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Self builds are top of the plots
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| Purchasing a piece of land to build your dream home on is cost-effective |
ARE YOU tired of scanning the property
market for your dream house to no avail? Turning your hand to a self-build home could be the answer.
Although it may seem like an intimidating prospect, the finished result of having a
designer home unique to yourself at a cost-
effective price can be very rewarding.
Self-build homes are on the increase in the UK with the Self-Build Alliance - a project
management concept which aims to assist
people with building their own homes - reporting a total of 35,000 being built last year.
However, the market remains a niche one.
Advantages of a self-build include being able to build on exact plots in a location of your choice, having a say in the design of the house to suit your lifestyle, getting more for your money and most importantly, a great sense of achievement from building your own home on plots of land for sale.
The largest single outlay of the construction process will undoubtedly be the plot of land that you choose to build your home on.
Despite this, self-builds are a good way to avoid negative equity as they can be worth a third more than the cost of the land, labour and materials used to build it, according to the
independent website Yourmortgage.co.uk
As a result of the increase in self-build and home design television programmes, such as Grand Designs, the competition for plots of land is now greater than ever, but there are a number of avenues to take when searching for your perfect plot.
Currently, 70 per cent of land coming onto the market is brownfield, this is land which is or was occupied by a permanent structure but has now become vacant, underused or derelict with
redevelopment potential. Thirty per cent is Greenland - undeveloped land such as parks and recreational grounds - and can be sourced in a number of ways.
Land to build on can be sought from
estate agents, who, as a result of increase in
demand, have a growing number of land plots on their books and actively seek it out.
In addition, there are also land agents, who deal solely with building plots and land, with or without planning permission.
A growth in internet sites, such as building-plot.org.uk and plotfinder.net, which offer plot search facilities are useful, as well as keeping an eye out for advertisements in newspapers and auctions.
Just as the popularity of buying land to
build on is increasing, so is the number of homeowners selling off their gardens and surplus land.
Homeowners looking to sell their homes are begining to sell their gardens or land as a
separate entity to maximise the profit they can make - especially if they have secured
planning permission beforehand.
If you have always dreamt of building your own home but don't feel you have the skills or knowledge to do so, there are self-build courses offering practical advice to ensure you are prepared to deal with planners, architects, builders and subcontractors.
Run in conjunction with Homebuilding and Renovating magazine, the next courses begin in the Autumn.
For more information about start dates and locations, email info@selfbuildcourses.co.uk
12:27pm Tuesday 29th April 2008
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