eintracht

Apologies for those who saw my post on the Immigration forum.

We are currently deciding what method we are going to use to buy a house in Australia. We have a budget and a fairly good idea of what we want. I know there is less stamp duty to pay if you build off plan but has anybody actually bought a piece of land and submitted their own plans ? Do you face the same hassle as you do in the UK and what are the costs ? I'd be grateful if anybody who has built off plan or submitted their own plans could share some details (costs/timescales) with me please. I know the Bananas are going through this process currently (great reading Jill/Warren) but have others attempted this too ?

Many thanks

Chris

jad n rich

I think the bananas are going through a project home builder, in that case all the plans and approvals engineering would be done for them, all you really have to do there is select colours tiles bricks etc.

You can draw your own ideas but to get approval the plans need to be lodged in a certain format with information only a certified professional such as architect draughtsman would have, might be a tough job for someone who didnt know the aussie regs? Extremely detailed plans are also required for the engineering. If you have ideas it could cost anywhere from 2000 to 8000 to get them drawn up properly, depending on the complexity and if you use a architect allow about 2% of the construction cost.

Engineering starts from about 2000 and approvals with councils or private certifiers cost around 2500 but you must bear in mind all these figures could vary wildly according to state, councils, and again complexity of design. Code assessment is around another 1000 if required similar with stability studies.

Approvals with the correct paperwork can take as little as a month, including plumbing approval, but recent changes to codes and stability studies have ment recent plans on slope have taken up to 5 months after all drawings by certified professionals are lodged.

Once approved you can go owner builder, you may need a permit and course depending on state council etc again, be aware laws on the resale of the home may apply if you do go owner builder. Or you get registered builders to price the plans, all work done by registered builders and their subcontractors is heavily legislated and regulated and new homes should come with several years warranty depending on state and a tribunal or registered body to monitor that warranty.

biggy

We are in the process of building a house.

We had designed our own, but when it got to $50k over budget we pulled the plug.

Went for an off the plan house and it has come in well under budget, people think that when u buy a spec house that u need to go with what is detailed on it.....if you get the right builder then you can do what u want. If you think the taps they provide are a bit naff, and the next range up are only $50 extra then u just pay the extra....u chose all ur brick, roof tiles etc etc, we changed the layout of the front door area and it hasnt cost us any extra. The builder gave us a budget for the kitchen, we then went to the designer and she designed our kitchen from scratch,....so even when u do buy off plan, u can still get a very individual house.

Another tip, we saved ourselves $5000 by doing the internal paintwork ourselves, so that is going towards the pool .

The price that the builder has quoted, includes all the plans,soil test, engineers reports, council fees etc so there is none of that to worry about....also because the builder is well known by the council, the plans were through in a couple of weeks!!!

Best of luck with whatever u descide......and remember the cheapest quote isnt always the best. there are 4 houses getting built near us at the moment, all by well known builders, two of which we got cheaper quotes from, but by **** am I glad we didnt pick any of them!!!! just be carefull, and make sure that they r a member of Master Builders!!!

Ours is a Hotondo house >>>> www.hotondo.com.au

eintracht

Excellent information - thanks. As we don't have any children a house of the size we want would have too many bedrooms, is it possible to change the internal layout of the house and change rooms around as I'd rather have a games room than a 4th bedroom and a home cinema room instead of a rumpus room ?

Thanks

Chris

biggy

hi Chris

Yes u can change things around, will cost a little extra if u want to move internal walls etc, but again that depends on your builder. if you want to change the use of a room for eg the rumpus into home cinema, then u just make sure that u get extra tv points and sockets etc which obviously will cost a little extra, and also make sure that if u want wall speakers etc, get the speaker cables laid inside the walls before the gyproc goes on . then all u have to do is mount the speakers.

Where in Oz r u? We have a brill builder, and are very lucky to have got him.

eintracht

We are not actually there yet but will hopefully be heading to the Melbourne area soon.

biggy

ahhhh i c, well if i can be of any help give me a shout

eintracht

Thanks. The first thing to decide is how big a plot we want. Obviously an acre would be too big but we are toying with about half an acre and have seen a couple of plots in Sunbury, just outside Melbourne.

biggy

our plot is 750 sqm and the house is 230 sqm so will have a good big garden

eintracht

In terms of house sizes sqm means nothing to me living here. We are hoping to have the following :
3 bedrooms (1 master with en-suite, built in wardrobes)
1 office
1 large open planned kitchen / diner
1 bathroom
2 garages
1 utility room
1 lounge
1 games room / cinema room / gym possibly (optional)
Reasonable garden with bbq obviously !!!

