This is information that will be of interest, and might just spark a few extra thoughts while you are contemplating building, or are currently going through the building process.
When building, it requires the same level of commitment as it is when purchasing a home, albeit at any level. It can be fortuitous to have you lawyer look over your contract with the builder. (This can give protections for both builder and consumer)
To keep a build on track and on time, some people like to add in Time Bonus’s and Time Penalties… Talk this through with your builder prior to any contract being signed.
For any build, working with a Quantity Surveyor can help eliminate any “surprise costs” that may appear throughout the build.
If you are building an Architect designed home, it is most important that you have factored the Architect's time to go onsite of the build at regular intervals. Even if they are not managing the project…At no disrespect to the builder, you didn’t commission an Architect to design you a home, only to have the builder build it “their way”.
If throughout the build you have financial restrictions, make this very clear at the start to your builder, and continually do so. There is nothing worse than a breakdown on communication, or massive budget overspends!
Talk to different banks regarding the financing of your build. All banks service building loans differently and some will suit your needs more than others. (Banks can do progress payments pending on valuations during certain stages of the build, other banks will do lump sums at regular intervals, and others will only pay for the build when completed)
Get to know your builder before employing him/them to build your dwelling. It’s a big job no matter what size the end result is, and you invest a lot of time and energy throughout it, so you need to know that the builder is doing his job to his best ability possible. A builder is only as good as his last job. (Get to know his last job!)
Meet your builder on weekly intervals when the build commences, this will give you clear instruction on how everything is progressing.
Trust your gut instinct! If you don’t feel happy about any aspect of the build, speak up; remember that you are the paying client. At the same time, tell your builder when they are doing a fantastic Job! They are human…