Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 14, 2011 10:09 pm Hi everyone, I am looking at purchasing a block of land and building a reasonably priced but quality home to my taste. A lot to ask on a small budget I know! I have been through all of the applicable builders in NSW and haven't come across many facades I am pleased with. I have been really displeased with the kitchens of the run of the mill builders as I am set on having a french provincial kitchen with timber cabinets which is not something I have come across with builders such as AVJennings or Masteron - not sure if I can upgrade to something I like. I have however come across a company who offers the kitchens I like as well as having a decent facade and plan. The price is $255,000. The house is 31 squares/287.73sqm - 4 bedrooms, master with ensuite, double garage and alfresco, the usual... The inclusions do not include site costs, render (although the display home is rendered), face brick, floor coverings, airconditioning, septic system, changes to plan, french doors (although the display and plan has french doors), external landscaping, soil removal, rock excavation (which is listed as owners responsibility), security screens and gas connection (also listed as owners responsibility) Here is the link to the house which shows inclusions and price. Basically I am wondering if this price is reasonable as I have been through bigger builders with prices ranging from $150,000 - $180,000 which makes the camelot home rather exxy in price. Or are these prices from larger builders really deceptive?? With the price of the camelot home I like being $255,000 I would then have to add a lot of extra dollars for carpet, floorboards, airconditioning, window coverings, driveway, render, site costs, french doors and the list goes on but I am wondering if a larger builder would manage to pad out the costs to this extent anyway. I have never built a house. I currently own a renovated old house and would love to build but it's really frightening with all of the horror stories listed on here. http://www.camelothomes.com.au/new/imag ... adio09.pdf http://www.camelothomes.com.au/new/imag ... rdIncl.pdf http://www.camelothomes.com.au/new/images/PALLADIO.pdf Appreciate advice and even references to builders - Building in Mollymook/Ulladulla of NSW South Coast. Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 2Jan 14, 2011 10:33 pm You can usually upgrade anything - at a cost. Your kitchen wishes seems to be the only thing you may have a drama with. Perhaps find out off a rep (from the cheaper companies) which cabinet maker they use so you can find out if you can get timber doors instead if the usual vinyl wrap most do. I know NSW and WA are different but that price seems steep. Most of the things you said not included usually arent included, its something you usually pay for out of your own pocket after handover. Fascades are easily changed. Find a nice sales rep and work with them. Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 3Jan 15, 2011 7:48 pm Hi. If you decide that you are going to change or upgrade things in your plan, the best way is to make a list and do it all in the one go. Each time you make a variation the builders will charge you $500+ each time, then the cost of whatever the change. If you do it in one go it will only cost the once of variation fee. Otherwise this cost adds up really quick. Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 4Jan 15, 2011 8:34 pm Ask them for the price of the display home with all featured extras. That way you know what it would cost for everything you see and then you can make a decsion on what the range of pricing will be from that builder. Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34120 Handover 23 Dec 11 Squatting 21 Dec 11 Fixed 12 Oct 11 Plastered 31 Aug 2011 Framed 7 June 2011 Site Start 7 Feb 2011 Land Titled 18 Jan 2010 Land Deposit 25 Jun 2009 Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 5Jan 16, 2011 11:16 pm Most display homes include a lot of features which are actually expensive upgrades, and some display homes feature things which you cannot 'upgrade' to no matter how much you are prepared to pay because they are simply not available Some builders will provide you with an 'as displayed' price for the home, and also a list of what upgrades are in the display homes and a cost for each one. Also, you should ask each builder for their list of standard inclusions and compare them all very carefully with a checklist. We were comparing 2 major volume builders in Victoria, we thought on face value that we would be getting a much better deal from Builder A and thought we would be crazy to build with Builder B even though we liked one of their floorplans - turns out Builder B actually offered us a better deal! We compared standard inclusions and available 'promotional upgrades'. Sometimes one builder will actually include as standard something that another builder only offers in a promotion. Ask if you can upgrade you kitchen cabinet doors to timber with one of the cheaper builders - it may work out better than buying the more expensive house just because you liked the timber kitchen. Also, ask the cheaper builders if they can come up with a facade you like - it looks like you are after a colonial type facade? Lots of builders offer this type of facade. Good luck finding something you like. I read your other thread and understand why you have to move - I hope it's all for the best Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 6Jan 17, 2011 1:19 am Thanks so much Pinchy! Yes, as we are having to move we felt it might be an idea to build and have exactly what we want in a house. Although living in a shoebox might be better than living here at the moment! I'll of course be checking out the neighbours living next to the blocks we look at purchasing! Thank you to everyone else for your advice. I will write out a list of the things I am really after in a house and try a few local private builders to get a gauge on their prices and then speak to the the bigger companies. And of course undertake some old fashioned haggling Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 7Jan 17, 2011 2:47 pm I know the word budget was used before but I really think that the term "French Provincial" and budget shouldn't be use din the same sentence. From the idea that I have (I could be very very wrong) of what you want, its going to cast you around half to 2/3rds on top of the house cost (just as you described) to style the building the way you want. So if you were thinking of $255k as a price for the house then $380k would not be far away from reality, then add site costs (excavate, retain if needed, rock removal) That looked like a long list of thing s not included to be a "complete" house, added to the fact that modern volume builders don't like to do different styles from what they normally offer. They will charge a massive premium for something like a full timber kitchen. Do you want everything French Provincial or just the kitchen? Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 8Jan 26, 2011 10:02 am been scouting for builders since last week and still learning the ropes on how to go about selecting and comparing standard inclusions and upgrades. as we are working on a tight budget, I would like to know any tips/advices on how to haggle or bater with the builders. Or what are probable items/upgrades they give for free if you push them hard enough.. i.e. additional cupboards, tv points, antenna etc, driveway maybe...??? Re: First build by a novice! Please help! 9Jan 26, 2011 10:27 am I've never found that builders have been willing to give much away for free once they have fixed the price to include "free inclusions". Perhaps you should look to see if you can save on things on the house. One of the rooms of our last build was too big for what we needed so we saved quite a bit by having approximately 1m off the house length. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! 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