How To Self Build During A Recession - My Experience Of Building A Large Family Home

27th August 2008

We've had lots going on recently - a quick update for the self build fans too!

Deals wise we're working well with local estate agents. I'm focusing on specific areas in Leicester. I believe prices will fall another 10%-15% which we are using to our advantage when making offers. Sellers in general are slowly becoming more flexible although not much - when Winter comes we shall see further drops. Commercial property should start to make sense again next year.

On the existing portfolio I have carried out improvement works recently to several properties. We had a loo fitted in one, a full rewire on another and a lick of paint on the third. All three will be re-let within the next three weeks. I always try to get someone in there straight away if there is a problem and fix things before they get out of hand. Tenants are a lot happier and you save yourself a lot of headache in the process.

On the self build side my architect is putting together sketch's for discussion with the planners. It's taken a while to get to this stage as I've been very busy with other things.

The current market conditions are very good for us. The best building firms are available for work and they are much more competitive on prices. You'd normally look to pay a main contractor £110-£120 /sqft to handle everything for you. Some will now go as low as £90 /sqft which makes it worth considering. Once we hear positive feedback from the planners, we will get some contractors involved in the process for their views on build cost. As I mentioned in previous blog posts I considered the subcontractor route, i.e. managing the site myself day to day however now that I can negotiate with main contractors it is worth exploring this option. With the time saved I can use my time more effectively elsewhere.