extra costs in building a house

[sneaky]

hi people, i thought i'd ask here for an idea of what extra costs there are when building a new house.

my wife an i have been toying with the idea of moving, but the area we want to move to costs more than we have. we went for a drive through the suburb yesterday (cameron park near newcastle nsw) and found a nice single story house for sale, 4 bed, 2 bath, 3 car, when we got home we checked it out on the internet and the asking was $550k+.

so now we are wondering how much the excercise of building would cost us.

saying a block is $200k and the house we want to build is $200k, and we could sell our house now for $400k, how much would we be out of pocket?

i know there are heaps of variables, but i'm thinking we'd be up for legals, driveway, tiles, carpets, window coverings, landscaping, etc. but having never built a house i don't know what a driveway is worth, or tiles, etc.

any tips, ideas, experiences would be good

cheers
-tim

[Yellow_Festiva]

I answered a similar question here a few years ago. Costs will be set out to you in the contract and there will be a provision for additional costs along the way.

A lot depends on the site... I recall my parents almost got sting several thousand dollars for 'extra peiring' that the slab required. Lucky she was there while they were pouring and asked or she would have footed the bill assuming it was done.

I'll try and find my post. The large builders can be very shonky and the contract is worded to always suit them... Ask a heap of questions (and document the replies signed by both parties) and try and find a company that has been recommended to you by a few happy (recent) customers.

For a 200k build, you may still be up for 30k?? on top. It all depends on the quality you are after, and how many friends in the trade you have etc.

Cheers,

Jason

Edit:http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...hlight=builder

Post 44.

You can also search for the thread "New house horrors?" for some more interesting reading ;)

[Cúl-Báire]

Loads of variables but.

You'll need between 5k and 15k for stamp duty - unsure whether this is payble only on the land if you intend to build yourself, or the whole package if you buy say house and land.

You'll need approx 2.5k for conveyancing.

If you are building yourself, or engaging the builder yourself, you'll need a development / building permit (cost dependant on location).

If you are building yourself, I would pay for an indiependant geotechnical report on the property prior to engaging a builder. A lot of people come unstuck here as a builder will typically allow slabs and footings for an "A" or "S" class site, and then try telling you you have a more problematic site (M H E or P), and up goes the building cost - if you know this upfront the builder can allow for it in the first place - plus your only looking at a cost of about $1500 to $2000 for a fairly extensive report.

Interms of cost of tiles, carpets, and driveways see what you can stich up with the builder; most will allow for a basic level of finishes - if you want better you will have to shop around.


Dunno if thats much help, but it's a start.

[sneaky]

cheers people.

forgot to mention it would be a large builder, my wife likes a 'metricon' layout at the moment.

i'll go and search the new house horrors now

[Cúl-Báire]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

The large builders can be very shonky and the contract is worded to always suit them... Ask a heap of questions (and document the replies signed by both parties) and try and find a company that has been recommended to you by a few happy (recent) customers.

To add to my post above, Jason brings up a great point. The contract will generally be in favor of the builder unless you use your own; try using a generic contract from the Master Builders (ABIC SW1); or an Australian Standard contract. Have a Lawyer or someone you might know in the building industry that is suitably qualified go over it (a Contracts Manager for instance).

Get all clarifications documented, and included in the contract (emails, emails confirming conversations, any documents you've provided the builder about the site, etc...). Also ensure both yourself, and the builder keep to the time bars in the contract and issue notices accordingly.

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by sneaky

cheers people.

forgot to mention it would be a large builder, my wife likes a 'metricon' layout at the moment.

i'll go and search the new house horrors now

Fisrt step would be enquire at said builder and ask whats included in their price
Ask what any addition costs will be pertaining to soil conditions as mentioned above
The builder IF they know what their on about , should be able to rattle of to you, not only the actuall house costs, but the councils fees and any associated costs they would encounter
Generally depending on the house, most houses have included in the costs, tiles to wet areas, floor coverings, driveways and footpaths, and have a broad spectrum of options in the range for the house, like tile designs, colours, roof styles ect
Another thing to consider is the build time frame
Do you need to rent between the house sale and the finish build ???
Do you need to refinance , is there much owing on your current home (keep that to yourself, just a thought to look into)will you need to borrow the complete monies for this build,will the bank be tempted to do this for you ???
Finances arent my concern , thats yours, but that would be the 2 main places id go to before looking any further into this
Department of land and resourses would be next for site elevation and site drawing, about $30 i think (lot numbers,land size,ect)
Soil test can be done for $500 -$1500,if the site is dicey , pay the money and get a heads up on the project

