Hello! Seeking advice on relocating and applying for finance....

[JJam]

Hello,

 

We're very new to the self build world and are seeking some advice!

 

We have the opportunity to convert some old stables on my parents land into a new house.  My parents have said that they will sign the land over to us.

 

We would be looking to start building work in just over a year's time - giving us time to find an architect, get planning permission and approve the plans before we relocate.

 

We currently have a traditional mortgage on our terraced house that we plan to sell to release some capital (estimated at around 130k).  Once all the plans were sorted in 12 months time we plan to pack in our jobs and relocate into an existing property on my parents land to start the build.  We would then get new jobs close to my parents location.

 

We've had an informal chat with an architect (who although not from the area) has provided a guestimate figure of around 300k to convert the property. Neither of us are great DIY-ers so we wouldn't want to commit to doing the project ourselves although we'd be happy to labour etc.

 

We're now starting to feel this project will fall at the first hurdle as we've learnt it's not as simple to relocate and expect to get finance to fund the shortfall  Despite having good credit history and not failing on our current mortgage payments, we would both have new jobs in a new area.  We don't relish the idea of starting the project without having finance to complete it.

 

We've gone through the RIBA service who've shortlisted some architects for us (and we've got excited seeing their portfolios) but we don't want to waste time contacting firms if there's not way we can make this work.

 

Does anyone have any experience / advice on relocating to a new area and obtaining finance to complete a self build project? Or do we just have to sit it out and wait for at least 6 months until we can apply for credit or a self build mortgage?

 

Thanks for any help or advice....

[ProDave]

11 minutes ago, JJam said:

 

We're now starting to feel this project will fall at the first hurdle as we've learnt it's not as simple to relocate and expect to get finance to fund the shortfall  Despite having good credit history and not failing on our current mortgage payments, we would both have new jobs in a new area.  We don't relish the idea of starting the project without having finance to complete it.

 

We learned that lesson when we moved here in 2003 and both started work self employed, having previously been self employed.

A year later we were refused interest free credit to buy a sofa.

[recoveringbuilder]

If there’s an existing property on your parents land why are you going to wait until you’re ready to start the build? If you moved and got new jobs now you would have a year of that address under your belt by the time you need to borrow and you’d also be saving a years mortgage payments on your current property which would add to the pot as well.

[Sue B]

Are you sure that the council will allow conversion of the stables into a dwelling house?  Are they habitable at the moment?  

 

[newhome]

The best option would be to do as Christine says and relocate ASAP and get new jobs, or maybe you could sell up, move into rented accommodation for a while whilst keeping your old jobs, secure the self build mortgage when needed and then relocate. Might be better for you to relocate one at a time if that’s possible so you aren’t giving up all employment all at once. I don’t know your circumstances but to save money you could maybe rent a static caravan or something cheap in your existing area for a while until you find the perfect job to move to. Above all else get saving what you can. Anything to get a bit more cash in the bank when you come to do the build. 

 

You had better check that you can get planning permission first before you do anything. You might want to check the capital gains tax position wrt the ‘free’ land transfer too as your parents will be liable to pay that and may want you to reimburse them. 

 

One of the things that will affect the budget is whether your project is eligible for 5% VAT or zero VAT. That will make a big difference to the cost. 

 

 

[ultramods]

I wouldn't trust an architect giving you an estimate of the renovation costs, you might be better to get some quotes from builders and or surveyors?

 

Architects can struggle to estimate the costs of a new build never mind the conversion of and old building with potential hidden issues.

[Triassic]

I agree with much of what has been said so far,

 

talk to the planners local to the stables to see if conversion is even possible,

start your job search now,

sell up and move soonest,

move into the spare property at the farm,

save your mortgage money, look at your existing outgoing and get rid of what you don’t need, live frugally to save more.

sort out the capital gains position,

measure up the floor area of the existing stables,

draw a plan of how you think you would lay out the space,

talk to locals who’ve used an architect and get recommendations,

do some research into suitable builders, get one or two of them onto site and see what they think of your ideas,

do a ball park estimate of costs (the architect would probably only give you a costing based on the floor area, if you wanted more detail you’d be paying them to produce something. If you do a lot of work yourself you could spend £1,000/m2, the more the bu8lder does the more it will cost you, if you want high end luxury you could end up spending £2,000/m2.

Take some photos and hand draw a floor plan and post it here and see what others could suggest.

Post questions, ask for advice on how to save time, labour costs and money.

Do your homework, what do you want in a home, what’s the best way if doing things

etc etc

.

[JJam]

Many thanks to you all for taking the time to give such detailed responses - it's very much appreciated.  

 

You've given us a lot of food for thought and options to progress. If we do go ahead I'm sure I'll be asking for some more advice!!

 

Best wishes to you all.

[Ferdinand]

>We would be looking to start building work in just over a year's time - giving us time to find an architect, get planning permission and approve the plans before we relocate.

 

On architects. 

 

As a professional they have a huge amount of knowledge and training, and hinterland. It is like dealing with a master of a guild, rather than a journeyman (eg an Architectural Technlogist). They bring a significant possibility for inspiration and innovation to your conversion (probably good for a barn conversion), and can add a lot of wow factor and fluency to your project.

 

But ... by the same token that means that you have to be on the other end of the seesaw with an awareness of what you want, or your architect can deliver you nothing except THEiR ideas.

So you need to develop a sufficient vision yourself to GUIDE the inspiration your architect can supply, so you gat a brilliant version of what YOU want.

 

To pick up on @joe90, be an active enough client such that first you can choose an architect who's "style" matches your intention, and second so that you have the confidence to express the constraints you wish to identify clearly. Including budget.

 

With an architect you need to be able to debate and think at a more abstract level than say with an Architectural Technician.

 

A seesaw needs similar weights on both ends, and that means you need to work at it ... the Architect has 5-7 years of training plus a career, which is a resource that you have to be good enough to guide.

 

F

[newhome]

20 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

A seesaw needs similar weights on both ends, and that means you need to work at it ... the Architect has 5-7 years of training plus a career, which is a resource that you have to be good enough to guide.

 

And from some of the designs we see on here architects do not always have budget at the forefront of their mind. They may be set on creating the perfect vision rather than designing something that might be not that much different, but a whole lot more budget friendly. Not all architects but certainly some so keep a practical head on when looking at draft designs and think to yourself 'how will I build that', or 'how much will that huge steel cost'. If you don't feel qualified to assess this then you may need someone on board who can. 

 

 

[Ferdinand]

6 hours ago, newhome said:

 

And from some of the designs we see on here architects do not always have budget at the forefront of their mind. They may be set on creating the perfect vision rather than designing something that might be not that much different, but a whole lot more budget friendly. Not all architects but certainly some so keep a practical head on when looking at draft designs and think to yourself 'how will I build that', or 'how much will that huge steel cost'. If you don't feel qualified to assess this then you may need someone on board who can. 

 

 

 

Yes.

 

My view is that sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by an architect, through assuming that they will somehow manage themselves. Things like the adherence to a budget, and where there is flexibility or not, are imo part of the stuff we need to be aware of the outlines of, and communicate our requirements.

 

If we are dealing with somebody who is more of a technician or plans-drawer, then it is more obvious that they are more of a lieutenant or a midshipman. Even if we higher a Captain of the ship, ie architect, we still need to navigate.

 

An architect may well think of their role as to suggest things which are beyond our ideas, which may well be very very good but will stretch the budget, and we need decide how far down those avenues we go. That imo is one of the constraints we need to address and communicate.

 

I am overtime considering the Brief to be more and more important, and deserving of effort.

 

Ferdinand