Building a house in Sydney, tips, builders, etc

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum, there's so much to read, but it seems like it's span across everywhere, I've got a block of land, it's about 580 square metre, so pretty decent size.

So first things first, is it a good or a bad idea to go with the standard builders? I've been looking at Masterton homes, and they seem ok, but there seems to be so many other ones around, Mirvac, etc, are there any other reputable ones? Or are the ones I named decent?

Also a bit of info, it's located in Liverpool/Casula region in South-West Sydney.

So I always wonder if these project builders are anything to go by, or are they expensive and poor quality? I had a look at the showroom houses as well, and some designs are nice, but I noticed a lot of them seem like square houses, no more triangular roofings, and I was told by people who recommended me to come to this forum is that it's probably wise to have more extended out eaves to keep the house cooler. Also I am aiming towards two story house as well.

What are some things I should start doing to prepare myself, links to read, things to know about, I am a complete newcomer to all of this. However there's one lucky aspect is that prior to the purchase of the land we've done all the necessary checks that it's permitted for building obviously and also there are easements in place. Luckily we know of someone in the local council, who can help us here as well.

Thank you in advance to everyone!

hi and welcome
i would start by looking at designs you like decide how many bedrooms you would like. whether you want a theatre room alfresco etc
research and look through the forum for tips
check out things i forgot thread very handy .
check out and see what each builder offers costs etc.
sometimes you may even think going a custom design
make a list of things you wish for in a house and ask lots of questions.
building a house can be stressful but it is well worth it ,
our first house was masterton 26 years ago and we are now into building our second home with adenbrook homes

They can be expensive, and they can be poor quality. But they don't have to be either; in fact, they're supposed to be cheap, which is why most people go with them.
You basically have to be aware of what's going-on, research everything, and make sure that you know exactly what you want & that the builder can/will provide it.

With respect to "expensive", project home builders are almost always cheaper if you go with one of their standard designs and make very few changes. The price starts to add up disproportionately as you make changes, and before long the price goes over what a custom builder would have done.

As a rule of thumb, it should cost about 10% more for an equivalent house if you go with a custom builder. I say "should", because we tried a few custom builders and they were more than that. If we'd tried longer we probably would have found one, but we've been trying to get something built for about 18 months now and we're a little sick of the process; so we're settling with something that's partway towards what we originally wanted. Many project builders will tell you they can do anything, but you can spend up to 6 months working with them before they finally tell you they don't want to do it.

My advice is to decide what you want; what features you're after, which rooms, whether you're at all concerned with things like using the sun for heating & using breezes for cooling & that sort of stuff. If all you're after is a house with X rooms and they must be of a certain size, then a project builder can probably work for you; if you want to get a bit smart with the facings of rooms & have a few fancier design features, then you're probably better-off getting an architect to design you something & a custom builder to build it - remembering that a good architect will save you more than their fees, and a bad architect will charge you good money to draw something which costs an absolute packet to build.
There's also an in-between I was recommended; a company called Jandson Homes make a few standard designs but have a very small section that does totally custom designs. I know Alkira Homes has something similar, but we didn't go down that path with them. It's an alternative that might work, if you don't want something standard but don't want to pay through the nose for something totally custom.

If a project builder does suit, then find the name of every project builder you can, and trawl through the designs on their website. Be aware of council & CDC rules on floorspace-ratios etc, and you'll know what you're allowed to build on your block (if it's a new block there may also be rules enforced by the developer).

Oh - and one other thing to be aware of with project builders - expect any paperwork, any communication you have with them, any planning ... to take forever. Expect literally months to elapse; for example if you get a draft floorplan drawing back & want to move a couple of doors or maybe extend some eaves, it can take 2 months to get the changed drawing back again.