Building your dream home?
The dream of building your own home – just the way you want it – is powerful. Who wouldn’t want their perfect home, customised and unique? But turning that dream into reality requires lots of planning and hard work.
The following tips will get you started and will help keep you on track once your project is underway:
- Take your budget seriously. As you estimate costs, always allow for extra hits. Maybe your builders will find something unexpected in the ground when preparing the foundation. Maybe you’ll want to make changes during the building process. Costs can blow out quickly and easily.
- Master the local regulations. Before you purchase land, check if the council restricts the style of homes that can be built in the area. Try and choose a builder who has worked with your council and therefore knows local regulations. Contact the council to find out how quickly – or slowly – they approve development applications.
- Get on the same page as your builder. Does the builder’s contract include the duration of the project, along with penalties if the work falls behind? Will your builder give you a schedule, to check against actual progress? And after handover, make sure you record any problems and send them to your builder before the defect rectification period expires.
