Browse Forums Building A New House 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 3477 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 17602 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 9164 |