The couple took lots of walks – making notes of big gardens and writing more than 100 letters to homeowners whose gardens or side plots looked promising.
“Our families thought it was strange,” Sogand Howard laughed.
“They saw us writing to people they considered completely random. But that’s very often how the land market works in this country.”
The pair, who have a four-year-old son, had explored buying an existing house, but prices were high, and most of the properties they viewed would have required significant renovation.
“As architects, we knew that if we bought an older house, we’d then end up spending extra to bring it to the standard we wanted,” Sogand Howard said.
“Building gave us another route.”
Through their search, the Howards discovered that many opportunities exist but accessing them can be complicated.
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