Q&As

We are looking at a self build mortgage where the mortgage company will value at each stage and then pay 75% of the value, but we’re not quite sure what that means. How do companies usually go about valuing a half built house? Cash flow is imperative to the build process. They will lend 75% […]

Our plans were passed in 2008. In 2011 we put the footings in. In August 2013 we started our build. Since then, we’ve had problems with the planning office – mainly due to us putting a sunroom on the rear of the property. Although we had put the footing in back in 2011, the sunroom […]

Is there a particular set/brand of software that stands out when it comes to designing your own home? I am not an architect but would like a tool where I can draw out and play around with my house design ideas in a physical form.

I have a large shed on my site with a corrugated asbestos roof that needs to be removed before the wooden walls can be taken down. I have been quoted £1,500 + VAT by two local companies to undertake the removal and disposal of the asbestos roof. As I am undertaking a qualifying new self-build […]

My husband and I are buying a house with my daughter and her family. We plan to rebuild the garage and other rooms which already have planning and add a new bedroom, ensuite and study which doesn’t. The property is in an area of outstanding natural beauty so we cannot use permitted development rights. Can […]

We are currently living in a caravan while I carry out the renovations on our newly purchased house (complete rebuild). However I am struggling to find an insurance company that will cover the caravan. The firms I have spoken to so far (the regular companies) are unwilling to provide insurance as the caravan is not […]

At the time of buying land, we had to make some fag-packet calculations to determine the feasibility of our land/build budget. We estimated that we could build a 250m2 home by looking at the guides in Build It magazine, as well as other advice that followed similar lines. But now that we have the land […]

My wife and I have found a plot of land with planning permission. We want to build a low energy home to Passivhaus principles. We are wondering how we can use the design that is already on the plot. Would we need to establish a relationship with the architect that designed the plans in order […]