We’re not sure if you have realised but buying a house is what one would call stupidly expensive. Even the term ‘affordable housing’ has made its way into the dictionary of oxymorons. That is why so many people are now looking at options to build their own home, and with a lot of government incentives to do this, it doesn’t seem like a bad shout. However, there are a lot of misconceptions still floating around out there.
If you’re interested in going down the self-build route then you’ve watched Grand Designs, which has probably put you off the whole idea because, well, it makes it look complex and expensive. But this isn’t always the case or, should we say, it doesn’t have to be.
In fact, with clever design and management, you can build an inexpensive house without too much sweat, and here’s how:
Simplicity Is Key
The thing that ramps up the cost of a home is complex plans or fussy needs. It is pretty simple really; the more complicated your plan the more expensive your home. Why? Well, one of the biggest costs of any home is the labour. There are no two ways to put it, this accounts for a large chunk of your budget, so help them out by scrutinising as much of the plans as possible and considering how you can simplify.
Method To The Madness
How cheap your construction depends on how carefully your measure up the different decisions against one another. The professionals at http://www.flippinghouses101.net explain that it isn’t all about going with the cheapest materials on offer, but rather the ones that offer the best value. That means taking into consideration everything from durability to lifespan, maintenance to upkeep. That’s where your long-term plan comes in and knowing how long you plan on living here. Higher investment now may mean lower investment in the future.
Labour of Love
The cost of using a main contractor can be anywhere between 18% to 38% more expensive than if you were to go it alone with the help of just a few sub-contractors. Yeah, the cost of labour can account for a huge portion of your budget, so if you can do a lot of the construction efforts yourself then you should, with help from these subbies according to http://www.self-build.co.uk/. Of course, you may find a contractor that will be able to do you a deal, or save you a small fortune thanks to their relationships with suppliers and tradespeople, so dig around first.
Space, The Final Frontier
The needs for lots of small rooms is no longer necessary because houses have become much more efficient. As such, the current trend is big, open living spaces, or broken living spaces. They feel roomy, natural light can flood in and socialising is more encouraged. But with this space comes an added cost because of the extra structure needed, structure like steels. Steel is expensive. As such, you should consider adding columns to reduce these extra structural costs. With good vision, though, you can make these columns or supports as nonobstructive as possible.
The post Build Your Own Home For Less Than £100K appeared first on Diversified Finances.