Buying vs Building

[BarryHeyns]

Good day

 

So the housing prices are very high, would building from scratch work out a little bit cheaper?

 

What is the average building cost per square meter in Aus?

 

Especially for Canberra

 

[Mara]

@BarryHeyns I cannot give you advice on Canberra, as we live in Melbourne. I would always choose building of buying existing, you know what you are getting. Just make sure the builder comes highly recommended. Below is a post I did back in 2014, except for prices, the rest should still be the same.

 

Please remember, my experience was in Melbourne, that is where both our homes were built. It could also work for other areas, as it is pretty general. Many people will have differing opinions, this is just what we experienced.

Advice for building your own home, what type of builder to use:

1. First House - We used an individual contractor. We were not impressed, had a hard time with him and if it has not been for an excellent lawyer, we would have been in serious trouble. Not sure if he was just crappy or if this is the norm. We did go and look at homes that he had built and they all looked fine, but what did we know, this was our first ever home build.
2. Second House - We used Dennis Family Homes, excellent service, excellent feedback, and they were happy to incorporate the spread sheet system I was using into our contract. This was part of the reason why our 2^nd build went so smoothly. By choice, we would go with a big builder if we were to build again.

What are my recommendations:

1. Visit as many show homes or look at as many plans as you can. Walking through a show home is better, it gives you the size and layout so that you can decide if this will be okay for you. If you have bulky furniture which you wish to incorporate, then try and work out what size room you will need for it and ensure the room size will be correct. If you can find a plan to which you have to only make very minimal changes, then go for that, it is very costly to change plans.
2. Please ask questions, remember, the show home you are looking at probably has thousands of dollars of upgrades in it, this is not the home you will get. The only thing about it will be the size. So if there are particular things in the house that you like, then ask them what the cost would be to have those included in your plan.
3. If you are wise, as you start your negotiations, keep a spread sheet for each room in the proposed house, list everything for that room, make sure you have maker names, sizes, part numbers, descriptions, everything! This then leaves no room for error, and if they will incorporate your spread sheets into the contract, then that is the builder I would go with.
4. The big builders are usually willing to make some changes, as long as the footprint of the home does not change, however, they do not like moving the wet areas or redesigning them too much.
5. A simple change like changing windows from sliding to awning is usually not a problem, and for us it was no question, as sliding windows are very easy to lift out of their frames. The awning windows are lockable and have a chain system that winds in and out, much more secure.
6. Try to ensure that the west side of your new home does not have windows. If you can put your garage on that side, that would be excellent. Remember that in summer the sun only goes down at around 9pm and it has then been shining on your western walls for around 9 hours, imagine how hot they will be.
7. Make sure your new home has eaves, it is amazing how much that helps for the sun.
8. Make sure you put excellent insulation in all the walls, may cost a bit more at this stage but it will definitely pay you back over the years with heating and cooling. Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade, that is my mantra!
9. If you have a short driveway, try and use brick paving rather than cement, with the shifting that happens with clay soil, the cement will probably end up cracking and then it does not look good.
10. If you have a good size kitchen walk in pantry then you can get away with lesser cupboard space in the kitchen.
11. If they are not already offered, ensure that you have fly screens for the windows added to your contract. When it comes to the doors, I would go for the stainless steel mesh doors, better security and if you have pets you will not have to replace the screen all the time.

Builders I would use:

1. Dennis family homes – http://www.dennisfamily.com.au/
2. Porter Davis Homes – http://www.porterdavis.com.au/
3. Simonds Homes - http://www.simonds.com.au/

Builders I would NOT use:

1. Henley Properties - http://www.henley.com.au/

 

[Bonny]

@BarryHeyns we are building double storey at the moment in Brisbane for about $1,800 psm but that includes fees and costs associated with the build too. We had to build custom due to a difficult, small site. We are doing mid-range tiles and taps etc, from Bunnings, lower end carpet, but Bosch appliances and a hardwood floor. We have tried to save money everywhere without compromising quaity too much.

 

A bulk builder like Metricon Homes or GJ Gardner will be cheaper and faster, if you have a standard block.

 

I'd still love to owner-build with Paal kit homes. But you need a bit of time and savvy. Check out their website and Youtube clips.

 

Another option is to move a recycled hardwood house onto your property by truck. It's done a lot here in QLD. Check out   David Wright dot com (run by a SAfrican David Fair). Be warned though when completed your $80k house will have cost double that!

 

Hope it helps! 

Edited October 8, 2017 by Bonny