Building a home from the ground up can be a fun and rewarding experience. It can also be anxiety provoking – not everyone loves decision-making and spending money!
If big, life-changing decisions are something that stress you out, choosing a house and land package is a decision you don’t need to worry about. A house and land package can be one of the easiest and fastest ways to purchase a home that can be tailor-made to suit your needs and it can prove an economical route to home ownership. The price is clear upfront and the design and building work is decoded and done for you!
Outside of house and land package deals, there are ways to take the stress and budget blowouts out of building. These include:
1. Doing your research
Building a home, whether it’s a house and land package or a custom build, is complex. Breaking your research into stages provides clarity, reduces repetition and allows for more creative and effective problem solving at each stage. When starting your research, plan a course of action. Factors to look at include:
- Location and lifestyle
- Design inspiration
- Future trends in housing
- Building regulations and sustainability requirements
- Long-term goals
- Demographic changes
- Schools and employment
- Economic and social opportunities
- Orientation positioning
Where you currently live is also a great place to start your research. Observe how people move around in your house to identify conflicts that could be avoided in your new home. Measure your favourite furniture. Write down the things you love about your home and what you don’t like about your current living arrangements. The more you observe, the more researched you’ll be.
2. Sticking to the plan
Changing your mind once the work has commenced can be extremely costly. Amendments to plans and finishes can mean additional materials and labour costs and time wasted making new plans. Some builders may charge for any variations raised, so finalise everything you can upfront if you want to stay within budget.
That said, changing your mind during the building process isn’t something you must not do. It’s common to think of new things as you go further into the process and a good builder will be flexible to meet your want of a new direction. If you want to discuss flexible variations, talk to your builder before the build begins.
3. Investing in quality
Quality doesn’t always need to be expensive and investing in quality can save you money in the long run. Poor quality inclusions are more likely to break and need fixing or replacing down the line, whereas high quality inclusions tend to last longer, cost less to maintain and will add value to the overall cost of your home.
Building a home that’s both affordable and good quality is not an easy task but with clever compromises it can be done. Build only what you need or again, consider a house and land package deal which can provide you with quality fittings at bulk buy prices.
Choosing the right builder
The number one tip for saving money on your build is to choose the right builder. Your builder might give you the best price in town but if he’s not around to make the build happen in a timely way, a quote within budget is a very hollow victory.
Reputation and references are important and a good builder will have no issue with letting you speak to customers about their experience. If you have a particular type of home in mind, ask the builder how many homes they have built in that style.
Personality is a big thing and this is never more true than when you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like making big decisions. Developing a close relationship that fosters trust in your builder will be the key to your overall happiness in the project, as well as keeping your budget on track. The right builder will guide you in decision-making, explain unfamiliar terms and conditions, and advise you with YOUR goals in mind to help limit costly mistakes being made.
Ready to talk about building with someone you can trust? Talk to the team at Plunkett Homes, Perth’s leading home builders and property developers. We have a dedicated and experienced in-house design team and a large range of home designs and house and land packages to choose from – all of which can be adapted to suit your needs. We take the hard work out for you so that you can lower costs on your build and live stress-free during the process!
