shin.brian: March 2010

Title says it all - busy 6 weeks ahead. Stuck at that point where you're keen to move into your new home because it's gonna be close to work, but timing is getting the better of you.

You sometimes think that everything's been sorted out once that home loan is approved - think again.

First you buy your land and wait for the title to be released if you're one of those delayed cases. Right, there goes half of your available $$ to spend on the house.

Then you have to sit down and work your way through the wide, wide, WIDE selection of home builders available in Perth. Sure, choosing a new car is hard - you've got to consider everything from budget to the size of your new rims. Man, some of us struggle having to decide on that one single colour for your car! Here's where building will start to bog you down. Wait till you have to choose a builder, let alone choose from the multitude of plans / designs available for that brand new home of yours. Think REALLY REALLY hard here, cause it's gonna cost you a cool $200,000 if you're an average person on an average salary. And that's not even your money we're talking about, it's money you owe Mr. Bank. Well, unless you've struck the Lotto recently of course.

Then, arguably, comes the fun (I'd go with annoyingly hard) part - the pre-start meeting. Here, you can enjoy spending an entire day cooped up in an office selecting everything for your house. I'm talking about everything here - light switches, finishes to your bathroom, your roof tiles, kitchen benchtop laminates, the laminate colours! Then you (depending on your builder) may sit down with your interior designer who will then walk you through the rigours and tortures of choosing paint colours for your home. Sheesh - and choosing a colour for your car was hard enough.

But wait, we're not done yet. Final paperwork gets signed - thank you very much, come again says Mr. Builder. Time to get started on your new home!

Down goes the concrete slab for your house. Up go the walls. On goes the roof. In go the doors and windows. Your house gets locked up. Your tiles get delivered to site. Your kitchen cabinets get put in. You get to see your new bathtub for the first time! You're on site every weekend taking photos of your new house being built. You get to send complaint emails to Mr. Builder every Monday!

And then...FINALLY - your house is ready. Time to move in? Nope - not quite yet. Time to get your soakwells put in (if it's winter already - tough luck). Time to get your flooring and tiling done. Time to get your air-conditioning system put in. Man, it's time to get your house internals painted! And did I say anything about reticulation and landscaping???

You've now officially earned the right to move in. Is it worth going through all the trouble to get a house built when you can so very easily buy a) an established home or b) a house + land package where everything's been decided and taken care of?

It's a tough call - but I'm gravitating towards yes. Why? Because you know for sure after all that effort + time + money, you'll be able to live in a place that's really earned the title "home". Not just a home that you've bought, but a HOME that is entirely you.

Now to get those soakwells put in............................................