Scandinavian Homes Ltd

Government should be helping self builders – positive recommendations

davegittins — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:13:00 +0000

The following report summary posted on the Self Build Portal is encouraging. The report recommendations are all for improving the landscape for self builders and it shows that even the banks see a brighter future in the sector with the right long term support. It also appears that Lloyd is leading the pack as far as lending to the sector is concerned. Read the article here http://www.selfbuildportal.org.uk/latest-news/193-government-needs-to-support-self-build-sector-for-the-long-haul?goback=%2Egde_1848769_member_242149922

National Self Build Week

davegittins — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:03:57 +0000

In a sign that the industry is really getting the bit between its teeth, the National Self Build Association is launching National Self Build Week at the Grand Designs Exhibition, London. Big hitter Kevin McLoud and Housing Minister the Right Hon. Mark Prisk will be there to launch a debate on the first day.

If you are not familiar with NaSBA, then do take a look at http://www.nasba.org.uk/nsbw and if you are dreaming of having a home built for you, take a trip to Grand Designs at Excel between the 4th and 12th of May; there is something happening every day that you could find helpful.

Self builders to be exempted from CIL?

davegittins — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:55:57 +0000

Following a great deal of informed discussion, it looks as though the government has come to realise that CIL, the Community Infrastructure Levy, could have spelled the death knell of custom build at the very time when government policy is to encourage it. Accordingly Mark Prisk, the Housing Minister has announced an intention to exempt self builders. You can read about this by clicking on the following link: http://ht.ly/k44CE

Ideal Home Show 2013

davegittins — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:55:22 +0000

If you are planning to visit the Ideal Home Show in Earl’s Court London this Spring, you’ll find that one of our lovely designs – the Solvik – has been selected to be a show house. The Show is on from Friday 15th March to Monday 1st April. The house will be constructed for the show as a full 2-storey house rather than a split-level one suitable for a sloping site (there aren’t many hills in Earls Court), but otherwise it will look very similar – with large living area upstairs to make the most of available views. Do come and visit our stand (1V4, just behind the house), either before or after your show house visit. We have 100 pairs of free tickets available and will be having a weekly draw to give these away, so if you are interested please get in touch as quickly as possible to enter the draw. Our only condition of entry is that you let us know which is your favourite house style. So take a look at our various designs, and email us using the web link, with your name, full postal address and the name of the house you like best, and we’ll enter you into the weekly draw for tickets. The last draw will be on Friday 22nd March to allow us time to post out your tickets. We look forward to hearing from you, and good luck!

Q3 Self Build Report from Homebuilding & Renovating

davegittins — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:09:04 +0000

The report issued by HB&R on self build market to end September 2012 indicates that the sector is alive and well and holding up in spite of the reported poor financial situation. It can be found at http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/press-room/market-report-q3-2012?goback=%2Egde_1848769_member_196916869 and makes uplifting reading. We hope the content inspires more people to realise that self build or custom build as it is now termed is not just for a select few: with a bit of determination it can become a reality for many more of us.

Reaction to David Cameron’s Proposals

davegittins — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:33:11 +0000

The Prime Minister’s statements on cutting red tape in the planning process have sparked a great deal of debate and in some cases, vehement opposition. It remains to be seen whether these proposals get enacted unchanged or whether the government backpedals again under pressure from interest groups and the wider public. Will any of this help the individual attain their own custom build house? Read here and see what you think: http://planningblog.planningresource.co.uk/2012/11/20/reaction-to-camerons-red-tape-cutting-proposals/

Self Build Plots Available 24th November!

davegittins — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:03:45 +0000

Building your custom home is set to get easier with the availability of self build plots soon to increase. Scandinavian Homes has entered into a new partnership with Urban Self Build, who do the hard work for you by obtaining planning permission and selling serviced plots at reasonable prices. Better news still is that our Gotenehus houses are ideally suited to some sites and Scandinavian Homes is the recommended supplier and builder.

