How to avoid the stress of building a new house
Many people believe that contemplating building a new house, can come with quite a bit of worry and anxiety. There are so many things to consider. There are so many decisions to make. Not many people are experts in this field, some would even say they had not experience at all. So, if you want to start building a new house for you and your family, how do you avoid the stress?
Rule number one when building a new house – determine your budget and stick to it!
When it comes to making the decision on building a new house, the amount of money you can afford to spend, needs to be determined first. Whilst we all would love to build the home of our dreams, we must face reality at some point. There is nothing worse than having wonderful ideas, to only find out later that you cannot afford it.
When building a new house, you need to first decide on your budget. This figure is usually determined by the funds you have already saved and what you can borrow from a financial institution. For those who have not owned a home before, you may be eligible for a government grant. Known as the First Home Buyers Grant, the grant is around $10,000. This is a considerable amount of money, and would help considerably. Whilst there is certain criteria you need to meet, it is well worth pursuing.
Most financial institutions have a mortgage calculator on their websites. This wonderful resource will give you an indication of your borrowing capacity. By answering a few simple questions about income and expenses you can calculate how much you are able to borrow. This will also tell you, what 
the monthly repayments will be.
Don’t forget that apart from the purchase of the land, when building a new house, there will be other costs involved. To avoid unnecessary stress, you should make sure you factor those in as well. Armed with all this information, you should be able to determine your budget. Then it is vitally important that you stick to it. Going over budget, is the number one cause of stress when building a new home.
Rule number two when building a new house – have an idea of what you want!
There are so many resources available these days to those who are considering building a new house. The numerous renovating and lifestyle programs on television will give you inspiration. Then consider the volumes of information available online. Then there are all the social media channels.
All of these sources are invaluable when deciding what you want in your new home. You will start to form ideas of what you like and what you don’t. It is important to remember that certain styles and colour schemes come and go and will not stay trendy forever.
When you are building a new house, it is usually because you and your family want 
to live in it. Therefore you should choose a style that works for you. You may already have some expensive furniture which you would like to incorporate into your home. For this reason, it is always a good idea to select one main neutral colour and build your scheme around this.
You will need to make decisions on external finishes include materials such as bricks, render, cladding and roof style. Then the internal colour scheme needs to be considered. Colours for tiles, carpet, cabinetry as well as paint. Perhaps you would like the main colour to be white or cream. Certainly grey with black accents is trending now, but will that continue? When building a new house, when you choose your colour scheme, then all other decisions around that, will be a lot easier to make.
Rule number three when building a new house – communication, communication, communication.
Right from the start, communication with all the people involved, will hold the key to avoiding stress when building a new house. During the process, you will be talking to many different people.
You may be buying land and so dealing with real estate agents or land developers. Make sure you know exactly what is involved when buying your land. Some land estates have guidelines and 
covenants on what type of house you can build. These covenants could also include what materials you can use and even what landscaping is allowed. Perhaps you are building in a fire or flood zone? It is important to know what that involves before you sign the contract. To avoid any unnecessary stress later on, it is imperative you have all the facts before you commit.
Then you will want to choose a house design. When building a new house, most people will want to talk to a number of different builders. You will want to determine that your chosen design can be built to fit in with your budget. This can be done, by getting quotes from those builders. To avoid stress when building a new house, make sure that these quotes include everything you want. Good communications with the sales person, is paramount to ensure your building contract is correct.
When you have decided on your builder, then the next most important person when building a new house, will be your building supervisor. This person will be the key to ensure this experience will be stress free. You will want to establish a good rapport with him, right from the start. Make sure you both agree on the best time and way to communicate. Perhaps a phone call at 7.00am would suit you both, or maybe a weekly on-site meeting. Most people find it is better to email, but you should establish what the acceptable time to respond will be.
To avoid stress and ensure the process is enjoyable when building a new house, sticking to a budget, knowing what you want and communication will be the key to your success!
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