Would 250 sqm be sufficient to include all these requirements (size of rooms obviousy varying) or would it mean it rooms would be too big/small ?
Could I be rude and ask what your plot / house costs and where you are please ?

Go Banana's !!

As we got a mention I thought I would chip in

We have bought off plan, but there still seems to be an enormous amount of work to do!! and I started it 4 months before the pre-start.

You can still get very much involved if you have got a good builder, I can highly recommend Novus. I got a list of all their suppliers before the pre-start so was armed and dangerous and the pre-start didn't give us any suprises. I spent 3 months visiting each and everyone of them seeing what I could and couldn't have for the same money, it was so much fun haggling.

It isn't simply a case of picking colours of paint or tap designs, (you think that at the begining and then you realise!) you go through every conceivable detail, which I haven't gone through on here, because you would be bored stiff. I on the other hand have loved every minute of it.

Heather at Imported Ceramics was fantastic. I spent over 20 hours in total with her choosing stuff and was awash with cups of tea, her patience was remarkable

We have gone from a show house design and basically just made rooms larger, added an Alfresco area, so not changed the layout. (What we have changed is lots of the detail). That worked brilliantly for choosing your granites/tiles/flooring/cupboard colours etc. and for visualising your furniture. I could double check the colours at the show house, to see if the lighting changed the colours from the showrooms and do you know what? it took me 6 attempts just to pick the right colour for the en-suit vanity units!!

TOP TIP - Measure all your large pieces of furniture before you design the house.

We have come off contract for the tiles (builders range naff), the door handles, the kitchen, the water heating system, the electrics, and another hundred things. You can make it very indiviual.

I would have been to scared:scared: to go from plans on a piece of paper without having actually walked around it. It would have made me too nervous of what it would have turned out like, as what looks good on paper may not have worked, when you realise that that wall just is in totally the wrong place. Alot of it has to do with lighting too.

I have heard that doing your own design takes alot longer.

Anyway good luck with whatever you decide to do and pm me if you want me to bore you with anymore details

Jill

Go Banana's !!

BTW the house is 330m2 on a 775m2 plot

Warren

Hi Chris, my wife and I expect to hear about our retirement visa around May, and intend to settle about 1.5 hours drive North of Brisbane. However, we spent a month in 2003 in Queensland looking into either buying land and buying off-plan, or buying a previously owned home. It seemed to depend on location, e.g. Land and building from plan in one area might be cheaper than buying similar but second-hand in another area only 10 miles away. We met one builder who had several plans with excellent layouts, and we were able to do what Jill suggested, and that was to adjust the walls to make rooms larger, add on an extra three walls to make a extra guest room. Also we were able to have an exterior air conditioning unit and its ducting installed during the construction which avoided having it installed with the risk of damage to the interior decoration etc. We though the external AC unit preferable to an unsightly unit hanging on the walls in bedrooms and other living areas. We had the choice of two huge plots, and were able to see inside one already built, so we were assured of the build quality. With our changes the land and the 4 bedroomed (main bedroom with walk-in robe and en-suite), plus additional guest bathroom, utility room, double garage, fully fitted kitchen looking onto three large living areas and large covered patio, was going to cost about £210,000 (sterling). The bank was going to arrange inspections at specific stages to ensure building standards were met. Unfortunately, work circumstances prevented us from starting the process of emigrating, but we will now soon be on our way, better late than never.

When we get our visas, we are going out to Queensland for a month to take up where we left off with the same idea. Its a case of comparing the cost of what options you find when you get there, definitely worth an initial trip to shop around and get things moving, as leaving it until you finally move can be more expensive as you will be in rented accommodation which might end up more costly than the initial trip also, property values are increasing all the time, so buy as soon as you can. I like Jills idea of choosing and negotiating the price of taps and other bits and pieces from different sources. A good way of making savings.
Anyway, all the best with your move.
Warren.

biggy

Hi
We have 3 bedroom(one ensuite)
I guest room/office
Kitchen/family/dining area
Laundry
Double Garage
Lounge
Bathroom
Toilet
Large covered patio.

Plot $125,000
House $195,000

You could get what u want in a 250 house it all depends what u prefer with regards room size. If bedrooms are just spare rooms then why have them huge...theres no need really!!! Its all up to the individual, what ya like

eintracht

Thanks very much for the info, can I aask where you are/will be based in Aus ?