[duaned]

Originally Posted by sneaky

hi people, i thought i'd ask here for an idea of what extra costs there are when building a new house.

my wife an i have been toying with the idea of moving, but the area we want to move to costs more than we have. we went for a drive through the suburb yesterday (cameron park near newcastle nsw) and found a nice single story house for sale, 4 bed, 2 bath, 3 car, when we got home we checked it out on the internet and the asking was $550k+.


cheers
-tim

HI Tim, I live and built in Cameron Park and can say it's not a bad area, but getting very over-populated! You looking at the Northlakes estate or the Northridge estate ( minmi road end)? Personally I would buy an already established home for the next one. Of course if its close to the design I want. There is generally so many extra unforseen costs in building, then all the extra coin reqiured to finish the home to a standard such as, letterbox, clothesline, landscaping, curtains etc. Then there is the rent you pay whilst your home is being built. Something to consider anyway.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Yep buy established....

I was going to build a new house last year (bought the land and all) and it worked out way cheaper to buy something established. The other benefit is you see what you get.

When I was looking at it we were budgeting an extra $50,000 above the contract price of the construction just to finish the project, gardens, driveway, security, fences, blinds, carpets etc..... There was some fat in that but still things always blow out, even the contract price on the property can change if you decide you want something moved or changed as your progressing through build.

[351buzz]

which you will, change stuff that is, or UP-SPEC it.

My house ran over budget 30%. That was just the build.
3 of my friends houses built recently, did 30% as well, that was everything.

I built mine first and laughed at them when they kept saying "but I've got a contract price so thats what it gonna/gotta come in at".
I remember saying the same before I built, and also remember getting laughed at by people that had been there done that.

[sneaky]

duaned - we had a quick look at the northlakes end yesterday. my inlaws live off hilldale dr, so we have been looking at that end.

at the moment this building idea is way off, just wondering how much over the 'sticker' price i would be looking for a 'ballpark' idea.

and yeah, we can't afford an established house (with all the things we want) and i'm guessing we won't be able to afford to build a new one either. the house we are in now is 5 years old and is an AVJennings house, the house is in an estate full of avjennings an i'm pretty sure they just build them and sell them as packages. we currently have 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 4 living, double garage, but there is no way we would get all that at cameron park for what we could afford.

also i have just transferred work from living on the coast and working in sydney, to working 10 minutes from home.. not sure if i now want to move to newcastle and give myself a 40 minute drive to work

[2011G6E]

Just make sure the house, for example built on your land, includes everything...me and the missus almost got caught when we could have got a cheap block of land, and saw a house mob advertising on TV that they could build a four bed house on your land for only $100,000 or so. However, the fine print on their website said to "click here to see exclusions and inclusions". Basically, you were buying an empty shell of a house...it didn't even have damn internal clad walls, wiring, floor coverings of any sort, or plumbing!

[bob^]

Have you looked into owner building at all?
If you can do some of the work yourself, stuff paying a builder an extra 20% to oversee construction.
I built my house last year. Took 10 months from slab being poured to getting my certificate of occupancy. The only downfall is you end up putting certain jobs off. I often joke that the house will be finished when I sell it!
It was definitely worth it though - a quality house built on about the same budget as what it would have cost to go through Simmonds.

[Gobes32]

I am in the middle of building at the moment. For the area I built in, the difference between buying established (550k) to building (405k) was a no brainer. I understand landscaping and other things are not cheap, but they are certainly not 100k either! I think if you are handy and can fit your own clothesline, letterbox, antenna, etc, then building will definitely see you come out in front.

[sneaky]

after doing some more searching around and looking at land prices, plus the ever growing 'need' list in a new house, i think i'll stay where i am until nsw lotteries gives me a phone call.

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

I am in the middle of building at the moment. For the area I built in, the difference between buying established (550k) to building (405k) was a no brainer. I understand landscaping and other things are not cheap, but they are certainly not 100k either! I think if you are handy and can fit your own clothesline, letterbox, antenna, etc, then building will definitely see you come out in front.

