Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 03, 2018 3:05 pm Hello Everybody, New to the forum, so please be gentle. I am currently shopping for a two storey knock-down-rebuild house in Sydney's Ryde area. After talking to a few builders, I am confused as ever. The most pressing thing for me is that I have little idea of what will be the move-in cost of the house in the end. How long is a piece of string, you ask? I have a fair idea of what I am looking for; in fact, I am so accommodative that I can live with floor plans of most project builders, with minor or no changes, and with modest inclusions. My land is 15 m wide with ample depth, and with gentle slope of less than a meter over the building envelope. Judging by a few neighbouring houses that are built over the years, I suspect an M-class slab will do. It's not on a busy street nor on a narrow street. With the above preliminaries, what I felt that the Builders' sales people are only interested in roping you in, with vague estimates and we-will-tell-you-once-you-sign-up approach. I would like to hear from you, how one is to build a house with realistic, yet fixed budget. In essence, what I am shooting for is a fixed price contract, but so far it appears few are willing to do it. I am especially apprehensive of the thin-end-of-the-wedge Provisional estimates which, reading a few posts here, tend to overshoot more often than not. Even if one is to get a fixed price contract, the fine prints of the HIA contact are such that the home owner is really at the mercy of the Builder. They can slug with bills invoking myriad of the fine prints. (On a related note, I have spoken to a couple of big-name as well as a few medium-size project builders. They all seem to have the sales technique. Perhaps there are smaller builders who will be more transparent? Will appreciate if you can share names.) To re-iterate, I have a realistic but FIXED budget. Is it a goer at all, or am I wasting my time? Please be so kind to share your experience and wisdom. Cheers, Re: Building a new house on a fixed budget 2Aug 03, 2018 3:20 pm Depending on size of house and single or double, you would probably add on between 80-100k for extras (site costs basix requirements etc) this would give you some leeway to upgrade a few things if needed, again depending on quality of home and requirements. Most project builders are probably around $1500/Sqm finished to a moderate standard. Building a new house on a fixed budget 3Aug 03, 2018 6:37 pm A house is a complex undertaking, and while some companies build many of the same designs, almost nobody is disciplined enough to sign up and then not change anything; therefore costs change as the building progresses. Additionally, because of the time is takes, costs vary because of market increases of components and statutory charges. Best you can do is choose a house that is estimated to cost 10-15% less than your budget, change nothing, expect an increase as the build progresses and keep the thumbscrews on the builder to keep to their estimate. Re: Building a new house on a fixed budget 4Aug 04, 2018 3:54 am To be brutally honest, I think you are wasting your time. It's not just that site costs can vary by hundreds of percent once soil tests are done and the engineer has designed the footings and slab, but virtually every home building project ends up going over the projected cost which results in variations subsequent to the contract being signed. And then even after that, unless you have built at least once before (and preferably twice or more), I will bet 100% that you haven't budgeted for some things that will eventually come up both during the build and after handover. But as a rough guide based on my own previous experience and that of family members (this is the third and last time I am building), if you have a flat block, then if you look for an advertised home price of around 60% - 65% of your "fixed price target", you will probably be able to get what you want without going over your limit - so long as you don't go for too many upgrades or go for high end finishes, etc. But bear in mind that is just for completing the house itself on a vacant block. You'll still need to landscape, etc. But in your situation it is even worse. You'll have a class P site thanks to the knockdown (which itself is very costly) so your site costs are not only going to be huge, but much more difficult to estimate up front. And then if the block is sloped and previously had the "old style" construction of piers and no slab, you are almost certainly going to have to fork out for retaining walls because they will cut and fill. And those costs can be massive. Perhaps you should try to consider a single storey house instead as I suspect your vision of the total costs involved by the time you've moved in are far below what the cost is really going to be (meaning your fixed priced target is probably meaningless). Sorry to sound blunt. I don't mean to be, but building is a complex and costly business and you have to go into it with a great deal of flexibility and the ability to increase your budget as you go. Sometimes extensively so. It took me until my third and final build to know up front what the total cost would be before even talking to any builder.The first two times I was way out of touch with reality despite my very best efforts and the belief that I had budgeted conservatively. In particular I remember the first build. I was so inexperienced and naive that I never factored in the cost of the retaining walls after the cut and fill, so went $30k over the agreed price as soon as the slab had gone down! Re: Building a new house on a fixed budget 5Aug 04, 2018 6:25 am You have to spend some money on a preliminary design , Engineering, data & pricing... then get 3 quotes. Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Building a new house on a fixed budget 6Aug 04, 2018 10:53 am Mr. Sausage To be brutally honest, I think you are wasting your time. It's not just that site costs can vary by hundreds of percent once soil tests are done and the engineer has designed the footings and slab, but virtually every home building project ends up going over the projected cost which results in variations subsequent to the contract being signed. And then even after that, unless you have built at least once before (and preferably twice or more), I will bet 100% that you haven't budgeted for some things that will eventually come up both during the build and after handover. But as a rough guide based on my own previous experience and that of family members (this is the third and last time I am building), if you have a flat block, then if you look for an advertised home price of around 60% - 65% of your "fixed price target", you will probably be able to get what you want without going over your limit - so long as you don't go for too many upgrades or go for high end finishes, etc. But bear in mind that is just for completing the house itself on a vacant block. You'll still need to landscape, etc. But in your situation it is even worse. You'll have a class P site thanks to the knockdown (which itself is very costly) so your site costs are not only going to be huge, but much more difficult to estimate up front. And then if the block is sloped and previously had the "old style" construction of piers and no slab, you are almost certainly going to have to fork out for retaining walls because they will cut and fill. And those costs can be massive. Perhaps you should try to consider a single storey house instead as I suspect your vision of the total costs involved by the time you've moved in are far below what the cost is really going to be (meaning your fixed priced target is probably meaningless). Sorry to sound blunt. I don't mean to be, but building is a complex and costly business and you have to go into it with a great deal of flexibility and the ability to increase your budget as you go. Sometimes extensively so. It took me until my third and final build to know up front what the total cost would be before even talking to any builder.The first two times I was way out of touch with reality despite my very best efforts and the belief that I had budgeted conservatively. In particular I remember the first build. I was so inexperienced and naive that I never factored in the cost of the retaining walls after the cut and fill, so went $30k over the agreed price as soon as the slab had gone down! Thank you Mr Sausage for your thoughtful reply. It's better to get the harsh facts upfront than being sorry later. Much appreciated. Coming back to your old stomping grounds, huh? Renovations on a budget can be quite the journey. It's like giving your house a new lease on life. The twist of not knowing… 1 3457 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 17507 So AFAIk the outcomes of the BAL ratings form part of a clause that allows them to pass these costs on to you. However the more relevant detail is how did it go from 19… 1 9142 |