Browse Forums Home Finance 1 Jun 04, 2015 10:13 am As first time builders I am feeling really disadvantaged in this whole process. The loan has been preapproved but in order for it to be fully approved we have to submit our house plans to the bank. Their condition is we must build a turnkey, we're happy with that. The problem is, to get an accurate quote from whatever builder we choose we have to pay a deposit upfront. Depending on the builders we have looked at so far this can range from $1500 to $3000. But if the bank doesn't approve of the plans we lose our money then have to go through the process all over again. We are on a really tight budget and can't afford to be paying builders large chunks of money to be given written quotes that are vastly different from the estimates they have given us. Re: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 2Jun 04, 2015 11:52 am The main issue before the builder can give you the correct price is the builder has got to pay out around $2000 for a Soil Investigation and a site survey. Without this information its impossible for the builder to know the true cost. 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: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 3Jun 04, 2015 1:07 pm bashworth The main issue before the builder can give you the correct price is the builder has got to pay out around $2000 for a Soil Investigation and a site survey. Without this information its impossible for the builder to know the true cost. I have been told ths can be done by an independent engineer for around $400. I wonder if we had this done would the builder except that report so only charge to draw up the plans? Re: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 4Jun 04, 2015 3:26 pm Some builders will some won't and prefer to use their own trusted guys. . . . But if you got all this for $400 I would wonder about the quality. 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: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 5Jun 05, 2015 11:16 am Usually if you get someone to do it the builders will take note of the report but will still conduct their own soil test. Re: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 6Jun 05, 2015 12:41 pm Gone are the days where a builder will do drawings and firm-up pricing for free. I would trust an engineer above all before I would hand over $3k to a new home salesman. Your choices are simple 1. Get the (trusted) builder to do the drawings and preliminary estimates..if you pull out you will loose the deposit, copyright and several months of your life and then start again. 2. Get and independent complete Design and Engineering done and have builders quote... you own the designs,engineering,etc But I suspect on a tight budget your option is 1 Above Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 7Jun 05, 2015 5:30 pm Unfortunately that's the way it is with financing for construction. A bit of a catch 22. You need to borrow money, but need to spend a bit of it to get the borrowings. Lenders want to make sure that they are limited to lending a set amount, so they need to know what the cost is from the builder and want to know that the project is going ahead (which the council approved house plans do). Builders to advise the cost need to know what land they are building on, so need to conduct a soil test. They also need to know what you are building so need the designs (which they can also do for you). It's reasonable to expect that they won't this for free so will need some funds for initial preparation work. Cheers Tom Re: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 8Jun 13, 2015 6:03 am I agree that there is some value in getting your own plans, your own data, and your own engineering. The only problem is that often, people pay over $10,000 for this set up and cannot use the stuff they bought. This is equally true with architects, where sometimes no builder will build the project at the estimated price. Hard to say who is to blame, if there is blame of course, but a lot of people suffer from this one. Re: Between A Rock And A Hard Place 10Jun 16, 2015 10:12 pm Tom's right/ If it gives you some comfort get prepared for the maximum loan amount you think you will need, and then it's only the valuation thats a variable - removes one hurdle - and depending on the area your broker should know how valuations are coming in in that area. Rebecca Jarrett-Dalton Property crazy expert mortgage broker, love building new homes! Two Red Shoes mortgage broker http://www.tworedshoes.com.au/building Hi all, I have been looking at land in South Australia, that is on a slope however most of the core excavation is complete, with a flat area to place a house. The agent… 0 1406 5 10474 |