Many people dream of building their own home from scratch with them directing every detail of the build. Each year more Britons are turning the dream into reality and finding that self-builds may well involve a substantial degree of planning and work, but that the rewards can be enormous. That is why an estimated 20,000 Brits opt to build their own home each year in preference to buying one, and that number is growing each year.

The obvious benefit of self-build is that everything is done at cost price, as opposed to retail price. Land, materials and even directly contracted labour are purchased without any profit being added by a third-party builder. So, when construction is finally complete the market value of the property normally exceeds the build cost by around 30%, making an instant profit and establishing a fair degree of equity for the builder.

In addition, self-build provides the home in which you really want to live with little or no compromise required, subject to planning approval, of course. So, self-builders get to design their dream property and build it using the materials they wish to use and finish it to their individual taste; all the fixtures and fittings for the bathroom and kitchen will be selected by the self-builder, as will the materials used to build the home.

Building a brand new home also allows for the integration of an energy efficient infrastructure; from the most up-to-date and efficient boiler installation to energy saving cavity wall insulation and double glazing. Indeed, everything that can be done to make a home more energy efficient can be incorporated into the build, helping to reduce your future utility bills before you even move in!

In addition, relatively new concepts such as water recycling and renewable energy generation can also be incorporated into new builds. Solar panels and wind turbines, again subject to planning permission, can more easily be built into a new home than added to an existing one, as they can be included at design stage making them integral to the building as opposed to an obvious add-on.

Indeed, given the focus placed on achieving real energy savings self-builders are being targeted in much the same way as commercial new home builders. So, a savvy self-builder may also be able to take advantage of a series of grants and incentives offered by government agencies, local authorities and utility companies to install energy efficient green alternatives, and thus reduce the overall cost of the build.