Totally out of our depth

[Debuild]

We have sold our home and bought 2 acres of land in Devon with Q planning for 2 two bedroom semi’s. We are having electricity, water and a septic tank installed. At every turn we are meeting new barriers. We will be living on site in a static caravan. The plan is to get full planning for one dwelling. We’re on a tight budget and I literally feel like we have made a massive mistake. Did anyone else feel like this?

[MortarThePoint]

Welcome!

 

I expect everyone here has been overwhelmed at some point by the amount of hoops to jump through. Important to keep your eye on what you're trying to achieve. The budget always gets stretched, but there are likely ways of managing.

Edited yesterday at 07:17 by MortarThePoint

[Debuild]

Thank you. We are extremely overwhelmed and we are hoping that this forum can be a good source of reassurance and honest advice. We have wanted this for so long but didn’t expect to feel like this at the start 

[jack]

40 minutes ago, Debuild said:

Thank you. We are extremely overwhelmed and we are hoping that this forum can be a good source of reassurance and honest advice. We have wanted this for so long but didn’t expect to feel like this at the start 

 

Welcome to BuildHub.

 

I think most builders feel overwhelmed at one point or another. When you're just starting up, everything is new and you're having to learn everything from scratch. 

 

You could start by posting about your current challenges in the relevant forum. 

 

If you haven't done so already, do some research about CIL - what it is, whether your council charges it, and how it might apply to your circumstances given you have approval for two properties.

 

The reason for pointing this out is that, if you make a mistake at this point, you could be in the hook for tens of thousands of quid. There's a pinned post in the relevent sub-forum for people who've been affected. 

 

Do you have power, water, etc. on-site? If not, then there are often ways to reduce costs there, so visit the relevent sub-forums for advice.

 

Good luck.

[saveasteading]

Firstly I'd say that you should expect this to take 3 years.

Going faster costs money.

Secondly. Homework. You will get help on here but not a free design service.

Become expert. Meet neighbours, become involved locally. Look at other projects in the area.

Read BH. Read the building regulations.

 

Thirdly. Your design at this stage must consider the practicality and cost.

 

Now some questions. What size of house do you plan? Do you know if your budget is suitable? How much diy do you intend?

Do you have a view on the build method?

 

Don't despair.

[JohnMo]

1 minute ago, Debuild said:

extremely overwhelmed

Sounds like you need to step back a little. Plan exactly what you want to achieve, put some realistic numbers to the costs. Write It all down. Get a big note pad use It as brain dump, scribble pad. Put it by your bed and instead of rotating a thought around your head write it down. The process is pretty simple, but gets overwhelming because there are many parts that need to be done in a specific order. Plans are good they keep focus, a snagging list needs to to be added to the plan at every stage so things are out of your head and on paper. I am saying on paper for good reason, it quick and easy, it doesn't crash and doesn't need power or internet.

 

I really found this forum useful at the start and planning stage, but once I started the build I didn't want the noise of a 101 opinions of a forum, I had a plan, a design and stuck to rigidly.

 

It shouldn't be an overwhelming process, steep learning curve - yes.

 

Why two properties?

Do you need two, why not just one?

Why semi detached, that means you really need to do two properties at the same time?

Do you have suitable funding in place?

[saveasteading]

3 minutes ago, jack said:

Do you have power, water, etc. on-site? 

Don't just charge ahead on these. Good value starts now.

Eg you say septic tank is going in. Make sure this will fit in to your completed project. Not best value installing  a septic tank now and then abandoning it for a treatment tank later.

[Debuild]

Sorry it is a treatment plant not septic tank 

we really don’t want 2 houses, so that’s why we are going for full planning for one (fingers crossed)

we have a date from national grid to get electricity to the land and we’re just waiting for south west water to organise a site visit 

these utilities will then serve the static caravan whilst we proceed with planning applications 

[Russell griffiths]

Get your question count up to about a 1000 and you will start to get a grip on things

just keep asking, and tell us everything, I’m afraid nothing can be a secret, as all answers could be based on your personal circumstances as well as the type of build. 
 

nobody will judge you, you just want the most appropriate answers. 
 

im 7 years into mine and still have days when I regret starting it. 
 

but at the end you will be sitting in a house you probably wouldn’t have ever been able to go out and buy. 

[miike]

If you have pp for 2 houses, 2 acres, and a tight budget, why not sell part of the plot with pp for 1 house to help fund your build? 

