Where to start!

Hi all...
I already asked a separate question about buying building plots, and got some really useful replies.

So I have another question, which probably has many different answers!

When a newcomer to building a property starts on this journey, is there any organisation that can help right from the very start, with deciding which way to turn, and which unbelievably massive pile of options and decisions to start attempting to tackle first?

So, what order is it best to:
look for and buy the land, have basic drawings made, look for and employ architect, liaise with local authorities, look for and employ builders etc.

Obviously you can't build until you have approved plans and a plot to build on, but it seems there are so many decisions to make and so many choices, that even between the plot and the building design one seems to affect the other.

Do you decide as exactly as you can on the building first, then find land to fit, or the other way around?
And if both are possible, what are the pros and cons that a complete beginner might need to consider.

This forum might not be the best place to do this, as i might just get flooded with lots of differing ideas and opinions! so if anyone knows of any very basic help available around the topic, I'd be grateful for pointers.

Sorry Dave, but I'm going to be blunt here, and say you're waffling, and it's not inteded to be rude, more to try and get you to focus your thoughts.

You're obviously thinking about building your own house, but I'm not sure how enthusiastic you are about doing it, and it seems more speculation on your part.

DaveNewbie said:

When a newcomer to building a property starts on this journey, is there any organisation that can help right from the very start, with deciding which way to turn, and which unbelievably massive pile of options and decisions to start attempting to tackle first?

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There are no organsations, but there are magazines like "Housbuilding and Renovation" that will take you through the processes that you need to think about.

In essence, you need to work out your budget, get a few ideas of how much the build will cost, look for a piece of land that will fit in with the rest of your budget, yet be within the area that you wish to live. You need to find an architect to design the house (unless you take a stock ready built house) and you need someone to manage the build, as I think you'd be out of your depth from the questions you're asking. You need the courage and the perseverence to deal with the beuracracy of the local council, and the inevitable confusion and problems that you'll get from the builders.

Get a copy of the magazine, and that'll give you a few ideas of what you're up against. But on the positive side, if you can handle all the problems, you'll be pleased with what you achieved.

Never ever buy land without certainty of what you will be able to do with it, or put on it.

There are self build forums on th enet, ebuild is a good one. Otherwise use a professional surveyor or suchlike to advise

Quite right Doggit... I was 'waffling' but quite deliberately...
I do have quite focused ideas about what I want, and the sort of place I want to build, but one of the things I don't want (right now) is people focusing directly on me & my unique and individual plans.
Rather I want to find out the overall methodology of 'going about things' and the most time saving and efficient ways of doing so. Unfortunately that entails a bit of waffling.

I'll go look at ebuild, Thanks ^woody^.

HMMM... just looked and ebuild says:

"
ebuild is sad to announce its closure - it has become too time and resource intensive to develop, manage and maintain.

However, ebuild will remain on-line in archive mode (ie no posting facilties) for several weeks so that users can use it as an information resource.

"

There are loads of different routes to take based on what you want, what you can afford, what knowledge you already have, what timeframe you expect and what's available.

To be able to help pinpoint what you want specifically then you need to be a little more specific in the first place - otherwise all I can suggest is go and talk to a load of people, read a load of books/magazines, research on the internet etc until you understand what it is you want to do and then formulate your own plan.

If you think that you have 'unique and individual' plans I'd probably challenge that at this stage and hazard a guess that they're not that unique or individual and as such people would probably be able to help you further.

Tell us what you're thinking and I'm sure someone could help.

Wow... thank you everyone.
You are all saying pretty much what I was expecting. That's good and it's just what I needed to hear.

People with experience and the benefit of hindsight can be so helpful to others starting out on a similar journey.

As with most things in life, something that's blatantly obvious to an experienced person isn't at all obvious to others until it's pointed out.

angelboy, I feel certain that if I started to get into what my dream home is and how, where and why I want to build it, I'd get loads of really useful help here.
Probably much more than I'd need or want. I totally realise that what I want to build very much dictates other aspects and that if I focus first on a location/plot, that could well dictate aspects of the building I can construct.

For now, however, I wanted to be able to stand outside of all this minutia and just look at the basic 'do's' and 'dont's' or the underlined 'rules' of how best to start going about it.
Something may jump out at me that I'd not been aware of.

