Building your own home

Today’s blog post is following on from the previous posts about Melbourne property - the Real Estate journey and Choosing your suburb.

 

For many people, buying an existing home in established suburbs can be too expensive. A popular and cheaper option especially among new immigrants is to buy an empty block of land in an outer growth corridor suburb – e.g. Point Cook or Tarneit – and build a brand spanking new home.

Let’s say you have chosen your land, decided on a house design and selected a builder, what next?

Here are the 6 main stages of building your own home:

1. Contract: Review and finalise building contract terms and conditions
2. Base: This is after the concrete slab foundation or stumps/piers/columns have been completed
3. Frame: After all the wall and roof frames have been built.
4. Lock Up: After the external walls, windows, doors, etc have been completed and the house can be “locked up”.
5. Interior: All the interior work – e.g. plumbing (water and gas), electrical, painting, etc. – is completed.
6. Handover: Your will get a chance to go through the house with the builder to ensure that everything is alright. Any defects are officially noted for rectification. 

By the way, it is normally built into your building contract that you have to pay a certain amount of the total price at each stage – also known as Progress payments.

Best of luck with your new project!

P.S. I have been through this process a number of times so feel free to post any specific questions you have about the process. More than happy to assist if I can!

Last but not least, don't forget to check out my brand NEW website - www.melbourneahoy.com.au - dedicated to all things about moving to Melbourne and life in general in the world's most liveable city !

How to choose a Suburb to live in ..

In an earlier post, I wrote about the various stages of the real estate journey and the different types of accomodation. 

But how do you go about choosing a location to live in that is suitable for you?

Being a city spanning a very large land area, Melbourne consists of many suburbs of differing traits and character. Comparing all the various areas can be mind-boggling for anyone, let alone a newcomer to Melbourne.

(Note: I use the term “suburb” loosely to cover all areas of Melbourne including the CBD!)

Here are some areas of considerations that might make your choice a little easier ..

• Distance
• A good starting strategy would be to draw a 10 km radius around either the Melbourne CBD or your place of work, and see which suburbs fit into your budget. 
• Since you're only just moving to Melbourne, I would recommend you start off renting first so as not to commit to a big mortgage on a house until you are more familiar with the lay of the land and eventually find the suburb of your dreams. :) 
•  Education 
• If you have children, a key driving factor might be the location of a specific school
• Many public schools (especially the popular ones) are “zoned”. What this means is that you must live within the defined neighbourhood boundary in order for your child to be eligible to study there 
•  Lifestyle 
• If you like a specific lifestyle then that may influence your decision 
• If you like beaches, places like Sandringham and Altona might appeal to you 
• If you like rivers, you can’t go past the scenic locations around the Yarra or Maribyrnong rivers 
• If you enjoy shopping and a poshier lifestyle, South Yarra or Prahran might appeal to you 
• If you like the artsy and hippie crowd, then Fitzroy would be your pick 
• And many more!

Intersect the 3 factors above, and I reckon your list will be narrowed to just a few areas making your choice a lot easier!

Whichever suburb you shortlist, have a leisurely walk around the town centre, sit down for a coffee and soak up the area's ambience. Also do drive around the neighbourhood, visit the schools, chat with the locals, pay a visit both day and night, etc .. then decide.

As usual, local knowledge can help a lot so feel free to post questions on specific suburbs here and I will give you all the help you need.

Last but not least, don't forget to check out my brand NEW website - www.melbourneahoy.com.au - dedicated to all things about moving to Melbourne and life in general in the world's most liveable city !

The Australian Property Real Estate Journey - From Renting to Buying Your Dream Home !

Now that you have arrived in lovely Melbourne Australia, where will you stay? 

Well, this is a problem easily resolved if you have close family or friends that you can live with - while you patiently search for your dream home. But for many newcomers to Melbourne, this can be a lengthy and stressful process.

There are basically 4 phases (maybe less if things go extremely smoothly or if you have lots of spare cash!) that most immigrants go through in their initial years of life in Melbourne …

• Temporary accommodation

o   It is a good idea to give yourself some time to get to know the city before committing to a rental lease - which is likely to be 6 to 12 months with penalties for breaking it early.

o  Motels / hotels are expensive options so a more practical alternative would be short-stay apartments. This can easily be arranged prior to you arriving in Melbourne.

o  I personally stayed in a short-stay serviced apartment close to the city for about a month while I settled in at work and went about searching for a rental property

• Short-term rental property

o   At this point, you still don't really know Melbourne all that well and still undecided about which suburb/area to stay longer term.

o   However, serviced apartments are relatively expensive and you lease a cheap rental apartment while you continue your search for the ideal rental property.

o   Most likely this place will be in close proximity to where you work or around the main city area.

o   In my situation, I managed to find a place with a short 6 month lease which I moved out of when it expired. 

• Long-term rental property

o   Congrats! You have now decided on the area you want to live in and found a great rental property!

o   Many people (including yours truly!) will remain in this phase for quite a few years while they save up a deposit to buy a home.

o   After all, Melbourne house prices are very expensive relative to many other places in the world! (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-01-24/australian-houses-among-worlds-most-expensive/1915882)

o   There are also people who are perpetual renters who choose to invest their money rather than committing to a large mortgage!

• Home Sweet Home!

o   Even more congrats on really extending your roots and achieving the Australian dream of owning your own home! 

By this stage, you are most likely a very settled Melbournian who has decided to call this wonderful city your home. You may even be thinking of writing a blog to help others move and settle down here too! ;-)

Last but not least, don't forget to check out my brand NEW website - www.melbourneahoy.com.au - dedicated to all things about moving to Melbourne and life in general in the world's most liveable city !