The Self Builders Podcast

Sophie designs buildings for a living. She still says she'd do things differently.In this episode of the Self Builders Podcast, Jack sits down with Sophie, a structural engineer who is partway through building her first ever home on a family plot in Shropshire — while living and working in London, three and a half hours away.She's never had a standard mortgage. Her first one is a self-build mortgage.Sophie is candid about what her professional background did and didn't help with, why she's glad she didn't project manage it herself, and the small design decisions she'd revisit if she started again.This episode covers:• Building your first ever home rather than buying one• Adapting existing planning permission rather than starting from scratch• Going through two architects before finding the right fit• Why she chose traditional block and brick construction• Handing the shell to a builder, and taking over from watertight• The utility connection costs that catch people out, including three phase electricity• What happens when your valuation comes back higher than your budget• Managing a build remotely, and the trade-offs that come with no fixed deadlineSophie's advice for the planning stage is refreshingly specific: find an architect whose existing work you actually like, and when your approval comes through, read the conditions properly — then read them again.Her advice for anyone mid-build is simpler. Enjoy it. She says she'll be a little sad when it's finished.If you're a first-time buyer considering a self-build, managing a project from a distance, or wondering how much a professional background really helps, this episode is an honest and encouraging listen.📞 Book a call with Mayflower Mortgage here:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/booking📘 Download our FREE Self-Build Resources:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/free-self-build-resources#SelfBuild #SelfBuildMortgage #SelfBuildUK #SelfBuildProjectThe views and information discussed in this video/podcast are intended for general informational purposes and do not constitute regulated mortgage or financial advice. Mortgage recommendations depend on a full assessment of an individual's needs, objectives, and financial situation. Before making any decisions, please ensure you obtain personalised advice from a suitably qualified and authorised mortgage adviser.

Neil has built three family homes. He calls this one the last one. He's said that before.In this episode of the Self Builders Podcast, Jack sits down with Neil, a property developer who has now built four homes across two roads — and is four months into the biggest one yet, a 14,000 sq ft ICF new build with a substantial basement, replacing a house from the early eighties.As his architect once told him, he doesn't love the finished product. He loves the process.Neil is unusually well placed to talk about what carries over from one build to the next: the floor plan mistakes he's repeated, the features he thought he wanted and never used, and the confidence it takes to overrule the professionals when you're the one who has to live there.This episode covers:• Buying a plot with no planning and gambling on the planners' support• Using a planning performance agreement to speed the process up• Why he chose ICF, and how quickly the shell goes up• Self-managing the build with his own team for the first time• Working from a QS cost estimate, and why he expects to exceed it• Why the cheapest build often costs more over the following five years• The sheer volume of decisions a self-build demands, and the time that takes• Knowing when to overrule your architect, engineer or builderNeil's best money is spent before anything is built: a really good architect, and enough time with them to get the decisions right at the start rather than changing things mid-project.His worst? A £50,000 scaffolding quote. Necessary, and you get nothing to look at for it.And his advice for anyone stuck mid-build: put yourself six months into the future. Whatever is going wrong right now will be dealt with by then. There is almost always a way through — it just costs time, money, or both.If you're planning a demolition and rebuild, weighing up ICF, considering managing the build yourself, or on your second project and wondering what you'd do differently, this episode is full of perspective you only get from doing it repeatedly.📞 Book a call with Mayflower Mortgage here:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/booking📘 Download our FREE Self-Build Resources:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/free-self-build-resources#SelfBuild #SelfBuildMortgage #ICFBuild #SelfBuildUKThe views and information discussed in this video/podcast are intended for general informational purposes and do not constitute regulated mortgage or financial advice. Mortgage recommendations depend on a full assessment of an individual's needs, objectives, and financial situation. Before making any decisions, please ensure you obtain personalised advice from a suitably qualified and authorised mortgage adviser.

Bethany and Chris were 22 when they started. A lot of people told them they were too young.In this episode of the Self Builders Podcast, Jack sits down with Bethany Travis, who is partway through converting a derelict barn on her grandma's farm in the Peak District into her and Chris's first home.They'd been snubbed at building shows because of their age, and told repeatedly that a project this size wasn't for them. Three years on, they've secured full planning permission in one of the country's strictest planning authorities, underpinned an entire barn that had no foundations, and are hoping to be watertight by the end of the year.Bethany is completely open about what they didn't know at the start, and about the one approach that has kept the whole thing manageable: treating every stage as its own mini project rather than one enormous one.This episode covers:• Starting a self-build in your early twenties, and being taken seriously• Converting a derelict barn on family land• Getting planning permission inside a National Park• Underpinning a barn with no existing foundations• Why breaking the build into mini projects stops it becoming overwhelming• Using a structural and civil engineer to get comparable, accurate quotes• Self-funding the early stages, then moving onto a self-build mortgage• Playing to your strengths as a couple, and what a supportive neighbourhood is worthBethany's advice to anyone younger who's thinking about it: back yourself.Nobody knows what they're doing at the start. Chris learned to drive a digger a few weeks ago. Work out what each of you is good at, vet everyone you bring on, and remember that the right team are your cheerleaders — the people you call when something goes wrong.And her advice for planning: listen to what the planners are actually asking of you. Work with them and they'll work with you.If you're early in your career and wondering whether a self-build is realistic, sitting on family land you don't know what to do with, or facing a barn that looks impossible, this episode is proof it can be done.📞 Book a call with Mayflower Mortgage here:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/booking📘 Download our FREE Self-Build Resources:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/free-self-build-resources#SelfBuild #SelfBuildMortgage #BarnConversion #SelfBuildUKThe views and information discussed in this video/podcast are intended for general informational purposes and do not constitute regulated mortgage or financial advice. Mortgage recommendations depend on a full assessment of an individual's needs, objectives, and financial situation. Before making any decisions, please ensure you obtain personalised advice from a suitably qualified and authorised mortgage adviser.

