Hecateh

Plus 1 still giggling --- I have so been there

I loaned my son 11k to buy his first home, the only way the mortgage company would consider it was if the loan became a gift. He has paid me back but there is a risk involved. If things had gone wrong then I would have had to take the knock as legally it was a gift.

A thought from one who has just been stung Get quotes for utilities before you commit Still waiting on water and sewerage from Yorkshire water - but have to pay to even get a quote from them. I really don't think they should be too bad as water supply is within a yard of my boundary and I am installing a pump to public sewer on my property Electricity however has been a different matter. Surrounded by properties but I have to pay £8600 from the nearest main. The more quotes you can get for things that HAVE to happen before you start the easier it is to be accurate AND as was said before - some costs don't scale. Utilities will cost the same whatever the size of your build (within reason)

Architects topographical survey Planning permission ground investigation Water Gas electriciy Sewerage NHBC insurance Building Control A list of things I didn't fully consider (I considered them but took averages rather than getting quotes - apart from architect who was pretty much a waste of money anyway) before starting my own self build ... Cost of all of these approx £20,000. Yours may not be as much BUT have you the contingency if they. Some of these costs are lower for a small project like yours (and mine); many are the same whether you are building a 70 sq m bungalow or a 500sqm mansion. On top of this I have the other extras (£15k) ish on the the actual build. I am not trying to be negative - I know that despite all this I will love living in my new build - however I had (sort of ) available funds way and above my contingency - my pension fund - so really didn't want to use it. I hope you can sort it out BUT don't get to the point of no return without knowing how you'll cope. Many sleepless nights here and I know I will be ok.

Thinking about it - I have a feeling that they base what they will lend you on the predicted final value of the property rather than your costs

Always worth talking to them - buildstore only act as brokers and their charges are higher. Also - I started my self build in December and have been hit with a few extras I wasn't expecting - with hindsight there are some that I could/should have checked out before. The biggest one is because I am on a slope - I expected foundations to be a bit more but they came in at 12k more Second one - there isn't a sewer near by that I can tee into (on a neighbour's property and under a shed and the neighbours are not pleased that I am building)/ another 3k extra to put in a pump to a sewer on my property. Water board may have been able to sort something out but that may have come in expensive too Latest one - electricity. Nearest wiring is up to capacity - have to come about 70m from nearest junction £8.6k instead of the 1.5 to 3 I was expecting. None of these increase the final value of the house so would not have been able to add more to a mortgage because of them. You probably won't have the same issues but you will almost definitely have some. They aren't kidding when they say you should have at least a 20% contingency. That is more than 20% of my build (only a small bungalow and I already owned the land. Do you already own the land - the value of that can be used as part of your 'deposit'

I can't answer the whole question but the legal costs of the mortgage itself can be included in the mortgage - In my case I have a ridging loan rather than a self build mortgage as I don't have an income. The interest in this case is also rolled into the loan until I pay it off. One thing I think other members will tell you soon don't go with Build Store but try and go direct. In my case the same mortgage came in at about £1,500 cheaper by using a broker but I suspect I could have gone direct and saved even more. You are lucky to have found this forum earlier on in your quest to self build than I did. There is so much help, knowledge and support on here.

I'm not much further forward than you. Got planning permission beginning of September - builder ready to start as soon as got the go ahead. Architects totally pathetic. Not advising necessary steps, not keeping me informed, not doing as she promised - meant we broke ground in December - and then regretted it as other things that 'due diligence' would have suggested she 'do; tell; inform;' didn't happen so ended up paying out silly monies because time was of the essence, builder was on site and Christmas meant delays of various kinds. Moving forward now, but still getting issues arising that either wouldn't have happened or could have been better planned for. My advice would be to sort out utility plans and quotes, engineering calcs, planning conditions sign off; before setting any dates to start physical work. Oh and I have already 'spent' about 24k of a 20k (20%) contingency Really not trying to 'rain on your parade' --- I and You will still have the privilege of living in our own individual home - but the more time taken getting things right at the start will prevent many headaches. Unfortunately I didn't find this forum early enough. Having said that - one thing this forum is really good at (as well as giving great advice; points to consider;opportunities to laugh at and commiserate with others) is an awareness that s*** happens to the best of us. AND some of it is far worse than financial.

This century as in 'the last hundred years' or as in 'since 2000'

Yep - i'm considering that. Not sure it is very feasible but definitely worth looking at. Problems Challenges with doing that The road is quite a steep slope The wall between the road and the garden is brick at the top and stone at the bottom between the brick wall and the house is concrete - and the wall is leaning away (very longstanding - the bungalow was built by/for my grandparents and as kids we used to dare each other to stand under it so has been like the for more than 50 years but not sure how it would stand up to being disturbed The stone wall below, follows the slope and is held together by crumbling mortar, a section fell out a few years ago when it was very cold - I mortared it back in - very badly, so again not sure how much disturbance it will stand. I'll talk it through with the builder and if he thinks it's a goer then I'll discuss with the surveyor

Spoken to the guy today. Very approachable but no joy as to any other way to achieve. Across the road is at capacity. The one to the bungalow uses a method that they longer use - because of the increased demands on electricity each dwelling has to have its own supply. The library shown on the plan doesn't exist any more but their supply was also old style and no longer used. The supply along the path to the north of the bungalow is only for street lighting. I am going to get another quote but, for that supply route the price is understandable I guess, and it's going to be another hit to the pocket. My new kitchen plan is getting more basic by the day.

