Deciding to say "no" to a self build opportunity

[Roger440]

7 hours ago, mjc55 said:

 

I would actually argue that in least our case, that isn't the situation.

 

We were initially quoted and paid over £8k to Southern Electric for our connection.  Basically running down a nearby pole and under a  5 ish m lane into our plot.

 

We did manage to reduce that (or be on a promise to reduce as we paid the £8k in January) when they agreed to share the works with water crossing the lane).

 

However in the last couple of weeks the cost has gone sub £2k as SE have altered the way they cost new connections.

 

You think £8k to run a cable down a pole and across a lane isnt "gouging"?

 

Grant, not as outrageous as mine, but hardly reasonable.

 

£8k to connect, so you can pay for electricity. Like going to a petrol station to fill up and getting charged for pump installation. 

[mjc55]

1 hour ago, Roger440 said:

 

You think £8k to run a cable down a pole and across a lane isnt "gouging"?

 

Grant, not as outrageous as mine, but hardly reasonable.

 

£8k to connect, so you can pay for electricity. Like going to a petrol station to fill up and getting charged for pump installation. 

I don't think that you have properly read my post.  Its around £2k not £8k

[ProDave]

When building a house, you can have cheap, fast and good.  But you ONLY ever get at most 2 of those.

 

We chose cheap and good with us doing a lot ourselves but it took several years.  To have paid someone to just build it would have resulted in a house that cost way more than it was worth.  Perhaps self building only suits the practical sort willing to do a lot of the work?

[JohnMo]

28 minutes ago, ProDave said:

Perhaps self building only suits the practical sort willing to do a lot of the work?

Or in an area of inflated house prices, where you throw money at it and still see a profit.

 

Plenty around us pay people to everything, but house prices are not high, not sure why they bother?

[Indy]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

Perhaps self building only suits the practical sort willing to do a lot of the work?

 

Or the extremely persnickety who wants things to be just so and can't find pre-built houses (new or existing stock) that meet those requirements, leaving self build as the only option. 

[Alan Ambrose]

Another way of looking at the situation in the South is that the landowners take 100% - 120% of the economic gain out of the PP uplift. Because of the v low supply, the landowners price for the people with more money than sense - making any build marginally economic at best, a money loser in most cases.