Moving into your own home is an exciting time, whether you purchase a pre-built one or decide to build your own. There are several advantages and disadvantages to building a home instead of buying one ready to live in,
Disadvantages
- The main disadvantage of building is the time it takes. Waiting to move in means you have to pay rent somewhere else for all that time as well as paying off the mortgage. You may be able to move in with relatives or lease a caravan you can move onsite for cheaper rent. But such options may only be for the brave!
- Some building contracts can end in dispute where the property owner has to contact building & construction lawyers to help them sort out litigation issues.
- Another disadvantage is you have to make many decisions. If you and your partner have differing needs or likes, this can be a source of contention between you, spoiling the joy of getting your home built.
- You may have two loans to pay off; one for the land and one for the building. Make sure you get professional advice to avoid this scenario.
- A building site usually gets muddy and messy, so you may get muddy shoes until the lawn grows.
Advantages
- When you build, you get more say about the design of the floor plan and can usually add or change certain features without it costing much – or anything. For instance, you could add a laundry chute from a bathroom to the laundry to save a lot of work and heavy carrying.
- You get to choose the materials the home is build with inside and out. The colour scheme is your choice and so are the light fittings and window treatments.
- When you build a home you can ensure the living areas are on the sunny side. This makes such a difference to your comfort that it should never be ignored. It saves on the cost of hearing and lighting too. If you can’t actually change the position of the house on the block due to council rules, you can often reverse the floor plan so that you can enjoy natural light and warmth in the living areas.
- You can choose the best builder for your home – if you take care to do your research. The ideal builder will be available frequently to discuss your concerns, be happy to change things and will do quality work. He will come back to fix anything that is wrong and will not take years to finish. And he will charge a reasonable fee.
- When you build your own home you can customise the look of it so it is unique, rather than being a copy of many other homes.
- You can save money when you build a home by changing expensive light fittings, bench top materials and floor coverings
