“You would be hard pushed to find a detached family house with nice gardens or a bit of land for pounds 500,000 in the Home Counties,” says Tim Stephens of Humberts’ Country House department. But in London and the Home Counties in particular, pounds 500,000 will not, nowadays, buy you very much. HALF A million pounds might seem a huge amount of money for a family house, and it is true that only a very small percentage of properties sold in England are at or above this sum. Which, of course, you can pick up cheap in Calais – along with the kitchen sink.The NEC Homebuilding & Renovating Show features some 150 exhibitors, expert seminars, master classes, and one-to-one specialist surgeries. `Independent’ readers can get half-price entry (pounds 3.50 instead of pounds 7) for two adults to the Homebuilding & Renovating Show by taking a copy of the paper to the box office, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm.

It will always pay,” he suggests.Here’s one final tip: most self-builds end with a celebratory bottle of bubbly. “Find something boarded up and derelict, buy it, gut it, and start from scratch. Or buy a flat with a potential for adding a storey or basement or a mansard roof Look for potential extra space. If it came to it, she would self-build all over again rather than move into an already built home. Michael Holmes, too, is already warming to the idea of selling for a nice quick profit and building anew to reduce his mortgage.The scarcity of land is a major barrier, but derelict homes ripe for stripping and rebuilding are about. And everything takes longer than you thought.With experience, self-builders become stoical: “Don’t get uptight, take everything in your stride,” Margaret advises They also become addicts.

There was no storage area for the day-to-day things you take for granted. In the shower, water drips off the ceiling; and you stick to the toilet seat. It is not for the faint- hearted.”She, too, experienced problem after problem: “All self-builders tell you the same – things don’t go to plan, and you change your mind about certain things as you see the property rising. But it adds character.”In contrast to the Holmeses, who lived in a flat until their new home was ready, Margaret lived on site, in a caravan without heating or water: “I was always tripping over things. We had to take the floor up and reposition the wall, and now I have a small alcove I otherwise wouldn’t have. Margaret realised they were worried and, after a bit of probing and prodding, they finally confessed their uneasiness: “In fact, they were building a wall that was incorrectly positioned. The key is, never pay up front, and only pay for work you are satisfied with.”A good dose of common sense is also vital, as self-builder Margaret Brown discovered.