Buying A Kit Home
How to Begin Buying a Kit Home
Buying a house is major decision no matter what style of home you have decided to purchase. As the price of materials and labour continue to rise, deciding to own your own home is a decision that must be made with great care. It’s a financial and time commitment while also being your castle and shelter for your family.
Choosing to buy a kit home is a good decision. They are affordable while maintaining high quality. They are also stylish and have many features which make them perfectly suited for families of all sizes. But once you decide to actually purchase a kit home, the real work begins. There are a lot of things to consider and to understand so you make sure you purchase the right house for your needs.
Location, Location, Location…and Location
Where you want to locate your kit home has a direct bearing on the kit home design you choose. A long narrow lot in the middle of a neighbourhood can accommodate a much different design than rural property with plenty of space for the house.
When you begin buying a kit home, your choice of design will be greatly influenced by the property location and configuration.
Kit Homes are Perfect for First Time Home Buyers on a Budget
Kit homes are perfect for first time home owners on a budget. Once you choose your block of land to build on there are a variety of options to pursue next. There is always the route of hiring the traditional builder, but they tend to be too expensive for first time buyers to get the size and style of home they would hope to fit within their budget. One very good affordable alternative is to purchase a kit home from a reliable builder.
A reputable kit home builder will offer you assistance every step of the way. These experts, once chosen, will guide you through the building process painlessly. Kit homes offer you more house than a traditional builder at the same price or less. There is more versatility in how much responsibility you allocate to the builder and how much of the work you can perform yourself.
Kit Homes
Either way you look at it, it makes more financial sense to work with a trusted kit home builder than to pay more for a comparable home from a traditional builder. In the current economy, with banks clamping down on lending, it is often the easiest way to acquire a first time buyer home loan. If guided by a knowledgeable kit home builder the steps to procure financing will be built right into the process.
Responsibilities as Owner-Builder of Kit Home
There are a great many differences between buying a kit home and having a professional build it, and buying the same home kit with the intention of building it yourself. Choosing the location to build your home is the obvious first step. Each step that follows will in some way hinge on site specifics. There are governmental regulations and guidelines that must be followed. These guidelines may be national like the BASIX conservation plan, or local as in the case of obtaining permits to build from your local council.
Where and What to Build
Once you have obtained the land and ascertained the legal obligations and restrictions for building in that area you are ready to decide how and what to build. Choosing a kit home is a very financially solvent alternative to consider in the current economy. Some kit home builders will even draw a plan for a home that you design.
Financing a Kit Home in Australia
Kit home financing is offered by a variety of companies. It is often referred to as Owner Builder Financing, and while the terms may be interchangeable, the loans may not be. Carefully choosing a kit home builder can be critical to the success of your financing as well as the construction of your dream home. A seasoned kit home builder will have many connections in the area of financing and should be able to refer you to a wide variety of companies that specialize in kit home building finance.
Many aspects of a home construction loan are predetermined by personal circumstances of the prospective buyer. These include how much you can afford for a down payment, how your credit is rated, and the type of monthly payment you can afford. So the place to start is your own personal financial records. Do you have any outstanding debts that have to be paid in order to free up funds for your monthly budget? Start there, by paying those off and reducing the outgoing debt of the household.
Shopping for a Builder
Aussie Building Rules Called BASIX
The Australian building codes, which are called BASIX, were implemented by the government to conserve energy and reduce the waste of national natural resources. The system was approved in mid 2004 and put into place by the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources.
The criteria for home building were radically improved by these measures. Home builders are required to implement energy and resource preserving plans into their building schemes. The government is leading citizens towards a sustainable future. It is true that our resources are finite and can be exhausted. It is also true that we can work together to avert the exploitation of the environment.
As a prospective kit home builder you are well on your way to decreasing your carbon footprint by decreasing emissions normally associated with home building. You are also conserving energy. Many kit homes exceed the minimum standards, as set forth by the government, to reduce waste and decrease negative environmental impact during the building process.
