All things house building – reputable builders, tips, things to be wary of, etc.

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Hi, I have been interested in interior design for a long time. I have already reviewed quite a lot of videos and I really want to do this.

I work in construction law and property law – (I’m a solicitor) and some massive tips for you include:

-make sure everything is in writing (especially variations) so you do not have any surprises down the track

-save more money then you need (especially if building or doing an off the plan build)

-read the fine print (terms and conditions to make sure you understand all the ins and outs of delays/variations/added potential extra expenses)

-do your due diligence on the builder/company you use (check forums for reviews / check ASIC to see if they have ever liquidated before and/or if they have frequently changed their business name this is often to hide from previous bad experiences)

-if you buy a house make sure to get an inspection done (as hidden costs/repairs cost a pretty penny too)

-ask for special conditions (things you may want but don’t see on a set plan easier to ask before the build then try to get it added afterwards)

-be patient (ultimately, if you build there is highly likely to be delays it’s the nature of construction with weather or unexpected events that occur like the ground being harder than anticipated or stuff of the like)

Ultimately, if you want a bigger house in the future – I would say build what you want now (while the going is good aka with saving on rent), this way you can save more for deposit/save more for potential added extra fees).

The biggest thing in construction disputes is defects (mistakes made) and time delays/variations (leading to added costs). This is why it’s super important to be diligent with paperwork, be diligent and shop around and try to get the most reputable builder you can.

Obviously, as I am a lawyer I’ve seen “the worst of the worst” so if I was a building a home I would be the worst client (back seat driver ever ha-ha).

I would say shop around to see in person what kind of house you like/don’t like, take photos and really investigate what your absolute needs/wants are. This will especially help if you do decide to build which sounds like you are pretty set on 🙂

If you do decide to buy, you can ask for payable by instalments for deposits, you can request some inclusions.

Any other specific questions just ask!

I don’t have anything to add to the already wonderful advice you have been given, Sunjeanie. I just want to congratulate you for this amazing opportunity, How exciting for you both, whether you’re building or buying. I’m glad you’ve created this thread so that you can update us as you go along 🙂

I definitely think you’ve got a great opportunity if you’ve got a house to live in while you get ahead.
I know it’s your in-laws house, but perhaps just put a bit of an informal agreement together with them, are they expecting it will only be for 12 months or are they happy for it to be indefinitely, are there circumstances in which they would need to sell, what you all expect from each other, just to avoid any issues down the track, say for arguments sake the hot water system needs replacing, would your in laws replace it, or given that you are living there free, would they want you to chip in too?
I don’t think it’s unfair for them to ask for some expenses to be covered (council rates for example)
or would they like a token amount of rent? It’s easier if things are out in the open rather than for something to pop up and both parties be expecting the other to take care of it.
That being said don’t let it put you off living there.
I’m only saying this from personal family experience, I won’t go into details on a public forum, but if PM gets set up I’m happy to chat 🙂

my husband’s cousin is building. he swore never again ! the amount of money that went in is huge! not to mention a lot of hidden cost

My partner and I have debated on whether to buy a little unit until we need something bigger or just buy/build a family ready sized home to begin with so there’s no need to move. I’m happy to do either but it just seems like we shouldn’t waste our opportunity to build our dream home when we are so lucky to be able to live rent free for an amount of time.

Your plan is very similar to something I’d want in terms of number of bedrooms and living areas if we were to build. And I’d also want the bedrooms away from the living areas down a hall like you have.

I’ll be sure to check out BT homes. I haven’t heard of them actually. But funnily enough – we went to the Rawson display homes and they were the only ones not to greet us!

There was a lot home homes we liked – we went to the Thornton display village – but Mr. sunjeanie had had enough a few hours in so I didn’t get to look at them all. I’ll be back another time. Odd question – did you have the option to install ceiling fans during the build?

EDIT: I just had a look on their webiste and they mightn’t service the area I’m looking at moving to. We’re thinking of the Maitland/Newcastle area and perhaps even further inland. It does say the Central Coast area is ok but we might still be too high up.

Yay SJ! We built last year, I love my new house! There were a few bumps along the way (like with any build) but overall the experience was a good one.

My tips….

Allow a good $20000 – $40000 extra slush money, things will pop up and cost more and it will be things you never saw coming…
1 we had a flat block (or so we thought as did the builders) but when they cut in they realised the neighbors next door had pushed their leftover dirt onto our land… we ended up needing a retaining wall that cost $5000.

2 we had the wettest winter in 27 years so they couldn’t start construction, we needed to have 3 truckloads of ‘dirt/land’ removed and 5 loads brought in so we could start (this was after we waited 5 months) the bill came to $4500 – we didnt pay that – long story.

Make sure you get everything in writing I cannot stress this enough, any variation to your contract you need to get in writing and make sure the dollar amount is written in before you sign the variation contract.

Go through your build every step of the way so you can catch and mistakes early – I’m meant to have cavity doors into my media room but didn’t catch it early enough so now I have normal doors.

Keep us updated with how you go, I love my house now and it was well worth doing none of the houses we looked at ticked all our boxes and it cost no extra to build than buy.