Building a new home on your own from scratch sounds appealing until you realise that inexperience increases the potential for cost blowouts, not to mention the work involved, from finding a suitable block of land to dealing with contractors and changes to plans and delays. House and land packages give you many of the benefits of building from scratch but take a lot of the work off your plate.
House and land packages come in a range of styles, allowing you to easily find the perfect home design for your needs. While the process is simpler, there are still some key things to keep in mind. Below, the team at Latitude Homes has put together some tips to help you choose a house and land package that’s right for you.
CREATING A BUDGET
The first step to buying any home is to establish your budget and how much you can borrow. This will vary from lender to lender depending on their assessment of your ability to repay your home loan. This will be determined by things like income, expenses, assets, credit history and more. The benefit of house and land packages is that the price is normally made clear up front, which is good for buyers whose finance is pre-approved.
PICKING THE RIGHT LOCATION
Finding house and land packages in a location that suits your lifestyle needs is one of the most important things for aspiring Kiwi homeowners. For example Latitude Homes has some of the best house and land packages Auckland has to offer in the stunning Paerata region, so you can secure your home in some of New Zealand's best developing areas and lifestyle communities.
One thing to keep in mind when narrowing down your choice is choosing a specific block. Each block has unique natural features, slopes, contours and shapes that you may want to take into account. Consider housing orientation as well to maximise comfort and energy efficiency. For example, living areas and windows facing north ensure good natural light and warmth when the sun is at a lower angle during winter and reduces heat gain during summer.
CHOOSING A HOME BUILDER
When looking for your home builder, make sure you check out their reputation and guarantees. Ask for confirmation in terms of public liability insurance held by the builder including confirmation of contractor insurance that will be put in place in terms of the subject building works being undertaken.
Do some research into the building company. For example, exploring previous work they’ve completed, obtaining independent references of previous clients and checking online for testimonials.
HOUSING LAYOUT AND DESIGN
Making decisions about the design of the home is also important in the early stages whether you’re looking at pre-designed house and land packages or customising their design. Consider some key non-negotiable design features and functions you need in your home when it comes to number of rooms, layout and overall design.
● How many bedrooms do you need?
● Will you need additional bathrooms?
● Would a separate family room or study be desirable?
● Do you want a big yard or a small, low maintenance garden?
● Is an inside/outside flow a priority?
Make sure you future-proof your design the best you can for the lifestyle you want to live, keeping both longevity and resale value in mind.
HOUSE AND LAND PACKAGES IN AUCKLAND
At Latitude Homes, we’re the new home builders you can trust in New Zealand. We have years of experience helping achieve the homeowner dreams of Kiwis nationwide, with affordable, high-quality house and land packages in Auckland, Christchurch and many other parts of New Zealand you can be assured that we can find you the perfect house and land package to ease your way into new home ownership.
Explore our house and land packages today or get in touch with our team if you have any questions.