Building a new home - First Home Owners

My husband & I are looking at building our first home. What things should be be careful of or make sure we ask the builder. Example: Site costs we have been told (not by a builder) but to allow $60k for within our budget. When I was talking to my Aunty, she said if we had to allow that much money for site costs, then not to go with them.

We were also considering buying a corner block but then were thinking, will our build space be compromised after footpaths etc are in or is that not included in the block size?

What other tips can others give me on building?

Footpaths etc are not included in block size. Corner blocks tend to be bigger so that's a bonus, but obviously the upkeep of the front yard and side is more work, as is the landscaping cost.

Site costs will depend on where you buy land and what the soil rating is like etc.

Do you plan to use a private builder or volume builder? Both present different challenges... We owner built our house - don't do that! Lol it was painful.

Make sure you include landscaping and a driveway in your budget - they're not cheap and not included by builders. Fly screens on windows and doors are also not included so keep that in mind.

I recommend writing down everything you want included. Ie. air con, appliances, hot water service, floor coverings etc. that way when you get quotes they are all apples for apples. Some builders leave out items and they will be an extra. It's always better to have your full cost up front.

Also start looking at your fixtures like taps, toilets etc because they can vary greatly between quotes and you may be getting something cheap and nasty.

Meet with the builder, ask if you will be able to have contact with the site supervisor or the project manager. Personal contact is an important thing when building your own home. Things will go wrong with a build but if you have good communication and rapport the issues can get sorted a lot easier.

If I think of more i'll add :)

We were first home owners when we built. We got a landscaping package (front garden only) included in the price, but we had no driveway, no fences, no paths around the house. We had to take a loan out on top of our mortgage to do the driveway and front paths. Thankfully my husband worked for a company where we could get panels for the fences, so all we had to do was buy the steel posts and rails. Our back paths came nearly 10 years later.

We also built on a corner block because it was bigger, but we think that our house was actually built the wrong way.. Not 100% sure on that. Our water meter is down the side of our house within our fence line. So to get a water meter read we have to let the people into our back yard. I normally get them to leave a card and phone it through myself.

Our suburb only has footpaths on one side of the street. It was meant to be our side and we were aware of that before building commenced, but some time after we moved it the council came along and ripped up the front yards of people living the other side of the street and put their paths on that side. The people across the road were not happy as they had a beautifully manicured yard right down to the road, thinking they weren't the ones getting the paths.

Oh we also wanted to connect gas but it was going to cost us $600 to connect the pipe, so we told them to shove it and a tap that was on the side of the house we wanted to move to the front yard, and then ended up costing us a huge amount as well.

Also, if you're designing the house yourself - try to have all the plumbing down one side of the house, it's cheaper, and the hot water reaches your taps quicker.

We also only have footpaths on 1 side of the street, not ours.

We've been in the house 2 years and we still haven't landscaped the front or side of the house. We just can't afford it.

Kitchen and bathroom cost vary greatly... Do you want glass splash backs, Caesar stone bench tops, bathroom walls tiled, mixer taps?? They will all cost you more.

How many down lights in the house? PowerPoints in each room? Most builders have a standard 1 power point in each bedroom, we increased that to 2 or 3.

You have lots to think about!

Wow! Lots to consider but things I wouldn't have thought to look at or ask. Thanks ladies!!