10 Invaluable Home Building Tips

Being in a position to build a home is an exciting one. But it's also a stressful one. Because there are so many things that we have to consider before we build, it’s important to understand not just the home buying process, but also the building journey ahead.

If building a house, the basics include making sure there are plans in place, architects to help , blueprints, and everything down in terms of the land and the mortgage. It’s a different game than buying a new home, where an inspection could just tell us what we need - like a foundation repair company to help us to fix things up before we slide in with all our stuff. However, there is are wonderful challenges and opportunities that come with building a house that we wouldn't get when just buying one. Here are some of those tips that can help prepare for building a house.

1. Always have a plan. We talked about architects and blueprints, and they come as a pair. If you are buying a house and land package, then you need to have a plan in place to follow so that your home can be built correctly and on time. Obviously, you don't necessarily have to build the physical house yourself, but you could if you wanted to. As long as you have a plan you have somewhere to begin.

2. Research. To be able to pull that building plan together you need to do your research into the companies that can help you to build your house. You also need to learn things such as the local schools and services to ensure that you are building and buying in the correct area in a place where a family could grow.

3. Make sure you choose the correct builder. You may have heard the stories about rogue traders who take money but don't complete work, so when you are doing your research into the right building company, make sure that you are looking for reviews and you are looking to find out if they are the best at what they do. You need to consider your budget, the area in which you are building and the preferred home designs you have in mind. You should also pay very close attention to those reputations we talked about earlier.

4. Make sure the design is something with which you can grow. Once you have chosen your builder you need to then choose the design of a house. If you're planning to have a family or to add more children to the one you have, make sure that you are planning to build something that has enough bedrooms. You want to make sure that there are enough bathrooms and living areas to suit that family. If you are just planning to buy something that's for you and a partner or you in your retirement, you can choose to build something much smaller.

5. Think cleverly about your budget. You have to know that your budget can cover not only the basics but the nasty surprises that can come up. Any stamp duty, planning fees, settlement fees and other associated costs can be covered when you manage your budget properly.

6. Get to know what's included. It's not just your budget, but you need to know what it's going to be included in the build itself. How much time is each element going to take? How many features are included in how many are not? A thorough understanding of what the building price includes is smart. Have the company you work with talk you through every single fixture, fitting and cost.

7. Don't start building without your finances in order. It's crucial to get your finance in order, because well while you may know what your intended budget could be, the plans can go awry if your lender does not agree with you. Pre-approval for your mortgage, an understanding about the building and construction loans out there can help you to manage this properly. Building and construction loans do function slightly differently than a standard home loan because the funds are released in stages rather than a lump sum. This means you will be renting your current home while paying for your new one to be built, so you have to ensure that you can afford to do all of these things before you go for it.

8. Learn the process. Building your own house is a big process and you have to learn this process before you get started. The stages of building a house are many and it can take time, it can be impacted by the weather and any other external factors can delay what's going on. If you understand this before you get started, then you're not going to get frustrated when the process stalls. A lot of people also overlook the end of the process - clean up. There are often local laws relating to construction debris so you need to hire a construction clean up service to remain compliant. They'll also be more efficient and professional than if you try to clean it up yourself.

9. Keep communicating with the building team. If you want to know what's going on with your build, or what stages at the moment, keep talking to the company and ask them for their advice and their opinion as they go along. If you have been quoted six months for your build to be complete, but at four months is nowhere near finishing, then it's worth having a conversation to find out what's going on. Sometimes these factors are outside of the building companies’ control, but it can help you to understand that. The right building company will be able to answer emails in a timely manner.

10. Get started as soon as you are able to. From planning and budgeting to researching the right builder, you have a lot to do. Building a house is not an easy or short job, but it is one that can bring you your dream home a lot faster than you think. The sooner you get started with it, the sooner you could be moving into a home that you have built custom made for you. You can start all of your planning stages while you are saving for your deposit.