550K for a 2nd hand house and only 405K to build ???
Sounds strange none the less
Fence, which is generally shared amongst 3 ,turf, gardens, letterbox,landscaping wouldnt come anywhere near 100K
Youd want change outta 20K
Even that 425K down for a 550K return, im not surprised they aint poppin up like ant hills

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by 302 XC

550K for a 2nd hand house and only 405K to build ???
Sounds strange none the less
Fence, which is generally shared amongst 3 ,turf, gardens, letterbox,landscaping wouldnt come anywhere near 100K
Youd want change outta 20K
Even that 425K down for a 550K return, im not surprised they aint poppin up like ant hills

Highton, in Geelong. Big, big development going on in the area. They are in the middle of building a man made cliff that will overlook the Barwon River. Very nice, however $350k a block is out of my price range. lol.

I too find it hard to believe building will be so much cheaper but that seems to be the case so far. 190 for land, 195 for 4 bedroom home with Dennis Family Homes (slightly upspecced) and 20 for excavation/reatining wall. Still need drive way, fencing and then landscaping, but geez, how much can it really cost? (famous last words)

[Gobes32]

http://www.realestate.com.au/propert...hton-200108311

Hopefully that worked............

[gtfpv]

i have built . i will say , as a quick rule of thumb , what you see for sale these days is pretty much on the money of what it would cost to build . your talking 200k land , 200k house , + what you lose selling your house and renting while building . $30k + 50k for extras/upgrades, like floor tiles /carpet , window coverings ,shed , pergolas . + 50k for landscaping and fences , retaining walls, driveway , gardens letterbox, edging , grass , extra drains and stamp duty ,legal fees, power connections electrical and water upgrades, etc etc . some money has to go to neighbours for shared costs or access to their properties etc . $530k
more if you want a pool . then you have to furnish . but the house will be more desirable than the $550k one you looked at .
however . it will take about 5 years for the street to become established and the home to be as you want it , unless you have that 550 in cash to start . heaps of stress as things can go wrong . however , the house you look at could be a dud also .
these days its a 50/50 bag .

[mr smith]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

Highton, in Geelong. Big, big development going on in the area. They are in the middle of building a man made cliff that will overlook the Barwon River. Very nice, however $350k a block is out of my price range. lol.

I too find it hard to believe building will be so much cheaper but that seems to be the case so far. 190 for land, 195 for 4 bedroom home with Dennis Family Homes (slightly upspecced) and 20 for excavation/reatining wall. Still need drive way, fencing and then landscaping, but geez, how much can it really cost? (famous last words)

Id be after more than a volume built house in Geelong if I was spending $550K

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by mr smith

Id be after more than a volume built house in Geelong if I was spending $550K

That's your opinion and you are entitled to it. And yes, for 550k you do get a lot of house, but it all depends on the suburb.

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by Gobes32

And yes, for 550k you do get a lot of house, but it all depends on the suburb.

For 550K you get an overpriced block in an overpriced area with a reasonable house
My block here , that i paid 45K for (5 acres)6 years ago is well outta the main stream areas, quite, doesnt have town sewerage or town water (no biggie)
But i have uninterupted views for as far as the eye can see, trees and hills, will never be built up ,the land out the back will never be built on , and the best part is i dont have pesky neighbours

550K , gets the acreage next door with 2 house, 75 acres in town, 300k will buy a modest steel frame 4 bedda on 5 acres
As the saying goes ,"Location,location"
But sometimes a not so popular location can return a better lifestyle

[kaniSS]

Originally Posted by sneaky

cheers people.

forgot to mention it would be a large builder, my wife likes a 'metricon' layout at the moment.

i'll go and search the new house horrors now

Please don't build with MetriCON Read their reviews online. My niece built with them she said "Never again"

[sneaky]

^^ i see what you did with their name

not building with anyone unless i get Oprah rich

[kaniSS]

Originally Posted by sneaky

^^ i see what you did with their name

not building with anyone unless i get Oprah rich

I'm in the construction game and I can tell you this. A lot of builders are desperate for work, this is the best time to bargain a good price if you want to build.

Especially if you are able to obtain the finance from the banks as they are pretty tight with construction finance ATM.

[blueoval]

+1 with KaniSS

I am also in the building industry and a lot of the bigger named project home builders have been/will be be targeting for first home buyers very very soon if not already. So expect a price war to get people thru the door, but expect little for the dollar asked compared to 5-10 years ago.

We get a phone call a week regarding providing work for tradies out there, and we are just a building design firm.

The hard part is convincing the bank you have what it takes to service the loan.