Three brokers told Nicki and Emma their house couldn't be mortgaged. They were days away from losing it.In this episode of the Self Builders Podcast, Jack sits down with Nicki and Emma, who ended up with a renovation project entirely by accident. They were looking for a very specific layout in a very specific part of the west of Scotland, and after months of searching it came down to one house or no house.The house is a converted farm building, beautiful in the photos, but renovated a decade ago to a standard they describe as negligent in places. What they thought was a damp proofing job has turned into a full scope of works with an architect, a structural engineer and a conservation-experienced builder.They're a year in, with around 18 months still to go, and they're refreshingly honest about the middle stretch where both of them wondered what on earth they'd done.This episode covers:• Buying a renovation project you weren't looking for• Why the survey wasn't what revealed the real problems• Finding an architect with the right skill set, and rejecting the ones without it• Why a full schedule of works before quoting saves money later• Being told a property is unmortgageable, and what actually happened next• Getting a three-year renovation mortgage in five days after months of no• Buying in Scotland with an English lender, and the extra surveys that came with it• Replacing £45-a-day electric heating with an air source heat pumpNicki and Emma's biggest lesson is about people. The right architect, the right builder, the right broker — every breakthrough in this project came from finally finding someone who listened rather than sucking their teeth at the problem.Their advice for anyone at the start: get a complete list of the problems before you start fixing any of them. Everything takes three times longer than you think, and involves at least two more people than you expected.And for anyone stuck in the middle of a renovation right now: it will end. Just keep going.If you're taking on a renovation, worried a property is too complicated to finance, or in the difficult middle stage of a project, this episode is an honest and encouraging listen.📞 Book a call with Mayflower Mortgage here:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/booking📘 Download our FREE Self-Build Resources:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/free-self-build-resources#SelfBuild #RenovationMortgage #SelfBuildUK #HomeRenovationThe views and information discussed in this video/podcast are intended for general informational purposes and do not constitute regulated mortgage or financial advice. Mortgage recommendations depend on a full assessment of an individual's needs, objectives, and financial situation. Before making any decisions, please ensure you obtain personalised advice from a suitably qualified and authorised mortgage adviser.

Most self builders worry about running out of money. Denise actually did.In this episode of the Self Builders Podcast, Jack sits down with Denise Franks, who left a large detached house on an estate to convert an agricultural building on the Lincolnshire and Peterborough border into a home. The building had Class Q permission and a previous life as a potato store.Denise and her husband sold their house quickly, moved into an old static caravan on site, and lived there for two and a half years while the build went on around them. Then, at plastering stage, the money ran out.She's completely open about that moment, what it took to keep going, and why having someone who genuinely understood self-build finance made the difference.This episode covers:• What Class Q permission is and why it was their route in• Going back for full planning to add a mezzanine second floor• Handling neighbour objections during the planning process• Living on site in a static caravan, and what she'd do differently• Working with a local builder who'd never done a barn conversion• Where the budget actually went, and the costs that crept up• Getting a self-build mortgage partway through the build• Solar, batteries and an air source heat pump, and an electricity bill that's now barely more than the standing chargeDenise's biggest regret? Not planning further ahead, and not spending a little more on expertise where it mattered.Her biggest lesson is about honesty. She was able to tell her builder exactly how much money was left before it ran out, and that conversation kept the project moving. Choose someone you can have that conversation with.And her advice for anyone halfway through and struggling: a low point is normal. Don't lose sight of what you're building or why.If you're considering a Class Q conversion, weighing up living on site, or worried about what happens if the money runs short mid-build, this episode is an honest, reassuring listen.📞 Book a call with Mayflower Mortgage here:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/booking📘 Download our FREE Self-Build Resources:https://www.mayflowermortgage.co.uk/free-self-build-resources#SelfBuild #SelfBuildMortgage #ClassQ #BarnConversionThe views and information discussed in this video/podcast are intended for general informational purposes and do not constitute regulated mortgage or financial advice. Mortgage recommendations depend on a full assessment of an individual's needs, objectives, and financial situation. Before making any decisions, please ensure you obtain personalised advice from a suitably qualified and authorised mortgage adviser.