Flat-pack homes

tdsmithj

Hi,

I need advice about flat-pack homes. I been watching the programme on the home channel and I am sucked into the whole building your house business but I am a little stuck.

1. As you know you need to get land and planning permission. I have checked lots of land sites but they seem to only offer large amounts of land. I want to move on the borders of ludlow which has vast countryside where I am sure no one owns. How do I find out about this?

2. Also the cost. I know its impossible to give an answer but flat-pack houses are very sketchy on homes that are assembled. I am after a spacious 3 - 4 bedroom property but does not have to be a large house.

3. Also I have never built a house a house before. So starting something that is project managed yourself seems scary. I would need to find out any help not just about building the property but electrics, water, heating etc. But the overall look and feel inside the house is left to me.

Again I have done a little bit of research and my main target is to abtain the land I need.

Thanks in advance...

CKdesigner

Hi tdsmithj

You may be interested to know that the market leader in timber frame homes for the self build market is Potton Kingspan, they are based in St Neots Cambridgeshire, where they have a show center that has 4 beautiful fully fitted houses. We actually work along side Potton and are their sole recommended kitchen supplier.

Have a look at their website where you will find lots of useful information and I would definitely recommend a visit to the show center.

CK

tdsmithj

CKdesigner wrote: »

Hi tdsmithj

You may be interested to know that the market leader in timber frame homes for the self build market is Potton Kingspan, they are based in St Neots Cambridgeshire, where they have a show center that has 4 beautiful fully fitted houses. We actually work along side Potton and are their sole recommended kitchen supplier.

Have a look at their website where you will find lots of useful information and I would definitely recommend a visit to the show center.

CK

Yea, I was looking at them. They sound quite good. I think the main problem is finding the land. I have tried property websites but the cost of land is expensive. Is there anyway to find out about what land is available? I went to the land registry website but it seems like you have to pay. I really need to find what is available and at a reasonable price.

I want around an acre for £10,000-£15000.

Is this doable?

WestonDave

There won't be land around which no-one owns (unless its common land and you have no chance of building on that as its designated open space). You will also need to find land which either has or is likely to receive planning for residential housing - again this is not all land. Your best bet is to go on the council website for the area you have in mind, find their "Local Plan" and see what areas are zoned for residential house building. You can then start researching plots of land and looking on the LR website to see what is available. However be warned - land which has or is likely to get permission to build on, is likely to be priced accordingly, whilst cheap land is probably cheap because there is next to no chance of getting permission to build on it. (for example there is a wood for sale near us for around the price you are looking at, but you'd never get permission to build on it in a million years!).

I'm sure there are self build forums on the internet who may be able to better answer your questions as they are devoted to people looking to do the same as you. My impression from the outside is that trying to self build is extremely frustrating due to the hassle of finding land, affording land and that's before you get into design and build issues!

OK_Sauce

tdsmithj wrote: »

I want around an acre for £10,000-£15000.
Is this doable?

Very unlikely at that price. I don't want to demoralise you before you start but any land that has planning permission already, then you would likely need to add another nought to those numbers. I'm not sure whereabouts in the country you are but down here in the south east an acre of land that has planning permission to build on it is likely to be at least 300k to a million quid. Agricultural land and wooded areas where you would very unlikely, if ever, be allowed to build on would probably go for around the prices you have quoted. When I looked into this a few years ago it seemed any land worth having was snapped up pretty sharpish by developers. At the time it seemed to me that any kind of building land would probably cost at least half to three-quarters of the purchase price of a completed house. Look at the self build magazines. There are schemes where land is set aside specifically for self builders as it is well known finding the right land accounts for the majority of time of the project. The very best of luck to you and hope your goal is achievable!

iamcornholio

tdsmithj wrote: »

the cost of land is expensive.

I want around an acre for £10,000-£15000.

You need to understand that land is not priced like that.

The value of a plot will vary massively, depending on what can be done with it

Have a look at the site and forums at https://www.ebuild.co.uk

You may want to tour around or use google earth to find houses with large gardens, and then see if you can negotiate a price if it is feasible to build on - as this will be the best way to acquire land cheaply

But don't underestimate the associated costs and fees - it is not just the cost of the house materials and labour to build it. There are lots of hidden fees which can mess your budget up

MX5huggy

tdsmithj wrote: »

I want around an acre for £10,000-£15000.

Is this doable?

No say building costs around £1200 per meter square.

In West Wales
120 sq meter house costs £144,000, a house like that is worth £250,000 or so so the land to build such a house (a lot less than a acre) is going to cost around £90,000.

In London the build cost would be similar say £180,000 but the house worth £500,000 so the land would cost £300,000 (if you could find any). just examples of how land is priced. This is land that has or is likely to get permission.

Agricultural land is price differently.

penrhyn

Thought initially you were talking about the Ikea ones, best ones I saw on Grand Designs was the Huf House.

http://www.huf-haus.com/en/show-houses/united-kingdom/london.html

Idiophreak

penrhyn wrote: »

Thought initially you were talking about the Ikea ones, best ones I saw on Grand Designs was the Huf House.

http://www.huf-haus.com/en/show-houses/united-kingdom/london.html

Looked into these before, thought they might be a cost-effective option.

:eek::eek::eek:

OP, I've started thinking a little about self-build myself in the last couple of weeks and agree with everyone else - your hopes of land for £10-15k are *way* off the mark. There's some land for that kinda money near me, being sold as "investment"...it's right in the middle of both the green belt and the flood plain. Ie pretty much impossible to develop at any point. Anything that you could *remotely* stand a chance of building on is an order of magnitude more expensive.

The best options for finding land reasonably priced may not be the easiest. I've read quite a lot of things about people buying 1930s bungalows, building in the garden, then selling the bungalow on again. Likewise, quite a lot of people find run-down houses that they can knock down and start again.

I'm afraid it doesn't seem to be too cheap, or too easy - otherwise everyone would do it!

spadoosh

huf haus all the way, there well smart.

Plus you get an army of germans building it in a week for you!

Idiophreak

spadoosh wrote: »

huf haus all the way, there well smart.

Plus you get an army of germans building it in a week for you!

I just can't see the OP spending 10k on the land and then £600k + on a huf haus...:)