17/06/13 Want to increase the value of your property by 14%?

According to new research by the government, making your home energy efficient and well insulated could add thousands of pounds to it's value! Which is something i'm sure we could all benefit from.

Apparently some areas of England could see even higher increases of up to 38%, The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) based their research on 300,000 property sales in England between 1995 and 2011. They concluded that simple changes such as replacing your boiler with a more efficient one could raise your energy rating from G to E and this could mean more than £16,000 extra on your sale price!

This shows that energy efficiency is now one of the key factors in influencing sale prices in residential buildings.

Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs commented on the study saying "This timely report tells us what we suspected all along: that people really value the well insulated energy efficient home: that modest investment in measures to make our homes more comfortable, healthier and cheaper to run really pays off."

Want to know how to make your home more energy efficient? Check out some of the improvements you can make and hopefully increase your property's value!

10/06/2013 The Restoration Man is looking for new projects...

Do you have a historic building? Is it in need of being restored, converted and given a bit of love? If so Channel 4's Restoration Man is looking for you.

George Clark is the presenter and the series follows and helps people who match the above description by changing their forgotten buildings into their dream homes. George will offer practical advice as well as looking into the history of each building and finding out how it fit into the local community!

Restoration man has already featured one of our very own projects, an old water tower in Settle.

They are looking for any aged or unusual buildings in the UK such as water towers, libraries, stables, former public toilets etc. They can be listed or unlisted and you need planning permission and finances already in place.

Sound like you? Would you like some help from George?

All you have to do is contact the Restoration Man team on 0208 222 4434 or email restorationman@tigeraspect.co.uk.

Best of luck!

03/06/2013 Fancy appearing on Channel 4?

Building the Dream is a series about people like you, trying to achieve their dream home with an affordable budget. The show will feature on Channel 4 and will be produced by one of the UK's largest productions company, True North Productions. They have had huge success with other property shows such as Property Ladder, Relocation Relocation and Changing Rooms - to name a few.

Charlie Luxton will be presenting the show and as part of the series, Charlie will give ideas and suggestions that could enhance your plans. Sound good? Bet you are thinking how do I sign up?

Well that part is easy, all you have to do is meet the following criteria:

• Be residential - you need to be planning on living in the building
• Be happy for Charlie to view your plans
• Have planning permission in place
• Agree to being filmed on a regular basis
• Aim to finish the project in around 12 months

Does this sound like you? Then the next step is to email the shows producer Sally Summers SSummers@truenorth.tv, who will contact you directly.

Hope to see you on the series soon, good luck!

23/05/2013 Struggling to secure finance for your dream home?

Are you a self builder who is struggling to secure the money to fund your dream home?

Well according to a report by Lloyds Banking Group and The University of York, you are not alone! Planning permission and access to land may have eased but what use is that if you don't have the money to fund it!

According to the report, lenders are backing away from the Self Build market due to the financial crisis we've been experiencing - lending to this market fell from £2.63bn in 2007 to £790m in 2011! You are probably thinking is there any hope? Well there is...

Housing minister Mark Prisk is very postive about the future of this market he states " it is not that long ago when there were between 10 and 12 building societies and lenders in this market. There are presently around 25 lenders now which is encouraging and the Datamonitor evidence suggests this is a lending market with the potential to grow by 140%."

Thanks to this report, Lloyds Banking Group mortgage director Stephen Noakes said that they are hoping to increase their lending criteria to make funds more available.

So it's not all doom and gloom, the future for you self builders out there is looking promising..