How to turn kitchen-table dreams into bricks and mortar

Find a mortgage

The Norwich and Peterborough (on 01733 372372) offers any mortgage from its range as a self-build loan that can be drawn down in tranches as each stage is completed, reducing the amount of interest that you have to pay as the property is built. Current rates include 3.54 per cent fixed for two years (six months' interest early redemption penalties for five years) and a 1.45 per cent discount for five years, producing a current rate of 5.3 per cent (three months' interest penalties for five years).

The society has representatives trained to advise and help self-build borrowers in every branch, and loans worth up to 95 per cent of the land value and property building/renovation costs are available. However, money for each stage is released only after it is completed, so you really need to have your own capital available to start the project off.

The Accelerator mortgage, designed by BuildStore and lent by Mortgage Express (a division of Bradford & Bingley), Britannia Building Society and Lloyds TSB, also offers a variety of rates and releases money in tranches, but in advance of each stage rather than in arrears. Borrowers will have to buy indemnity insurance costing up to £800.

Buy a plot

As a rule of thumb, a typical 0.2 acre plot will cost
about a third of your property's eventual value. In
the South East you can expect to pay ?150,000 to
?200,000 or ?80,000 for an 'infill' site (basically
someone's back garden), about ?60,000 in the
North of England, ?50,000 in the South West,
?30,000 to ?15,000 in Wales, ?15,000 in the
remoter parts of Scotland and up to ?150,000 near
Edinburgh. Land prices are increasing steadily, so
if you are buying purely for investment purposes,
you could simply sit on your plot and wait for
someone to make an offer.

Several websites list plots for sale. Try PlotSearch. For ?39 for a lifetime
subscription you get details of plots in three
counties of your choice. Another is Plotfinder, which charges ?235 for a
year's subscription. Its listings are also published
monthly in Homebuilding and Renovating
magazine . (Call 01527 834406 to subscribe at a
cost of ?29.95 a year.) Michael Holmes, editor of
Homebuilding and Renovating and a self-builder
who is about to move into his second home, says
it is absolutely vital to make sure a plot has
planning permission before making an offer.

There are three types of permission: outline
consent, which is an agreement in principle;
detailed consent, based on plans for a specific
property; and full planning permission, which is a
combination of the two. Holmes says that where
building is likely to be a sensitive issue, in
conservation areas for example, it is best to go for
full planning permission.

You should check out the type of ground in the
plot. Holmes warns that marshy or previously
mined land that needs filling in can cost up to
three times as much to build on. It's also
important to check whether services - gas,
electricity, sewerage - are easily available. If you
have to bring services over several miles, it will
add considerably to your costs and will need to
be budgeted for.

Renovations need even more checks before you
exchange contracts. Stephen Penlington of
Norwich & Peterborough building society
recommends a full structural survey: 'Budget to
spend ?1,500 on checks.'

Build it

Builders will take between six and nine months to
finish your new home.

Self-build expert Michael Holmes recommends
getting quotes from at least three builders, visiting
properties they have built, and taking up
references. 'Watch out for firms offering a cheap
quote for cash,' he says.

If you need to make changes to the plans after
you've chosen a firm, agree a price there and
then. Never pay cash upfront - always wait until a
section of work has been completed.

BuildStore will help you
find builders, architects and project managers
and has a scheme under which you can buy
materials at trade prices.