Building Contract Finally Signed!

Well it’s taken sometime, but we have finally signed the building contact with our chosen building company.  www.homeworld.co.nz

Another step forward! YAY!

The final plans are being drawn up by Homeworld’s draftsman and then the final plans will be submitted along with the building application to the Kaipara District Council to get the building consent underway… so it will be about a 6-8 week process before Homeworld can actually start the build.  This is really the boring part of the entire process. Waiting!   

We’re still hoping to be in our new house by Christmas… but that deadline is looking a little unlikely now.

We’ve decided not to go for standard off the shelf building plans.  We wanted something a little more tailored to our desires, needs and wants.  So we started off by taking all the things that we have liked about our previous homes that we have lived in, from layouts, to room sizes, finishes and furnishing that we wanted. We’re not building a big house, but it is big enough for 2 people.  Technically… it is actually rather small, only 87sqm with 2 bedrooms and an office/3^rd bedroom. But we’ve managed to add in a storage room, separate bath & toilet, and a good sized open kitchen/dining & living room area. All very functional, and all the main living rooms are all north to north east facing to get the sun and the rural valley views. In time we will add extensive decking to enjoy summer barbeques outside.

With our sketches we approached 3 different building companies to get their ideas and more importantly the quote for the build.  The first company we approached was a local building company, and in the end their quote was some $15K more than the other building companies.  The second building company was very competitive but only competitive in that they were building the home on a concrete slab which tends to be a cheaper build and I personally don’t like. I want our house built on piles, above the ground.  To me it seems more natural to be above the ground.  The other requirement that we were looking for, was that we wanted the building company to be a little more flexible with us doing our own thing. Kiwibank requires the build to be a complete build contract, but we wanted the building company to be a little flexible so we can paint the interior/exterior ourselves to save a little money.

Homeworld the 3^rd building company has allowed us to do just that, they will give us a credit back for any work we do, or if we want to purchase something for the house, then they will give us a credit back on that, which will come off the total build cost.  This is awesome! This has given us a lot of flexibility to arrange our own kitchen, carpets and vinyl’s, water tank, vanities in bathroom & toilet, fireplace, oven, etc.  For example the vinyl we will get a credit of $1200 from Homeworld.  So we contacted a flooring retailer that we’ve used in the past, they will do us a deal for about half that allowance! So our build is now $600 less already!  YAY... I have more money to spend on something else! haha

Ohh… and some not so exciting but important factors in choosing Homeworld… they have been around for 30 years, offer the Master Builders Guarantee, are Licensed Building Practitioners and have building insurance cover.