Designing Your New Home

So you’ve decided to build a larger home, a smaller home, the home you’ve dreamed off, or an investment property. So where do you start?

There are a number of key things that you need to identify, that will make your home design process much easier.

Confirming Your Budget

One of the very first and most important steps to building your home, is to identify your budget. Your budget needs to include both the purchase of the land and the construction of the home.

A common mistake is to purchase an expensive piece of land, which leaves you with a small budget to build your home.

Identify the Location and Purchase the Land

Once you have ascertained how much you can spend on the land, you are able to determine the areas that you would like to purchase in, or can afford to buy.

The things that you may want to consider when looking at land are: 

• is the site close to schools, shops, hospitals?
• is public transport close and accessible;
• is there ongoing new development in the area, which will result in tradesman on sites early, trucks in the area, dust and dirt;
• is the area already established;

Make A Wish List

Make a list of all of the things that you must have in your new home. For example, it must have three bedrooms, the main with a walk-in-robe, ensuite, double garage, separate living area etc;

Now make a wish list of all of the things that would be nice to have in your new home. For example, upgraded tapware, home management system, granite bench tops. These items would be nice to have, but are negotiable items.

If possible, make a list of the things that you would rather not have in your home. For example, a combined toilet-bathroom, cavity sliding doors, an open family-dine etc;

Once you have chosen your Builder, you are now able to provide them with some very important reflections of you.

The budget for your home, as by now you have purchased your land, provides the Builder with the guidelines within which they have to work.

Your “must have” list will provide the Builder with a starting base for your design. The design they present to you, that is the home you are going to build, should include these items.

Your “wish list” is the items that your Builder can include in your home design. However, if your budget does not allow for all of these items, they are the things that you may want to consider removing. For example, if you forgo the granite bench tops, you may be able to install air-conditioning as part of the construction, as opposed to next summer when you desperately feel it.

The More Information You Can Provide

Provide your Builder with copies of your any encumbrances, the Certificate of Title and any site, or location plans that you may have received at the time of signing the Contract.

If you do not provide your Builder with enough information, they can only guess and assume. This creates more work than is required, as the plans will constantly need to be amended, it creates unrealistic hopes and dreams of items that you cannot really afford and it wastes time.

The sooner you are able to commence the construction process, the quicker your vacant piece of land becomes an asset, as opposed to a fee magnet ie: interest on loans, land taxes, Council rates, weed slashing etc.

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