Initially we find out how many are in need of an affordable home in your area. This is why it's important for you to register your interest with us as soon as possible. We then find suitable land and apply for planning permission to build, after which the plots are serviced with roads, water, electricity, gas, sewers and telephone. Landowners must agree to our strict terms in order to participate in the scheme. Plans are then prepared for either houses or bungalows or both. Those of you who satisfy our need and affordable criteria will then be offered the opportunity to buy a fully serviced plot with house/bungalow plans for about £10,000. We calculate the amount of materials required and negotiate the best value price with manufacturers and builders merchants. The more homes built then in our professional experience quantity discounts worth an additional 15% on average can be obtained. For a small fee which is less than the savings you can make on the materials, we offer to supervise the building of your home from start to final completion. You can use as much of your own labour, relatives or friends as you wish as long as the standard of workmanship is acceptable.

As Chartered Surveyors we can issue your lender with certificates which enables you to draw money in stages as work progresses. Any VAT you pay on materials/labour/fees can be accounted for you, ready to claim back after the work is completed which will take about 10 months. We estimate that a bungalow like the one pictured above can be built for about £55,000 including the plot. This figure may vary depending on land/servicing/labour costs however we do not expect it to exceed £65,000 anywhere in the UK. The value of your home once completed will exceed the cost of building by on average 25% and this provides you with immediate and substantial equity in your new home. If you bought a house today for £60,000 using for example the governments HomeBuy scheme, then that is how much it is worth. At that price, the house may need significant repairs and upgrading immediately or in the near future, adding to its cost but little in the short term to its value.  Building a new maintenance free home on the other hand costs £60,000 and immediately it's worth £75,000 if not more. We call that best value equity.

Currently the government provides little support for the majority who wish to own their home. It does however spend public money on housing but most of that goes into housing associations who principally build new homes for rent. This is how housing associations spend your money:-
The Expensive Homes Housing Association decides to build 30 homes in Anytown. The number of homes built and their location depends on how many people there are on its waiting list. They prepare a development programme which includes the price of land, building and management costs. The total project costs about £2 million or £67,000 a house and will take at least two years. To pay for this the government gives them a grant of about 55% or £1.1 million and they borrow the rest from money lenders. The rent of say £60 per week for each house has to pay the cost of borrowing, overheads and staffing at the association, repairs and maintenance in the future. Two thirds of the new tenants will either be elderly, unemployed or on low income and their rent will be paid wholly or partly by housing benefit. This again is public money.

How Associations Fund their Schemes

House cost £67,000        Rent £60 x 52 wks = £3,120 per annum

Capital grant from government = £37,000 per house

Housing benefit 20 homes x average of £2,250 = £45,000 per annum

Total potential rent income from 30 homes x £60 x 52 wks = £93,600

Of that approximately £11 per house per week goes to pay staffing costs. A further £10 per house per week is set aside for future repairs and the balance of say £39 per house per week is used to pay the interest/capital on the private money used to fund the difference between total cost and government grant. Expensive, inefficient and certainly not best value.

If the above makes sound financial sense then by the same measure the government should also support you, who by choice wish to own a home but find it difficult or impossible to do so.

I'm sure that every business would like to receive the same preferential treatment from the government. The main issue however is that very little of the money spent by the government has gone towards helping those who wish to own their home but whose income is insufficient to pay the mortgage. Your need is just as important as those who choose to rent.

The government could, without increasing public spending, match the landowners and our contribution to affordable build schemes by using some of the money which they currently give to housing associations to help those who wish but find it difficult to become homeowners.  If government support was available then the homes would be even more affordable and provide more people, many of whom would otherwise be forced to go on to housing association waiting lists, with the opportunity to own their home. It's true there would be fewer association homes built which require and receive £37,000 each from government, however the money saved would provide at least three new affordable homes and possibly reduce housing benefit costs. We call that simply best value.

YES GOVERNMENT CAN HELP, WRITE TO OR VISIT YOUR MP AND INVITE HER/HIM TO SUPPORT YOUR NEED FOR AN AFFORDABLE HOME

Please go to the Register page and fill in the form or send an e-mail, write to or phone us to register your interest in building an affordable home.

BVUK Affordable Homes Unit, Parc Cefni, Bodffordd, Anglesey, LL77 7PJ

(01248) 751165 / Fax. (01248) 751164

EMAIL: affordablehome@bestvalueuk.com