Building Vs Buying a Home - Which Is Best?

Fr0ggy33

People usually fall into one of three camps when it comes to housing; buyers, builders, or renters. Which category a person or family falls into may be dependent on their financial situation. Most of those with no savings and a small income will find themselves in a rented home. There is nothing wrong with that. Indeed, renting has many benefits over owning property. We are going to take a look today, at whether it is better to build a home or to buy one. The argument is not black and white, so someone who faces the dilemma should arm themselves with the facts and make a personal decision based on them. Read on and make up your mind.

Buying A Home

The process of a new home can be stressful. Since the financial crisis, it has become more so as banks have tightened their belts and made the rules for mortgage qualification more stringent than ever before. Having said that, the actions taken by governments to stimulate the housing markets have been successful to an extent.

In the UK, those in charge saw that one of the best ways to get us out of a recession was to get the housing market moving again. To achieve that goal they kept interest rates low and introduced the Help To Buy Scheme. People who are unable to raise enough cash for a deposit on a property can now apply for financial assistance from the government under Help To Buy. They need only five percent instead of the twenty percent upon which the banks insist. The government makes up the difference in the form of a loan on which repayments do not begin for five years. By that time, the buyers should be financially stable and able to afford it.

But what else do you need to know about buying a house? Here is some valuable information.

• Estate Agent. You will visit many estate agents in the hunt for your ideal home, and they will invite you to view properties on their books. If you decide a property is perfect, make an offer on it through the estate agent. They will contact the seller and, if they accept your offer, the buying process can begin.

• Solicitors. You will need to contact a conveyancing solicitor to handle the purchase for you. They are there to protect your interests and make sure the sale is legal.

• Surveyor. You must pay for a professional survey of the property. They give the mortgage lender a report on the state of the building and any work that you need to undertake.

• Mortgage Arrangement Fee. You will have to pay a charge for the mortgage. It always seems unfair to me, especially when you consider the amount of interest you will pay over the coming years.

Eventually, the day will come when you get the keys. It is easy if this is your first home. The Professionals Movers Company, however, say that people who move from one home to another often come under a lot of stress if they haven’t planned well. A house move is a project that you should undertake with planning and military precision.

Does that all seem straightforward to you? It will take about three months to complete. Now let’s take a look at the process of building a home.

Building A Home

If you plan well, it can cost much less to build a property than it does to buy one. You don’t have to be an expert in all aspects of construction either. Many people who successfully saw their projects through to conclusion had no experience in building at all. If you have fantastic organisational skills and can remain calm in a crisis, there is no reason you cannot undertake a self-build project. There are the steps to take.

• Find some land on which to build. There may be an existing property that you wish to demolish.

• Contact an architect who will help you through the process of designing a new home. The architect will not only draw up detailed plans for you; he or she will advise you in all aspects of the project, so you are never alone. You can usually solve any problems that arise on site or with material supplies with the help of this professional and a calm head.

• Apply for planning permission from the local authority. Approval might be turned down at the first attempt; that is not unusual. The planners might ask for changes to the plans.

• When the permission is in place, you will need funding for the project. Mortgages are available for self-builds, but they are unlike purchases because the bank will not release all of the money in one go. You will receive the payments in stages when they are happy that the work is going to plan and meets all of the current building regulations. An inspector will visit the site to make sure all is as it should be.

• You will become an expert in handling contractors on site. It is where your organisational skills come to the fore. As a site manager, you must arrange the delivery of materials at the right time and get the relevant professionals on site to complete their part of the project.

A typical house build can take six months or more. You can save a lot of money by doing all of the labouring yourself. Get everything in place before contractors arrive so that they can complete their work without delay, and you will save money there too. There is no doubt that there will be times you wish you had never started the project, but when it is over, the chances are that the home will be worth a lot more than it cost to build.

What do you think, are you a builder or a buyer? Is it worth many months of heartache to build a property and save money, or do you prefer to buy an existing home and move in without fuss? Both methods have their merits, but if you are of a nervous disposition or a person who always thinks the glass is half empty, you might find the building project too stressful. You see, when the funding is in place and the work starts, you can’t back out. If you did, it would cost you dearly. The choice is yours.