Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 16, 2009 1:31 pm Hi all experts and investors here New user here. I put a deposit to buy a decent land in Innisfail point cook, on stage 21, just recently released. After reading some posts about nightmares, over budget and waiting time, now I'm not sure if I can afford it and have courages to go through all these things. I have some questions though: * is there a good builder who provide a complete packages say including carpet/tiles, driveway, frontyard, Fixed site cost, no hidden charges (or is it hard to predict) ? * what the timeframe to expect from start to finish? * Or should I buy existing house? Fyi, I'm not a first home buyer. Your comments welcome. thanks mq Re: Build a house, should or should not? 2Nov 16, 2009 4:17 pm I am presently building my 3rd place, and have owned 7 houses that were already built. You will certainly get best value for money through buying an existing house. When I have built houses I have had specific needs - for example in the house I'm presently building I am putting in a sound studio as my partner is a professional sound engineer, and existing houses with substantial studios are not practical to find. On the other hand, it's a great honour and privilege to build your own home and decide on every feature and fitting, but also a luxury. The last house I built was a "fixed price" contract, but I was slugged an extra $4,000 for extra foundations because such items are typically estimates (often called something like "PC" items). That was just one I recall now (10 years on). Then the costs just keep going on & on after the builder has finished, e.g. driveways, retaining walls, blinds, curtains, carpets, tiles, light fittings, plants, trees, fences, letterbox, etc. A realistic time for a new house using a standard design from a project builder is 9 months minimum - up to a year - from the time you start talking to them. Adjust their design and you will add a couple of months (from my experience). If you want a new home, it's a good idea to consider a spec house, where everything is done. If you consider backing out of the contract for the block of land, be careful you are not in breach of the contract - perhaps consult a conveyancer. Re: Build a house, should or should not? 3Nov 16, 2009 11:54 pm cyberman Then the costs just keep going on & on after the builder has finished, e.g. driveways, retaining walls, blinds, curtains, carpets, tiles, light fittings, plants, trees, fences, letterbox, etc. How much roughly the additional cost on top of "fixed" price? So what does it mean by "fixed" price? Will the builder tell us any extra charges (soil test etc)? sounds *******. cyberman A realistic time for a new house using a standard design from a project builder is 9 months minimum - up to a year. hmm... my next question, is it worth then? because we will pay rent and then pay mortgage interest, double expenses. cyberman If you want a new home, it's a good idea to consider a spec house, where everything is done. well, I'm considering a new home but on the market mostly are home+land package and they're not built yet. cyberman If you consider backing out of the contract for the block of land, be careful you are not in breach of the contract - perhaps consult a conveyancer. I'm tempted to keep it and then re-sale after the title released. is it a good idea? Sorry for asking so many questions, a lot of things in my head atm. thanks all Re: Build a house, should or should not? 4Nov 17, 2009 12:06 am mqtutor I'm tempted to keep it and then re-sale after the title released. is it a good idea? Sorry for asking so many questions, a lot of things in my head atm. thanks all I am going through the same thing getting frustrated with builders right now. I think the best way to answer your question is if you calculate the likely costs a building a home and then compare it with what you might buy in an established home. Can you buy an established home around the same costs and save yourself the stress???? Otherwise I would just sit and relax for a few weeks rather than making any hasty decision Re: Build a house, should or should not? 6Nov 17, 2009 7:16 am Through my own experience and through conversations with others I found that the real price to have a house and necessities like aircon, better heating systems (standard are electricity driven), a few minor modifications etc would be 1.5 to 2 times higher that whatever is specified in their glossy sales booklet. On top of that you will add floors, fences, driveway, landscaping and so on -- these items vary, in my case these look for approx 50-60K, labour free (doing everything except floor myself). ... built a Promenade with Clarendon. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25104 20-10-09 - excavation and piering completed ... 