East Midlands, [06 February 2009] Locally-owned family business Fairgrove Homes and locally-based architect Julian Owen Associates have teamed up to help those in the region thinking of building their own home to turn their dream into a reality.

 

The two firms will be passing on their combined experience of more than 30 years during a Self-Build Evening scheduled to take place in Nottingham on 25 Feb, 2009, from 7-10pm. The event offers a practical guide for those wishing to build their own home who are still in the early stages of planning.

 

“Television shows such as Grand Designs, DIY SOS and House Race have whetted the public appetite for creating a new home, but there are many stages to go through to realise a self-build dream,” says Steve Midgley, managing director of Fairgrove Homes. “The seminar is targeted at those who are disenchanted with the current housing market and who want to turn their design into a reality. This is a perfect opportunity to draw on the expertise of Fairgrove Homes, which won a design award from Ashfield District Council, and architect Julian Owen, who is regarded as a leading authority on home-build design.”

 

“Fairgrove has considerable experience of building houses on both small and individual developments, and we have been praised by our customers for our ability to deliver individual houses on a budget while providing exceptional customer service,” adds Steve. “Our focus has always been on traditional building, which is not offered by many new homes firms.

 

“There are many stages to go through before a new home can be created, and we aim to hold people’s hands as they negotiate the planning and legal minefield involved,” explains Steve. “Because we have already built more than 300 homes, we have plenty of experience in hunting out suitable sites and people can trust they are talking to experts on the subject. We have built up a reputation with those in the industry and have the buying power required to deal with suppliers. So although we may be a little more expensive than if you manage a project on your own, you could enjoy lower costs thanks to our excellent and well-established relationships with local suppliers. This means that in the end, getting expertise from Fairgrove may not cost you any more than carrying out your self-build alone. And, of course, we are small enough to be everything you need from a friendly, local firm. Furthermore, because we are a new homes builder, we have plenty of examples of our work that people can visit when planning their own new property.”

 

Julian Owen MBE brings considerable experience to the event, having presented similar seminars at the National Homebuilding and Renovating show for the past 10 years. He is a leading thinker in the self-build sector and has written several books on home alterations, including Home Extension Design; Self Build; Conservatories – a complete guide; and Kit and modern timber frame buildings. He is also the chair of the Association of Self Build Architects (ASBA). “Our company does a lot of self-build work in its practice, so we’re well placed to guide people through all the pitfalls,” says Julian.

 

The seminar is designed for people with little or no experience of the construction industry and will consist of a series of short talks covering all important issues. It will provide practical advice to all types of self-builder, whether they are planning to get their hands dirty and do the building themselves or are going to use a professional team for every stage of the process.

 

Topics covered include:

·         How to find a site;

·         Budgeting & Programming;

·         Site Assessment;

·         Design Process;

·         Build Processes.

 

“One of the key areas of planning is finance,” says Steve. “Unless people are lucky enough to be cash buyers, they will need to borrow money from somewhere. We’ve brought in Mary Riley, consulting director of Self-builder Mortgages and seminar presenter with Mary Riley Solutions (MRS), to discuss the options available. Mary specialises in self-build mortgages and can discuss ways of funding such projects. These include traditional self-build mortgages – where staged payments are released in arrears – as well as advanced stage payment mortgages, where money may be released prior to each step of the build to help fund the project.

“This is not a building course,” adds Julian. “But it will guide people through all the stages involved in self-building and will help to make the process easier.”

 

The evening will be held on 25 February, 2009, and costs £12.50 per person or £20 for two. To find out more about the event, visit www.julianowen.co.ukor contact Julian Owen Associates, 276 Queens Road, Beeston, Nottingham, NG9 2BD. Tel: 0115 922 9831.

 

 

Attached JPGs show Steve Midgley and Julian Owen MBE

 

Fairgrove Homes is a locally owned business that prides itself on building individual homes of character. The company combines high quality with small developments in desirable locations to meet customers’ needs. Its current sites include:

In Nottinghamshire – Orton Fields, Bramcote; De Buseli Fields, Gedling, and Quantum, Piccadilly, Nottingham.

In Derbyshire – Grange Gardens, Loscoe.

About Julian Owen Associates

Julian Owen Associates has carried out many domestic and business projects for a wide range of clients throughout the UK. Its domestic projects include new home design, extensions and conversions. The practice has an extensive online database of plots and developments opportunities that can be accessed by members of the public. Julian Owen, MD of the firm, is a well-known authority on the self-build industry, and is invited to speak at many major shows. He was awarded an MBE in 2004 for Services to Architecture.