Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Budget Custom Home builder 2May 14, 2017 7:09 pm Paraga, It would be helpful to have a little more information, as custom builders won't be able to build Australia wide, so where do you want to build and what's 'budget' to you? We will all have different definitions of this. Variegated Re: Budget Custom Home builder 4May 15, 2017 2:53 pm 'Budget prices' and 'Custom' don't usually go together. Project builders can build budget houses (as long as you don't have much in the way of upgrades) because of their purchasing power, their design costs are spread over many houses, and the fact they understand their costs for building their designs. With custom builders there is only one house to cover design costs, lower purchasing power, and higher risk which means builders margins are higher. You may get a custom house for the same price as a budget home . . . . but it will be smaller. You may be better looking for a project design that's close to what you want and then discussing some alterations The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Budget Custom Home builder 6May 15, 2017 8:01 pm With a custom design, you're up for a whole heap of costs too before you even get an indicative price range and whether you can afford the finished product. Think minimum investment of $5k to have site surveys, soil tests, and then basic (and we're talking concept - like hand drawn with minimal measurements) before you even get to costs. Plus you then have engineering costs - as no builder worth their salt will quote without engineering. This all depends on whether you're going custom with an architect / designer, or whether you're going custom with a builder who'll organise the plans and engineering "in-house" (keeping in mind it won't be in house, and you'll be paying a margin on top of the actual price for plans & engineering + surveys etc). We went down the above route, put in about $20k, and walked away. Went with a project builder where we have got a very similar floorplan, a better finish and fitout, and saved about 20%. Have we compromised? Absolutely. Can we live with it? Yep. You also have to be very, very careful about what you consider an "upgrade". Many builders don't include floor coverings etc in the base price and you need to budget these in. You also won't get most items such as blinds etc. Re: Budget Custom Home builder 10Nov 17, 2017 1:49 pm Hi Paraga We are looking to build a single storey 28 sq home in Melbourne. We are knocking down so have some additional costs to factor in. We have looked at everyone from true Volume builders like Metricon/Porter Davis to independents. We like the idea of a "fixed design and price" and we need hand holding with colour selections etc,hence the appeal of the volume builders. Only trouble is the volume build designs don't fit on our corner block We have narrowed it down to Boutique and GJ Gardener homes - I guess you would call them "small volume builders" who allow for customization of their designs. Our research with several builders has shown if you want a nice looking façade that will immediately add between $15k and $20k to the base price. What the base price includes varies greatly between builders in terms of quality. Boutique are particularly good. Your base price will need to be higher for double storey. Our budget is as follows (and seems to be sufficient for the designs we are interested in.) Site prep Demolition up to $30k Site costs up to $50k House Build Base price up to $300k Façade up to $20k Upgrades up to $30k (eg. higher ceilings, downlights, better quality floors etc) House Finishing Internal (blinds etc) up to $30k External Driveway and landscaping up to $40k. (read to allow 10% of overall budget for this) Hope this helps. Re: Budget Custom Home builder 11Sep 05, 2019 7:18 am PVBuild With a custom design, you're up for a whole heap of costs too before you even get an indicative price range and whether you can afford the finished product. Think minimum investment of $5k to have site surveys, soil tests, and then basic (and we're talking concept - like hand drawn with minimal measurements) before you even get to costs. Plus you then have engineering costs - as no builder worth their salt will quote without engineering. This all depends on whether you're going custom with an architect / designer, or whether you're going custom with a builder who'll organise the plans and engineering "in-house" (keeping in mind it won't be in house, and you'll be paying a margin on top of the actual price for plans & engineering + surveys etc). We went down the above route, put in about $20k, and walked away. Went with a project builder where we have got a very similar floorplan, a better finish and fitout, and saved about 20%. Have we compromised? Absolutely. Can we live with it? Yep. You also have to be very, very careful about what you consider an "upgrade". Many builders don't include floor coverings etc in the base price and you need to budget these in. You also won't get most items such as blinds etc. Hi, may I ask which builder you finally used and the difference in cost as you said you didn’t go for custom builder? Re: Budget Custom Home builder 12Sep 05, 2019 7:20 am Loveyourwork Hi Paraga We are looking to build a single storey 28 sq home in Melbourne. We are knocking down so have some additional costs to factor in. We have looked at everyone from true Volume builders like Metricon/Porter Davis to independents. We like the idea of a "fixed design and price" and we need hand holding with colour selections etc,hence the appeal of the volume builders. Only trouble is the volume build designs don't fit on our corner block We have narrowed it down to Boutique and GJ Gardener homes - I guess you would call them "small volume builders" who allow for customization of their designs. Our research with several builders has shown if you want a nice looking façade that will immediately add between $15k and $20k to the base price. What the base price includes varies greatly between builders in terms of quality. Boutique are particularly good. Your base price will need to be higher for double storey. Our budget is as follows (and seems to be sufficient for the designs we are interested in.) Site prep Demolition up to $30k Site costs up to $50k House Build Base price up to $300k Façade up to $20k Upgrades up to $30k (eg. higher ceilings, downlights, better quality floors etc) House Finishing Internal (blinds etc) up to $30k External Driveway and landscaping up to $40k. (read to allow 10% of overall budget for this) Hope this helps. Hi, have you finished building with Boutique? Re: Budget Custom Home builder 13Sep 07, 2019 12:47 am We recently changed builders from Boutique to Hotondo as Boutique’s customisation was virtually non existent. Hotondo let us change both external and internal wall sizes. We created a virtually brand new design. We found the costs were similar per m2, maybe Hotondo was just a tad more expensive and took a bit longer to build. I think talk to both and see what they can do for you. Also if you’re after specifically a budget option then Boutique’s sister company Home Buyers Centre might be more up your alley Re: Budget Custom Home builder 14Sep 07, 2019 1:50 pm tubnauts We recently changed builders from Boutique to Hotondo as Boutique’s customisation was virtually non existent. Hotondo let us change both external and internal wall sizes. We created a virtually brand new design. We found the costs were similar per m2, maybe Hotondo was just a tad more expensive and took a bit longer to build. I think talk to both and see what they can do for you. Also if you’re after specifically a budget option then Boutique’s sister company Home Buyers Centre might be more up your alley Thanks for that, will check out both home buyers centre and Hotondo! Re: Budget Custom Home builder 15Sep 09, 2019 9:53 am Before anybody signs with PD, look at this post. https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=96517&p=1854759#p1854759 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 22096 Hi, can anyone recommend a custom home builder who can build in north east area? Looking to build a custom 4-br energy-efficient home with a max budget of 750k. If they… 0 23655 Coming back to your old stomping grounds, huh? Renovations on a budget can be quite the journey. It's like giving your house a new lease on life. The twist of not knowing… 1 3976 |