Are you thinking about building a new home but don’t know if you can afford what you want to do?
Or are you thinking about renovating or extending your existing home and don’t know where to start?
Do you want to build a Passive House? But not sure if you can afford it?
Are you too scared to sign up a designer or builder because you don’t want to end up paying lots of money in fees to find out that what you want is way above your budget?
What if I told you there is a quick and easy way to explore your options without paying a fortune?
It’s a Feasibility Design Review
So, what is this you might ask?
The best way to explain a Feasibility Design Review is by explaining what we did with one of our clients in Ivanhoe.
Like so many existing homes this single storey weatherboard house is way too cold & dark in winter with barely any sun coming in.
The backyard feels totally disconnected from the house. The bathroom is in urgent need of an update and the couple needs a proper study.
For many years the clients have been contemplating what to do and they didn’t know where to start, and too afraid if they could not afford everything they want.
Because of this we recommended to conduct a Feasibility Design Review with them.
Step one was a site meeting for me to see the house and discuss the things the clients like and don’t like, what their dreams are for the house and what changes they would like to make.
Step Two involved us drawing up 2 simple design options with basic floor plan sketches / muck ups.
Option 1 included everything they wanted.
Option 2 is a more conservative approach with minimal changes while still improving the house layout.
Step Three is where discussions are held with some builders to get some rough costing estimates for both options.
We can then explore the options together. It might be either one or the other option, or a combination or variation to both options.
Step Four involves the clients making an informed decision about the path forward. Having undertaken a preliminary design review our clients will be able to proceed with the confidence in the formal design and build process. Or, worse case scenario, modify plans to reduce costs before the formal design begins.
As for our Ivanhoe clients, after having discussions with a couple of builders and finding out that all the changes they would want to do in order to make the house perform and flow as they want, they would almost need to spend as much money as if they would build a compact new home.
So, after some further contemplating and discussions with their bank we have now started the process of designing a highly energy efficient and compact new 3-bedroom home with them.
What if I want to build a new home or a Passive House?
If you want to build a new home, but don’t’ know if you can afford what you want, the process is pretty similar.
We will meet with you. Talk about your ideas, hopes and dreams.
We will then prepare some simple concept sketches and get an estimator on board to give us an indication on the actual build cost. To make sure that you can afford your dream home, rather than wasting money and time just to find out that you might not have enough money to build a custom designed home.
If it sounds like this could help you please contact us to have an obligation free chat about your house, by clicking the below learn more button.