Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 26, 2007 12:11 am Hi folks,
As you can see, I'm new to this forum. I'll fill in a small part about me and my plans so you get an idea of what I'm here for Feels a little like going to an AA meeting doing this, but I guess its the easiest way to introduce myself My name is Dan and I moved to Perth from the UK last year with my wife and two young kids. I'm currently renting (aka paying someone else's mortgage) and would like to make my move here permanent (on a 4 year working visa at present) and make our home here. First off - I know I need perm residency to get a decent shot at a house, so that is in progress. Second - is the reason I am here. The market in the Perth region is bananas at the moment and I know that I'll get far more value out of building a house rather than buying an existing one. I have read a number of posts on this forum and you guys seem to be very clued up on all things related to a build and are far more likely to give an open and honest answer about costs and timescales involved with this sort of thing than I would get from a building company who obviously want to sell me a house So, to cut this as short as possible... I've been looking at plots available and I'm thinking for a young family, Butler is looking like a decent area with a selection of plots available. Current prices would hopefully allow me something between 5 and 600 sq meters, so there are plenty of existing designs from the major builders to choose from, or of course I could go with a custom design by an architect. The simplicity of using an existing design appeals due to the fact I can actually go and see it on display and get an idea of what I am paying for and as such I have several companies I am considering (not sure if I can post names or not, so will refrain from doing so for now). Due to my current circumstances, and taking the plot value around 220k, I would hope to have somewhere up to a ceiling of 250k available for the house which ideally will have 4 neds, study and at least a double garage. So, my questions are : 1. Is my budget of up to 470k realistic for a good sized completed house? 2. How long realistically should I expect the whole process to take from the day we select a plot providing there are no major problems? 3. Has anybody else here used any of the big builders in the Perth area and if so, what were your experiences with them please? PM's are welcome if names are not permitted to be posted. Many thanks Dan Re: New member - home build questions 2Jul 26, 2007 2:06 am Hi Dan
yes it can be done here with a decent size house for $470K, and most perth builders are taking about 26 week in the construction phase, preconstruction really depends on who you build with and how compenant the people at that company you are dealing with are Where are you going to build? One of the guys on here has a site where someof the perth builders have been rated are, but i can't remember the site or the link at the moment Anyone help me out with that ? Re: New member - home build questions 3Jul 26, 2007 7:31 am dans_s4 1. Is my budget of up to 470k realistic for a good sized completed house? If the land is 220k then 250k is realistic for a single storey house. I think you'll be looking at display homes of around 150-160k which will leave you 90k-100k for all the extras like site costs, builders upgrades, driveway, landscaping, flooring, window dressings. Quote: 2. How long realistically should I expect the whole process to take from the day we select a plot providing there are no major problems? From go to woah - 12 months give or take. Quote: 3. Has anybody else here used any of the big builders in the Perth area and if so, what were your experiences with them please? PM's are welcome if names are not permitted to be posted. As far as I know you can post names. Let us know who you intend to build with. Re: New member - home build questions 4Jul 26, 2007 7:31 am off2theburbs One of the guys on here has a site where someof the perth builders have been rated are, but i can't remember the site or the link at the moment Anyone help me out with that ? http://www.bestbuilder.com.au Re: New member - home build questions 5Jul 26, 2007 8:47 am dans_s4 Feels a little like going to an AA meeting doing this, but I guess its the easiest way to introduce myself Is there something else you're not tellling us? Just kidding. I reckon you could get an absolutely stunning house for your budget. Except maybe Sydney. I hear it costs three arms and three legs to buy property there. But that's just drifting off from your questions... [sneakersss] Re: New member - home build questions 6Jul 26, 2007 10:28 am Thanks for the replies. Looks like my budget is realistic at least which is a great starting point
In regards to where in Butler, there are a few areas available, although most appear to be in the new area called 'The Green'. My only concern with that area is the proposed railway goes up one side of it and the freeway extension the other, so I have concerns over safety (2 young kids) and noise. That said, I would think the freeway extension isn't even past Burns Beach at the moment, so doubt it will get anywhere near Butler for at least another 7 or 8 years. In regards to who I would like to use for building, I have spoken to sales folk at Dale Alcock twice now, both times they have been very professional and courteous and answered the questions I had immediately. They also invited me to come to a presentation they are giving this weekend on Sat and Sun which is to help people understand what is involved in building your own house. * seem to have some nice designs, although I have heard that the quality of theirs isn't anywhere close to that of Dale's. There was also one other but I forget the name of them at the moment... I have another question I'm hoping someone can help with. I know that the land fees have to be paid as soon as the paperwork is ready to hand over, but what happens with the builder? If I recall right, they get paid as stages of the build are completed right? Does the bank only release money as the stages are completed, or do I take on the whole mortgage immediately and just pay the builder as he completes the relevant parts? Re: New member - home build questions 7Jul 26, 2007 10:41 am dans_s4 I have another question I'm hoping someone can help with. I know that the land fees have to be paid as soon as the paperwork is ready to hand over, but what happens with the builder? If I recall right, they get paid as stages of the build are completed right? Does the bank only release money as the stages are