To start a passionate conversation with someone who has owner built there house all you have to do is ask “Would you do it again?”

In return for this question you will either get a look of horror wash over their face and dialogue about the evils of owner building or you will get a smug smile and look of satisfaction followed by a detailed explanation of why everyone should be an owner builder.

How do you make sure you are in the second camp? How do you make sure your owner builder process is an exciting and productive one?

Here are a few tips on making sure your journey will be an enjoyable one:

Buy the right block of land. When buying your block do it with the end in mind, ensuring you can build the house you want. Some questions to ask are:

Are their restrictive covenants on materials I can use and size of house? If so am I happy to work within this?

Does the block need retaining? Has this been factored into the price?

What kind of houses will be surrounding me?

Get the plans Right. A cheap set of plans can start looking very expensive towards the end of the build when you have to start forking out money to rectify mistakes.

The easiest time to get it right is at the planning stage making sure you get a complete set of plans with all the details for trades to do their job quickly and efficiently, so there are no mistakes and no need to make changes on site.

To this end makes sure the building designer you use is approachable and willing to explain the whole building process and if required able to assist you throughout the building process.

ASK ASK ASK. Despite the sometimes dreaded reputation of people in the building industry the trades I deal with regularly are willing to help the owner builder with the questions throughout the building process. The only way to find an answer is to ask the question. As the saying goes the dumbest question is the one that doesn’t gets asked.

Find Support. Find someone you can question and get feedback from throughout the building process. Whether this is a friend or relative with building experience or your building designer it is handy to have someone who you can turn to ask the questions you can’t find the answers to.

For more information please contact Scope Drafting.