While it may be obvious to you that getting involved in self build is the ideal route for you, and that the first stage is joining the club and getting a profile, so you can move forward faster, some may either not be able to, or may not chose to spend the money now to join the club.
In many cases when a person says that they cannot afford something, they mean that they are making a choice to spend the money that they have on something else. A good example is a college student who says that they cannot afford to buy a £15 text book, and then goes to the bar and buys a round of drinks costing as much. In life we all have to make choices as to where our priorities lie, and the monthly subscription to this club is equivalent to a night out, and less than many spend on a whole range of other things over the month.
The temptation however may be to leave off getting started until you feel you can afford it, and this probably means never.
The intention of this page therefore is to perhaps allow a few people to see, that shortage of funds, that you choose to put to club membership, is not in itself a factor that stops you becoming involved.
Of course if you can raise the money, it would be best to do so now and then perhaps you could come back later and consider some of the ideas below that may help you to raise far more and help towards your own build project, but we will come back to the many ways to increase the cash you have later.
The points programme allows two routes to get your joining fee and subscription paid for you. One of the reasons to introduce the points programme was so we would have a no cost route to get the benefits club membership can offer. There are a range of benefits that can be obtained via the points programme ranging from getting your subscriptions paid for you to £200,000 non repayable grant towards your own home, with cases of wine and other awards also available.
While if you go ahead and join now, this does not pay it for you, it does allow you to recover the amount you pay in joining the club and membership fees later if you wish.
Like all organizations it cost money to tell people of our existence and join up new members, if you can tell people and join up some of them, then we through the points scheme allow you to get your membership back or even pay for a large percentage of your house. The nice thing about this is that its not selling, just sharing your own excitement and allow others you know, to also take the advantages you discover.
The second no cost route is by becoming an affiliate this is not a member at all, but a special arrangement where you are affiliated with another member. Although it offers no membership benefits at all, it does allow you be become a part of the points programme and to earn points to cover both your joining fee and subscription. Why, you may ask, would a member want the bother of an affiliate; well in most cases you will have points splitting arrangement with them, which allows them to get some points, and in some cases may even mean that they get you to do the leg work for them, and you then get to share the points from the contacts they know as well.
You will find many members are not all that excited about earning points, they are joining this club to get on with making their dream come true, creating the home of their choice at a very large discount, and while the points scheme is attractive it does use up some of their time and perhaps is a distraction from the main focus they have at this time.
Want to find out more about the points programme or affiliates then click here.
For many a credit card is an obvious first thought, but also look to see if you have a bunch of cheques that your credit card company gave you to switch balances or for other uses, you can write these like ordinary cheques and pay your joining fee with it being added to your credit card. If your balance left is not enough then call them and ask them if it can be increased.
To cut your outgoings on credit cards back
Regularly checking and getting the interest rates improved, will for most people save more than they pay in club subscriptions.
On the join now page we also cover the option to pay subscription and/or joining fees by credit cards, although its not our recommended method.
Take a look through the items you have, but no longer use, and consider if you want them or would rather have cash. One member who did this over a year, raised approaching £40,000 from the toys he had acquired over the years and were just taking up space now, perhaps you cant find that much, but why not look to see what you have surplus. Also watch out for the things others are going to just throw away, scrounge and sell them as well.
So how do you sell them.
How about getting people at Christmas and birthdays to give you something towards building your own home. You may be surprised at the size of the gifts you get, as many people will see this as a genuine way to help, rather then just giving you more junk, as everyone does at seasonal times of the year.
No, I was not thinking of sugardaddies or mummies, but perhaps a boyfriend or girlfriend, parent, brother or sister or other relative that would like to make a major and a lasting impression and help you to get started.
Also consider asking an employer. Many realize that its hard for people to find a home in the area that they work, and may be delighted to give you a large contribution towards moving into home ownership and being able to stay near to your current employment.
For a company to replace you, involves advertising or paying an agency a fat commission and so if you are committed to staying where you are, and using your available time to research and organize building your home, they should be delighted that you are not spending time looking at the jobs available and going after other jobs. Satisfied staff also have fewer days off sick, suffer from stress less and are generally more productive employees, so you might suggest that covering your cost in joining this club would be highly beneficial to them.
What about Charities and trusts. There are many tens if not hundreds of thousands of these, each with its own criteria as to who and what funds are for. Perhaps you can qualify in some way. What about local organizations near to you, could any of them be asked to help. Do you have any special interest ie the environment, wildlife... that will feature as a part of your ideal project. If so, could some organization be willing to come up with a grant towards looking into it. Although probably more relevant at a later stage when within the project we help you look at where you may be able to get sizable contributions a local group or organization may be interested in being involved from the beginning and the feasibility study/publicity.
A second job may appear a drastic solution, however many part time jobs can be enjoyable, and while you are working you can't be spending money on anything else. If you like being in a pub, then consider being behind the bar, get paid to be there and allow others to buy drinks for you. Some may not be well paid, for example part time carers, but allow you to do something worthwhile and in many cases be very selective as to what time you actually put in. How about a part time business, but keep it simple, some tutoring, party plan, or similar as you don't want to tie up too much capital and for it to take all your attention away from other things. Why not ask your employer if they have any ideas, perhaps a company newsletter or organizing staff social events etc, that they may be happy to pay you to run for them.
Before looking at other part time employment, take another look at the points programme as with this you can get back your joining fee, your subscription paid and even up to £200,000 towards your house, and unless you have a really good idea, could be far more profitable to you than just about any other part time job you could dream up.
I hope this page has started you thinking, and that you can now brainstorm and come up with a number of other ways you can raise money as well. Don't stop at raising the small amount needed to join the club and pay the subscription, but also think about how later you can utilize some of these ideas to get a deposit for your home and more. We will of course be looking at this with you again when the time comes.
However don't let this delay you getting started, join up now and then come back to thinking about all the many ways you will be able to raise more money later.
This website should show a Self Build Homes Club title at the top and content bar down the left. If you have reached this page by some means that has not displayed it properly, for example from a search engine, please click here to load the website properly and show the UK home page and options. If this does not work click here to get to a site map.
Form-mail - a general purpose form, questions, feedback, and other contacts. It is quick to complete and covers most requirements. Pops up in a new window, close the window after use, to get back here.
Self Build Homes Club is an international club
and trading title of Self
Build Homes Club llc. Local services
to serve members are commissioned for the club by New
Atlantis International Services Corporation.
All major commissioned companies involved, have New Atlantis trust status.