Have you allowed for all the costs of your new home build? Part 2.

In the last post: Have you allowed for all the costs of your new home build?  Part 1​ we considered some costs to consider when planning and budgeting you home renovation or new house. In this post we continue with more costs to consider.





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Costs for your construction project could include some or all of the following:

• The cost of arranging road closures, if required for cranes or other equipment. These could include for traffic control and signage as well as fees to the authorities.
• Providing access, which could be scaffolding or access equipment. Often the time required for maintaining access is underestimated and costs quickly blowout when it’s required for a couple more months.
• Testing expenses. 
• Hire charges for specialist equipment, such as large cranes.
• Removing rubbish, including general construction waste such as packaging, breakages and off-cuts, disposing of excess soil, rock and unsuitable ground as well as getting rid of rubble from demolitions.
• Employing a clerk of works if you require one. 
• Land survey, boundary demarcation and setting out the structures. 
• When required, undertaking soil and geological investigations.
• Dealing with hazardous materials, such as contaminated ground or asbestos, or ground water, which may be encountered on the project site.
• The costs of finishes, such as, tiles, carpets, bathroom fixtures and tapware, and lights.
• Fitting out of cupboards.
• Furniture, carpets and window dressings such as, curtains, blinds or shutters.
• Security installations.
• Inspections and approvals.
• Legal costs.
• Contingencies.
• Costs of moving into the new house
• Constructing driveways.
• Making good of damage to the surrounding roads, pavements and buildings. Often a deposit has to be lodged with the local council which is refundable after the work is complete and the local authorities have checked that the roads, kerbs and sidewalk are in the state they were before construction work started.
• Landscaping, including installing irrigation sprinklers if required. This could include importing suitable topsoil.
• Taxes, which include GST (or VAT) and import duties.
• Fees for specialists, including town planners and quantity surveyors.
• Other costs, which could include, mail boxes, street numbers, TV antennae and dishes, telephone and data connections, and new appliances.

Conclusion
Forgetting or overlooking costs may result in your project going over budget, which could mean you can't complete the project, or you have to compromise on the project, perhaps reducing the quality of finishes, so that you can save money to bring the project within budget. Regrettably sometimes owners end in financial difficulties because of incomplete or insufficient budgets causing severe financial stress for many years, in the worst case even losing their new home.
Always make sure you have allowed for all of your estimated costs. Then allow a contingency.

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​​For more valuable tips and advice read: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' and 'Volume 2 Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home'

​This is an extract from: 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 2' by Paul Netscher. Available in paper or eBook from Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Amazon AU and all online bookstores. To read more

​© 2018 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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