Most people who contact nHouse are not ready to build yet. They have a plot in mind, a budget they are unsure of, or an idea they want tested. Our consultancy gives you an honest view of whether the plot, the money and the house you want actually fit together, before you spend on drawings or a planning application.
Come to us for this on its own, or as one stage of a build we take from plot to handover.
A realistic cost range for the house you are describing, set against the plot and the budget you have. If the numbers do not work we say so early, and we tell you what would have to change for them to work.
Access, levels, services, ground conditions and the planning history, looked at before you buy or commit. If panels or modules are being delivered, the route a lorry and a crane can take to the plot matters as much as the plot itself.
Which planning route suits the site, what the local plan and the self-build register mean for you, and how much design work is needed before an application is worth making.
How a stage payment self-build mortgage lines up with the build, which reliefs are open to self-builders, such as the VAT refund scheme for new homes and the self-build exemption from Community Infrastructure Levy, and a programme that shows when money leaves your account.
No. Plenty of clients come to us before they have found land, because knowing what you can afford to build changes which plots are worth looking at. If you do have a plot, send the address or the listing and we will look at it with you.
None. The first conversation is about what you want to build, what you have and what it is likely to cost. If you want more detailed feasibility or design work after that, the scope and the fee are agreed in writing before any of it starts.
We can give you a realistic range early on, based on the size, the specification and the site. It firms up as the design develops, and much of the cost is settled once the design is fixed, before the build starts.
No. Some clients only want help getting to a planning decision or a clear budget, and then build another way. We would rather give you good advice at the start than lock you in.
We are not mortgage brokers, but we know how stage payment self-build mortgages work and we plan the build around them, so each release lines up with a stage the lender can inspect. We can point you towards brokers who specialise in self-build lending.
Most clients start with a question, not a build. We work at whatever point you have reached.
What a plot can take, what it will cost to build there and what the planning position is likely to be.
Read more
Design, drawings and supporting information for your application, and the conditions after approval.
Read more
Developing, or preparing your existing design, into something that can be built to cost and to programme.
Read moreYou do not need drawings, a planning decision or a fixed budget to talk to us. Most of our clients did not have any of those when they got in touch.
Tell us about your plotSend us what you have so far, a location, a sketch, a planning reference or just a question. We will come back to you with an honest view of where you stand.