So. West coast of Scotland

Saguday said:
We’ve seen a number of existing places some very nice and suitable but you can always build more than you can buy. We’ve not decided what we’re going to do yet and may be years away from any major change. It’s more about having the next 5 year Grand Plan and this is the formative stages.
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Be careful of that assumption. We are building house No 2, a 3 bedroom detached. We are downsizing from self build house No 1 a 5 bedroom.

We expect the total build cost of house No 2 to be about £50K less than the sale price of house No 1, so by downsizing from 5 to 3 bedrooms we have released about £50K.

BUT we have only got the build cost of house No 2 so low by spending 5 years on in (still not finished) and doing a LOT of the work myself, a lot more than I first expected.

If we had just paid a builder to build us a house ready to move into, there would have been very little and possibly nothing at all released from our downsizing exercise. Don't assume that a self build will have a market value equal or greater to what it has cost you to build. It will however likely be a better house than you can get off the shelf, particularly if you are looking for low energy / passive house principles.
 
ProDave said:
Be careful of that assumption. We are building house No 2, a 3 bedroom detached. We are downsizing from self build house No 1 a 5 bedroom.

We expect the total build cost of house No 2 to be about £50K less than the sale price of house No 1, so by downsizing from 5 to 3 bedrooms we have released about £50K.

BUT we have only got the build cost of house No 2 so low by spending 5 years on in (still not finished) and doing a LOT of the work myself, a lot more than I first expected.

If we had just paid a builder to build us a house ready to move into, there would have been very little and possibly nothing at all released from our downsizing exercise. Don't assume that a self build will have a market value equal or greater to what it has cost you to build. It will however likely be a better house than you can get off the shelf, particularly if you are looking for low energy / passive house principles.
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All good points, but I repeat we have already built once and are aware of the economics and trade offs. We’ve kept abreast, in general, of land costs and build costs since we did this one and have an approximate budget in mind based on a conservative valuation - but of course all that could implode depending on where the B****t farce takes us. Hence caution and taking a longer term view.

Unless you hit unusually severe issues you will end up with either a) a larger house for the same money or b) a better house for the same money or c) a smaller house (maybe still better) with some equity release from the previous one.

Our plan was always to self-build twice, first with a mortgage, the second cash only. Timing to do this successfully is, as they say, everything...
 
It was 15 years between building our first and second house. I was surprised by how much building materials had increased in that time, a lot more than inflation in general. Also building regs now demand much more paperwork like SAP, Structural engineers calculations, air tightness tests etc which probably added £10K of "professional fees" to the build that we did not have last time.
 
Saguday said:
4. Drove the short way up to Port Bannatyne. Gorgeous. SWMBO thought it was lovely. Stopped, took photos, looked around, spoke to the friendly marina staff, wandered the pontoons. Saw our yachty friend coming in and berth at the marina (a larger Sadler). Had a useful chat with him in the car park later, some useful info on the moorings too. Reluctant to leave, but had to press on.
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If you are interested in a swinging mooring at PB, let me know and I'll put you in touch with some people. About half of them are unused and the going rate is a few hundred quid. You have to join the moorings association (£5), pay Crown Estate fees (£40) through them and budget about £200 per annum for servicing and renewal.

Travel time is an issue but a lady onGigha who has two sons in Bristol said fly Bristol-Glasgow and take the bus! We’ll see.
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The bus works well, but it's a real grind. It's also worth considering flying to Campbeltown (which is actually in Machrihanish) and taking a bus or taxi to Tayinloan from there

Thanks to everyone who replied and helped shape the itinerary. It was a wonderful trip.
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We'll look forward to welcoming you as a (sailing) resident!
 
Saguday said:
This post is naught but a shameless advert! Alas you’re just a wee bit too far north we think.
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Mea culpa :shame:
I have no current intentions to sell 'n' split, but when I do this place is very special for the person who has the wherewithal :encouragement:

I accept I am too far north for you and SWMBO, sounds like you have a well-thought out plan.

Best of luck, I hope to see you up here, even if just for a foray into the "upper reaches".

P.S. I've never known a year up here with only 15mm of rain ;)
 
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Robert Wilson said:
Mea culpa :shame:
I have no current intentions to sell 'n' split, but when I do this place is very special for the person who has the wherewithal :encouragement:

I accept I am too far north for you and SWMBO, sounds like you have a well-thought out plan.

Best of luck, I hope to see you up here, even if just for a foray into the "upper reaches".
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We’ll try and get up there and surprise you with a bang on the door, demanding pizza

P.S. I've never known a year up here with only 15mm of rain ;)
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Whatever do you mean? �� ��
 
We want to get up there but it would be too far north for us to base ourselves there. NW Argyll was sufficiently spectacular for us - we live in Somerset, remember, close to the Levels :) - and I think we did in fact prefer the Craobh Haven/Ardfern area, with a bias to Craobh Haven because we’d prefer to face west rather than east :) Next time we’re up we’ll go up to Loch Melfort and Oban (we’ve visited Oban before) but that rough area really appealed to us.

Just researching the midgies though - these may play a factor!
 
Saguday said:
Next time we’re up we’ll go up to Loch Melfort and Oban (we’ve visited Oban before) but that rough area really appealed to us.

Just researching the midgies though - these may play a factor!
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Give me a shout if you are around Loch Melfort - but those pics are north of Skye, so a lot, lot further north.

And, the midges are not that bad, they stay on the shore, especially in scrubbby areas, so you will be OK (reasonably) on the boat.
 
Not sure what I'm doing for 2020, friends from down here in the south are chartering a couple of boats in the Clyde from Largs in late July; I haven't really sailed the Clyde, so may be nice to join them.

On the other hand I reckon I can just about manage another long trip North before infirmity finally takes over, so thoughts are about re-visiting the Faeroes (been there a couple of times before), and this time getting to Iceland -
the fjords of E/NE look doable. Only 2 days sailing from Vestmanna in NW Faeroes.

Greenland could be fun, but that would be too far, as the E coast is generally foggy and icy, and has no good harbours, while to get to the W coast you have to sail, maybe, 100 miles S of Kap Farvel before turning N to make sure you avoid the ice (and this is only 62 deg N, so only about 120M N of Lerwick). That's a NoNo.

Anyway, its something nice to think about during the winter.......
 
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