Building memories in a home you love.
Article 6/6 in our First Home Foundations Series
This is my favourite step, where the rubber meets the road, where we create something that is strong, lasting, and truly yours.
The ugly truth of living in rentals is deep down inside – you know you’re living a lie. You pretend that it’s your home, but you know it’s not. Nothing is permanent, nothing is yours. At any moment, you can have the rug pulled out from under you. At regular intervals, you are reminded of the lie you are telling yourself; the agent will want to inspect, your rent goes up, you can’t have a dog, put a picture on the wall, or worst, you may be evicted.
It’s no way to live.
The future we dream of is a permanent base for your family, a community where you belong, long-lasting relationships with friends and neighbours, security, stability, and pride of ownership.
This is the step where all of that happens.
Before we move on to the fun stuff, here’s a quick word of advice.
Retail builders operate on a model whereby they have display homes that are the Rolls Royce and Bugatti of the home-building world. No expense is spared. Those homes are a true showcase of the opulence money can buy. They’re impressive but also completely unrealistic for most people.
The house you see is the Rolls Royce but the pricing you see is for the Datsun 120Y. Basics like driveways, fencing, and landscaping aren’t included in the price. Everything is an upgrade that costs you more. It’s not unusual for someone to spend $50,000 or even $100,000 over the ticketed price to get the home they want. For someone who is experienced and cashed up, this model may be fantastic. For your average First Home Buyer, it’s a disaster. Buying a home is complicated enough without having to worry about what’s an upgrade, what’s included, and how you are going to get a driveway put in.
What you need is a builder who is going to give you an all-inclusive price. This means when you get the keys, you’re home is ready to live in and there is no more money to spend. You need a builder who is going to offer you a genuine fixed-price contract. Contract variations (unexpected bills) are a killer for First Home Buyers. If a builder sends you one, they often won’t complete your building until it’s paid.
To build a home that truly reflects your lifestyle, you want to know the personalised touches you can add that will make it your home. For example, you may consider higher ceilings, designer 600 x 600 tiles, oversized 900mm appliances, oversized front door, ducted aircon, waterfall stone benchtops, plush carpets, and pendant lighting for your kitchen.
I have four recommendations for First Home Buyers at this stage;
1. Get a mentor — There is too much to know and the cost of mistakes is too high to do it on your own;
2. Ensure you have a full turnkey (fully inclusive) contract;
3. Ensure your contract is fixed-price; and
4. Have a short list of affordable luxuries that you would like included.
The biggest mistake First Home Buyers make is trying to go at it alone. You don’t know what you don’t know. Experience in real estate and building comes from years of trial and error. There’s a chance you might pull it off but in the likely event that you make a mistake, you are going to cost yourself a fortune. Get help, you need it.
Bringing all of this together is where the magic happens. This is your house, where you will have your friends, where you will raise your family, we want you to love it, to be proud of it, for it to be your home.
