Building blocks for a new home
There is a lot to consider when you take the first steps down the road to building your new house Robyn Willis looks at some of the things you need to consider.
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BUILDING a house is one of those experiences that looks like fun on paper.
Starting from scratch offers a rare opportunity to design your dream home with beautiful finishes and lots of space for everyone.
Even touring the display villages can be enjoyable, especially when you come across designs with that ‘wow’ factor or you walk into a house that just feels like home.
But as many would-be buyers continue along the path to home building, the shine quickly wears off and the confusing reality sets in.
Because aside from setting your heart on a dream design, there’s a lot to come to grips with from understanding the limitations of your site to budget concerns and approval processes.
Once you’ve made the decision to build, the first conversation you need to have is with your lender to understand how much you can borrow. Keeping in mind the overall cost of the house and land, this should help you decide where to build and how large a block you can afford.
Make sure you know how the payments will roll out to the builder until the home is completed.
Alyssa Rawson from Rawson Homes says any payment delays to the builder could result in building delays so it’s important your lender is experienced with the nature of progress payments.
“Many lenders say they understand the parameters of this and can manage it on clients’ behalf, but this is not necessarily true,” she says. “This is a big one and often causes issues.”
Vacant sites in established suburbs are rare these days so if you’re thinking about knocking down the existing house to rebuild, consider the cost of demolition and clearing the site, which could run into several thousands of dollars.
The other option is greenfield sites. NSW sales and marketing manager for Clarendon Homes, Tim Redway says most of these sites are being sold off the plan and may not be available to build on for six months or more.
He suggests using this time wisely to get quotes from builders.
“Things could change in that time such as the slope provided on plans could vary, affecting the way your home will be sited on the allotment,” Tim says. “If that happens, costs associated with site works for your home could increase from those quoted.
“So it’s not always in the buyers’ interest to delay obtaining quotes from builders, as many will allow you to lock in a final house price now for a home that won’t be built for sometime, which could be preferable to waiting.”
One of the first decisions you will need to make is where to build. Choosing a house and land package in a master planned community has the advantage of the design of the house already meeting the requirements of your block. While this might limit your options, it could save you money because the preparation of the site has already been done.
Tim Redway says those building on a vacant block or planning to knock down and rebuild will need a site survey and soil test (at a cost) to check the slope of the land and see if the site has rocky soil or anything else like a lot of trees that might make building more costly.
“Once you have site costs provided, check to see what costs are fixed and what costs could change, which are known as provisional allowances,” Tim says.
Be aware that sloping sites can add significantly to the cost of building. The bigger the slope, the greater the cost. Access to the site may also add to costs.
Once you’re armed with detailed information about your block, it’s time to settle on a design.
Alyssa Rawson says it’s worth taking your time here to consider your family’s needs now and into the future. Multiple living spaces can be useful as families grow, while play rooms that can morph into study spaces or home theatres may be attractive.
Builders can generally flip floor plans to make better use of the available natural light while others may have standard variations such as optional alfresco areas or even in-law accommodation. If you can’t find a design that meets your needs exactly, builders are increasingly willing to work with you to adjust a design to suit you.
“Write a list of what is important, how you envision living in your home then book a meeting with a new home consultant so they can work with you,” says Alyssa.
Take full advantage of the display villages and take your time touring different designs. If you find one you like, check with the sales staff that they build in your area.
Most builders advertise a base price and you need to understand what is — and what isn’t — included in the cost. Sometimes the house on show at the display village can cost almost twice the base price so ask as many questions as possible.
Features not part of the price can include flooring, landscaping, driveways, air conditioning and Basix, the Building Sustainability Index which all new homes in NSW are required to meet.
Managing director of Wisdom Homes, Domenic Vitalone, says reputable builders will include most of these costs in their base prices but it’s worth asking the question.
Where these features are in the price, understand what exactly is included. Landscaping may consist of some turf while the driveway may just be a concrete slab, not the textured finish you had in mind. Decide what is important to you in terms of finishes and make sure you understand how that might impact on your budget.
And while cost is important, Dominic advises against choosing a home just on price.
“There are many other factors just as important such as design, quality of the inclusions, reputation and ease of dealing with a builder and the time it takes to deliver the project,” he says.
Beware of special offers or gimmicks advertising, say, air conditioning for $1 extra, says Dominic.
“It’s not realistic and presumably already built into the price,” he says.
Clarendon Homes, clarendon.com.au; Rawson Homes, rawson.net.au; Wisdom Homes, wisdomhomes.com.au
LIAM Correy, 26, and his partner Taryn Santa Maria, 25, certainly did their homework before signing on the dotted line for a house and land package at Jordan Springs late last year.
Liam says they were initially looking at knocking down an existing house and rebuilding but decided to buy the 470sqm block and build a Clarendon Homes design because it represented better value.
“We were looking at knockdown rebuilds but the market is so competitive and we would have needed a bigger deposit and we would have needed to pay stamp duty,” says Liam. “This came in under the stamp duty threshold and has a long settlement process so we didn’t need to take out a loan until months later which has allowed us to save more money.”
The couple have settled on the Killara 24 which has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double garage with the house and land totalling $648,000.
“We like to entertain so we’ve added the alfresco on the back and we decided to include a home theatre for ourselves,” says Liam. “Our consultant was really helpful because he allowed us to make changes so there was no miscommunication.”
Liam was so impressed by the service, he’s about to start work with Clarendon’s sales team. Work on his house should begin by the end of the month.
The couple both have family in the area, although it wasn’t until they started looking for land that Liam took a drive through Jordan Springs.
“I drove in here and I fell in love,” he says. “It was the first estate I’d been to where it felt like home.”
Originally published as Building blocks for a new home
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