a case of having to use the £/m² estimates at this stage and then hoping for the best 🤞 Don't know this yet. Currently just have a rough idea of what I'd like and roughly where I'd like it. However, I'll likely only be in a position to be able to start building in a few years' time, so plenty of time to work these things out. Just trying to get a head-start on whatever budgeting/planning I can for now. Did/would you speak to architects about early estimates before commissioning them and/or before purchasing land? Are they inclined to give this sort of information to prospective clients? I've looked a bit at Danwood, and while I probably won't be going for a turnkey service, it did seem useful to be able to see what sort of thing you can get for what sort of price. I think their price includes everything except kitchen and foundations - I wouldn't have thought that would double the cost though 😬 £2000/m² including architect's fees sounds pretty good, although I'm guessing I would be at the higher end of the £/m² estimate range as I'd be going for a relatively high spec and probably in the South-East of England.

I am looking into the idea of doing a self-build and trying to get an idea of the costs involved before actually committing to it (e.g. by buying land or paying architect fees). I would like to know if the whole thing is at all feasible before investing a bunch of money in it. I have seen all the usual £/m² estimates, but these seem to vary quite a bit and don't always include all of the associated costs (e.g. architect/SE fees, applications, warranties/insurances etc.), so I'm wondering if there's a way to get a more accurate idea of costs at this stage of the journey, or is this just what people go on to start with and only get more accurate estimates as the build progresses, e.g. after land is purchased and designs are drawn up by an architect etc.? I have seen cost estimating services such as estimators.com mentioned in this forum, but it seems that these require designs which I presume would only be done much further into the project and after already having invested quite a lot of money. Any tips for how I should go about initial budgeting/estimating would be greatly appreciated 🙏

Hi all, new joiner here. I have wanted to build my own house since I was a kid and now hoping to be able to do so within the next 5 or so years. I just discovered this forum so have signed up hoping to find some advice on my self-build journey. I am currently in the very early stages of planning and trying to work out if it's even feasible, what the first steps are, costs involved, what size house I could afford to build, when it might be possible to do etc. I will for sure be asking many questions on this forum, but if you have any links to useful threads or other resources for preparing for a self-build project, please do let me know.