I really appreciate peoples time & patience.
D.

So are you looking to build a 'home' purely for yourself or are you looking to develop a 'house' for a profit?

It would be a 'home' purely for personal use.

The difference being that if you develop for yourself, then you'll always spend more than developing for a profit that you use to build the next one with. There a lot of serial house builders that have a long term plan of building enough profit to make the last one the "home" purely for personal use.

DaveNewbie said:

It would be a 'home' purely for personal use.

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So then, what's the most important aspect of this home, the design or the location or both?

That's a difficult one, but I think the design just wins, as I want to build an energy positive home, but I do want it in a rural setting.
I have quite detailed and strong ideas about the design, not so much in terms of it's shape, but in terms of it's energy profile, efficient energy conservation, energy capture and storage methods etc.
So I'm aware of what's doable and available on that front.

The main thing I'm having difficulty with is not having any experience whatsoever in the whole property construction industry, and as I ask around, I'm becoming utterly swamped with information and choices and more & more aware that without some basic understanding of just how it all works, I'm likely to make costly mistakes, both financially & time wise, some of which could be irreversible.

I just want to do it properly!

I've been to the local council and told them what I want to do.
They gave me a form to complete called: "Pre-Application Enquiry Form for Non-Householder Development" which (I don't know but I'm guessing) is maybe what results in "Outlined Planning Permission"???
They said if I fill in the form and send it to them they would reply within 21 days to let me know if it would be 'approved' or not.

It's partly all the 'red tape' that's confusing me or making me nervous. But also I've just started looking for a plot of land that might roughly fit my ideas and I already feel swamped by different options and possibilities and hidden unknowns and I'm sure I've only just scratched the surface of what's available.

What sort of plot do I want?
Do I want a plot with existing Outlined PP.
Do I want a rural 'brownfield'? plot with an existing derelict building that I can demolish and whose footprint I can use so I don't need to obtain DPP?

Every question I ask seems to generate another whole new set of questions, all of which seem to be in some way applicable.

I know it's usually far better to have too many options than not enough, but I'm beginning to wonder!

I think everyone here is probably saying the same thing in essence, and that is "you have to jump in the deep end and learn to swim. There is no shallow end and arm bands to learn in."

I know it might seem weird, but I don't want to get into the 'detail' of my particular and personal project here in a public forum.

I came here to try to find basic help on the overall process of how to go about the process of building your own home rather than paying an estate agent to find you one that's already built.

There must be many other people treading water here in the deep end. I need to find a few and talk to them.

Thanks for the help.

A property with outline planning permission is the best option, but depending on the details of the house you want to put on it, the OPP, may then be deemed innapropriate or insufficient. You may need an architect to draw some outline plans for you, and he should be able to advise you of any things to avoid in the land you look for, and you can then go back to him to check if the land you find will be suitable. Ideally, as this is your first time, you'll find a nice flat piece of land, but you could still work with a sloping piece as long as you've got a good design, and a competent architect, and it would be cheaper than a standard plot.

I did a self build. It isn't rocket science, but bad decisions can be irreversible, so you need to research. In my day, Murray Armor's, Build Your Own Home was the bible, and it served me well. (He's dead, and I don't think the book is in print now.) Plots: have you seen 'Plotfinder'? It's a start, and you'll get used to what the costs might be and how the jargon is used- outline, detailed etc. Companies will provide ready made plans if that suits. Others will do full, turnkey solutions on your plot. You can use a designer rather than an architect and save money there- if it suits. One thing is a cert- you cannot build a house without the land. Start there.

CG

Just saw this: Do I want a rural 'brownfield'? plot with an existing derelict building that I can demolish and whose footprint I can use so I don't need to obtain DPP?

That doesn't work- you'd need pp for that approach.

You need planning permission whichever route you take, so the question on using a brownfield site, is realy whether it's cheaper to buy a brownfield site and demolish the existing property, rather than bying a virgin site, that'll also need services installed. There are other issues with a brownfiel site that need to be considered; has there been an chemical use on the site, was there a dump underneath at some stage. There can be a lot of dangers with them, but they can work out cheaper as well. But I think you mentioned that you wer looking at the city, brownfield sites may be your only option.

CG... Oh? That's interesting, because I've been told by a few people now that if I can find an old derelict building I can use it's PP.