It pays to recognise the many different types of building land available if you are prepared to put the effort in. There could be a small plot, not visible from the street, behind an existing house. Don't overlook rundown houses that could be demolished and replaced with the home of your dreams.

Just how do you go about working out a viable, price/value of a piece land or a property, suitable for a self-build project. In this article, we explain how to go about starting to work out a site's value?

When setting out to find a site you will be up against some fierce competition such as other self-builders, full-time land finders, small builders, and all the vested interests of the development industry.

The architectural design brief forms the very start of the design process and setting it down a on paper will help you pull together your ideas, needs, likes and dislikes. It will help you think carefully about what you want from your new house, and it will provide us as architects, a framework to interact with you and work to.

It should be an ever-evolving document as things change and develop and you get a better understanding of your needs. This brief can also be used as a point of reference / checklist thought the whole life cycle of the project to ensure your requirements are meet

So what information should be considered in an initial Architectural design brief?