How much does it cost to set up a self-sufficient homestead?
The term self-sufficient homestead refers to a house that’s powered by renewable sources and has enough land to produce all the plants and animals you would need to feed yourself. A homestead is defined as a building surrounded by agricultural land, which is similar to a small holding which is an area of agricultural land that is smaller than a standard farm. A homestead can be of any size but both fulfill the same purpose when it comes to making your self-sufficient dream a reality.
Homestead set-up cost factors
Land location
1 Acre of land in the middle of a large town can easily cost over a million, but an acre of remote land on the side of a rocky hill can go for as little as £500. Decent farmland in a more remote area has an average cost of about £10,000 per acre, but again this can vary massively across the country.
Land type
Grazing-only land is cheaper than woodland, which in turn is cheaper than farmland. There are also different qualities of farmland and if there is a water system, such as a stream or river running through the property then this will also increase the price, but also give you the option for water-based power production like a vortex turbine.
Home type
A static caravan or small timber frame home will be the cheapest while still providing a good amount of comfort, but this one depends on what you would be happiest living in.
Power production
If your home is in a remote area then you’ll have to pay for it to be hooked up to the main power grid. The other option is to go completely 100% self-sufficient with power production but this will be very expensive and also risky, as you can’t guarantee the wind will always be blowing and the sun will shine bright enough every day. The only exception to this would be if you had a stream or river with enough water flowing all year round to power a wheel or vortex turbine, which would be another cost on top of everything.
Construction costs
If you order something prebuilt like a timber-frame home or static caravan, then the delivery costs can quickly rise per mile. If the construction project takes a long time and requires huge amounts of materials to be brought to a remote area, then the delivery cost alone might make it worth thinking about another home type.
The following examples are only rough prices and the area in which you intend to live and the quality of land you want will be the biggest factors when it comes to cost.
Timber frame home on 3 acres
Land cost – £15,000 to £30,000
Home cost – £30,000 to £100,000
Construction and utilities – £10,000 – £15,000
Admin costs (planning permission, council fees, etc..) £3,000 to £10,000
Power costs (enough solar panels or turbines to power the home) £5,000 to £15,000
Total cost – £63,000 to £170,000
Timber frame homes are normally quite comfortable and clean-looking, and provide a decent amount of space for the cost. They are also quick to heat up and because they are generally quite small, the heating bill won’t be as much.
The construction cost of this home type is usually lower as they are often pre-fabricated and only involve piecing them together at the construction site.
Static Caravan on 1 acre
Land cost – £5,000 to £10,000
Home cost – £7,500 to £30,000
Construction and utilities – £3,000 – £10,000
Admin costs (planning permission, council fees, etc..) £3,000 to £5,000
Power costs (enough solar panels or turbines to power the home) £5,000 to £15,000
Total cost – £23,500 to £70,000
Since they come pre-built there isn’t any construction on site other than lowering it into place with a crane and hooking up all the utilities, something that can be done in just a few hours. They are the easiest type of home to hook up to a renewable energy source as they normally sit on blocks with all the connectors underneath which can be connected directly to your power source, with the additional purchase of a converter of course.
Log Cabin on 10 acres
Land cost – £70,000 to £100,000
Home cost – £60,000 to £150,000
Construction and utilities – £30,000 – £50,000
Admin costs (planning permission, council fees, etc..) £5,000 to £15,000
Power costs (enough solar panels or turbines to power the home) £5,000 to £15,000
Total cost – £170,000 to £330,000
There are many companies out there that are selling what they call log cabins for as little as £5,000 but these are nothing more than a large shed. If you want something nice to live in you’re going to have to pay much more than you think for this type of home.
If you went out tomorrow and bought a log cabin then this is the general price range you can expect, but if you are resourceful and look around for cheap logs and hire your own team, you could easily cut that price in half.
Conventional home (brick and cement) on 10 acres
Land cost – £70,000 to £100,000
Home cost – £150,000 to £300,000
Construction and utilities – £25,000 – £50,000
Admin costs (planning permission, council fees, etc..) £3,000 to £10,000
Power costs (enough solar panels or turbines to power the home) £7,500 to £20,000
Total cost – £255,500 to £480,000
The most comfortable and long-lasting of home types, the conventional home also takes the longest to build and is the hardest to alter when it comes to modifications. Other homes like static caravans and timber frame homes can be built very quickly and normally go up in a single build, but brick homes can be left for a while and are sometimes done in stages, especially when funding is an issue.
Since the cost is so great, there are too many factors that could get in the way of finishing the project unless you have all the money for it upfront. I have personally seen far too many half-finished homes or moss-covered foundations around the Welsh countryside that started as someone’s dream and ended up as a money drain they couldn’t afford to plug.
Factors when it comes to pricing
The above prices are the average prices for good farmland at the time of writing this, but land prices vary widely depending on where you want to buy. If you want some farmland in a popular or built-up location then you can expect to pay close to £10,000 per acre, but this can be half if you’re buying a large amount at once.
If you aren’t bothered about having farmland then you can pick up an acre for as little as £1,500 but it’ll be in a very remote location, like northern Scotland or a quiet area of Wales. This will also get you very low-quality land that will most likely be very hilly or covered in rocks, making it useless for anything but raising sheep.
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