Builders at North Harbour

10 important things to be mindful of when choosing a new home builder

New home builders come in all shapes and sizes and picking the right builder for you is an important decision in your home building journey. Here are 10 important things to be mindful of when choosing a new home builder:

1. Get your finances organised: Work out your budget, what you need to save for a deposit and any other outgoings and what your borrowing capacity to purchase a home will be. Talk to an experienced financial advisor who has experience in working with home builders, and who can fill you in on details you might not otherwise consider. For more information on what to expect from this process, see our Introduction to Financing Your First Home
2. Write a list of must-haves, would-likes and don’t wants in your home design. For example, must-have four bedrooms, would-like a butler’s pantry, don’t want double-storey. This will help when you start the next stage of the process which is…
3. Do some online research. Check out builder products, reviews, designs and offers online to see what’s out there.
4. Ask friends and relatives for recommendations. If you know someone who has built their own home, pick their brains. They’ve got experience of what worked for them and what didn’t work for them and word of mouth reviews are extremely helpful in choosing your first home builder.
5. Visit a Display Village such as the Display Village at North Harbour – the largest on Brisbane’s northside. We have some of Australia’s best home builders on display with designs including double and single storey and more. Display Villages show you what’s possible and is a great place to meet builders face to face and discuss your options.
6. Pick a shortlist. Once you’ve visited some Display Homes and found some designs you like, make a shortlist of builders and home designs. These might be in house and land packages such as the one’s North Harbour creates with our builder partners (for more on House and Land packages at North Harbour see here).
7. Then the all-important – Get some pricing! Ask each builder for a complete turn-key price to build the design to the specifications you want. Make sure you understand what the price does and doesn’t include. For example, some builders include aircon as standard, some don’t. Some include landscaping and fencing some don’t.
8. There are no stupid questions. If you don’t understand something, ask! What might seem simple to someone who builds houses for a living might not be obvious to someone doing this for the first time. Much better to have a complete understanding of the process first up.
9. Weigh it all up and make your call! When you’ve picked your perfect design, and you’re happy with your home builder then…
10. It’s time to visit the North Harbour Sales Team and choose your ideal block of land and start the process of building your dream home.

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