[saveasteading]

5 minutes ago, miike said:

why not sell part of the plot with pp

Presumably the previous owner went though such thought processes. Do you know them? Can you ask?

Have you looked at all the planning documentation? It will be online along with any previous applications.

 

At least you might design the house in such a way that another house may be possible in the future.

 

Basic questions.  Who did the planning application that got permission?

Havd you / Do you intend to engage professionals at this stage?

[miike]

10 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

Presumably the previous owner went though such thought processes. Do you know them? Can you ask?

Have you looked at all the planning documentation? It will be online along with any previous applications.

 

At least you might design the house in such a way that another house may be possible in the future.

 

Basic questions.  Who did the planning application that got permission?

Havd you / Do you intend to engage professionals at this stage?

 

Selling 1 plot is less work than selling 2 plots, is probably the main thought process of the previous owner. 

Edited yesterday at 09:54 by miike

[nod]

Hopefully you have your cil in place 

Only build one at once to keep your cil in place and also claim your vat back 

[FarmerN]

4 hours ago, Debuild said:

We have sold our home and bought 2 acres of land in Devon with Q planning for 2 two bedroom semi’s. We are having electricity, water and a septic tank installed. At every turn we are meeting new barriers. We will be living on site in a static caravan. The plan is to get full planning for one dwelling. We’re on a tight budget and I literally feel like we have made a massive mistake. Did anyone else feel like this?

I feel for you.

By “Q planning for 2 two bedroom semi’s” I presume this means Class Q permitted development and that you have an existing structure you have to work within, or have I misunderstood.

If Class Q  ,is it still true that you have a fixed time scale of 3 years from approval to work with?

Take note of the CIL warnings already given.

Good luck.

Edited yesterday at 11:36 by FarmerN

[ToughButterCup]

13 hours ago, Debuild said:

... Did anyone else feel like this?

 

Yes.

10 years later, I'm still recovering from the trauma. Not joking.

[mjc55]

I know it is repeating what others have said but make sure you have been through the CIL conundrum - if it is relevant where you are building.

[Nickfromwales]

Get your prelims in check, and listed / costed out so you can see ‘hidden costs’ as a lot of folk skip over this, and become unprepared for paying for things when they pop up, that’s before laying a single brick btw. 
 

Who’s been mentoring you to date? Architect? 

[DownSouth]

It will feel overwhelming and you’ll have to pace yourself because everything takes so long. Money flows out at a rate - but at least you won’t have rent to pay with the static. We’ve friends who are self building from a caravan. They put a yurt up May-October every year (4years and counting!) and that doubles their living space for half the year. Might be an idea?
 

On a tight budget you’ll need to do tons yourself - almost every job is doable but work out where you need skills and look for those people early (that was groundworks, plasterers and tilers for us). 

The pad by the bed is an excellent tip - so many nights waking 3am when there’s something forgotten or needs answering. 

 

It is a scary ride but also amazingly fulfilling. But you do have to pace yourself - I’d say it’s really difficult because you’ll want to move it forward all the time but try and schedule normal stuff in every so often. I’m having my first day off work/off site for many weeks today (catching up on build hub 😆) and the mental break being away from site feels amazing. And it’s only 9am! 

 

Keep a diary and you might even want to blog here. Realising how far we’ve come is more important to me than what’s still left to be done. I often flick back to pictures from a year before (founds in, timber frame was going up) when I’m feeling fed up - just to remind myself we’re getting there (on painting, 2nd fix and floor laying now). Good luck! 
 

[Redoctober]

On 30/10/2025 at 06:48, Debuild said:

We’re on a tight budget and I literally feel like we have made a massive mistake. Did anyone else feel like this?

 

 

Ask yourself what has given you the confidence to get to this stage of the project? If you have just "jumped in" and are going to take the "lets hope it works out" approach, then yes, you are justified in feeling the way you are. In which case, have a serious chat with yourself and perhaps re-consider before you get into real trouble and get to a stage whereby you can't keep your head above water, so to speak.

However, if you have done the background work and believed what you are planning, can be done, then take that confindence forward and use that "approach" to overcome all the hurdles which will come your way before you reach the finish line. 

 

In addidtion to that "research" and the re-assurances that brings, utilise this forum to assist you further. If you haven't "costed" out the project in a sensible manner, then perhaps the time has come to do so and if it results in a re-avaluation, then so be it. You won't be the first person to come to that decision.

 

Either way good luck but be aware of self-fulfilling prophecies.