BASIX Dollars and Sense
Using Quality Materials to Build Kit Homes
Kit homes are growing in popularity as more and more prospective home owners realize the efficiency and simplicity of this type of building process. The materials used to build kit homes are based upon local council building requirements. As such, the materials used in kit homes are often state of the art materials on the cutting edge of fireproofing technology as well as wind resistance technology. Ultimately the choice is yours, but choosing a kit home made with quality materials makes great sense. It is the more cost effective way to maximize your benefits and ensure quality in every step of the home building process.
Choosing a Builder and Materials
When you choose a builder that has kit building as their area of expertise it will determine the quality of your home. All builders do not give the same concern to quality materials. Choosing a builder with a solid reputation can save you time, money and heart ache. You choose the correct builder and they will in turn show you how to choose the proper high quality materials you need to make your home building dream a reality.
How to Choose a Kit Home Floor Plan
The best way to learn how to choose a kit home floor plan is to first identify your lifestyle requirement. Kit homes are manufactured in a large number of standard floor plans. But from those standard plans you can begin to make a number of adjustments in order create the ideal home for your needs.
Kit home floor plans begin as 3, 4 and 5 bedroom plans. Within each of these styles are a large number of variations. They are also able to be modified to fit your lifestyle. You should spend quality time determining what style will suit your present and future needs. Many of the kit homes can be expanded at a later date so choosing the floor plan which will blend with future modifications is important.
Very Personal Decision
Choosing a kit home floor plan is a very personal decision. Every family has different requirements and your goal is to meet as many of them as possible. You begin by considering the lifestyle you lead. Home floor plans are designed to suit a number of purposes.
What Needs to Be Done Before Kit Home is Delivered
You should learn what needs to be done before the kit home is delivered in order to make the process go as smooth as possible. There are some basic site preparations that need to be completed. Also the kit home includes everything except some of the finish materials, so you need to be ready to provide these things as the job progresses.
The kit home package does not include the following.
- Footings or slab foundations (if desired)
- License fees
- Water supply connections
- Sewerage connection
- Hot water service
- Finish plumbing
- Finish electrical
- Paint
- Tile
- Floor coverings
- Appliances
When you own the land you will be setting the kit home on, the first thing you must do before building is get D.A. and C.C. Council approval. The kit home manufacturer will not deliver your new home until building approval has been received. If you do not want to manoeuvre the Council approval process, you can get assistance through the manufacturer or seller.
Ready to Install
Choosing a Kit Home Manufacturer or Installer
Choosing the right kit home manufacturer and/or installer is one of the most important steps you will take towards ownership. You want to choose a kit home that has been designed with practical use in mind. You also want quality construction materials used in your home so you can enjoy the house for years to come while achieving energy efficiency. In addition, the installer you choose should be experienced in order to insure the process goes as smoothly as possible.
Maintaining Quality
A kit home is a less expensive housing alternative, but that does not mean it is one with less quality. When choosing a kit home manufacturer, you want to pick a company that offers a kit home built with state-of-the-art materials. In Australia, this includes homes built to minimize brushfire and wind threats. The construction of the home should also be energy efficient.
Why Buying a Kit Home Makes Good Financial Sense
Buying a kit home makes good financial sense for many people in a variety of situations. The kit home has been designed so that installation is quick and simple, yet the final product is stable and enduring. In addition, there are a number of floor plans to choose among which means you can finally afford the home you really want.
When you think of housing, often the first thing that comes to mind is a traditional home on a slab foundation in a subdivision. But many people don’t live in subdivisions. They live in a rural area, or they own their own vacant property outside the city. Some people live in remote areas where housing construction is almost non-existent because of the distance.
One fact is common among all of these scenarios. That fact is people often settle for less home then they really needed to meet their needs because traditionally constructed homes are simply too expensive. As material and labour prices continue to rise, people either end up buying houses that are not large enough or don’t have a good floor plan. Worse, many people continue renting because the price of a home set on a foundation has simply become too expensive.
The Home You Want