The latest site due to come on stream in the New Year is south of Peterborough and there is to be an open day on the 24th of November. Details can be found at http://www.urbanselfbuild.com/images/USB%20custom%20homebuild%20workshop%20Nov%202012.pdf.

The Hempsted Green site has detailed planning for eleven homes and you can choose to go with the existing design and have it built to Swedish standards or buy the plot and resubmit your own design to planning. Of course, we think the first option is the better but as we will be supplying and building these homes for you, why wouldn’t we?

Exciting new Holiday Homes

davegittins — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 08:03:34 +0000

Scandinavian Homes has recently signed a deal to provide two luxury holiday homes on the north coast of Cornwall. These beautiful four bedroom luxury homes are now available for sale and will be built to the buyers’ internal specifications in time for the new holiday season. If you would like further details, please call us now on 0845 299 6337 or contact the agents Chartsedge: www.chartsedge.co.uk

Could your next Home be Swedish?

Scandinavian Homes — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 15:05:51 +0000

More than half of people surveyed in 2011 by the Building Societies Association said they would like to build their own home. If you are among them and have been put off by the thought of having to design it yourself or you are simply not sure where to start, the time is right to think about it again. The Gotenehus range of Swedish houses is ideal for self-builders who are looking for an individual house but don’t have the time or energy to come up with their own design. A team of architects has done the work of designing these homes for you, with thoughtful layouts aimed at the modern family.

What does Self Build really mean?

You may imagine that all self-build projects follow the format presented by television programmes, where a bespoke design is seen through from idea to completion with many setbacks to overcome, often with a substantial increase in the original budget. In these cases, the owner often does a lot of the building work and project management, whilst juggling the work with another job to keep themselves afloat.

Whilst this makes great television it is not a typical scenario and may well deter many would be self builders. Most self builders it is fair to say, don’t roll their sleeves up and build their own home; they subcontract it to a project manager and building company and it works perfectly well in the majority of cases.

Around 1% of all houses are built from kits. These are manufactured offsite to standard or bespoke layouts and considerably reduce the on-site construction time. These prefabricated houses bear no relation the prefabs of old: they are constructed to the highest environmental standards in clean modern factories. Choosing a kit home is a good way to achieve tight control of your budget as most of the costs can be clearly defined up front.

Could you build your own home?

Absolutely. Self-built homes comprised 30% of all the detached houses built in the UK between January and June 2011 and contribute 10% of all new homes annually. Choosing a standard design and having the house manufactured off-site is very common throughout Europe and Scandinavia. It’s not only an easier process than starting from scratch; it’s also much quicker than the UK’s traditional way of building homes. The construction of Gotenehus homes is of factory produced panels which are assembled on site very quickly; the main structure of the house will be assembled in one or two days. Once the roofing is done, it will be watertight and can be fitted out, usually in around four to six weeks. Including manufacturing time, you could have your own unique house, fully completed in around fourteen weeks. This is around two thirds of the time needed to construct a typical brick house.

With such a wide variety of styles and external finishes, Gotenehus houses suit almost every situation. .

29/08/2012 An interesting tale

davegittins — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:00:13 +0000

A contact of our related a tale of banks to us which we thought would be of use to our readers. Back in 2007 just prior to the financial crisis, a loan was agreed for a house purchase with a high street bank. Unfortunately as the crisis took hold, the bank changed its mind and refused to honour the deal, leaving our contact to seek a loan with another of the high street chains. The threat of losing his business banking had no effect and he duly went ahead and moved accounts to the new bank, taking out the new loan at the same time. In 2009 a plan was hatched to self build his own home and this entailed redeeming the mortgage and replacing it with a much smaller loan. By this time the new bank had decided they no longer lent against property and refused the new arrangement.

A friend recommended Handelsbanken and he was able to discuss the project directly with the bank manager, who saw the value in the proposal and approved the loan. The money was available in four days and our contact can’t speak highly enough of the bank; which is Swedish by the way. They do banking the traditional way and you can speak to the bank manager directly on most matters. If you are having difficulty with obtaining a loan, they are well worth looking up, especially if you are looking to buy one of our Swedish homes!