Recently I noticed a fantastic question on a friends Facebook page, looking for guidance regarding house plans or land and which comes first. Its a question that I myself got the answer wrong to when I built my first home, so thought it would be beneficial to share with you all. So which do you think it is, house or land, where would you start, the answer may be obvious to some, and a surprise to others!

House Or Land, Where To Start

When I built my first home, I did not yet know the builder, in fact I was really naive in the whole process. It was that long ago now, that I had never heard of a blog and finding information about the process was really difficult. We had to rely on the word of our builder, who didn’t even have a website if I recall!

Before we bought our block, I had started dreaming about the kind of home I wanted. I had drawn little plans showing the way I wanted the home to flow. We had our heart set on what we liked and were ready to find our little piece of paradise.

We found a wonderful block and armed with our sketched plans, headed off to the builder we had chosen.

It was at this point we realised the mistake we had made, the house I had spent so many hours designing and building in my mind would not work on the block we had purchased.

Why?

The one critical element I had not thought about, was how the home would sit on the block. The correct positioning for your home is crucial for livability. We had designed a home that could not be rotated to suit the best orientation on the block. Furthermore, the home we had fallen in love with, didn’t suit the block at all. It was a 2 story house, made perfectly to fit a narrow block and we had bought a block of land, that was 60 meters wide on the street front, we would have had a pimple on a pumpkin!

You can find more information about the orientation of your home here.

Covenants are another concern. If you have decided on a plan prior to choosing your block, there is every possibility that the covenant will be breached as well, which will prevent you from building your home. This is especially new in newer areas. You can search for these details prior to purchasing your block, or consult your conveyancing solicitor.

So What Should You Do?

Find a block first. It is simple, find a block and then work with your architect and builder to create your dream home to suit your block. This can be done at any end of the market, and will save you a tonne of money in the long run. Think of the savings in heating and cooling costs alone, and something as simple as getting your orientation right, is where this begins.

There is nothing wrong with having a basic idea of what you would like in your home, in fact these ideas can assist you in choosing your land, but save your money, and your time and wait until you have purchased your land before you begin with plans.

Have you fallen in love with a plan before selecting your block? Were you able to adapt the plan?

Nicole xxx