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Don’t Forget a Thing: Your Essential Checklist for Your New Home

Architects may have expertise that other building design professionals do not, which makes them good choices for complex or unusual designs. You’re also likely to get a higher degree of creative input from an architect.

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!). What you need is a checklist for your new home.

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.

unlock a home building checklist that's packed with possibilities

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.

Small Details, Big Impact: How the Little Things Makes a Difference in Your New Home Build

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.

in summary

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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

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Don't underestimate the value of the little things, they have the power to make a big difference.

- Natalie Stevens

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.





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