completed, or do I take on the whole mortgage immediately and just pay the builder as he completes the relevant parts? With a construction loan, the bank pays the builder in stages. So as the build progresses, your mortgage repayments increase. The bank releases funds to the builder as each stage is confirmed as being complete. These are called progress payments. Typically, a builder is paid five progress payments covering: Base stage – completion of foundations Frame-up stage – completion of framing and roofing Lock-up stage – shell completed to lock-up Fixing stage – completion of internal walls, installation of benches, etc. Completion – installation of appliances, painting, certificate of occupancy. Re: New member - home build questions 8Jul 26, 2007 10:44 am Cookiemonster With a construction loan, the bank pays the builder in stages. So as the build progresses, your mortgage increases. Thats fab, means less financial stuff for me to get concerned about. So, now the decision needs to be made about where to buy my plot then the fun can really begin :gulp: Thanks guys Re: New member - home build questions 9Jul 26, 2007 11:03 am Hi dans_s4,
We looked at Butler many years ago and also at Merriwa and decieded we were not too keen on the areas. Consder renting in the area for a year and then you will get a good idea. Also consider spending a fair bit of time in the nearby shopping centres at various times. This should give you a good feel for the area. Perth prices are very high and IMO very unrealistic. My suspicion is that they will plateau and then possibly crash a few years down the line. The reason I say this is because of the makeup and structure of the workforce. People go to the mines and their salary jumps from $35 000 / $45 000 to $120 000 to $180 000. When the contracts run out, they will be comming back to their old rates and the market will collapse. Have you considered Roleystone or maybe Vale (near Ellenbrook)? or do you want to be close to the ocean? Another option is to consider another city, Perths median price is close to Sydneys and is not justified (at least not long term). Consider, Melbourne, Adelaide or at a push, Brisbane. We built with * and you can see several pics of their workmanship on my blog, listed below in my sig. They took around a year from preparing contract to moving in but the actual building was around 5 to 6 months. Pricewise, we paid around $160 000 for the house and then did a lot of extras including floors, landscaping, painting, decking etc etc. Good luck with whatever you deciede to do. Re: New member - home build questions 10Jul 26, 2007 11:26 am We are currently renting just down the road from there in Mindarie (where I don't stand a hope in hell of buying sadly). Ridgewood and Merriwa certainly aren't for me after taking a look around, but Butler has changed a lot in the last 18 months (we've been here nearly 12) and with the exception of a couple of stories of graffiti and late night noise (which we get in Mindarie too), I'm not worried about moving there.
We have looked around, but the land prices in general seem to be very close to each other (with the exception of plots beach side of Marmion Avenue like in Jindalee). We need to stay in the northern subs due to my wife's work, friends and the kids school, so that restricts us to what is available in our area. As for building in another city, thats a no go for now. We moved to Perth to get a more sedate life after me working in London for 12 years and wanting to get away from it Maybe further down the line if I make a bucket load of money I'll do a smaller holiday home somewhere else Re: New member - home build questions 11Jul 30, 2007 10:36 am Hello again folks,
So, I took the next step and started looking at display homes (boy are there a lot of them!!!). As it was belting it down with rain was a slow day so I took the liberty of questioning them all about 'finished' costs expecting to get huge variations, but they were all remarkably similar. So, going back a step, I saw that people were saying that I should expect to pay land + house + ~100k to get the house built. I'm not sure what the 100k extra is for though... So far, I know the following :- If I purchase a lot in the area I'm thinking of, you get 11k$ starter package to go with it to cover fencing, driveway, landscaping and a 'technology package' (no idea what that includes). The house purchase price covers the build + the standard set of fittings we choose. On top of these I know I need to pay the last few parts like floor tiling, carpets, painting and such, but I'm led to believe that for 30k you can finish off a 4 bed place to a pretty good standard for that. Am I missing something thats going to cost lots of $ after all of these items are covered? Re: New member - home build questions 12Jul 30, 2007 10:49 am dans_s4 Am I missing something thats going to cost lots of $ after all of these items are covered? You need to pay site costs. This is the costs associated with preparing your block of land for your particular house. Depending on the type of house, type of soil, any rocks, removal of trees, slope of land, location of services (electricity, sewerage etc) the site costs can vary from $5000 upto over $50000 for extreme cases. House inclusions are very basic. Keep this in mind. Every extra light point, extra power point, extra TV point, extra tiling, better quality tiles, extra insulation, upgraded bricks, upgraded roof tiles, upgraded kitchen, airconditioning, alarm, heating, (etc etc the list is endless) will cost you money. Don't forget you'll need curtains and/or blinds, connection of services (water,electricity,phone), clothes lines, letterbox, light fittings etc etc. Re: New member - home build questions 14Jul 30, 2007 12:15 pm dans_s4 Thanks. So, if I get a level plot with nothing on it at all, I could ask any neighbours if they'd mind divulging how much they paid for preparation work to get an idea. Yep. Excellent idea. Also, when buying, you could have a condition put into the land sale contract stating "subject to satisfactory soil test". You'll then have to arrange a soil test for a few hundred dollars but at least you'll be sure you won't be buying a block of land which may turn out to be expensive to build on. Re: New member - home build questions 15Jul 30, 2007 5:06 pm One more thing, don't forget that you need to live somewhere during the long construction period. And it's like paying "double mortgage", so make sure you leave some budget for that as well. Re: New member - home build questions 16Jul 30, 2007 7:26 pm Dan S4 I am currently building with Content.
