Building Basics – What You Should Know Before Getting Started
Building can be tricky, so it’s important to know the ins and outs of the construction industry before commencing your building journey. Equip yourself with the knowledge and understanding of what to look out for when choosing your building partner so you can have a smooth building journey from the beginning.
Having over 10 years’ experience in the industry, we have outlined our top three tips for those who are considering building their first home or development and what to look out for before starting the building process:
- Organise your finances – set yourself a budget and know what you can borrow.
Finance is the most important aspect to consider before starting your building journey. Knowing exactly how much you can borrow will make setting a budget for your build a lot easier and the process much smoother. Getting a pre-approval will then allow you to move forward confidently with the home design process and quoting process.
If you’re lending, finding a broker who understands construction is also crucial as not all lending processes are the same. Home Loan lending and construction lending vary in process, so using a broker or lender who doesn’t understand construction could prolong the whole building process, obtaining titles or cause you to pay higher interest rates.
It’s also important to note that construction methods vary in each State, so it certainly helps if you use a local broker or lender who understands the progress payment stages relevant to your State.
Once you have your budget set and ready to start the design or quoting process, sharing this information with your builder. This allows an open and transparent process in the design stage allows them to understand the inclusions to accommodate your budget.
- Buying the right block
There are many factors to consider when purchasing a block. If this is for your dream home, this is the time to consider your lifestyle. Is the block close to work, close to schools, train lines etc? Is the block within a high capital growth area? When considering these aspects, it’s important to plan for the future, and what that will look like for you as circumstances change.
With developments, it is important to look for other factors that will yield the best ROI. Look at the target areas where properties are selling, the development potential and the demographics of the area. It’s important to consider the site to understand what can and can’t fit on that block, the R codes, re-sale value, sewerage location, verge trees (which can affect the driveway location) easements on the site and read the title for any encumbrances or conditions such as heritage listed.
Before you purchase a block, make sure you always speak to an expert to ensure the land meets all the requirements you are envisioning for your custom build or development site.
- Design and drawings – own the rights to your plans
There are a lot of builders who offer free designs or have copyright their plans. This may sound tempting as you don’t need for pay them, however if you decide that you want to have another builder look at or quote those plans, you won’t be able to. Those plans are copyrighted to the original builder, so generally other building companies cannot build those plans. It is important to ask the question about copyright and owning the plans before you sign.
Should a potential client come to Ultimo Constructions, they will pay a design fee, sit in on a design meeting with our Project Manager and Designer but more importantly, the client will own the rights to the plans, so they can present the designs to as many builders as they like to obtain prices before making a final decision.
Finding a designer who reflects your style, needs and budget is also important, so you can ensure the plans are cost effective.
We have outlined the main factors to consider before you build, but there are plenty of other nuggets of information which you can listen to in our first episode of our Let’s Talk Building podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
At Ultimo Constructions, we pride ourselves on meeting your budget, maximising your investment and profitability potential. To find out why you should choose to partner with us, follow the link here or contact our team today to get started with your obligation-free initial consultation.
