scottvining

Thanks @Omnibuswoman Do you have any recommendations or experience with architects in Cornwall? We just had a good chat with Acro2 architects who are based in Bodmin. But they did put a dampener on some of our ideas!

Good to see Cornish Banter! There's so much info on here. If I don't find land this year we'll probably rent down there next year. Penzance might be a bit far though - going to need to regularly visit relatives in West Sussex! @SteamyTea So Devon is cheaper, but harder to get planning. I'd rather be in Cornwall of I can afford it. @Marvin I've had a couple of business so hopefully have learnt some lessons the hard way, that I can hopefully apply. Was hoping to find land for 150k, but looks like what we want will likely be 200k. Then selling business and flat to fund the rest. I'm going to get down there in a couple of weeks, to get a feel for it, try to narrow the search and view a couple of plots. I'll have loads of questions about planning very soon I suspect.

Thanks @Marvin I can't wait to really get into the nitty gritty of heating, energy efficiency and power etc. I have no idea of what combination of ASHP, MVHR, Solar Thermal, Thermal Mass and PV would be ideal. Plus charging an EV too! I read today that you can get ASHP which has a dual tanks for UFH and HW, but I didn't think ASHP could do hot water hot enough? Is it worth getting in someone to figure it all out, or is it something I could work out myself? I'm drawing floor plans and looking at all these heating solutions, but started to feel like I was getting ahead of myself. It feels like it's going to be a massive hurdle just getting the land.

Thanks, There are barns and the like with 1+ acres popping up occasionally. Most are over our budget (which is 150k-180k) or not secluded enough for us. We're hoping that being open minded about the how the house sits in the land will help us. I've was hoping to find the land this year, but fear it may take longer. I'm in the process of making contact with all the Estate Agents. Do I really need to 'butter them up' so they send land my way, or just registering on their website enough?

Well, we're finally doing it! So I thought I'd sign up here and pester you guys with all my questions. After years of dreaming about it we've got cash for the land, selling our business to pay for the rest and planning to build an eco (passivehaus-as-possible) family home somewhere in North Cornwall / Devon borders. 1+ acres rural, 4 bed unique family home. Earth sheltered, tree house, quirky barn conversion, we're open to anything that's sympathetic to the surroundings and fits with the land. We know what we want inside, but have open ideas for the exterior to reflect the nature around it. We're currently living in Bucks, having moved out of London 7 years ago and would rather spend the money up front on an energy efficient home with low running costs. So I'm thinking air tight, air source heat pump, maybe MVHR, maybe solar thermal, PVs... If we could go off grid we would, but there are probably a few luxuries that are stopping us. I'm very much still getting the feel for the self build opportunities in North Cornwall. It's hard being so excited about getting the ball rolling, yet so frustrated with the land search. Maybe I just don't get on with Estate Agents or maybe I'm naive (probably), but finding land / conversation etc is so life sapping! I'm so glad places such as this forum exist. I hope to delve down many rabbit holes exploring different opinions and experiences. Thanks for reading.