Where do I begin

[Tony1028]

Hi I am in the process of renovating my third house, I am a plasterer part time but will have a go at most things. I have made the decision to sell my current home and release 120k equity. I would love to stop rennovating and take the plunge with a self build, thinking timber frame with rendered exterior as I can do this myself but not that good as a brickie, I would love some pointers on where to begin. Find a plot, building regs plans etc. ... I have finished reading ProDave's blog which is so inspiring i just lack knowledge at the moment. 

 

Any pointers in the right direction would be appreciated.

[Guest Alphonsox]

Welcome to the forum, The plot is usually the tricky bit - where abouts in the country are you looking to build ?

[ProDave]

Hi and welcome. If you find my blog interesting, please read JSHarris's blog and many others as well. there is a wealth of information and ideas in all of them.

 

+1 to roughly where are you, that might help with ideas for plots. 

[Jeremy Harris]

Welcome, and I have to say that finding a plot was one of the hardest parts of our build.  It can be a real struggle in some parts of the country to find a viable plot at a good price.

[Nickfromwales]

46 minutes ago, ProDave said:

+1 to roughly where are you, that might help with ideas for plots. 

Profile page says Cardiff  so as a im a Swansea boy I can't POSSIBLY offer any advice

 

Welcome aboard, we could do with another Welshman on here . 

 

[Tony1028]

Thanks all for the replies I'm in Cardiff at the moment but understand I won't be finding a plot here anytime soon. South Wales somewhere would be great id even go as far as Swansea for the Sun.

[Temp]

There are a few books on the subject:

 

"How to find and buy a building plot" by Roy Speer. I think latest edition is 2010 3rd Revised Edition but perhaps check. Some of the info relating to planning permission might be out of date but still worth a read.

 

Main thing to beware of is the huge difference in value of plots with and without planning permission which has led to a number of scams. Typically these involve what looks like a cheap plot with promises to get planning permission for you. In reality it's a very expensive field.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2017 by Temp

[Crofter]

+1 to what @Temp said- sometimes a plot might be cheap for a reason. E.g. impossible to get planning, or very restricted permission only, or other headaches like it's a swamp, it's miles from any services, or conversely it's right on top of a bunch of services like gas mains. All things to avoid!

 

Have you considered 'bungalow gobbling'? No not a new fad diet but the process of buying a wreck of a house, knocking it down, and starting again. It has its own plus and minus points.

 

Another book to consider is The Self Builder's Bible.

[jack]

12 minutes ago, Crofter said:

Have you considered 'bungalow gobbling'? No not a new fad diet but the process of buying a wreck of a house, knocking it down, and starting again. It has its own plus and minus points.

 

We did that.  Bought in 2012, knocked down and rebuilt during the course of 2015.

 

My wife and I were discussing this just yesterday, and concluded that there's no way we'd be able to afford to do that in our area now.  The same bungalow now would likely go for at least 30% more than we paid, and the cost of building has, if anything, gone up over the same time period.  

 

I suspect the numbers will be very variable depending on where you are in the country (or even within the same town).

[Tony1028]

Cheers guys I have loads to get on with. Day off today reading Finding Land from Ben Adam Smith I need to be more educated but am determined to follow my dream. Thanks for all the advice.

[CC45]

On Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 19:22, Nickfromwales said:

Profile page says Cardiff  so as a im a Swansea boy I can't POSSIBLY offer any advice

 

Welcome aboard, we could do with another Welshman on here . 

 

There are a few of us here - born further West than you boys, as Ray Gravell said - West is Best.

 

Hwyl

[PeterW]

7 hours ago, Tony1028 said:

Cheers guys I have loads to get on with. Day off today reading Finding Land from Ben Adam Smith I need to be more educated but am determined to follow my dream. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Have you tried the plotfinder websites ..? Some can be good, others not so ... usually better than Rightmove though ..!

[Temp]

See if the council planning department publish a weekly list of Planning Applications. Sometimes these will turn out to be someone about to sell a plot. You might get to find out about it before it goes on the market. But do make any offer conditional on the PP being granted.