After spending your Sunday mornings house hunting, going to every open home in your price range have you started to wonder, could I build a better home for the same cost instead? Perhaps you thought it would be too pricey? Well read on as we break down the costs involved in building a home.

Costs involved in building a home.

 

Architect fees

Unless you’re going to be using a standard house plan from companies such as Latitude Homes you’ll need to hire an architect to take your dream home concept from an idea to a floor plan. By buying a spec home (one already designed by a housing company) you could be saving yourself upto 30k in Architect fees.

 

Purchase of land

You may already own land, or have a section that you plan to subdivide. If not you’ll need to find a piece of land to purchase for your home. Keep in mind there are ‘House and Land’ options available if you’d prefer to go down that route.

 

Resource consent

This is formal approval/consent from the city council to build your home, on your purchased land. This comes under The Resource Management Act 1991 and involves careful assessment to make sure your home isn’t going to have an unfavourable effect on surrounding houses, the environment and natural resources in the area.

 

Building consent

This is formal approval/consent from the city council to build your home. It is an assessment of your building plan, to make sure under The Building Act 2004 that it complies with the latest codes, practices and standards.

 

Utilities meter connections

The connection of electricity, gas and water to your home comes at a fee.

 

Construction costs

Out of all the costs involved in building a home, this is the main and biggest one. The cost of your registered builder or the construction company building your home. You will begin the process with a ballpark cost but it’s always good to keep in mind unexpected costs due to weather and other circumstances.

 

Valuation cost

Part of your home loan approval will involve a condition that a registered valuer assess the value of your home before construction starts. Also at fixed stages of construction, and finally once construction is complete. This is the lender/banks way of checking that the money loaned for the build doesn’t exceed 90% of your houses value at any point.

 

Legal costs

A lawyer plays a role in the process of building and buying a house, they are the ones that advise you on clauses in your building contract, and the legal documents you’ll be signing when getting your loan.

 

Want to find out how you could finance a construction loan for a new build?

Talk to us, we’ll help you get your building dream off the ground.