Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 10, 2015 11:42 am Hi there, long time no see, HomeOne! My husband and I are looking for our second home and somehow we are considering building again... We have found a block that we like the look of that is advertised with a number of builders as a house and land package - our preferred option being $702k for H&L. The land itself is also advertised for $395k. Building the exact same house with the same builder is, according to the display home brochure, $284k. 395+284 = 679, not 702. Where is that extra $23k going? We've sent the builder's rep an email asking the question - but has anyone seen this before? Is it normal? Reading the ad, it still excludes landscaping etc etc so it looks like they're just taking some off the top to me. We also emailed the land agent who said the only benefit to H&L is you save a little in stamp duty, maybe $10k. Can anyone explain to me why that is? Does anyone else have any advice regarding why it might be worth purchasing in H&L instead of outright? Obviously it gives you more freedom with builders but if we went with the same builder anyway, what would the difference be? Thanks very much! 5.5m Terrace House - Lightsview (Northgate SA) Moved in!! - 22 February 2013 /viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53455 Re: House+Land vs purchasing land and engaging builder 2Sep 10, 2015 5:52 pm I bought the land separately, I think I prefer it that way. That way if you end up hating your builder, you can just change. Some people in the industry have told me that builder's are usually sold the worst blocks in an estate to use as H&L, not sure if that is true though. They are probably just passing on the cost of holding the land. I've never compared price of H&L to land + house, but that's really interesting. I don't see how the stamp duty would be less for H&L, if anything I would have thought it might be more. I'd double check that. Good luck! Re: House+Land vs purchasing land and engaging builder 3Sep 10, 2015 6:14 pm Hi Juski, The saving on stamp duty is due to you "buying off the plan" so there are substantial savings there. In respect to the added cost, without looking at the paperwork it is difficult to pin point although, we would suspect that the base price you were quoted didn't allow for any slab upgrade due to soil type on that particular block. So, its a common marketing strategy where the house price quoted is for "base" build. This would not include any upgrades etc such as piers, upgraded slab to name a few. Ultimately, the builder will not give you a fixed price as such until he has the soil report which will then tell him what the costs are to get the slab into the ground. Keep in mind, the only variable for the builder is the land (soil type, fall etc)... from the slab upwards, the cost can be calculated accurately. If you are not familiar with building contracts/tenders etc, we suggest you have someone review all your building documentation before you sign your building contract. good luck CR Partners Re: House+Land vs purchasing land and engaging builder 4Sep 10, 2015 7:51 pm buy the land separately that way you can go with the builder of your choice. the difference i think would be the site costs but it does sound alot. with the land you will get 5000 off of stamp duty if in nsw so check what discounts you will get from the government in your state. Re: House+Land vs purchasing land and engaging builder 5Sep 14, 2015 10:45 am Thanks for your responses, everyone! The builder's rep said that the extra cost was for additional siteworks and higher ceilings (though in the description the ceiling heights are given as standard so I'm not sure I believe him). But we really like the location and we're thinking seriously about putting in an offer. What do I need to check before we do that? Do I ask the land agent about fill, incline, soil tests etc? I know we've done this before but I don't remember and that was part of an estate.. 5.5m Terrace House - Lightsview (Northgate SA) Moved in!! - 22 February 2013 /viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53455 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 20410 Sounds like rubbish to me. Ask for the contamination report which I doubt they have. If it's part of a normal subdivision it would have had a contamination report done… 9 5645 |