Can’t find your dream home? Then build your own! The best thing about building a new home is you get to customise and build it exactly the way you want.
Choose a design that suits you best, choose your colour scheme, choose your preferred flooring, choose your location. The choices are endless!
Don’t forget these before you build a new home
However if you’ve never built a new home before you might not know where to start. So here is a brief overview of the construction process and some tips to help you along the way when building a new home.
Purchasing land
Firstly you would typically find and negotiate the purchase of a suitable block of land to build on.
Make sure that this is an area that you would actually like to live in. Look at how flat the block is as levelling the block or building retaining walls can become expensive and this is money that does not really add value to your home.
Once you purchase the property fixing these unsatisfactory features should raise the properties value. Ultimately you need to look for properties in which you could add value to. If you have painting skills look for a house that needs a new paint job. If you’re an expert landscaper buy a house that could use some improvements in that area.
How to choose the right builder
Next you’ll need to select a builder. Some things to look out for when choosing the right builder for you are:
Experience
The more experience in the industry the builder has usually means higher quality and less chance of mistakes.
Online Reviews
Another good way to make sure a builder is reputable is by checking their online reviews and ratings. Read what past customers have to say about the builder.
Licensed and Insured
Verify the builder is licensed and adequately insured. It’s extremely important to make sure that you’re covered during the building process.
Tour display homes
Another good idea is to tour model or display homes. Many builders have these around town and it’s good to walk through a house and see it in real life than to look at a 2D image in a magazine.
Signing the contract
When building a new home, you will be required to sign a Housing Industry Association building contract which outlines things such as the cost of the build, how and when the builder will claim progress payments from you and how long will it take to build.
Make sure you read the contract thoroughly and understand that it is a legally binding agreement. If you are unsure about anything I would always recommending seeking legal advice before you sign anything.
First Home Owner Grant
Another thing to consider when building a new home is whether or not you are eligible for the First Home Owner Grant.
If you and your partner haven’t owned a property in Australia before, you may be eligible for a $10,000 grant when building a new home. This also provides for a stamp duty exemption and this combined with the grant could save approximately $23,500 (estimated based on a $400,000 home) as compared to buying a used property.
If this is going to be your first home, I’d also recommend you read our short article, Things To Remember When Buying Your First Home.
Financing a new home
Financing to construct a new home is a little different to a normal purchase as the process can take up to six months. Choosing the wrong loan structure could result in you paying way more interest than you need to.
As a mortgage broker I help my clients from the purchase of the land right through the whole process until they move into their new dream home. If you need any assistance or have any questions about financing the building of a new home feel free to contact me, Barry Swain, anytime on mobile 0412 400 712 or by email at barry@smsloans.com.au. I would love to help you!