Thinking Of Building Your Own Home

Many of us will do some home improvements in our or our houses life time and so it’s very likely that we will need to visit a builders merchant for most of the building materials we need. Builders merchants have everything you need and it’s under one roof for convenience and good value. They have windows, doors, plumbing supplies, everything you could possibly need and it’s important that you negotiate discounts that are similar to or the same as that given to the trades.

List And Budget.

Before you can begin to build you must budget for everything. List what you need and how much you need of it. Some builders merchants provide a service where you leave the plans with them and they will estimate all the materials required and also furnish you with a free quotation. Try to measure what you need yourself, but don’t be afraid to ask for help. It is reasonable to assume that if a merchant provides this free service for you, then there is an expectation that you will buy all you need from them.

Buy Local.

Try to pick a local merchant who has all the building supplies you require under the one roof so it’s a one stop shop. Many will deliver the goods for you as well and can supply things at the last minute if required. Buying under the one roof means that you are only dealing with one supplier and that makes life a lot easier.  It’s important to remember that when you receive your quotation for what you need, this price may not remain static and you should allow for increases in the price the longer you wait.

Get Discount.

If you are buying in large amounts then it makes sense to open a trade account so you can take advantage of trade prices. It’s a little difficult to open a credit account in today’s climate so you may have to settle for some discount, but not at a level of that of the traders. Maybe they have a sales representative who you can deal with and is authorised to give sizeable discounts.  It can’t hurt to ask.

Learn To Negotiate.

Make sure that your builders supplier has enough of what you require in stock. Time is money as they say and if something is not available then you have builders and trades people standing around doing nothing and the bills are mounting up. It’s crucial that you learn to negotiate and if necessary play other suppliers of your supplier of choice to get better deals from them. Business is business and they expect you to haggle the same as tradespeople and building contractors.

Mortgage Free.

Building your own home means you save a sizeable chunk of money, it’s a great sense of achievement to know the home you and your family currently sit in was built by you and you get to learn a great deal about the building trade. If you are buying local then you are boosting the local economy and because you are effectively the foreman, then you are assured that your home is getting built to your exact specifications.

Building it yourself might mean no mortgage so the money you are saving on interest payments to the bank are being put to better use towards your retirement plan. What could be better than that.