no regrets
There are times in life when the little things can matter the most. Living in your new home is one of those times. There might be a few little luxuries that you believe would make a big difference to your lifestyle. Or others that are merely tempting money guzzlers that suck you in at the upgrades stage but don’t bring extra value to your lifestyle. Some upgrades you might not even use (think home intercom system; screaming is so much more fulfilling!)
Your Builder’s Brief is focussed on the core structure of your home, but to help you make sure that you have absolutely every base covered, you should also complete the more detailed Welcome Home Checklist. The items on the checklist are the nuts and bolts of your proposed home; the little things or the big things, depending how you look at it. Whether what’s listed in the checklist is within your budget or not, that’s what needs to be determined.
not designed to deprive you of the things you can't have
The Welcome Home Checklist is not designed to point out all the little luxuries you’d like but possibly can’t afford. It’s for the purpose of forming part of your Builder’s Brief and is valuable in painting the overall picture for your builder from the beginning.
The items on the list are just things that spring to mind when I think about what might make the perfect home for a family. That’s not to say I choose all of them, by the way – far from it. Some contribute to a better lifestyle and others are considered luxuries. For example, someone who feels the cold might love the idea of a heat lamp in the ceiling of their bathroom. But for our family, made up mainly of hot bloods, we’d never consider such a thing. This list is relevant whether you are using a volume builder or a custom builder. If you are using a volume builder, you’ll see how they have mastered the system of added upgrades. But once again, because we are about saving you as much time as possible, we’d like you to consider some of these things early in the process so you can make swift, informed decisions when the time comes for you to choose your inclusions with your builder.
THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MEAN A LOT
I call this my Welcome Home Checklist because the things on this list are the ones that can make you feel either warm and fuzzy or cold and irritable. For example, how many of us have arrived home late at night and had the light sensors kick in, saying ‘Welcome home’. Yep, that’s nice. In contrast, if you arrive home late, cold and wet and you’re in the pitch dark, nothing says welcome home at all except the paranoia about bad guys lurking in the bushes!
When we built our house the cabinet maker was always going to come back to put in one of those great bins that sit inside a cupboard and pop open with the touch of a button. I was excited at the prospect of a lovely mass of compartmented plastic being sprung out to greet me in all its glory. Eight years later we still use the plaster-mixing bucket that the plasterer left at the house when he finished working there. I’ve never considered buying another bin because he’s coming back, right? That’s a prime example of a little thing that would have meant a lot. Too small to make a fuss about, yet big enough for me to be mentioning it all these years later. There’s a tip there, too. Don’t let any tradie go until they are finished. It’s only the super sweet, hard-to-find ones who say ‘I’ll come back and fix that’ and actually mean it. Hold off their last $1,000 if you have to.
Access your Coming Home Checklist
Access your Builders Brief Template
Access your Quote Comparison Tool
in summary
Unfortunately there'll be things you won't think about until it's too late and you've moved in. They might not be big things, but they'll be things that would have been really nice for you to have. Download the Coming Home Checklist to make sure you've thought of everything.
quote
Don't underestimate the value of the little things, they have the power to make a big difference.
- Natalie Stevens
have a question?
We could not show the form to you, form id 5 please contact administrator.
Disclaimer
This information is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice nor should it be substituted for professional advice. Whilst attempts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, we don't guarantee it's accuracy. Any information we provide is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. You should always obtain professional advice before making any decision to purchase property of any kind. We recommend you seek professional financial advice prior to entering into a contract of any kind. Build In Oz disclaims all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this course. Please refer to our privacy and disclosure statement for further information.