If you have a look thru my blog that will give u an idea about them. Also Ben is building with content: http://thepurchell.blogspot.com/ FYI my site costs were about $3000 for a totally cleared and level all sand block. good luck Re: New member - home build questions 17Jul 31, 2007 3:36 pm Thnaks for the link to your blog. just had a long look through it all
Congrats on getting married and your house is looking good Certainly making me more determined to get my *** in gear and look for a plot Re: New member - home build questions 18Aug 01, 2007 10:23 pm I'm back again
OK so following all of the info I've receieved to date, I am now taking a very long and hard look at a number of display homes in the northern suburbs of Perth. Sadly this hasn't been as much fun as I had hoped. Today I found out that there are regulations in place which prevent you using more than a certain % of the total land available on a block for the house you are building - normally 50 or 55% of the total block size as total 'enclosed space'. Up until now, I was hoping to put one of Dale Alcock's designs on whatever plot I end up buying - the Ashgrove. For those of you who don't know it, it's a pretty big single story Anyhow, the long and the short of it is likely to be that due to the length of the house (32m I believe) and the sheer volume (something like 290 sqm) being realistic I think I'm going to struggle to find a plot to fit it on. So, as a result, I've today spent some more time looking at alternatives. I have to say that there are an awful lot of choices So, this evening I've come home and discussed it all with my wife and the realisation of what I am proposing has finally dawned on me.... this isn't just some minor project that you can walk away from once you start. With two young children I really need to consider what I am doing before I move any further.... I am guessing it's normal to think this way at the stage I am at now, but still doesn't make it any easier! Re: New member - home build questions 19Aug 01, 2007 10:40 pm Hi there
I have been meaning to replpy to your post for awhile but have just found the time! I'm another Perth person - we are building for the 3rd time. First 2 times we built with * and at the moment we are building with Ventura. Prior to signing with Ventura we had actually put a deposit down with Dale Alcock to build the Ashgrove - its a lovely house but we didn't end up going with them because they stuffed us around big time wth final pricing and we were not impressed Yep, there is certain maximum % of total block size that can be covered, however I thought that they percentage was higher than 50%......the average block these days is around 600sqm and there are alot of homes that are around the size of the Ashgrove being built.....I think for example in some councils the alfresco isn't included in the calculations! Have you considered Carramar or Tapping with blocks around the 32-33m length? Great family areas with lots of people from the UK! However to be realistic with you I think you will be struggling with your budget to build the Ashgrove....a block in either Butler/Carramar type area will cost you $250K minimum without fees, base price of the Ashgrove is around $250K from memory.... Good luck with it all! I would really look at someone like *...great value houses...without the highly inflated Dale price! Nat Re: New member - home build questions 20Aug 01, 2007 10:57 pm Hi Nat,
yup the Ashgrove comes in at just shy of 260k for the display home, so would have had to cut a few corners after upgrading their 'essentials' version of it. Funny you mention Ventura and * as they are two of the designers we are now considering instead I took a trip to Jindalee today (just up the road from where Im renting). They have the Cable Beach (Ventura) and Promenade (*) both on display there. Both of these are very impressive homes and I could see myself happy with either, although they are of course also going to be subject to the maximum living space allowable on a plot, so this is where I need to focus my attention next. In regards to the total allowable space, I have checked with several people and the total is calculated on 'enclosed space' - i.e anything with 4 walls is included. A garage would be, but an open alfresco area would not. I guess you could '********' a bit by having a car port instead of a garage, but in all honesty I prefer a lock up garage As for the area, we have made our search area a bit more open - Carramar, Tapping, Ahsby, Quinns and Butler are I think the most likely of the bunch. Going to be a case of spend the next few weeks scouring the papers and such and hope something springs out at us. As you've built twice with *, what are your honets opinion of them? They seem to have some decent houses, but obviously with them being a fair bit cheaper than most I'd have concerns over quality? Hi Suku18 In NSW the statutory required insurances are: 1. HBCF ( Home Building Compensation Fund) - This is if the builder dies or goes broke. But this only covers 20%… 1 2711 Can anyone recommend a good/affordable retaining wall and fence builder that I can get a quote from located in Sydney? 8 45817 If you are in Victoria you have a statutory right to your own building inspector regardless of builder's consent. No negotiations are required. However the builder will… 1 2937 |