Barbara 2003

Buying a house and land?:

Hiya
I've been looking into different ways and means of trying to set things up in Perth.
One of them being buying the land and a new house from a building company to build separately.
If you do this, very roughly, how much else would you have to cover?
Does the house price include running electricity and plumbing to the property? If not, how much are we talking about.
Is it a wise option, or is it a nightmare?
If anyone has any info I would most appreciate it.

ABCDiamond

Most House and Land packages include just about everything, even the garden gets turfed. You SHOULD be able to just move in, and This is normally the best and easiest option.
But obviously check the contract carefully to ensure this is all stated. Also try to go with a reputable building firm, there are some rogues over here.

If you buy the land yourself, and then arrange to have the house built by contractors seperately, then you will need to be on the spot to sort out problems.

Otherwise get a reputable builder to build a spec home on your site, and ensure the quote includes everything that a House & Land package would include.

Barbara 2003

thanks for the info.

davidw

I recall earlier threads suggesting it could be a hassle, with delays and hidden costs. Certainly worth checking with people who've done it

alrobson

Hi,

Yeah, I posted a thread before and got some good feedback. Quite a few people said that I should be on site for building, but after this advice I had a thought. My original question was that I would buy some land and then build a house myself, but what I actually meant was buy a plot of land and have one of these large building companies (Plunkett Homes, Dale Alcock) build it for me. I wouldn't know how to build a house myself.

Lots of people say they are building their own house, but do they actually mean they are building and supervising it all or simply employing one of these companies that take care of the whole building process for them.

Maybe some of the people who responded before can clarify it their views were based on the person subcontracting all the work out to different trades and builders and doing most of the work themselves or they were based on any type of house being built whether it be by yourself or a large company like Dale Alcock.

MrsDagboy

I think you will find that most people mean that they are getting a large company to build the house for them. You will still need to be around & onsite for an awful lot of the time even when you do it this way, you cant just leave it to them & expect a house at the end of the 16 weeks or however long they say it will take.

Just from my own experience, almost every single person that I have ever spoken to who has had a house built says they would never do it again if that tells you anything .

CHnJ

In our case we're talking about managing small subcontractors rather than getting a house built off the shelf. The latter way would be preferable, but we can't afford to build it in one go. We've been involved in an off-plan purchase here, and it was still preferable to be around as it allowed us to ask the builders to do wee "extras" like floor the loft space, install extra sockets, swap an electric for a gas hob, put an alarm in that have made the house more liveable. None of that can be done while you are away. Neighbours who did buy while away, and who have now seen the house, universally comment on how they'd rather have been there during the build. None have moved out though, so they can't be living in miserable hovels : ))

kevt

Hi Barbara,

I have also been looking at building in Adelaide, with an off the shelf built design entirely built and managed by the builders and the price quoted does not in some cases include the following-

Security alarm
Flooring
Air conditioning
A different facia to the outside of the house (Basic one included in price)
Lighting
Built in wardrobes

There are also upgrades that you can have which can soon amount to a tidy sum.

Check exactly what is included or not right from the start you could easily knock up another 100.000 dollars on extras and upgrades.

Kevin