How To Budget A New Build Home In Canterbury

Planning new build homes in Canterbury involves research, budgeting and loads of fun ideas! If you’ve ticked off research and are onto the budget phase, you might start feeling intimidated. Luckily, budgeting for a new build home doesn’t have to be complex or scary. If you use a detailed outline, fill in the blanks, and verify against quotes you have done it. Here’s how.

If you need assistance with creating your new build home’s budget in Canterbury, contact our amazing team, who will gladly help!

Wants Versus Capital

It’s good to dream big, but at some stage, you have to draw the line at what you can afford, whether that is from existing capital, loans or other deals. Before starting down the design path, hiring a creative team or shopping for a nice site, you have to nail down what you can afford. When shooting for a budget figure, the general industry recommendation is to aim at housing costs that are at or below 25% of your income. If you are going the mortgage route, then it is advisable to take the time to get to know ALL the elements within the mortgage agreement and payments. This will have an important impact on your decision regarding the amount to borrow.

A loan officer can check your credit score for you, and then you can use this to shop around for competing interest rates. Simultaneously, investigate homeowner’s insurance, and if you are putting down a deposit payment of less than twenty percent then research the cost of private mortgage insurance.

Now you can calculate the amount you can safely finance.

The Big List

Once the overall target has been set, the next step is to list the expected costs as thoroughly as possible. Ask others for input and listen out for pitfall advice. List the costs that you expect in the project from start to finish. For example, you may list:

• The plot price
• Site survey fees
• Site preparation costs, e.g. cutting, levelling etc.
• Utility installation costs and/or alternative energy equipment costs
• Construction costs (materials and labour)
• Professional fees (interior designers, architects)
• Statutory fees (payments to councils)
• Interior finishes costs
• Fixture costs, e.g. oven, fireplace.
• Furnishing costs
• Window treatment costs
• Artwork costs
• Decor costs
• Landscaping costs
• Loan fees
• Moving expenses

Your list of costs must be much longer than this and will include subheadings so you can drill down into details. It is advisable to include buffers for delays and cost overruns. Despite your fierce belief in a tight budget, you can usually expect to overrun by at least 10%. Construction is a prototype process and unique to each site and client – it rarely has repeated, pretested scenarios or elements unless bulk housing is being done. The overruns are not necessarily from the contractors but from design adjustments from clients or anomalies discovered on site.

Listing The Numbers

With your detailed list created, you are ready to commence with actual estimations. Don’t guess the numbers; you will most likely be out. Use experts to give you a better picture of the true cost of items and remember the “peanuts” and “monkeys” proverb. Fill in the blanks, and, voila, you have a total!

Get budgeting help and guidance from our willing and able team today for your dream new build home in Canterbury. From start to finish, you will be made to feel special and appreciated by our superior client service. Call today.