Tips for building a house on a budget
Tips for Building a home on a Budget.
How to make a budget for new home build
To create a budget for your new home build, follow these steps:
Confirm your Entire Project Budget - this is how much you can spend on everything to do with your build and is usually your savings plus what a lender will provide.
Now that we know your Entire Project Budget, use a % based formula to figure out the budget for each expense you’ll come across on your new home build. A breakdown of the different budgets to consider is:
Build Budget: The budget available for construction of your home.
Variation Fund: This is your contingency fund for extra costs during the build
Site Setup Expenses: Land Costs & Consultant Fees (e.g., Soil Tests, Legal, Conveyancing, Building Inspector, Surveyor)
Design Fund: This budget will cover your design fees, which may include Architects, Drafting or Engineering.
Approval Costs: Council Planning and Building Permit Fees
Utility Connections: Service Connections (Electricity, Water, Telecom)
The “Build Budget” might not be as high as you expected. When home building clients assume their entire project budget is the same as their build budget, they inevitably get overwhelmed as other costs start to come up during the build process. This misconception is a common reason for budget blowouts on new home builds and something I’m determined to help you avoid!
My Build & Budget Project HUB has a step by step guide on how to set up a budget for your new home build - check out the $16 Notion template here. The automatic calculator takes your total project budget and automatically breaks it down into specific cost categories, so you’ll know exactly where your money is going. We’ve also included a handy cheat sheet to align your budget with your builder’s square metre rates, helping you ensure you’re getting value for money.
Biggest costs when building a house
The biggest cost when building a new home is:
Materials and Labour costs
Variations - extra costs during the build
Hidden costs when building a house
Along with your build price, there are other costs to plan for, such as:
Site setup costs
Utility connections
Permits
Design fees
Make sure you have a plan for these expenses to avoid stress later on.
Tips for Building on Budget
One strategy to stick to your build budget is to use a wish list.
This is a list of things that are ‘nice to have’ but not essential for your new home.
If unbudgeted costs come up during your build, you can use the wish list to offset costs so your overall build budget is never blown.
How to save on building materials
5 things that clients commonly decide to do after their builders complete to save on building materials are:
Outdoor living areas
Barbecue areas
Skylights
Fireplaces
Window dressings (e.g venetian blinds)
Building Contract reviews for New Home Builds & Renovations
If you're looking for a personalised review of your Building Contract at a reasonable price, you can find out more information about my Building Contract Health Checks here.
I support clients with their HIA and Master Builders Home Building contracts from all states in Australia, including Victoria, ACT, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, WA, and the Northern Territory.
Building Contract reviews are for people who want to understand their contract better before they sign.
If you're a person like me who wants to dive into the details, wants education on what makes a good contract, and what to look out for - then you're a great match for a Building Contract Review with me.
Ultimately, I want you to walk away from our session with confidence to proceed with signing your contract.
We go through any of your questions like how to avoid delays, what to watch out for and how to keep costs within your original building quote.
Happy building! 💚
Thanks for reading and catch you on my next post :)
Annelyse
Construction Management | M. Construction Law
