Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 22, 2012 8:52 pm Hi Everyone, This is my first post here, so please go easy on me. I've been lurking on these forums for awhile now, reading various experiences with developers - love the home building blogs especially Matts one from last year - http://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=46340&start=120, they are sooo cool. We are looking at buying some land in suburban Melbourne and then choosing a house..... so here are two questions I'd like to ask the forum. 1. If you had one bit of advice to share with a complete newbie, what would it be? 2. Which home builder (bentley homes, porter, henley etc.. ) would you go with and why? I realise these are two tricky questions and everyone will have different views. Appreciate your thoughts. Re: Advice To A Newbie & Who To Choose? 2Nov 22, 2012 8:58 pm Don't over commit there are a lot of extra cost beside the basic price of the house + the land. See http://www.anewhouse.com.au/?p=6 for info on typical additional costs. The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Advice To A Newbie & Who To Choose? 4Nov 23, 2012 7:21 am Hi Mel, 1) My advice, arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible prior to and whilst building , as you can never know too much. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you can to your chosen builder so you know what you are in for. If something doesn't look right...it probably isn't! Don't be afraid to querie anything...it's your home, and the biggest investment you are likely to have. 2) Only you can make that decision based on the ideal floorplan for your needs and who has the best inclusions for your needs. Look at all of them! You will find there is good and bad with every builder. Yes, things can and do go wrong, which is why you need to arm yourself with knowledge! Look at all the display homes, and you will soon figure out which floorplan/style will suit your needs and take it from there. Good luck!! Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: Advice To A Newbie & Who To Choose? 6Nov 23, 2012 8:59 pm 1. I agree with Bashworth. In my own words, try to take the long view to avoid over-capitalising on the build. You never know, there could be a few stepping stones of buying and selling before you build your "dream home" down the track. 2. A comparison spreadsheet between builders is very useful. Use headings for inclusions and features you like with each plan. Last column is the construction price of the house. You will soon see which plans give more value for money and another advantage is that it helps you to remember the display homes you've seen, without having to read through all the glossy brochures every time. Worked for me, I had five favorites and I narrowed my choice down from there. Lastly if you have a block in mind and a budget for the house, make up a budget sheet listing: Block Price Stamp Duty House price Site works and service connections- do some research into the area. Ask questions. Finishes ( non standard items) Fencing/retaining- included? Landscaping- included? Total outlay= $ Know what you are prepared to spend/can afford to spend and allocate accordingly. Bear in mind that most people do blow the budget with non standard items, site costs might do it too! But at least you will be as prepared as you can be. Hope this helps Re: Advice To A Newbie & Who To Choose? 7Nov 23, 2012 10:26 pm good luck, We looked for three years at displays just to get an idea. They will give you a base price so say 240,000 you usually need to add a fair bit more, example say $50,000-100,000 (give or take) a few... Driveways, flooring, upgrades.... We are building with Dennis fh. So far so good... My advise would be to go through a display you like with the sales rep to actually find out what you are getting and what is upgraded. splash backs, carpet ,front door design... Good luck a building inspector should be able to tell you about any major problems but we need a floor plan with dimensions to clarify options for extra bedrooms ... sometime an… 1 8718 Versaloc is a mortarless besser block system that still needs a properly engineered footing. If you just do a 400x200 footing it will fail in time. At 17m long you need it… 1 17473 Thank you so much for the effort. We will use it to talk with builder. We also had idea of building duplex instead and seeking suggest ions. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106744 11 13832 |