Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 31, 2010 7:20 pm I have bought a vacant plot at the Ponds and shopping around for a builder. Estimated land registration is in Dec 2010. I am getting confused looking at many display homes and talking to sales guys. Being reading reviews on builders. Sounds like it is a bit of pot luck in getting a good and reliable builder. I am planning to get a quote from a builder but I am not sure how much details and what details is required from me for the sales guy to prepare an accurate estimate for me. My fear is that if I am not asked to give sufficient details, the final tender will be a lot more later (that would be a very nasty surprise). Besides the obvious information (ie single/double storey, home design, floor layout, upgrade package etc), what other information is required at this stage? Generally if there are some changes to the standard layout, will I be expecting a significant increase in cost? Sorry, this question is too general, but I suppose if each change will cost me multiples of hundreds or thousands of dollars, then it probably means I better look at other home design and builder for a closer fit to my requirements. I do wonder if only high level details are required for a quote, when it comes to detail planning surely the costs will quickly add up ?????? And since the quote / tender is fixed price only for a certain period, anything not mentioned in the quote will be subject to price changes (even within the fixed price period, right?). Can anyone help? Re: What is required fr me for an accurate quote fr a builde 2Sep 02, 2010 12:54 pm That is a very hard question and will have a lot of different answers. If you know the house you want, the number of rooms etc. and the block of land that you and the type of soil you may start to get a better idea however the following is a list of things that you may want to consider: What is included ie. - Landscaping - Driveway - Flooring - Roof Type - Kitchen Type style etc. what sort of appliances. Of course most of the major builders offer a variety of packages that sweeten the deal however remember that if you want the cheap evaporative cooling and the better garage door you had better not want to upgrade the dishwasher or add more outlets to the heating as these changes will be a shock. The above is all highly dependent on the quality of items you want etc. Also some builders don't give you any idea of what you can and can not alter once you get into the proper negotiation. View our blog at: http://room4acubby.blogspot.com/ Re: What is required fr me for an accurate quote fr a builde 3Sep 02, 2010 1:18 pm Hi pipphen, The short answer is no you won't get an accurate quote from a builder that will allow you to compare apples with apples. The long answer is well...long We shopped around quite a bit between the builders, we also had certain requirements in regards to our max building width and our need for a rear roller door to access the backyard. Trying to compare builders is very difficult as every different builder has different base inclusions and whatever promotion they are currently running will also make a big differene. Eg. For us part of the promotion was basic floor coverings throughout the house, an upgrade to quantum quartz on the island bench over laminate, a couple of extra phone points i don't exactly recall the rest of the top of my head and that was an additional $2500 or so, comparitively at the moment the builder is doing a promotion that is similar but now includes evaporative cooling but they now ask more like $4500 for it. Quite often its swings and roundabouts between the volume builders, eg one may offer floor coverings whilst another may offer upgraded benchtops which is what makes it so difficult. There are a few threads around if you search with people indicating how much they spent above the base house price, for extras as well as site costs (search for TDL's site cost ready reckoner). I'd say an average here abouts for a single storey house in the 25-30sq range is probably add 50k to the asking price and you won't go too far wrong including some pretty decent upgrades and some increased site costs. To my mind, the real priority is work out what can fit on your land, work out what your budget is, then allowing for somewhere between 30-50k of upgrades etc that will give you at least a ballpark idea of what your looking at. Armed with that its time to hit the net and work out what floorplans interest you and see if you can go see them as displays. Then when you've got a short list of houses you actually are seriously considering, then break out the base costs and the pamflets from the displays which include all the standard inclusions and promo upgrades, that way if you're only comparing 3,4 or 5 you can easily put it all down on the table in front of you and work out the pro's and con's of what is included and compare that to another 2 lists. Those being the absolutely critical things you won't compromise on and the things that you'd like but can live without if it doesn't fit the budget. Trying to compare everything on the market imo is crazy and thinking the builders will try to make it easier is wishful thinking. Narrow the field to something manageble then look at the nitty gritty. Our Build - Places