No, although it offers many of the same advantages. With self build, the owner finds the land, negotiates all the necessary planning and building regulation approvals, and carries out all of the construction themselves. They will often use consultants and trade persons to do some of the work, but will need to manage the whole process and employ each consultant and contractor directly.

If standard speculative housing does not offer the design flexibility you want, but self build seems like an impossible dream, custom build may be for you. Custom build allows you to have a say in the design of your home, while still having an experienced house builder to manage and carry out the actual work. Custom build can also save you money, as you will qualify for the same financial incentives that the government offers to self builders. If you choose to manage or carry out some of the work yourself you can make even greater savings, and have even more control over the design of your home.

Off site construction means making key elements of the building in a factory before transporting them to site and incorporating them into the build. All modern building uses some degree of off site construction – stairs, doors and windows for example are rarely made on site. But in principle any part of a building can be made off site.

Properly designed and built, timber buildings will be easily as strong, durable and sound proof as masonry construction, but will usually be quicker to build, more environmentally sound, and more comfortable to live in. Timber is also easy to work, giving greater scope for buyers to carry out some of the construction themselves, if they choose, or to adapt their home at a later date to meet changing needs.

No. Properly designed timber buildings will easily meet all necessary standards for fire safety, and with proper maintenance they can last for centuries.

This will obviously vary, depending on the details of the project. But typically, once the order is placed, the timber frame will be ready for delivery within about one month, and will only take a few days to erect on site.

This depends on the level of specification and finish that you want. Our entry level specification is designed to be as affordable as possible, while still meeting higher performance standards than the typical new home.

There are also a number of government incentives to support custom and self build. The Community Infrastructure Levy is not charged on custom build homes, and the Renewable Heating Incentive is available to help with the cost of appropriate energy efficient heating systems, which is not the case for speculative developer built housing. It is also possible to make a significant saving on Stamp Duty, as this will only be paid on the initial purchase of the land, not on the full price of the finished house.

Yes. All of our properties will be covered by a full structural warranty, and there are a wide range of mortgages aimed at the self build and custom build market. We will be happy to direct you to suitable providers.

This will depend on the individual project, but we aim to make home ownership affordable and accessible to as many people as possible. If you would like to explore shared ownership, please speak to us about your requirements, and we will try to facilitate this.

It may be possible to arrange this through a specialist company, who will buy your house and rent it back to you. Alternatively you may be able to get a bridging loan. Otherwise it will be necessary to sell your existing home first and find a short term let while your new home is built.

Custom build homes do not generally qualify for Help to Buy funding.