Thank you, I think that is what I am going to do 8K for what needed doing for you sounds very reasonable compared to mine lol

That's just brilliant - Thank you, Thank you, Thankyou - I'm quite happy to fight for something so long as I know I have 'mi ducks in a row' as regards facts and back up AND that is so difficult when I have 'thoughts' but no knowledge

Can easily run an extension from the garage - on its own spur - or do I need more than this? @recoveringacademic @MikeSharp01 @PeterW this was SO what I was hoping to hear. It was my thought but, as I thought we were only a metre or so from supply at the drive side, didn't put forward on my application. The supply that feeds my current place and next door though was laid in about 1959 - is this likely to still be a suitable feed?

That's a question I am going to pursue. I put entry at the drive on the application but it doesn't have to be. Would involve extra work (and money) for my builders but not 8k

My builder is doing all the work on my land. The rest - apparently there are over 200 companies that are licensed to do the highway work, I'm going to look into it BUT if they have to dig up the whole road then I doubt anyone will be much cheaper Water - the main is about 1 metre from my drive but not yet received quote Gas is brilliant - connection is 2 m from my property - quote about £1200 with a 'discount' (No idea what or why) bring it down to £350 ish Sewers - no work for them as the Public Sewer is on my land so they just have to 'check' it

I was wondering if they could link into that. It's one of the things I want to check. The application asked me to say where I wanted the supply to come in and I put by the drive as they is where other services are coming in. I suspected, but didn't know for sure where my bungalow supply came from - the meter is on that side - and now feel I should have asked to talk to someone first. I didn't ask for maps (duh)

I will call them tomorrow - think I might have been a bit too 'emotional' to tackle that today Could be - My current house (where the supply comes from the other side) was built in 1951 The 2 bungalows inline with my new one - were built in the early 70's and the house across from me was built in the 80's I don't think I ticked the wrong box "Thank you for asking us to produce a quotation for a new supply at the Property. In line with your request, we will provide you with a new low voltage (230 Volt) connection to our electricity distribution system (the “Distribution System”), full details of which are included in this Quotation. Works Required:  Install a low voltage mains cable to your site  Install a service cable to your meter position  Install equipment suitable for connecting the meter" I am going to ask about it but I think it is going to be just another thing and I'll just have to live with AAaaaarrrrggggghhhh - another reason why @epsilonGreedy may need to have a few more thinks. If you haven't got a load of 'contingency' you really could end up in the stew. I have already gone 25% above my (admittedly tight) budget. Luckily it is not at deal breaker level - just reducing the retirement pot. Although if things carry on in the same way I will be selling the new build and moving into the bog standard, housing estate property

I have just received a quotation from Northern Power Grid for the electricity supply. My house, in the garden of my current house, is at the end of a small cul de sac and will be the 5th property - others having been built many years ago. As there are houses just the other side of the road from me, using NPGs calculator my estimated costs were between 1 and 2 k depending which side of the road the electricity supply was on. The quote is for over £8600 - Not connecting to existing supply but running a whole new supply down the road. Another 6.5k to add to the bill Ouch ouch ouch

The pap The paper bit is no longer part of your license and is no longer issued

good for you! Shows it is always worth trying

Yep beer day is definitely only Friday at the end of the working day - they got chocolate as well Christmas week

The kind of skill that a person can learn in 3 months is EG how to build a wall - on a flat surface with no pressure; or how to plaster a square wall with a reasonable level of accuracy. This person would have no idea what to do if eg the weather is against you; there are retaining issues; the SE specifies a particular bond; the BI asks you 'why have you xxx?'. Building a house isn't like building a raised bed or even a garage. FOR SURE if (if) you have life experience; friends in the know; access to building know how etc etc you can build. But in no way will 3 months experience in anything qualify you to the necessary level to independently approach any level of house building. This is purely the opinion of someone with no qualifications at all in this area but with lots of life experience and training experience WHO has very much learned that knowing how to do something and being able to do it to a good level without external input in less than perfect conditions and facing unexpected challenges is a very different issue. Unless you are a very unusual individual

+1 sometimes beer on Fridays

That and labouring. Apart from standing around waiting for materials to arrive; waiting for someone else to finish their bit and generally ensuring spades stand up; a huge amount of time seems to be spent ferrying materials from one part of the plot to another. (I'm trying not get get wound up by the standing around as my price, where there are no variations, is fixed and when they do get working they work very hard) Work does progress more quickly when 'the boss' is on site (which is probably around 3/4 of the time) Oh - and give them a kettle, the cheapest mugs you can find and an endless supply of biscuits