Now is the best time to build your new home according to many home builders in Australia. The reason being that land prices are now affordable for most people so purchasing the lot you always wanted for your new home is easier than ever before. Australia over the years has become a buyers’ market which presents a great opportunity for people to buy a piece of land which they see as being the site of their new home. Since it’s a buyer’s market you shouldn’t feel ashamed when making an offer to the seller which is below their asking price. Try pointing out to the seller that they will save on things like property taxes and even maintenance if they sell the lot immediately. In most cases if the offer is not ridiculously low they may accept your offer. But once the land is in your hand, the building project is your next step, below we look at how to save some money on it.
Investigate free house plans
You can save a good amount of money by using house plans which are free. These house plans can either be freely available online for promotional purposes or your home builder may have a few plans to which they retain the license to. Many home builders advise that people who want to save money should opt for these free plans because they can end up saving thousands in the process. However, if you really want to maximize your investment in building a home i.e. want to make it energy efficient and customized to your specific needs then only should you opt for custom designed plans.
Ask home builders to come up with something which does away with pointless features
There are so many features that people build into their homes which they sadly never have any use for. If you are building your own home the idea should be to come up with a design which does not require that you get costly upgrades every few years. Ideally, you should never buy house plans which seem to be laden with lots of spaces which are marked “open to below”. Bevy of different angles added to your home’s shape will make it look a lot more interesting, or you can get multiple pitch roofs since but these ideas may cost you extra yet at the same time raise the value of your home by several thousand dollars. But if these features are not something that you want then pick a plan that does not have them or pay your architect to change it to something which is cheaper to build. By taking out features you don’t have any use or value you’ll in fact end up saving a lot of money, these can then be used for much more energy efficient features like single hung windows.
Shop yourself for the fixtures and furnishings
Even though the fair majority of home builders will do the required shopping for home appliances, fixtures in your bathroom or lighting fixtures etc. its best to do it yourself. Draft a budget and then go about making a list of items that you’ll need. Show this list to the building company and let them add anything they want on there before you go shopping. This will help you choose the quality of the items you want depending on how important they are to you. For instance, you may not want to buy a $400 Italian wash basin but you’ll want to spend $600 on a high end chandelier for your guest room. Since, these are the kinds of decisions only you can make then you should be the one doing the shopping.
Find reviews of the required or desired items
Most home builders can only provide you with their own personal experience but many of them may not have used every item available in the market. This is where reading consumer reports for the items you want to buy come in. These reports will tell you exactly how good a particular brand of light bulb is, which appliances are rated as the best and energy saving devices. You can subscribe to the magazine when your home is under construction and slowly draft a list of everything you think will be the best for your home. NG Homes suggests that people consult their home builders when in doubt.
Featured images:
- License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Villa_Undine.JPG
- License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle_-_homebuilders_-_1800_block_of_Spruce_02.jpg
Mark has been in the home renovation and building industry for decades. He specializes in sustainable home design and energy efficiency. However, he strongly recommends that people do their research before hiring home builders. The more you know about the options available the better position you are in to buy the right items suggests Mark.