How Do You Go About Building Your Own Home?
It’s not for everyone, but building your own home to your own personal design is a dream many people aspire to achieve.
But, as you might imagine, building a home from scratch is a complex and often daunting prospect, and you’ll need to do a lot of research before you even start.
To give you an idea of the steps involved, here is a (very) brief guide to building your own home:
Find a Plot
The first step, of course, in building your own home is to find somewhere to build it. Deciding which general area you want to live in is the easy part: finding a suitable, and affordable, plot of land is usually more difficult.
According to Planning Portal, the best places to look for land are on the internet, through local estate agents and on the local authority register.
Work Out Your Budget
Once you know how much your land is likely to cost, you can then work out how much money you can afford to spend on the actual building.
You should certainly have a finance plan in place before you buy any land – this could be savings or mortgages, but ensure it’s a realistic budget, and make sure there’s plenty of extra cash available in a contingency fund for unseen events.
Employ a Designer
Unless you’re an architect yourself, you will need someone to help design your home for you. Choose one with a good reputation – preferably a firm which has worked for somebody you know – and make sure it’s someone who understands exactly what you want.
If you’re looking for architects in West London, such as https://www.rbddesign.com/, or elsewhere, ensure you check out their previous work so you know what they are capable of.
Get Permission
Whether you’re building a mansion or a one-bedroom bungalow, you will need planning permission put in place before you start. Start early.
Choose a Builder
Unless you’re a builder by trade, you’ll need someone else to build your home for you. Again, try to choose a firm based on personal recommendation – at the very least, check out testimonials.
It’s essential you get a builder you can trust. And appointing a project manager – even if it’s yourself – will ensure everything gets done in the right order at the right time.
