Hi there. Want to build a house

[equationer]

Hi there, 

I'm from Reading. I have never owned a house - have always rented. I was  thinking about buying one but wanted to see if building one would be better. I am no millionaire , just a self-employed delivery driver doing some extra side hussles，and saved enough to put 1/3rd of down payment on a reasonable semi-detached house around here. So I will be sourcing the finance  to built my house. My total budget will be between  300K  to 400K right from the finding a plot to completion. Please don't judge me if I'm in the wrong place. I have been looking at several ways to build a house , and I do think ICF to be the best. I don't intend to build anything big, and the plots I am looking are no larger than 250 sqmeter and hopefully within already established residential postcodes.  So ICF for a small house I think would be  just as reasonable to build.  

One of the possible option I was looking at is to build a one storey dwelling with ICF, and add one storey built with  SIPs on top of ICF dwelling. I don't know if that's ever been done. Would it be more expensive than a 2 storey ICF dwelling. I intend to have a garage , not for the car, but for a worktop where I can work on several projects.  So The ground floor I imagine still needs to ICF given its excellent strength. 

 

[Bonner]

Welcome you are in the right place! Look at traditional masonry build to keep costs down, although slow it is still the most cost effective option for many projects. Not sure about your budget, how much are plots in your area?

[Bitpipe]

Welcome, I'm just down the M4 from you.

 

While £3-400k sounds generous, it is very tight if the plot is to be included. Most builds cost between £1500-2500/m2 depending on the location, size, quality & complexity and that is excluding the plot. Some have done it for less (£1000/m2 or lower) but they have been able to do a lot of the work themselves.

 

Small builds tends to have higher fixed costs as a proportion of the build budget, such as enabling services (power, water & sewage at a minimum).

 

Until you have a plot you won't know what budget remains for the build itself.

 

You also need to budget for non build costs, mostly professional fees for surveys, architect (if used), structural engineer, building control inspections etc.

 

Regarding a phased build, entirely possible but you would be doing a lot of re-work to the roof in particular and would need to design and engineer the first story (including foundations) to take the additional load of upper storeys. Also, any subsequent phases would not be eligible for the zero rate VAT scheme .

[nod]

Your plot purchase will be key

Buying without full planning will make any potential plot cheaper 

The problem is that the fees and surveys will be the same on a small or large house 

You need to be around the 100k mark for a  garden plot 

Buying in a built up area will cut your Conections charges dramatically Gas Electric water and also cut the amount of surveys needed 

 
Good luck with your search 

[Temp]

Be careful if looking at plots without any planning permission. You have to wonder why it doesn't have it. There are scammers about.

[joe90]

Think about “bungalow gobbling”, this is buying a delapidated old bungalow and demolishing it a re building your new house. Planning will be easier and services (which can cost mega bucks) are already on site and you still get to claim the VAT back ?.

[Carrerahill]

Just now, joe90 said:

Think about “bungalow gobbling”, this is buying a delapidated old bungalow and demolishing it a re building your new house. Planning will be easier and services (which can cost mega bucks) are already on site and you still get to claim the VAT back ?.

Is that what you call it?

 

In the last 5 years about 5 houses on one street near here were bought, demolished and better ones built. The houses were 400K houses, I wonder how the financials stacked up if I was honest. As I see it there becomes a point where a home on a plot on a street will struggle to go for much more. Say they build a new house and want £800,000 for it, I don't know that people are going to pay £800,000 for technically a smart £400,000 house. If you had £800,000 you buy a £800,000 house within a street, area or land that is £800K worth.