Getting On

[Getting On]

Hello all,

 

I am currently the negotiation stage of selling my property. In North West England

 

I am totally new to the idea of a self build. I am unable to even project manage a self build project.

 

The advice I need is as follows.

 

1. My budget is £200K that includes land with full planning permission for a 3 bed dwelling. This must include access to all utilities.

2. I need to move within a 2 hour drive to Dunstable Bedfordshire.

 

My straight question is "Is my budget feasible?""

 

Kind regards,

 

Getting On

[recoveringbuilder]

Welcome, have you a plot in mind and if so what are you planning on spending on it? Can you do a lot of the work yourself and where are you going to stay during the build?

please be sure your utilities are close at hand in any plot you consider, our plot had an electricity pole in the garden which lulled us into a false sense of security and we got the shock of our lives when we were quoted £25 k for a connection as the line was at capacity. I t depends what kind of spec you are looking at as well, personally I wouldn’t like to try it for 200k including land, utilities and fees but I wouldn’t say it couldn’t be done, you’d have to do a lot of shopping around for materials.

[Redoctober]

Yes, on the face of it, the budget does seem a bit tight. A 3 bed house - probably 140sq metres at least I would say - Rough guide - £1k per sq metre build budget - [this will require a lot of work to be undertaken by the client], doesn't leave a great deal for land and services. Perhaps more details of the intended house, location of plot, and it's orientation might help. 

[Thedreamer]

That's seems very cheap. Really have a good think about this as you wouldn't want to start some think you can't finish.

 

How much are plots in your area? In Skye good plots are roughly between £50,000 to £80,000.

 

 

[MikeSharp01]

Welcome to THE forum for self builder.  Seems like a very tight budget but might be doable. Perhaps the optimum route would be to find a derelict existing dwelling with a good foundation so you can build on that and get the VAT back, there are some rules on how much you can retain, although you will pay more for the plot all the services will be there and planning should be straight forward. The trick is going to be to draw a polygon around Dunstable with the periphery lying on a 1 hour travel (fast car / slow car / bike / train etc). That's quite a long way up the M1 (don't go south as prices get silly) but not as far across country. Then look for the cheapest areas and try and find a derelict building - auctions are good.

Edited November 12, 2018 by MikeSharp01

[PeterW]

Is the 2 hours to Dunstable a target that you want to do every week or is it an occasional journey ..??

 

90 mins gets you into the Grantham / Peterborough / Spalding triangle so your £200k would go much further. Due east takes you to Cambridge and the prices rise sharply. 

 

 

[nod]

I’m in the nw of England 

Preston Lancs 

were about are you located 

Regarding managing a build 

You May suprise yourself 

You are more than welcome to come and visit us 

Welcome to the forum 

 

  Gary

 

[NSS]

2 hours ago, Getting On said:

Hello all,

 

I am currently the negotiation stage of selling my property. In North West England

 

I am totally new to the idea of a self build. I am unable to even project manage a self build project.

 

The advice I need is as follows.

 

1. My budget is £200K that includes land with full planning permission for a 3 bed dwelling. This must include access to all utilities.

2. I need to move within a 2 hour drive to Dunstable Bedfordshire.

 

My straight question is "Is my budget feasible?""

 

Kind regards,

 

Getting On

Sorry, but let me get this right. You want to buy a plot, with planning permission, and build a 3-bed dwelling (presumably detached) for a total of £200k. You say you are unable even to project manage such a build, so i'm guessing you won't be doing too much of the building yourself either? 

 

That's not tight, I'd say it's damned nigh impossible, unless I've misunderstood your original post and that's a budget for the build alone (ie not including the plot cost).

[nod]

33 minutes ago, NSS said:

Sorry, but let me get this right. You want to buy a plot, with planning permission, and build a 3-bed dwelling (presumably detached) for a total of £200k. You say you are unable even to project manage such a build, so i'm guessing you won't be doing too much of the building yourself either? 

 

That's not tight, I'd say it's damned nigh impossible, unless I've misunderstood your original post and that's a budget for the build alone (ie not including the plot cost).

We’re we are plots average around 200 k

Nut 20 mile East of us around half that 

[NSS]

5 minutes ago, nod said:

We’re we are plots average around 200 k

Nut 20 mile East of us around half that 

The plot would need to be practically free-gratis for a turnkey 3-bed property to be delivered within that budget though. 

[nod]

Always difficult to put a figure on a build 

A friend has built a small three bed one bath basic house for 120 k The plot was a small part of a garden of a house he also renovated 

If he had sold the plot separately I don’t think he would had got more than 80k if he could find a buyer

So it is a difficult ask

But possible Just about 

[Ferdinand]

2 hours could put you as far away as Chesterfield or Colchester, so I think you probably need more criteria to avoid diluting your search. I would develop some criteria for the place you want to live - coast, walking country, shops, flatland etc.

 

IMO the budget should be possible depending where you look and what you want, as by the time several years have passed you could have saved more. I have a perfectly acceptable 670 sqft bungalow with 3 double bedrooms, but most people want more.

 

I could point you at a plot that just got permission for  a 2 bed detached dwelling that is on sale for in the 30-40k range that may be replannable, but I am nearly at Chesterfield and that is 1hr 45 says Google.

 

There may be much to be said for buying somewhere with a garden, then living in the existing and selling off afterwards - or similar schemes.

 

The budget you need imo is an elapsed time budget to find the best solution for you.

 

For 200k and those criteria you could probably buy a very nice house outright as an alternative.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by Ferdinand

[Getting On]

Thank you all,

 

I now have more time to do my research and get quotes once I have found a plot. My potential buyer came back today with an offer I will not accept. I don't expect an offer increase.

 

I will ask more questions as I do further research.

 

I feel more confident now, the next 6 months should bring in a decent amount of funds based on shares currently I have in my investment portfolio.

 

ATB,

 

Getting On.