What are the hidden costs when buying/building a new home?

[Cat]

Can anyone who's bought recently please give me an idea of the hidden cots?

It seems cheaper to buy land and build, rather than buy an older home. We have $60,000 saved, and also about $30,000 for stamp duty. My worry is that we'll be using all of our savings, so I really need the full price upfront. Is this possible?

 

thanks!

[Druid]

Build.............. you get a $15k first home owners grant & a lot of builders are doubling that as they are struggling, deposits are minimal, your mortgage is staged and interst only while you are building, you will spend your savings on pre-start where you choose all your finishes etc, the balance of your savings you will spend finishing the house.

[elfie]

We bought an older house with a bigger plot that means we have a garden pool and a large paved patio area double garage room on the drive to park a boat caravan and 6 cars. not that we have a caravan boat and 6 cars lol plus i cannot touch the house next door and are renovating over the last 2 years house now nearly finished ........ its horses for courses .......

[verystormy]

It will vary by builder. The first thing though is to be aware what you see in a show home is nothing like what the base price gets you. Totally different product. But how different will depend on the builder and what deals are on offer.

 

You our will have a few grand in fees for the legal side.

 

Once you know exactly what is included - for example, some do not include painting or another might not include laying the drive, then I would allow between 10 and 20k for upgrades. These are things that the builders regard as none essentials, but in which in reality are. For example, the build price only includes 1 electric socket per room. Obviously impossible on a practical basis, so, you will need to pay for extras. These are normally paid for severally at the pre start meeting - long after the mortgage is in place and I paid in cash as a result.

 

Then be aware of covenants in the suburb. For example, our suburb required the walls between the different properties be built of limestone blocks, so, that cost $20k.

 

Then of course there is landscaping which can be very expensive. I am convinced turf suppliers must be using unicorn poo as fertiliser and sprinkling the lot with gold for the prices they charge.

 

On the plus you get the house you want. Changes to walls and things inside can be free - we changed loads of things, added Windows and various other bits. Most were free or even resulted in a discount, for example, we had two bedrooms built as one massive room, which saved them a wall and a door and they knocked a couple of thousand of the cost as a result. Though we then put a window in where the kitchen splash back goes and as it has to be heat resistant hardened glass cost a couple of thousand.

[Rossmoyne]

There are pros and cons for either build or buy established property, so I guess it comes down to what you prefer.

 

I like my privacy and could not live in a new suburb where the gutters almost meet over the fenceline. I bought in an established area.... grotty house in a nice street.... and then spent 3 years renovating. Like Elfie I have a large block, a large garden front and back, pool, parking for 5 cars, and I live within 16kms of the CBD with good public transport and community facilities. New builds tend to be much further out with few or no community or public transport until the area is well established.

 

If you do decide to build though, remember that you will still have to pay rent during the building process and this could really push your expenses up.

 

Each to his own really.

[ali]

Friends built - they only had a few sockets as standard and the builder wanted to charge an extortionate amount to put additional sockets.

 

We bought in an older suburb, like elfie it needed a little TLC but we're on a large block.

[Cat]

Friends built - they only had a few sockets as standard and the builder wanted to charge an extortionate amount to put additional sockets.

 

We bought in an older suburb, like elfie it needed a little TLC but we're on a large block.

 

 

Thanks everyone, really useful info. We're not looking at a new housing estate, just land in an established area, then building. It looks like the cost is about the same, whether it's new or old. I think it could soon add up with a new build. Thanks again!

[benj1980]

Site fees are costing us around $20k, not all builders will mention that straight away. Every additional double socket cost us $25 so not extortionate but seemed a frustrating expense. For us the FHOG was a big bonus/attraction.