Home Finishes
Home finishes When you build or renovate, the finishing touches are the ones that make the house into a home, the personal choices made of the furniture, decorative pieces, the wall colours and floor finishes can make a stark space into a welcoming cosy room or a modern energising area. The dilemma is that there […]
Earthworks
Risk of Owner Earthworks Some home owners take on the task of organizing the earthworks and their certification themselves, rather than the builder charging for the responsibility. The aim of this is often to reduce building costs, removing these works from the contract with the builder. This in theory sounds fine, until you […]
First Home Buyers & Incentives
There is a lot of assistance available to first home buyers from Governments. It is worth spending some time to carefully investigate the rebates and assistance available to you. First Home Owner Grant The WA Government’s First Home Owner Grant currently offers $10,000 to first home owners who purchase or build a new home, the […]
Financing a Renovation
The first thing to consider when you decide to renovate is exactly how you want to enhance your home. It seems obvious, but making sure you have a clearly defined vision from the start will minimise the risk of getting carried away and allow you to stick to a budget. Once you decide on what […]
Building Inspections: New Homes
Under the Builders’ Registration Act a builder is legally responsible for all faulty and defective work for a period of six years after practical completion. Whether or not you engage a private building inspector will not affect the builder’s obligation for the integrity of the home. However, many buyers do seek assistance from a private […]
Bonding
Bonding is a term used in a number of contexts for people involved in the land development or building sectors. Below are two of these uses. In the land development sector, suppose a developer has a land sub-division requiring $10 million worth of civil work and provision of essential services, but has only completed $7 […]
Building Costs
Building costs have risen strongly in recent years and it is important that your building is accurately valued at replacement cost for insurance purposes. If you have not reviewed the “sum insured” on your home recently, then you should do so. To give you a general guide as to recent trends in building costs, you can see […]
Buying a Display Home
Investment in a builder’s display home may be a sound decision depending on your circumstances. Many builders sell and rent back their display homes to recover some of the capital construction costs. Usually a display home will have a limited life until a new development area is built out, so the lease back option can […]
Charging for Quotes: Builders and Subcontractors
Charging for quotations is not a common building industry practice. But builders can pick and choose their jobs, and charge for quotes and in order to discourage “check pricing” by some consumers. A problem can arise when some financial institutions require three quotations before approving a loan amount. Many builders particularly in regional areas are […]
Construction Costs
Construction costs have risen strongly in recent years and it is important that your building is accurately valued at replacement cost for insurance purposes. If you have not reviewed the “sum insured” on your home recently, then you should do so. To give you a general guide as to recent trends in building costs, you can […]