Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 24, 2009 5:59 pm Hi All, As the title says, my wife and I are currently looking at building our first home. We have identified a potential block of land (1500m2) and are very taken by McDonald Jones as the builder. The block we have identified is on a gradual slope from front to back and I need some advice on how much extra it may cost to build on the plot. Do you recommend I have a contour survey done straight away, and if so roughly how much do these cost? That is my priority at this stage as I do not want to be stung for thousands down the line. I would also welcome any advice you may be able to offer on the whole process. From putting a deposit on the land to getting the keys to the house, what happens in between? Given I'm a newbie in this field I'd like to be prepared for any eventuality that may arise, so even bullet points of the varius steps would be fantastic. If anyone could help I'd greatly appreciate it. Many Thanks, Mike Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 2Mar 24, 2009 6:06 pm good lord. given my experience perhaps I shouldn't be offering an opinion Make sure you secure an expert to check and sign off on every stage of the build. Don't pay progress payments until you are 100% and I mean 100% happy. Because there will still be a certain % of issues that are missed (IMHO). This coming from someone who just found out their builder is finito and there is still around 25K left to finish 6 months post handover. Good luck and keep on your toes. Most likely your build will go well but you need to keep your eyes open, communicate concerns/issues/satisfaction with your builder or SS.... and most of all... don't compromise on the final product. You will have to live in it for a long time. Good luck. Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 3Mar 24, 2009 6:12 pm Hello and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your lovely big block. Your first post is a bit of a "how long is piece of string" question. My first suggestion is to do a bit of reading on here.... there's heaps of info if you do some searches. Read through some individual building threads. Site costs: budget around 6k to 10k per metre of fall across the house, (the price will depend on soil classification and slab requirements). What's your location? My main advice would be the following: get everything in writing educate yourself as much as you can about as many aspects of the process as you can get everything in writing work out your needs, wants and wishes (in that order) as far as your house plan goes get everything in writing set a budget and stick to it get everything in writing treat it as a business transaction, try to keep emotion out of it get everything in writing whatever they say it costs..... it will cost more builders are not your friends..... you are their client especially in the current economic climate, check the financials of your chosen builder and get everything in writing Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 4Mar 24, 2009 6:14 pm Hi, First thing to do is get a soil test done on the block! We had a deposit on some land subject to soil test, we got a test done and it has come back P Class so it means it will cost an extra 20k or so!!! Then find out how much fall is on the block and try to work out your site costs as this is where you can get stung!!! Good luck, as for building i dont know, we are still at land stage! Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 5Mar 24, 2009 6:24 pm Thanks for the info so far everyone - I'm busy reading away on threads to see what I can find. The block we are looking at is on an Estate near Maitland - Bolwarra Heights. the information we were given by the agent says the soil type is "M" - does this mean a soil test has already been done, or do I need to do one indepenently as well? Cheers, Mike Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 7Mar 24, 2009 7:02 pm Maitland NSW - I live in Sydney presently though. Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 8Mar 24, 2009 7:27 pm We are also looking at McDonald Jones to build our home... we were very excited when we saw their designs they seemed way ahead of anything we had seen around....and then we found out they build with steel frames and colourbond and were included in the price. We have had a quote but on presentation the consultant suggested we get an electronic version of a contour survey (200mm drops or something).. he offered to organise this for us and said the cost would be deducted from the deposit (approx $400) He said it would identify any additional costs in order to comply with council DCP due to excessive cut and fill in regard to driveway gradient problems or edgebeams (retaining within the slab i think)... we have since had this done through the builder and no problems came up. Secondly he suggested we get a soil test ..he again suggested they could organise... but I see you mention the block is M which I believe is their standard cost fo a slab. We are now at the stage of paying our acceptance fee to have plans drawn, Baxis approval,colour selection and contracts. I have heard there is an industry price increase on the 1st April.. so we don't want to miss out...they are also offering us free Air Con and upgraded appliances.. I think the price rise is true as we noticed Jennings went up between $25000 and $50000 on last weekends price list.... massive !!! I think you said you were building in the Newcastle region..but I notice Mc jones have just released their designs into the Sydney /South Coast market Trust in the Universe Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 9Mar 24, 2009 8:34 pm Most builders will want their own contour survey, so you may end up paying twice if you get one done yourself. I would find out who do their soil testing and use them direct. This will save you a hefty mark up from the builder. Gearbox - Five forward speeds. And one reverse. Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 10Mar 25, 2009 2:01 am Mikenrochelle Maitland NSW - I live in Sydney presently though. I know the area well - and have thought about moving there myself. I've done lots of work for most of the mines in the Hunter. I agree with Gearbox - most builders will want to do their own, both as a 'get more money' excercise, and also to protect themselves against being sued. Just because the developer or whatever says that it's m-class doesn't mean squat to the builder - they will always get their own done anyway. And as Joles says - get everything in writing. We lost a few thousand dollars because we were told that our contract was subject to finance (without getting it verified or in writing), and being Naive 1st timers like you trusted them until our finance fell through - we lost most of our deposit. After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 11Mar 25, 2009 8:32 am Hi Mikeandrochelle we live in Fern Bay and built 2 homes with McDonald Jones Homes. We found them easy to deal with, they were convenient because they are essentially the local builder whereas all the other builders are out of the western suburbs of Sydney 180kms away. Their process was informative...my friend is building with them at the moment and he tells me their communications have improved a lot..they apparently SMS you at every stage of the proceedings.... and the building supervisor rings you weekly with a construction update. Just make sure you are clear on what you want..give precise instructions re variations house position etc etc to the sales consultant. They put everything in writing in their tender and annex further variations and selections to the consolidated tender... everything is given/emailed to you for approval. We have built 4 homes in total and believe me you never think the process is quick enough.. but we found the Mc Jones pre contract process much better than our first 2 builders . The previous advice re a contour and soil cert is good it does eliminate many of the unknowns... although I am not sure if you need to go to the trouble of getting them yourself just to save the builders 15% margin (approx $60)... Keep it simple and let the builder do his job... I think you will enoy it Life is an enjoyment, enjoy it Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 12Mar 25, 2009 9:05 am I would be interested to know whether robbuilding and Hanson61 have the same IP address. Hanson61's posts are always full of praise for McDonald Jones and robbuilding is also and has a similar type of signature. Call me suspicious, and definitely happy to be wrong, but I smell a rat and am just curious "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 13Mar 25, 2009 9:17 am sorry donnuts for putting praise on McDonald Jones.. but they did build my last 2 homes and we were very happy... just like to tell my story when someone needs help/info... I do comment about other builders too as we have built 4 homes in our time... some bad but mostly good experiences... and even though we are pretty happy where we are in Fern Bay i try and keep my ear to the ground and keep in touch Life is an enjoyment, enjoy it Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 14Mar 25, 2009 9:18 am Hi Everyone, Many thanks for all of your advice thus far, really appreciated. The big learnings for me so far are to: GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING Have the Builder do the contour and soil surveys &; Be very specific about what we want - it is our house after all. Very impressed with everybody's feedback re McD0nald jones, we have all but decided on the Beachside Grand Manor Elite (what a mouthful!) as it tailors for all of our needs. If there are any more things that I should & shouldnt be doing I'd love to know them to make sure I'm fully prepared. Any ideas on how long the whole process takes from securing the land to getting the keys? Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 15Mar 25, 2009 9:41 am Hanson61 sorry donnuts for putting praise on McDonald Jones.. but they did build my last 2 homes and we were very happy... just like to tell my story when someone needs help/info... I do comment about other builders too as we have built 4 homes in our time... some bad but mostly good experiences... and even though we are pretty happy where we are in Fern Bay i try and keep my ear to the ground and keep in touch no need to apologise if you are a genuine not-employed-by-McDonald-Jones poster Hanosn61 Glad you are happy with your 4th house. Like I said, just curious! "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 17Mar 25, 2009 2:20 pm A few golden rules i've subsribe to during my build to consider..... 1. If its not written it didn't happen... 2. Show me don't tell me... 3. They are NOT your friend/buddy...they are there to make money 4. They use 'measure twice, cut once' we should be using read it 3 times at least a day apart then sign 5. Always inspect what you expect! 6. Embrace the triple constraint and find the balance between scope,cost and time. ie. remember this when you decide to undertake any change. 7. Planning, planning planning...did i say planning? let me say it again PLANNING. Good luck. Yoda Smeags. ---->Some say that a recession is when your neighbour loses his/her job while a depression is when you lose yours!<----- Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 18Mar 25, 2009 3:46 pm I think these two are the most succinct summaries of what you should look out for... joles My main advice would be the following: get everything in writing educate yourself as much as you can about as many aspects of the process as you can get everything in writing work out your needs, wants and wishes (in that order) as far as your house plan goes get everything in writing set a budget and stick to it get everything in writing treat it as a business transaction, try to keep emotion out of it get everything in writing whatever they say it costs..... it will cost more builders are not your friends..... you are their client especially in the current economic climate, check the financials of your chosen builder and get everything in writing and smeagol A few golden rules i've subsribe to during my build to consider..... 1. If its not written it didn't happen... 2. Show me don't tell me... 3. They are NOT your friend/buddy...they are there to make money 4. They use 'measure twice, cut once' we should be using read it 3 times at least a day apart then sign 5. Always inspect what you expect! 6. Embrace the triple constraint and find the balance between scope,cost and time. ie. remember this when you decide to undertake any change. 7. Planning, planning planning...did i say planning? let me say it again PLANNING. I'd add... Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and the six P-rule see point 7 above....Proper Planning Prevents P*ss Poor Performance... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Very Naive 1st time home builder needs advice..... 20Mar 25, 2009 4:23 pm Mikenrochelle Very impressed with everybody's feedback re McD0nald jones, we have all but decided on the Beachside Grand Manor Elite (what a mouthful!) as it tailors for all of our needs. Hi Mikenrochelle! Did you choose the "rear split" design? Do you know the approximate slope on your land? Cheers! ' Hi there, We’ve recently had plans approved to add a 1st storey addition to our existing house for a growing family in Sydney. With the current cost of building… 0 1025 Hi - thanks for your reply. Yes I think 'Ill go for whitish with very speckly bits rather than pure white something like this. PS was actually 2008 I built the… 2 8684 Hi folks, Victoria resident here. I've submitted my owner builder application to the VBA. I thought I'd share my experience so far. I submitted my application… 0 6185 |