Ralfbean

Thanks Mike, appreciate the response

Hi all, Just wanted clarification on whether it is possible to have waste pipe and water pipe in the same trench? I have a narrow lane down to the water and sewer connections on the road and ideally would like to lay in the same trench. How does this work and can I lay together? Any advice would be great! Thanks!

Thanks for your advice, I don't think the lender has any idea of what they want! They want to try and make sure I don't spend too much money by making me spend more money on contracts/administrators and having to pay a fixed amount! They do not take into account that I am semi-skilled and can do the entire interior fit out myself. Our solution is to hire my father in law as the main contractor and control the budget via him. Needlessly over complicated but we might struggle to find an alternative lender at this time.

Hi, I see this topic has been touched upon a couple of times but wanted to see if anyone could help. My lender is insisting on a fixed price JCT contract for a self build (technically isnt a self build then in my eyes!) They will not accept a minor works contract, but after asking a number of times they have not specified which contract. Would an intermediate JCT contract generally cover a self build with a budget of £150,000? Thanks!

Hi, Is it possible to change your plans/design once the mortgage offer has been signed and agreed? The plans which have come with the land we are purchasing are more complicated than they need to be, we are going to simplify the design and in fact make the property more valuable once finished. Has anyone had experience of doing this? Thanks

Thanks for the reply! The reason we are doing it is because the original plan is a bungalow with a basement, has a large footprint and requires a retaining wall, the new plans will be a house with a similar square footage but will not require structural works and therefore be more cost effective in terms of ground works and probably roof. Our concern is that we spend ALOT of the budget on ground works on the existing plans. We estimate the finished product to be more valuable as the layout will be more appealing to a future buyer. My concern is that we are borrowing money to build one thing then once approved we move the goalposts etc. Did you alter your plans once your finance had been approved and signed and was it difficult to do? Thanks!

Hi all, I am currently in the process of purchasing a plot with existing planning on and I am going to borrow the money to build the house. After being approved for the finance would it be possible to put in a different planning application? Although we will have existing plans to fall back on I am concerned that the building society will say no or make us do another mortgage application as it will be a completely different end product. Has anyone else done this or know if this would be possible? Thanks!