12-04-10 - Basins fixed. Connecting to the electrical grid 23-04-10 - PCI 07-05-10 - HANDOVER! Re: Build a house, should or should not? 7Nov 17, 2009 7:57 am mqtutor So what does it mean by "fixed" price? Will the builder tell us any extra charges (soil test etc)? sounds *******. mqtutor we will pay rent and then pay mortgage interest, double expenses. mqtutor I'm considering a new home but on the market mostly are home+land package and they're not built yet. mqtutor I'm tempted to keep it and then re-sale after the title released. is it a good idea? Re: Build a house, should or should not? 8Nov 17, 2009 11:26 am ebyelyakov Through my own experience and through conversations with others I found that the real price to have a house and necessities like aircon, better heating systems (standard are electricity driven), a few minor modifications etc would be 1.5 to 2 times higher that whatever is specified in their glossy sales booklet. On top of that you will add floors, fences, driveway, landscaping and so on -- these items vary, in my case these look for approx 50-60K, labour free (doing everything except floor myself). 50-60k Wow... does it mean we should lower our expectation that much? For example if our budget is 400K, then we only able to select house+land package around 350K? Can someone tell me why you build your own house if the price of the new house is smiliar to "near" new house? I know you can tailor the house plan etc but is it worth the hassle? Re: Build a house, should or should not? 9Nov 17, 2009 12:07 pm The only real way to get to as near a fixed price as possible without any PC's is pay for working drawings and engineering before signing a contract, around 4,000 - 5,000. We also had everything into council before signing. Obviously if you've got to this stage you should have months of research behind you and have some idea of building costs and who you might build with. We did this but still had an increase due to a couple of unavoidable unknown's. We signed nearly 6 months ago and am looking at about 12 months build time. MR X. Re: Build a house, should or should not? 10Nov 17, 2009 12:25 pm x The only real way to get to as near a fixed price as possible without any PC's is pay for working drawings and engineering before signing a contract, around 4,000 - 5,000. We also had everything into council before signing. MR X. Sorry, I don't understand what you meant. what is PC? shouldn't the builder arrange everything with the council? thanks Re: Build a house, should or should not? 11Nov 17, 2009 12:35 pm We got completely fixed costs with Carlisle Homes for a 30sq house, including stone benchtops and all flooring for ~ $205,000. Sure we have added extra above that but we did not have too we could have walked into the house built for only $205k perfectly fine. Carlisle Homes also fixed the site costs on our own land at Alamanda in Point Cook, not land that they have provided to us. On top of the price we have with Carlisle we have to add a driveway, fencing and landscaping (which we will probably do ourselves). Re: Build a house, should or should not? 12Nov 17, 2009 5:40 pm hey ive decided to build. you will have the benefit of equity in th eproperty. i would say go for a cheaper house simple design and amp it up to make it look awesome with raised ceilings, and structural changes. thats what ive done and im having lino flooring as i can upgrade that later. my land is $221000 (390sqm). my house is a package at $360000 with blinds and carpets (the ones they provide are crap and you will want the upgraded ones though), but thats for a basic house. i made some simple changes such as raised ceilings, carport, roller door, upgraded kitchen, better doors etc and its now $395000. this is why i suggest going for the simple house, better to have a simple house look awesome than a huge house look crap! i am also going through keystart, im not sure if you are eligble but you only pay $50 a week while contruction takes place (if you need to still rent), and no mortgage insurance. its a government run thing check it out. dont be discouraged from building though it can be a great learning curve for when you do build your dream home! hope that helps When times get tough build a house...Our second build Re: Build a house, should or should not? 13Nov 17, 2009 6:25 pm We did a house/land package and it was genuine fixed costs - we chose Floorplan X and then requested structural changes such as higher ceilings which were factored into the contract price - this contract price did not change after that, other than things we chose to upgrade at selections - upgrading floor coverings, tiles etc. All these were our choice, we could of built house with standard inclusions at exactly the fixed price. Of course, this doesnt help you much if you already own the land. Re: Build a house, should or should not? 14Nov 17, 2009 10:24 pm sharky55_shan hey ive done and im having lino flooring as i can upgrade that later. my land is $221000 (390sqm). my house is a package at $360000 with blinds and carpets (the ones they provide are crap and you will want the upgraded ones though), but thats for a basic house. Where do you live? is 360K including land and home? sharky55_shan i am also going through keystart, im not sure if you are eligble but you only pay $50 a week while contruction takes place (if you need to still rent), and no mortgage insurance. its a government run thing check it out. Sounds interesting. What is "keystart"? is there a catch? Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17609 1 10485 hi guys. Please be nice. First time home builder in Qld. I would like some feedback please on whether I should build my granny flat first before my main house at the… 0 4589 |