Building a new home can be an exciting experience, made even more so when it’s your first. So we chatted with some of Everleigh’s newest residents (and first home buyers) Steph and Jacob, about what tips and tricks they learnt during the build of their dream Hamptons style home here in the heart of Greenbank.
Research and selecting the right location
Selecting the right location is the first step of your building journey, and Jacob says it’s important to find an area that makes you feel at home.
“We didn’t choose Greenbank in the beginning; we stumbled across it and it found us almost. We drove out and as soon as Steph saw the Everleigh sign she fell in love. Everything was super green and it just had that real home vibe. It made us want to come back. We went to a few different areas and none felt right compared to driving through Everleigh, which made us feel immediately at home,” he said.
Steph’s advice is to take the time to speak with sales representatives to get a better perspective of the area and to help answer any questions.
“Walking into the Everleigh sales office, Eileen was able to provide us with all the information straight away. You get information on where the development currently is, what’s to come, the schools and parks. It’s a really good indication, almost like looking into a crystal ball, of what your future could be if you move there. It’s really only information you can get from having a conversation, really going in and communicating with the team,” says Steph.
Finance and pre-approval
“I think it’s important you don’t lean towards ‘for us to get this goal of having a house we can’t go out for dinner, we can’t see our friends and no holidays.’ That’s not realistic. We wanted to keep doing all the fun things in our life, we just made sure to do it in a more creative way,” says Steph.
The couple admit saving for their first home was a big challenge, but say it only took small changes to their lifestyle to reach their goal deposit. Things like swapping international holidays for staycations closer to home, and taking home-packed lunches to work instead of buying out.
Once they’d saved their money and found their dream site here at Everleigh, it was time for finance pre-approval. Jacob says research came in very handy during this stage.
“The biggest thing we learnt is, before going to actually get your pre-approval, have absolutely everything ready to go. When you’re building there are so many options like colour selections, add ons, and they all come at a cost. We took the time to head out to the builder’s showroom and had a look at all the extras that were important to us. Make sure to get quotes for everything, your landscaping, driveway, even the dishwasher. Then get everything ready and submit to your mortgage broker and from there you just sit back and enjoy watching you new home come together,” he says.
Selecting a builder and the contract process
Jacob says it’s important to make sure your builder matches your style and the goals you have for your home.
“We started by doing a walkthrough of the different display homes. There were a number of things we considered when deciding on our builder, including flexibility around choosing a design, and being able to make changes without it blowing our budget. We also wanted to be able to make certain upgrades, so finding a builder that could offer us that flexibility and be good value for money helped set our decision in stone,” he says.
The contract process is the next step in your journey, and Steph says it’s best to try and finalise your design before signing the dotted line.
“Once you find your land you will put in your expression of interest and pay your deposit and go through the settlement. You will then meet with your builder and choose your house design. Try and make any changes straightaway as this helps eliminate any additional costs down the track. Once you have your land, build, and house plan sorted, and all the prices together, you just go to your mortgage broker, if you’re using one, and they take care of the rest,” she explains.
Selecting your colours, materials and finishes
There can be a lot of choices when it comes to selecting your finishes, and Jacob says social media is a great way to find inspiration.
“Instagram was very helpful for us, but I would also suggest seeing if your chosen builder has a Facebook page. Ours did and it was filled with lots of tips from people already in the building process. We got so many ideas and changes from that page, things you just simply don’t think of, for example, that a façade light needs a little wooden bracket behind it. That page was extremely helpful so definitely make sure to check if your builder has a page like that,” he says.
While Steph says it’s essential to balance your current budget with your desired end result when deciding on selections.
“The three appointments you need are your tile appointment, electrical appointment and your colour appointment. For tiles, that is simply walking through selecting everything from floor tiles, to wall tiles, and everything in between. Your electrical is about figuring out where you want your light fittings, façade lights and power points. With your colour appointment you will choose your wall colour, garage doors, screens, blinds and carpet. A small tip here is to look at the range of underlay they have for your carpet, we went with 10mm and it just makes it really plush and comfy,” she offers.
Watch Jacob and Steph’s full video series on their build journey at Everleigh, and chat to our sales team on 3859 5960 with any further questions you may have about the process.