Home and Garden
Building a House on Limited Means
by Jesse Hughes
The main reason for choosing to build your own home is either that you can’t find the perfect dream home or that you can’t afford the properties currently available.
The fact is house prices are still exceptionally high; many people will not be able to afford to own their own home unless they build it themselves.
But of course, whether you use a reputable residential construction company or do all the work yourself, you do still need some funds.
Fortunately there are some ways in which you can make it more affordable, even if you have llimited means.
Source Your Finance Carefully
The most obvious route is to choose a construction loan. You’ll need at least 20% of the build price yourself as a deposit. This is to reduce the bank’s risk.
The funds will then be released in stages, corresponding to the purchase of materials and the stages of your build.
This can reduce the amount of funds you need up front and even lower the interest charged as not all the funds are released at the start.
You can also get a standard mortgage at the end of the build to pay back the construction loan and enjoy normal interest rates and a long payment term.
However, although this will make the project more affordable, it is not the only way to source finance.
Zero rated credit cards, family loans, and non mainstream lenders may offer a cheaper overall deal. It is important to look at all the options.
Know What You Want
A dream home may have a swimming pool, games room, and perhaps 10 bedrooms. But you’re building on a limited budget. This means you need to know exactly what you really want and plan your house according to the balance between what you want and what is practical.
This is the only way you’ll be able to design an affordable home and then create your budget. You can’t calculate a cost until you’ve designed the house. You can tweak the design to reduce costs to ensure that the house fits with the funds you have available.
Do It Yourself
Of course the easiest way to build a house on a limited budget is to do as much of the work yourself as possible. This is likely to mean the house will take longer to complete but this is a small price to pay for your dream home.
Don’t forget there will be some things that you simply can’t do; you must budget for the fess of a professional.
Choosing the Builder
For the bits that do need professional help you’ll need to choose a builder with a good reputation and a reasonable price. Social media and friends are one of the best ways to locate the right builder. You need them to be dependable and for you to be able to talk to them.
Alongside that they do need to have a competitive price.
Look for the Sales
There is no reason why you can’t start collecting the furniture for the inside of your home today. This will reduce the cost as you build and all you need is a space to store the items while you build.
The beauty of this is that you can take advantage of any offer as it appears and make a huge amount of savings on kitchens, bathrooms and other furnishings.
About the Author
Jesse Hughes has carved out its niche in the interior design world with a dynamic, exuberant style, unfettered by fleeting trends and underpinned by a unique creativity. Jesse has broken the mould for high-end interiors, eschewing the ‘just finished’ look to embrace the layering of carefully sourced materials, one-off pieces and commissioned artworks with their client’s own collection. This approach has brought a refreshing authenticity to his writing and has built up an enviable word-of-mouth reputation for elegant and sophisticated design.
