What I Own: We built our London home — it’s now worth 70% more than the cost

This weekend, we’re in Archway visiting Tash South (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Welcome back to What I Own – Metro’s property series where we speak to homeowners about getting on the ladder. Tash South and her husband took possibly the most strenuous route to homeownership possible: they built their own home. Unable to find a home in their price range — and inspired by their neighbours, who also took on their own build — the couple bought a plot of land in Archway, London. And, on the day Tash became the project manager on the build, she found out she was pregnant with her second child. The entire process took almost five years, but now, she lives in her dream home. Here’s what Tash had to say about their house-building journey… Tell us about yourself! Ready to start your homebuying journey? You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK’s leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won’t charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. I’m South African, and I came over to London in my early 20s. I started off as a graphic designer, but after I renovated my first flat, I caught the bug. I enjoyed the process of this build so much, that I decided to change careers. I’ve been doing interior design, renovation consultancy, and then I’ve got a renovation podcast. Whereabouts is your property? What do you think of the area? Ask Metro Use AI to go deeper into the stories you care about – powered by Metro and trusted publications. We’re in Archway, but it’s in this little pocket that a lot of people don’t know about. It’s accessible to Highgate, Crouch End, and then Stroud Green and Finsbury Park, too. It’s got a nice community feel to it, and we’ve got green spaces like Hampstead Heath. Tash found out she was pregnant during the project (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Ufurnish Awards 2026 In partnership with Metro, the ufurnish.com Home Awards 2026 showcase the homeowners, influencers, innovators, retailers and manufacturers transforming living spaces across the UK. This year, Tash has been shortlisted for the Best Interior Content Creator Category. Read more about the finalists on the Ufurnish website. What inspired you to build your own home? We’re one of those mad people who decided to build in one of the biggest cities in the world, and it was quite the challenge. We were inspired by this house that had been built on this road of the flat we were living in at the time. The owners had taken three or four garages and dug down. I wrote them a note to ask if we could come and view it. They invited us round, and we thought, well, if they can do it, why can’t we? We went into it really naively, to be honest. My husband would make notes of where he’d seen garages, or plots. We would write to the owners, and then see if they were willing to sell or negotiate. We had so many people say no. We ended up buying some land from other neighbours, who were willing to sell a plot behind their home for us to build on. Welcome home (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Then, we started putting their project together. The legal process, including planning permission, took about three years, and then the build took about a year. We moved into our home in 2018. We very much had to learn as we went along. We asked for recommendations from friends and family for our contractor and trades, and interviewed a number of them before making decisions. We found our architect through an article in a newspaper — my husband came home from work one evening with a page torn out. How did you finance the home? We sold our flat for £675,000 (more than we bought it for), and with the sale of our flat, we managed to buy the land outright. There were a lot of legal fees that came with that, which pushed the budget up a lot. Once we had the planning approval, then the purchase of the land could go through, which allowed us to go through a specialist lender. We used BuildStore, and they offer a specialist building loan. They release the money in chunks. The land cost £310,000 to buy, and then the build was between £600,000 and £700,000, so the total is around £1 million. The worth is now between £1.6 and £1.7 million. The way it was financed, it didn’t mean it was necessarily a lot cheaper than buying a house, but we were able to break it up into sections. Now, the mortgage and bills together cost around £2,100 per month. ‘We went into it really naivey,’ says Tash (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Where did you live while you were building the home? We had to move in with my in-laws for a bit, and then we rented in Crouch End. The builders constructed the basic box structure for us, and then we became project managers from that point, which meant we had to find all our own tradespeople for electrics, plumbing, and finishing the inside. On the day they handed over the keys for me to take over the build, I found out I was pregnant, not expecting that we could have another baby. I went into this project with morning sickness, and I was up ladders in the snow. We had a deadline, because she was coming in summer 2018. We had to have it livable by then, so it really pushed me to get everything done. We moved in four weeks before she was born. How many homes did you own before you moved in? Being an immigrant, I’ve moved around quite a lot. The flat we sold to move here was the third property. I had a flat in Palmer’s Green as a starter home, then in Winchmore Hill. When you were building, were there any non-negotiables? We wanted space for a big dining table, because I love entertaining. We