How to Self-Build your Home in Wicklow – Part 1
The following series of posts and articles on How to Self-Build your Home in Wicklow – Part 1 are related to a recent self-build project I undertook in Wicklow. Through this series, I will be telling my story about my build and how CC House Builders were an integral part of everything I did. If you have already read Part 1 you can read Part 2 here… Self-building in Wicklow with FPP – Part-2
New Build or a Self-Build
So, on the 3rd of January 2019, I made an inquiry to a local estate agent. It was for a new site with full planning permission across the valley from where we were renting for the previous 18 years. We had saved furiously, and now, as a first-time buyer, we felt that we were ready. The only difference was that we had decided to Self-Build rather than buy a New Build.
However, our story started several months before, when I asked my wife, “Where would you like to live?”, and she said, “Here”. We had obviously discussed this many times and so I knew that she meant the house we were renting. Not the town or county, but the estate. This was not helpful as the estate we were living in was fully settled and mature. The houses were also on the upper end of what we could afford outright. The other deal-breaking consideration was that first-time buyers would not qualify for the First Time Buyers Grant or the 10% deposit requirements if we were to purchase in our current estate. It would need to be a New Build or a Self-Build.
Self-Build Mortgage Requirements
In the intervening months, I visited our bank, twice, and spoke to a Senior Customer Advisor, to confirm and discuss our self-build mortgage requirements as well as the amount that we could afford.
So, back to January 2019. To our absolute amazement the estate agent we contacted about the site across the valley, also sent on building plans and information relating to a site that had just come on the market but was not yet advertised. This site was in our estate. You couldn’t make this kind of thing up. We looked at the site and plans over the next month and made an offer at the beginning of February.
Approval in Principle
At my second visit to our bank, with the same senior advisor, I was told that we had approval in principle to build our home and was taken through the drawdown requirements. This was excellent news. He also said we can go ahead and put down the booking deposit to secure the site. We also needed to acquire the services of a suitably qualified Quantity Surveyor for our Self Build as the bank would need a complete and accurate costing of the proposed build. We went ahead and happily did this over the next month and were ready to submit our full mortgage application.
I had a meeting booked for mid-March of 2019 and had absolutely everything ready. We were expecting the mortgage to sail through. We were so wrong. Terribly wrong. This third meeting with our bank was with the branch manager as the previous advisor had taken ill. At this meeting, we were told that everything we had planned and worked so hard for could not happen as we were given extremely inaccurate information. Twice! We were crushed. Couldn’t believe it. Once again, you couldn’t make it up. Months of planning, anguishing over costs, hiring a solicitor and quantity surveyor with multiple meetings and phone calls that lead to absolutely nothing.
In truth, crushed didn’t even begin to explain how we felt. Now, what were we going to do?
