Every year in the UK around 15,000 couples take on one of the most testing challenges a relationship can experience. No it’s not entering a Mr & Mrs contest, nor is it listing each other’s faults, it’s more serious than both of those, it’s building their own home.

A rewarding challenge

At a time when mortgages for first time buyers have never been harder to find, it would seem ludicrous that couples should actually think of going out, finding a loan provider and taking out new home insurance on a property that doesn’t even exist, but thousands do and though it isn’t easy, the great majority will tell you it’s the best thing they ever did, apart from that special day of course.

Land prices have dropped

In fact building your own home may not be such a bad idea. The current stagnation in the housing sector has not just been restricted to house prices; the cost of land has also plummeted. If you bought a plot of land in 2008 for £100,000 the same plot of land today would cost about £75,000, so there is plenty of scope with regard to costs. Of course it will help if the couple have some of the skills that fit comfortably into house building as well as an appetite for hard work.

The profit is all yours

The other great financial benefit comes in at the end of the build. If a building company can complete a house for £200,000 they then bump the price up to make the profit that all companies need to survive. This does not apply to someone who is building a home for themselves. Looking at the bare facts one can easily see the sense it makes, but what must not be underestimated is the time it will take to create the property, it could take up to a couple of years.

New builds VAT exempt

For those serious about the prospect of building their own home, further good news is that a lot more mutual societies are prepared to lend money out on this type of project. Norwich and Peterborough, Chorley, Ipswich and Hanley are just a few of the societies now prepared to provide a mortgage and household insurance to people with the determination to self build. And one last financial gain you get with building a new home is that they are VAT exempt and that should also apply to materials and labour done by any professionals who are employed on the project.