20 March 2013
The Orwell Housing Association is about to start building four innovative ‘shell finish’ homes in Felixstowe. The properties are aimed at local families on modest incomes who are keen on saving costs by finishing off the properties themselves.
Last November, The Self Build Portal revealed that Orwell was developing the pilot project. Since then interest has built up substantially and the project is now gathering pace with an open event being held this week to share ideas and plans.
{TEASER}
The plot, housing ten dwellings in total – six for affordable rent, four for ‘self finish’ – is situated just south of the junction of Elizabeth Way and Charles Road.
Karen Suddes, from the housing association, said: “Contractors will construct the properties to ‘first fix’ stage, with self builders coming in to finish off. We think it is more affordable for people to come in and finish off properties such as this, they might have contacts in the trade with whom they could gain better deals on materials and make good savings. This is an ideal opportunity to own a home, especially for those who might be privately renting and cannot afford to get on to the housing ladder or those currently resident in local authority housing”.
It’s hoped that construction of the shells will start in April, with the ‘self finishers’ on site from late summer.
An additional idea is to create a community that can work together. “We already have around 30 families who want to hear more. Many of these already have some building skills or have family in the building trade. When we have the four families in place, we’d quite like them to ‘skill swap’. So, if one’s an electrician and one’s a plasterer, we’d like them to work together for mutual benefit”, Ms Suddes added.
Two of the homes are two-bed dwellings (Nos. 9 and 10) and two are three-bed (Nos. 7 and 8). A rough estimate on pricing sees the finished two-bed dwellings fetching £135,000 to £140,000, the finished three-bed dwellings fetching £155,000. People who opt to ‘self finish’ will be able to use sweat equity to purchase the properties at a reduction of approximately 5-25% of the estimated finished value.