Fairhaven 23+ - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28045 Our Landscaping - Belial's Backyard - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=45375 Re: What is required fr me for an accurate quote fr a builde 4Sep 02, 2010 4:09 pm The best option here is what I tell everyone I know that wants to build. Sit down and work out everthing you want in your house. When you have finished and have a rough plan go and see a Drafty. When your drawings are complete and you have a finished specification drop them into the builders you want to quote the job. Explain that you want a complete finished price. This way you can compare builders a bit more accuratley. Re: What is required fr me for an accurate quote fr a builde 5Sep 02, 2010 4:58 pm Estim The best option here is what I tell everyone I know that wants to build. Sit down and work out everthing you want in your house. When you have finished and have a rough plan go and see a Drafty. When your drawings are complete and you have a finished specification drop them into the builders you want to quote the job. Explain that you want a complete finished price. This way you can compare builders a bit more accuratley. Which is great advice if you want to go down the custom design and small builder route, which has advantages and disadvantages just like going through volume builders, which was more what I was describing. Don't think you'd get too far walking into Big M, H, or PD with custom plans. Our Build - Places Fairhaven 23+ - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=28045 Our Landscaping - Belial's Backyard - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=45375 Re: What is required fr me for an accurate quote fr a builde 6Sep 02, 2010 6:17 pm Hi, When I was looking to build I started by making a list of everything I wanted in the house. I then sorted the list of items into three categories: 1. Items that must be done as part of construction (ie colorbond roof, higher ceilings, double glazing of windows etc) 2. Items that I wanted done straight away to make life easier (dishwasher, driveway etc) 3. Items that could be done after handover (curtains/blinds, evaporative cooling, fly screens, tv antenna etc). Make sure everything in the first category and second categories is included in the quote. You also need to make sure that you have carefully read your estate guidelines. For example some estates require roofs of a certain pitch, render on the front etc so you need to make sure these are in your quote. You should also we aware that some of the homes that are targeted for the first home buyers within a builders range will often have restrictions in that structural changes cannot be made. You may be able to add a window, but may be prevented from changing walls etc. Good luck. Michelle House - Lockup completed 23rd December 2011 - Painters are in!!! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37261&start=0&hilit=Blaxland Re: What is required fr me for an accurate quote fr a builde 7Sep 23, 2010 7:11 pm Hi room4acubby, Belial, Estim, buildingwest, Thanks so much for all your advise. It will help me to list and sort out my requirements for the new house. It has help give me an idea of what to do and a starting point to proceed further. Registration of the land is drawing closer. In fact, I think access to the land maybe possible in early Oct. I best be moving along and getting my requirements finalised and short list the builders. I got a estimate quote from MDJ as we cannot access the land yet. MDJ had advertised that they offer free site inspection. Yet after I got my quote and asked MDJ what is the next step once the land can be accessed. I was advised that they will only do the site inspection if I have decided to go with them to build my house. I was surprised by this as I thought the free inspection did not come with such a condition. Re: What is required fr me for an accurate quote fr a builde 8Sep 23, 2010 7:20 pm For any builder to give you an accurate quote, they have to do a contour survey and a soil test to determine the fall of the block and the type of slab required. Generally this means signing up with the builder and paying around 1k to 1.5k. If you do not choose to go ahead, you can walk away with the contour survey and the soil test, but you will lose your deposit. You could get the contour survey and soil test done yourself, but there is the very real possibilty that the builder you choose will refuse to quote on those tests and will want them done by their preferred company. The best you can do is research your area, find out what other soil tests have come back as, the likelihood of rock, and the fall of your land. (Your contract should have some type of preliminary contour survey from before work commenced). Armed with this info, you should be able to work out a rough guesstime. But that's all it will be, a rough guesstimate, but it will be of some assistance until you get a formal quote. It's tough, but it's the way it is unfortunately. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick hey there! π so, itβs kinda common for standard drawer depths to be around 500mm since most cabinets use this size to fit the usual runners… 3 20855 I was being kind to the builder. 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