wanted open-plan living, so we could see our daughter while cooking. My favourite room is probably the kitchen, because it’s a sociable space. They tracked down countless owners of plots they were interested in (Picture: Joseph Lockley) What did you learn about building your own home during the process? You have to plan everything like a demon. This is really what made me start the shift from graphic design over to renovation consultancy and interior design. I wanted to pass on everything I learned. They eventually settled on a plot behind an existing house (Picture: Joseph Lockley) How have you made the property feel like home? I didn’t want it to feel like one of those new-builds where everything is white. I wanted some exposed brick, and some beams. The doorways go all the way up to the ceiling in most places, to add some character. There’s a timelessness to it. I’ve added some cabinetry in the living room, and some plants. I love adding stuff from my culture, so I’ve got bits and pieces I’ve picked up from visiting Africa. I like to add things that are a bit worn, because the house is new. Do you feel like you have enough space? Yes. It’s getting a bit trickier, as my eldest daughter is now a teenager, so we could do with a couple of separate rooms, at least, because everything’s open-plan. We’ve got four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a little guest loo. The couple wanted to think outside of the box (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Have you had any problems with the home? I think people think that when you build a new house, everything works immediately. Everything needs to settle, and it was getting used to booking in the services for everything, including the underfloor heating. The type of stuff you don’t need to do in an older property. What are your plans for the future, housing-wise? Do you plan to stay here long-term? The term forever home fills me with dread. I want to move on and do something new every few years. Something in me could do another one, but I don’t know if I could build another house. I would definitely do a big renovation. Shall we take a look around? They moved in back in 2018 (Picture: Joseph Lockley) The home has four bedrooms and two bathrooms (Picture: Joseph Lockley) There’s also a downstairs loo (Picture: Joseph Lockley) They moved in four weeks before their second daughter was born (Picture: Joseph Lockley) They sold their previous flat to buy the land outright (Picture: Joseph Lockley) The land cost £310,000, and the build between £600,000 and £700,000 (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …it’s now worth between £1.6 and £1.7 million (Picture: Joseph Lockley) ‘You have to plan everything like a demon,’ Tash says (Picture: Joseph Lockley) The couple were inspired by a neighbour who built their own home (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Do we spy Bill Murray there? (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Ah yes, there he is (Picture: Joseph Lockley) They asked their friends for recommendations for tradespeople (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …and found their architect through an article in the paper (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Oh hey Frida (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Tash likes to collect things when she goes back to South Africa (Picture: Joseph Lockley) They used BuildStore to access a building loan (Picture: Joseph Lockley) The money was released in chunks (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …and an inspector would come and see how they were getting on throughout the build (Picture: Joseph Lockley) They moved in with their in-laws for a bit during the build (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …and then rented in nearby Crouch End (Picture: Joseph Lockley) They had to get the home liveable before their second daughter was born in summer 2018 (Picture: Joseph Lockley) They knew they wanted an open-plan space (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …as this made it easier to keep on eye on the girls (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Ooh la la (Picture: Joseph Lockley) The process ended up in a career shift (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …as Tash changed professions from graphic design over to interior design (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Tash wouldn’t rule out doing another renovation in the future (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …even though she’d find it stressful (Picture: Joseph Lockley) She didn’t want everything to be white, like a new-build (Picture: Joseph Lockley) It was important to add a few layers (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Do we spy Lego? (Picture: Joseph Lockley) In the future, she’d love a couple of extra separate rooms (Picture: Joseph Lockley) …as her children are now older (Picture: Joseph Lockley) Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk Deals of the Day I tried L'Oréal Paris's new PDRN serum and my skin looked glossier after one use This new Cricut gadget turns your favourite photos into stickers in minutes From kitchen hatches to burgundy walls – the biggest home trends for 2027 Oodie’s cosy blanket sale has arrived just in time for Christmas shopping Save over £700 on Simba's top-rated mattresses in this limited-time sale Arrow MORE: London motorway closed after crash causing 60-minute delays Arrow MORE: Family pays tribute after schoolgirl, 16, killed in north London crash named Arrow MORE: Cyclist, 24, dies in hit-and-run crash in west London The Key Sign up for must-read property stories, DIY hacks and tips for buying a home.