For many of us, building our own home exactly how and where we want it, is a lifelong ambition. And one of the nice things about the work we do here at Advantage is helping people who have taken the plunge and are making that dream a reality (ensuring that everything – from their views to the exact layout of their home is perfectly tailored to meet their needs) to find the right cover.

So we were interested to read a recent report in the Times stating that self-builds could be the answer to Scotland’s chronic under-supply of homes, stating that: “The dream homes of Channel 4’s Grand Designs may look daunting but experts believe thousands of people will have to build for themselves if Scotland is to overcome its housing crisis.”

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has urged the Scottish government to change the rules and make the process easier as a means of tackling the under-supply of new homes.

With prices rising beyond the reach of many first-time buyers there is growing interest in custom-built properties, Hew Edgar, interim head of policy for RICS, said. He urged ministers to make simple legislative changes that could encourage the trend.

And that growing interest can be seen far beyond Scotland. In a popular feature on the benefits of self-builds published by the Financial Times several years ago, Alex Dutton (a sustainability design expert at Barton Willmore, a planning and architecture consultancy) said:

“There is clearly growing UK consumer demand for the type of aspirational, personalised properties borne from self- or custom-build projects, partly thanks to the popularity of television shows like “Grand Designs” and endorsement by personalities like Kevin McCloud.

“Increasingly, self- and custom-build have huge potential as a viable, cost-effective way into home ownership.”

If you’re embarking upon a self-build project and would like some advice on the most appropriate insurance cover for your project, we’d be happy to help. Just call: 0845 900 3969 or email: sales@ahci.co.uk

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