Getting started
Your home is important in so many ways
It's a place to relax, unwind and spend quality time with family and friends. It's probably also the biggest investment you'll make.
Use this Guide to choose a home that will meet your needs, will be cheaper to run and will provide the best value for money - now and for a long time to come. Your family will thank you for it.
This Guide is designed for you, to take the stress out of choosing a home. You might only build once or twice in your life, so this is the opportunity to create exactly what you want in your new home. But it can be daunting too.
There is so much to consider, from prices and layouts through to product and colour selections.
'Thinking through what we wanted first saved so much time once we started looking.'
Your Home Checklist
The checklist that accompanies this Guide is a useful reminder of features that can add value to your home and make it a more comfortable place to live. You can use it when you're comparing different homes and products. You might also want to use it as a reminder list when you're talking with sales staff and builders.
We hope this Guide will inspire you to find out more. There are links throughout to the wealth of information in the Your Home Technical Manual so you can find more about whatever interests you. There are different ways you can go about purchasing your home. You can:
- purchase your land first, then choose a home to suit
- choose your home first, then purchase your land
- choose a house and land package, or
- knock down your existing home and rebuild.
These are all really important decisions and the tips here will help you to make them wisely. From a design perspective it's better to choose your land first if you can, then choose a home to suit. Choosing a home and land package minimises some of the complications but it can limit some of your choices.
Whichever way you decide, aim for the best match you can get between your land and your home. Read on to find out how.
Start with a list
The process of buying a home can seem complicated. There are so many things to consider and sometimes it's hard to know where to start. To help you remember all the details and get the most out of the process, it's a good idea to start with a list.
Write down your 'must haves' so you know what your priorities are. Buying a home is an emotional process and sometimes it's easy to fall in love with a particular house feature or style, forgetting about what you originally decided you needed to suit your lifestyle and budget. Your 'must haves' may include things like number of bedrooms, good natural light, separate play area for the kids and a breezy, open feel.
Next write down your 'wish list'. Your 'wish list' should include extras that would be of great value or use to you, like shaded alfresco dining with good sunlight in winter, granite benchtops, solar hot water or a rainwater tank.
There are many places you can go for information and ideas, including home magazines, websites, display villages and home ideas centres. Talk to friends and learn from their experiences - what do they love about their home, and what would they change? Thinking through what you want first makes it much easier once you start talking to sales people and builders.
Your lists can help you to prioritise what you really need, while staying within your budget. They can also be really useful when you're talking with your builder.
Checklist
Getting started
- Our family's 'must haves':
- Our family's 'wish list':
- Number of bedrooms:
- Number of bathrooms:
- Other important features for us:
- Our budget range: