I just have some questions for people who have done this before: - Do you need to be generally "handy" to do this? I realise that you need to do some kind of training/course and be certified. I really enjoy the design side of things but neither of us are particularly handy. - Is it difficult to do while working full time? - is it possible to get finance to approx 70% LVR (total land and building combined). - Am I crazy to be considering this? It will be in Canberra. The reason I am looking into it is because it will enable us to get a specific style of house which volume builders don't seem to do.
I looked into this for a client who is a building manager for a large Australian project home company. The conclusion was - best to not do it despite his experience.
You may not end up saving any money. Many trades will charge you a premium (not necessarily meanly but because you will take up a lot more of their time). You need to be good at project managing and bringing in trades materials delivery etc in the correct order. To be a builder you don’t need to be ‘on the tools’ but it helps if you know the NCC and what needs to happen on a build. If you can do some of the work, you may save money (painting etc). Project management of a new build isn’t a full time job - lots of construction managers manage several at once - but it will take up time and even professionals can find it strsssful.
- Don't have to be handy, you have to be better than that - you need to know what you're doing otherwise it's simply as waste of time and money. - Sit down with architect/draftee, come up with some plans - Pending what you do for a job, might be possible to have some overlap - but not likely without experience - Finance good luck, unless you're building 100+ homes a year, don't expect too many places to trust you with money the first time you're going down this path - Are you confusing owner builder with customer design?
Thanks for your replies. Sounds like it might not be for us then. The main reason I was considering it is because there is a particular company that makes a style of house we really like but it needs to be done as an owner builder otherwise we'd need to go through another builder which would make it far too expensive and not doable.
Agreed. It usually doesn't save money. Having said this, it can be a very rewarding experience, so if you are doing it for your 'bucket list' then go for it But it's kinda like running a marathon; painful throughout, satisfying when you look back. Why would it make it more expensive to go through a builder? If you are going through a project builder they may be putting in a 'headache' margin if your plan is a little bit out of the box. Smaller builders generally don't do this. It might be worth getting the plans to a stage that you can tender to builders (working drawings, engineering, CDC, energy rating), and then allowing a builder to estimate on quantities like any other build. This will also remove any additional margin builders are including for uncertainty reasons. Now, obviously, if there is something about the plan that makes it expensive, then it may just be expensive. In this scenario being an owner-builder would not save you money, and would probably increase the risk because of the added difficulty in the building.
I wasn't planning to steal the design. The company supplies all the plans and the materials but you need to organise the build. They advised us to allow double the cost plus buffer for the final finished product. Builders in Canberra are very expensive (probably double) so not really an option
I have done sizeable extensions as owner builder, twice. Its a bit like jumping in the deep end and trying to do your best to swim, like anything it gets easier with more experience. I wouldn't do it as a way of saving money, but it led me to having a great insight into building processes, costs, contacts, materials & allowed me to do future projects. If you go down this path, it helps if you can find a foreman/supervisor to hire that you can trust who will 'run' the project while you are at work etc. I found whilst I was still required on site each day, I had carpenters that were able to do this role for me.
Is it like a Storybook Cottages kit home type thing? Have you contacted any builders to actually quote on it? you might be pleasantly surprised at how much it would cost compared to owner build. Generally you would only owner build, in my experience, if you have construction experience and good trade accounts where you can also save money that way. I build a lot and I would never do it myself as I have getting builders to do it is always cheaper.
Yes a similar company called Harkaway Homes. Canberra is really different to most other Australian cities for building. Even entry level designs for volume builders are 100k+ more here than the exact same house in Melbourne and Sydney. I will speak to some builders before disregarding the idea but I'm pretty sure that will be the case
One option might be to get the builder to do it to lock up. All the major stuff is in then and then you project manage the tilers, cabinetmakers, painters and plumbers/sparkies (connection to all the works they did pre lockup)
Spoke to a builder earlier today who advised against ordering the kit as he claims there is a big mark up and not much included for the price. Would only do it if we got plans drawn up and he did the whole thing - ballpark quote of 350-400k for a 170sqm house
Someone I used to work with built in Melbourne with Harkaway Homes - about 5 years ago. They did it as an owner builder, from memory. However, they had a retired relative who used to be a builder assisting at times. The owner took 6 months of long service leave to work on the house and worked with another person (who may have been a carpenter - or just a Labourer - I can’t recall) to assist. The owner hired in subbies for the plastering etc. They were very happy the result - a lovely historical looking weatherboard house.
I am a builder for a living, and can honestly say that any build under $300k I am better off going with a large project builder. I will be doing this if/when I ever subdivide unless my own business is at a point where it is feasible. Their power in their volume is underestimated by most. They can get materials, trades and suppliers on board for tiny margins because their numbers are so big. Add to that, BGC actually build most of the house with materials they make themselves so their margins are razor thin on the build and they make their money on the bricks/concrete/hardware/roof tiles etc. Owner builder should be about pride and achievement rather than the bottom line. Otherwise you aren't going to win from a financial standpoint majority of the time.
That sounds great - most people seem to be really happy with the houses. It'd be a lot easier if we were still in Melbourne as we'd have lots of assistance but not in Canberra unfortunately. Volume builders are great if you like the super-modern look that's in all the new estates (as that's most of what they build). We only looked into doing it as an owner-builder as that's what Harkaway Homes recommended and what they claim most of their buyers do. I wouldn't bother if I could find a builder that had cute cottage/traditional style designs available here. I'm not trying to bargain hunt or get a really cheap build - just a fair price comparable to what people in other big cities here pay. A family member in Melbourne spoke to a builder recently and was quoted ~250k for a finished house that is quite bigger than what we want. 100-150k is a massive margin (on top of the price difference for size) - we'd rather just stay in our current house than pay that.
I would see if you can find a carpenter with a builders license - quite a few of them do and you might be able to pay them to take on various parts of the project.
Any tradeperson who holds a builders licence should not contract with an owner builder as they may be held liable for the entire project including issues arising out of works which they have not been involved. It is simply not worth the risk to them. They are advised to only take on work under their trade licence to limit their liability for less than competent trades engaged by the OB.
