Wheeler-Jones

Hey all - moving to Brisbane next year and houses prices as across all of Oz seem to be on the rise (no surprise there considering how many people are on this forum!)

So the question is to all people there and anyone with experience with houses here...the plan is to rent for a year (prices are cheap and this will allow us to save a bit more) then get onto the property ladder. Those of you in the know would you
a/ find a housing estate and get a turn key package?
b/ find some land, find a design and hire someone to build it?
c/ buy a cheaper existing house (not new) and get the the hang of paying a mortage first, then look into building later.
d/ buy an existing house (as maybe the suburbs are souless?)

We are hoping after renting for a year, to have about $60-70K for a deposit (about 15% of what seems to be the going rate for a cheaper turnkey package).
If anyone can suggest the up-and-coming suburbs, or ones to AVOID, thats also helpful.

Cheers!

doub

Hi, talking to a few people who have done b, (buy land and find a builder), I would consider one of the other options. Builders are difficult to pin down and it seems from the feedback that I have heard that it is a very stressfull & expensive option.

smoggieswilltravel

HI

Friends are just about to move into a new build poperty, they said hat they would never do it again, hassle, hassle hassle. We looked into it but the land prices have gone up so much in the areas we were intersted in, that once the build is added, plus land scaping, flooring etc..ect, we would be above in cost something we could buy already completed with established gardens and no building site surrounding us. It is tempting to go for something that will have everything that you want in the house but we've done big renovations/ extensions before and they always cost more than we first budgeted.

So we will be buying, had enough stress over the last 2 yrs, we want a rest.

Good luck though.

NickyC

I have no idea why anyone would want to go through the hassle of building a house - whether it's a bog-standard project home or an architect-designed masterpiece.

I guess there are few people who've had trouble-free builds but for most it's a stressful time that always takes longer and costs more than originally planned. Plus most new-builds are on the furthest outskirts of civilisation (unless you're rich and can afford an inner-city plot) which means you're usually up for living on a building site for years, having limited facilities in your neighbourhood and long distances from the city.

For some reason, a lot of British expats seems to be sold on the idea of building their own house. I guess the thought of being able to pick your facade, choosing roof tiles and deciding where to put power points turns some people on .

I've seen too many TT/ACA horror stories of builders from hell to ever go down that road. Just because you CAN build a house - doesn't mean that you HAVE to.

sassie

I guess we must be in the minority then, as we had absolutely no hassles whatsoever with our build. Ok, there were a few minor hiccups, but nothing that wasn’t sorted out pronto. Yes there were a few extra costs, but we knew about these from the outset and budgeted accordingly. We even got a refund back from the builder for over estimating on site costs. Build time was within specified time as well (5 ½ months). At the end of the day, we got exactly what we wanted, and wouldn’t hesitate in doing it all over again

biggy

ours was a good build also....you have to do a lot of research into your builder...go and see homes that he has done before...ask the people who got them built what they thought of the build. Do research into the area you would like to build, have an ask round neighbouring homes and ask what kind of footings etc they have in their homes...wont tell you for definate what your block would be like, but gives you an idea of the lie of the land(re rock etc etc)

IMO Land and home packages are a rip off and you can do it way cheaper buying seperately. If you take your time and do the research, check the contracts, inclusions etc...there is no reason why things shouldnt go OK We also got a rebate from our builder and he paid us $30 a day for the two weeks the contract ran over

Gems

It depends on how much land you want with your house?
If you want a more rural place with a couple of acres then building your own home with a builder could be a good option.
Out of town/Rural farm land seams to be way cheaper than buying a small block in town. However this is due to less facilities on your doorstep and prob droughts in OZ.

However if your just buying a house on a new or existing estate you could do any option. If you dont think you can cope with waiting for a new build and your wanting something in town, you might as well buy an existing property with mature garden.

GEMS

mand8002

We bought a house and land package. We also had no problems and when handover came, everything was finished to a high standard. Although it was a package, we bought the land before the house plan had been decided so we picked the design we wanted. We went with a package to make it less hassle due to my husband being away from home a lot of the time. I do think you would probably build cheaper if you contracted people yourself for each job but how much cheaper I don't know and also it would be more stressful.

Amanda

Timber Floor Au

heres what we did...

1. stayed with friends.
2. bought a house
3. sold it and rented a house
4. bought some land and rented another house
5. built a house and moved in
6. bought some more land, and gonna do it again

Wheeler-Jones

Thanks for all the good advice - I have been reading another post about renting and it's made me think about getting on the property ladder. With what you know about the housing situation in SEQ, would you rent for a year or two in order to get more savings, or would you try and buy straight away.

With the interest rates changing and prices continuing to rise, I am now concerned if waiting a year to save another $10-15K is only going to mean the houses will rise by a similiar fashion. Yikes...so much to think about.

I am evening thinking of getting a cheap 2 bedroom rental, but have NO ideas about these yet except to rent - are they even worth it just to get a foot on the ladder?

RenShen

Hi,

Great thread. Loads of points of view.

I have started to look at houses on the net and keep seeing the "turnkey" phrase. What does it mean? Also, could anyone explain the principles behind "house and land package" because these look quite reasonable at first glance.

From what I have seen so far, the prices of the plots of land are too much when you consider putting a house on too. It makes more sense to get one already built.

Our existing mortgage is quite small so we are put off renting for too long as, in comparison with our mortgage, the rents seem high.

Timber Floor Au

Hiya

Turnkey.. is literally that

You turnkey in lock.. and thats all you have to do

Everything is done for you

The most economical way to buy a brand new home, is a house+land package

Generally, all blocks are sewered and on town water... so that major expense is taken out of the "go it alone " equation

Drive and minor landscaping is also done, turf front back driveway and some continuous concrete edging and mulch, and fencing is also included.. so you save there

However.. on most house + land packeages, you end up on 600 or 900 m2 block. So you do get plenty of neighbours.

Furthermore, planning law here is more lax than Uk, so apart from general covenants, regarding roof pitch etc.. each home on a estate can be totally different.

Most small house builders ( circa 50 houses per yr ) work off 3 designs. So even if they have build 3 houses in your new street chances are even then you will be different.

Dont call them PLOTS when you get here... A Plot is where you get Buried in Australia !

RenShen

Thanks for that info, it's really helpful

As for the lingo, I can see myself regularly dropping clangers.

A friend gave me a similar warning this week. I said I was "rooting" around for something in my bag and she told me very sternly NOT to use that phrase in Oz. Apparently it's very rude

Buzzy--Bee

But very funny.

I suggest you go into a garden centre and ask for a pot of rooting hormone. That may raise a few eyebrows.

Buzzy

RenShen

Think I will have to buy an oz slang dictionary to keep out of hot water.