Deciding to build your own home is an exciting, nerve-racking, and ultimately rewarding decision. It’s also a popular decision as the housing market continues to boom and it becomes increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder.
But, before you decide whether to put the bricks down yourself or let the expert custom home builders in Melbourne handle it for you, there are several things you should know and do.
Set a Budget
If you have ever watched home building or improving programs on television then you’ll be familiar with the owners setting a budget figure. In many cases, the actual spend is significantly more and the owners magically have the extra money.
In reality, this is unlikely to happen. You need to set a budget. That’s the funds you have available and the funds you can borrow, while still being able to afford the repayments. It’s surprisingly easy to find out your top budget. Once you have it, you need to stick to it.
That means taking your time with the designs and the build, allowing a little for unforeseen issues, and monitoring the costs throughout the build. A successful build is one that finishes on or under budget.
Decide The Rooms
Before you can build a house or even decide what size it needs to be, you need to know how many rooms you want in your home. This is partly influenced by your current status. Specifically, do you have children or are you intending on having any? Equally, do you work from home or need a hobby room?
Deciding how many rooms you need will help you devise a plan. This will control the flow of the house and the size of it.
Remember, you’ll probably only build a custom house once in your life, get it right.
Think About The Outside
Knowing rooms makes it possible to create a plan and decide how big the house needs to be. It also dictates whether it is one floor or two. But, before you can decide the size of the plot you need, you need to think about the outside.
Consider what you use the outside space for and you’ll quickly be able to decide how much space you need around your home. Don’t forget to allow for garages and parking.
With this decided you’ll know how big a plot you need and this will feed back into your budget and cost expectations.
Create The Inside
It may surprise you but before you start building you need to draw the inside of your home. Specifically, you’ll want to decide on where the sink and other water appliances are going, as well as power outlets. Knowing this will make it easier for the builders to put everything in the right place and give you a custom home that you’ll love living in for years to come.
Don’t forget, you need to choose a builder that you can talk to and one you trust. Stick to those that have a good reputation and you’ll get a good quality house.
