Popular renovation television shows and the high costs of buying properties has tempted Australians to undertake renovations rather than knocking down and rebuilding. However, renovating is not the only option that you should consider.
To renovate or knockdown rebuild can be a difficult decision to make. Before making a final decision, there are a few factors you should consider. Things like the condition of your house, costs, ongoing expenses, compliance and regulation, and return on investment. Your personal preference is also a major factor, will a few touch ups really satisfy you or are you wanting structural changes?
Sometimes the stress and complications that come with renovating may carry more weight than the value you’re adding to your home. You need to be realistic about the expenses of a renovation, budgeting for unexpected costs, in comparison to the return of investment.
If you want to renovate, will the total renovation costs be higher than the total value increase in your home? It may prove to be quite difficult to recover any of these expenditures if the value of your home doesn’t increase as much as you’d hoped for. The cost of a new home in comparison may be much more appealing.
“It’s more cost-effective to knock the thing over and build something twice the size,” Archicentre’s David Hallett says.
Households are increasingly looking to buy a block with an existing house ripe for demolition. This means they select the block and house to suit their lifestyle and family needs.
With rebuilding, there’s no need to compromise your lifestyle. You can finally build the house of your dreams, remaining in the same location. You can keep your neighbours, your kids in the local school and sports clubs, and the community that you’ve grown with.
If you’re comfortable with the area, have a favourite park, café, community group, running track, there’s no need to leave that behind. A knockdown and rebuild means you can keep your lifestyle and build the house you’ve always wanted.
Renovating imposes many limitations. You’re working around existing structures which may lead to creative compromises to satisfy the budget. With a knockdown and rebuild, you can rebuild a larger home. Your family might’ve outgrown the house you’re currently in, there’s not much point in renovating and adding an extra space here and there when you can build an overall bigger house. Rebuilding your house will allow you to make greater use of the land, building bigger rooms or new extras like a swimming pool or outdoor area.
Building styles and architecture trends are constantly changing. It’s likely that what you were looking for when you first set out to buy a property is not what you’re wanting now. Rather than investing in a cosmetic face lift, it may be more cost-effective to knockdown and rebuild so you can design your dream home from a blank canvas. This means no compromises due to complications with the existing structure. There are always issues bending the new with the old in a renovation and it can be obvious when you move around a house from the old to the new. Keep it consistent and plan your dream home the way you want it. Modern home designs often feature open plan living and focus on outdoor entertainment areas.
New and improved building technology and materials has demonstrated the importance of designing and building sustainable houses. Many fittings in older houses can be replaced with new ones that are more energy efficient and can save you money. Often a renovated home will still have things that are old and likely to fail in the future – old wiring, plumbing and drainage, it’s best to rebuild and install new systems that are reliable.
Once you start adding up the costs, you’ll soon realise that renovating could be much costlier than a knockdown and rebuild. The cost per metre to renovate is much higher than building a new home. Renovations can be in excess of $3,000 per metre whereas a new home in an inner-city location is between $1700 to $2200 per metre. If you’re considering renovating, you’ll need to consider labour expenses, materials, permits and council fees, design fees, inspection costs and repayments on any loans you may take out. If you’re wanting to move houses, you’ll have to consider stamp duty, refinance costs, agent fees, legal fees, conveyance costs and building and pest inspections. With knockdown rebuild packages, flexible home designs and inspiration, rebuilding can mean a lot less stress for you. Everything is organised for you, you just need to make the choices.
If you’ve been enjoying capital growth over the years, a brand new and bigger house on the same block of land will further increase the value of your property and its potential for capital growth in the future.
A new home comes with warranties, warranties mean reassurance. With a new home you will receive a post completion maintenance period (typically 3 to 6 months), a two-year non-structural defect warranty and a six-year structural warranty.
If you work full-time or are raising a family, you need to seriously consider whether you want to be spending every weekend picking up the tools and attempting DIY renovation jobs to save money. Renovating often means living with your builder – they are there every day whilst you are living in the house, with early start times, keep that in mind. Knockdown and rebuilds with home design packages allow you to keep your lifestyle, with minimal disruptions.
If you’ve decided the benefits of a knockdown rebuild are worth more than a renovation, we’re here to help. Take a look at our home designs and get in touch to talk to us about building your dream home.