THE FIRST STEPS
for any project
SITE
Do you have a site? Is it the site you want to invest in? You can change a house, but you can’t change a site. So make sure you are happy with your site. If you don’t have a site, there a number of qualities that make a good site.
Aspect: where is the Sun? Views: water, bushland, scenic. Vegetation: trees, gardens. Location: convenient to amenities, schools, transport. Ask yourself, what would your ideal site be? Invest in a site that ticks all (or most) of your boxes. Otherwise, you will only ever be dreaming of another site.
BUDGET
Do you have an idea of how much you want to invest into your site. If you require a loan, have you spoken to a mortgage broker? How much can you borrow? What will the monthly repayments be? Can you comfortably service that loan? How much have you already invested into your site? Could you be over capitalising on your site? There are a number of costs to think about. For a new build: demolition costs, council fees, consultant fees, certifier fees, survey fees, rent while you're building, architectural fees and construction costs.
BRIEF
A brief is a set ideals that you want, i.e. number of rooms, type of rooms, the style, how a room feels. Make a list, of your wants and needs, are you and your partner on the same page? It starts with a conversation. Prioritise the deal breakers. If it’s a renovation you think you require; what areas of your house just don’t work? Perhaps it's a matter of gutting spaces that don’t work well, turning them into spaces that work. A house needs to be functional, there are a lot of functions a house provides. And land is precious, so the answer isn’t necessarily to add more rooms, more storage; it might be a matter of re-planning what you already have to achieve your ideal home. Your home should be a place you love spending time in, a refuge.
SURVEY
Get a detailed survey from a registered surveyor. This is usually the first thing I tell any new clients to get. A survey gives so much information: location of the building on the site, the boundaries lengths, adjoining building locations, any easements, ground levels, the size of the lot. Surveys levels are at AHD, drawings submitted to council or certifiers must be drawn to AHD. So if you don’t have a survey, this will be one of the first things I’ll require.