self build your way out of the housing crisis and a free pdf about money creation!
This sort of thing, I’d assume, only much much harder!? 🙂
Happy Friday!
I’m doing something a bit unusually lazy today as time is short and there are a couple of things worth passing onto you lovely folks.
First up is a story I received through email yesterday via a press release, I normally ignore these sort of things but I thought this one was actually quite relevant to people trying to build wealth and become financially free. It’s about a new law that has been passed for self build houses, whereby local councils have to keep a list of wannabe self-builders and try to match them up with plots of land in their area. Sounds great! We are currently more than happy in our little house but I would love to do a self build project one day, and for those younguns out there trying to get on the housing ladder, this might be a great way to do that and save yourself a ton of cash in the process. If you are on your way to FI already or nearing it, it could also be the final springboard you need to get there, by downsizing your current house (or at least building a similar sized house for much less than you sell your “normal” house!).
Here is the full press release:
Support For Self-Build Needed To Boost New Homes, According To New Research From Ipswich Building Society
New research by Ipswich Building Society and the National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA) has found 1 in 5 (19%) people in the UK believe there would be increased public support for the building of new homes if self or custom build properties contributed to a greater proportion of those built.
Despite the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act (also known as the Right to Build Act) coming into force on 1st April 2016, more than three quarters (77%) of people in the UK are unaware councils are now required to keep a register of those looking to buy land in the local area to carry out self or custom build projects. The registers will work alongside measures due to come into force in the upcoming Housing and Planning Bill, which will require authorities to ensure they have sufficient permissioned plots to match the local demand on their register.
Findings revealed 1 in 8 people (12%) expect to show an interest in self build property within the next year. This figure has remained constant since the annual survey was launched in 2013.
However, just 1 in 50 (2%) people stated their intention to take specific actions to progress their self-build projects, such as purchasing land, submitting a planning application or starting construction, within the next 12 months.
Paul Winter, CEO of Ipswich Building Society, commented, “At a time when much of the UK is experiencing a housing shortage, more needs to be done to raise awareness of this new legislation and encourage those looking for a new home to consider undertaking self and custom build projects.
Due to the complex nature of a self-build project, those seeking these specialist mortgages are advised to research the market and seek out a provider, and product, that best suits their individual needs and circumstances.”
NaCSBA Chairman, Michael Holmes, said: “The success of the Right to Build Policy initiative, and the delivery of land to meet the huge pent up demand, depends on the registers. The research shows that 77% of people aren’t aware of the registers, nor what their success means to creating better new homes – this figure needs to change. NaCSBA is working hard to raise the public profile and support councils across the country to ensure that they have the correct measures in place. Currently, only 35% of LPAs have adopted a register and our aim is to get this to 100%.”
Raymond Connor, CEO of BuildStore, commented, “The research shows there is a significant gap between those interested in self-build and those who intend to take specific action to progress self-build projects. However, it is likely this sector will soon grow once more people are aware the main challenge of finding a suitable plot of land has now been simplified. This is thanks to the new Right to Build legislation, which is both innovative and unique in Western Europe. It’s an exciting time to be involved in self build, and we’re looking forward to working with local authorities, landowners and lenders to enable more people to exercise their Right to Build.”
There is also a interesting info graphic you can have a gander at here.
Further Reading:
Here are some more interesting links on self build (Thanks to SLG in the comments for putting me onto these!):
- gravenhill.co.uk – Apparently the biggest self build project in the UK!
- localselfbuildregister.co.uk
- selfbuildportal.org.uk
- nasba.org.uk – National Self Build Association
- selfbuildanddesign.com
- homebuilding.co.uk
- buildstore.co.uk
- self-build.co.uk
free pdf guide to public money creation from positive money
Finally we have a 55 page PDF from the guys over at Positive Money. If you haven’t heard of them they are a group of smart and forward thinking individuals who are proposing reforms to the money system, I’ve been following them for a while and I am finding it very interesting learning about money creation and how we might be able to change the system for the benefit of society rather than banks and similar people with obscene wealth (Dem greedy bankers… rah!)
In their own words:
Positive Money is a movement to democratise money and banking so that it works for society and not against it.
Read more about what they are trying to do and what they stand for here.
You can download the free PDF from the link on this page here.
(Full disclosure, I haven’t actually read any of this particular PDF it yet but I certainly will be over the weekend! I’m sure it’s top notch and worth passing on as most of their other stuff I’ve read has been)
Enjoy reading and happy bank holiday weekend to you all!
There are a few things holding me back from these big self build projects, not least of which are two wee humans and a fraught new mother / wife. But…. for those interested. Graven Hill, Bicester is the UKs biggest self build project (1800 homes) and may be off interest 🙂 and its commutable to london.
Cheers for putting me onto that SLG… updated the post with a further reading section of links!
Haha, well yes, I don’t think I’ll be registering my interest for a good 10 years just yet.
Just been on positive money. Theres lots of reading but I’m massively sceptical. We are in the golden age of information. If people want to know about money or anything, they can. We’ve never been so free. The scary places for normal people are where democracy dosent exist e.g. people trying desperately to get into europe.
I agree to a certain extent but the way the money system works is quite shocking I think, it was to me when I first read about it anyway. I would say I’m fairly well educated but had no idea how it worked until I did a fair bit of digging! It just seems set up up to enslave most of the population with debt and I don’t see any reason why it has to be that way (apart from the keep the status quo for those already in power)
Yes we’ve never been so free/never had it so good but that doesn’t mean things can’t improve further 🙂
“An increase in debt, without an increasing income, lowers individuals’ disposable income.” No shit sherlock. However, if you’ve got disposable income you’re alright, because you always have a buffer before you starve / find yourself without a roof over your head.
Haha! 🙂
Hey there Mr TFS, reading the self-build article leaves me with two thoughts. One, since when did it become a council’s job to match up prospective home owners with potential plots to build on? And two, maybe it’s just cynical me, but surely those people who need to be ‘led’ to a place to build their dream house are the ones who are least likely to go ahead and do anything about it. Maybe it’s different in the UK but over here (Australia) a developer buys an area of land, puts in the infrastructure and then markets and sells the plots to prospective buyers/builders. That’s the free-market economy at work. Is that not how it works in the UK?
Reading it again, I just wanted to add, if there is a huge housing shortage in the UK, why do only 12% of potential home owners show any interest in building a new home? “However, just 1 in 50 (2%) people stated their intention to take specific actions to progress their self-build projects…within the next 12 months”. I think that confirms my cynicism that of the 12% who show interest in building, only 2% actually do. If they really wanted it, they’d get off their arses and do it.