5 Tips for Planning a Knock Down Rebuild
Sometimes buying a new home or renovating an existing one simply isn’t an option or it’s not the best option.
For these situations, you can always plan a knock down rebuild. This allows you to customise your home the way you want it in the location you want it.
You get all the advantages of a brand new home plus you get to live where you love.
Take a look at these five steps that will help you prepare for your knock down rebuild.
1. Pick Your Block of Land
For most people this will be where they live now.
This is very common that people want to take advantage of an area they are living in, know and love but want a fresh start.
Many people buy land with a rundown house and decide to rebuild that home instead.
Be very careful buying homes in a heritage area. They can often have restrictions against knocking down the house and also on what you can build there if you do.
Ideally the house on that land should not be of a high value (so for example its in bad shape) compared to the value of the land.
It might take you some time to find the right block of land, but things like size and orientation are important.
2. Plan Your Budget
The cost of building a new home might not be as expensive as you think relative to renovating and people are often pleasantly surprised with what they can achieve.
But it’s always a good idea to set a budget at the beginning of the project so you don’t spend more than you can afford.
Get a detailed cost estimate from your builder. They’ll be able to help you understand where you’re money’s going. And we can offer you a fixed price building contract.
You need to allow for the cost of the demolition and removal of the old house. Plus council fees.
3. Design Your Home
Designing your home is one of the most exciting parts of your rebuild, but there are still a lot of things you should consider during this process. You’re putting a lot of money into this, so your rebuild has to work for your current needs and your future needs.
Think about how you and your family will grow into the new home. Take some time to research and plan your house design.
Consider both current trends in home building and your own needs.
Again, don’t rush into anything. You want to make sure the house you build works for you. And our design consultants are here to help.
4. Understand the Relevant Regulations
You need to be aware of any relevant regulations or other problems that might affect your land. For example, heritage overlays might put a limit on what you can build.
Things like bushfires, flooding, neighbouring properties, council controls, and land under 500 square metres can also affect what you build on your property and where.
Does your property have any kind of slope and fall, existing services, neighbourhood characteristics, or other restrictions? Unless you know what you’re looking for and have some experience evaluating them, you should talk to professionals about these aspects.
Our design consultants can help you with this and point you in the right direction if there’s more you need to know.
5. Living Space
Finally you’ll need to budget for somewhere to stay during the knock down rebuild process and the moving costs to and fro.
Other Ways to Prepare for Your Knock Down Rebuild
The knock down rebuild process takes patience. You should plan a bit of extra money into your budget to prepare for unexpected problems.
No matter how professional your builder this process can be stressful for many people so please make sure you look after yourself and your family during this time. That way you can come out the other end happy and excited to be moving back to your new home.
You might also like to consider building a duplex on your block if it’s suitable to maximise your equity, and give you some cash flow.
Interested in doing a knock down rebuild? Take a look at how we can help.
