hello all,
time to start planning to downsize for retirement.
we plan to build the house in our property (northwest melbourne) that is presently being rented. it will be a knockdown and build scenario.
i would be grateful to get some thoughts/feedback with regards to the following:
1. kit homes
2. modular homes
3. steel frame or wood frames
Not OP but we're both 31.
And you’re absolutely certain you’ll want to retire on that property 40 years from now?
What property? I'm just here for the bargains.
Haha. Joke is on you though. Was a rhetorical question. As in, "how pretty was that sunset." or "How obvious was that toupee." A little insensitive though, I must admit.
I was also interested in looking into pre-fabricated and modular homes VS the traditional route of building a house, as I am intending to knock down and build, there are a number of pros and cons. I found this info pretty interesting to consider The Pros and Cons of Prefabricated Homes
if you can afford to knock down rebuild, dont build a crappy kit/ modular type on it, build a decent home out of Timber/ brick etc, & slide into retirement with less maintenance worries in a comfortable/ good value house that has some resale which will set up your family ( if applicable) and your next steps (respectfully)
Ive built twice in similar area & can recommend builders/ trades if ur keen PM me.
Unless you are really strapped for cash, prefab what you pay for is what you get.
If it is a decent size block 600sqm+ you might want to sub divide, palm off the front with planning permission and build on the back something small but decent and enjoy the quiet life.
Take my advice with a grain of salt as I don't know what your real situation is.
Sell the property, buy a vacant block, and build.
You don't knock down a revenue generating asset for a lifestyle cottage that is likely to have below average resale. That's financially shooting yourself in both feet.
I have seen all manner of pricing for prefabs and modular and am unconvinced that it is any more cost effective than using a volume builder.
sell the property, tenant and all and buy a retirement villa
Assuming you don't need finance? You may struggle to find a bank that will finance a kit home or modular home.
Early 2021, my wife and I paid 5k deposit on a builder (medium size builder) who is supposed to build our forever home.
Because of lockdown, we started our journey with stress not knowing what is happening with the plan. After few months of putting pressure on them to be transparent they finally done the drawings, electrical, cabinetry and the colours. We last talked to them early December and never heard from them again until now. After hearing on the news regarding some builder going bust, we did not bother contacting them as we are now thinking of approaching another builder.
I want to ask the your thoughts about this. Can anybody refer a good reliable/stable builder to help build our home in Melbourne north west?
What about your $5K?
The $5k is gone. The real risk is whether the contract locks OP into any additional payments.
We probably won't find out, OP didn't bother to respond to previous post in 2020 - Building and Downsizing to Retirement
I'd be hesitant handing $1.00 to any builder at the moment…
we started our journey with stress not knowing what is happening with the plan.
After few months of putting pressure on them to be transparent
We last talked to them early December and never heard from them again until now.
we did not bother contacting them as we are now thinking of approaching another builder.
you really are a tradies wet dream.
why the hell are you not being on them like peanut butter on fur? this is your money, your future, why are you leaving it up to them to contact you?
get out of whatever contract you're in, and move on.
I haven't heard of a $5k deposit for somethin that is supposed to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. that seems dodgy.
It is because people like you dodgy builders exist and thrive. If someone did this to me I will give them hell till they offer the service or product that was promised or contracted for and if they are unable to deliver I would expect nothing but a full refund at a minimum. Just because you heard about some builders going bust you didn't even bother contacting yours? WTF?
build our home in Melbourne north west?
I wouldn't build there…
Are you there OP? Are you going to respond this time to people instead of ignoring them like before?
Medium size builder?
they took $5k, not the 5% which is generally the minimum per contract
doesnt add up
usually to hold prices for 12m
we are scaling back on our build due to a sudden family medical situation.
That $5k was to hold the price for 12 m as what godofpizza said. this medium size builder had one of it's franchise go bust only recently and when we ask them, that this is the present situation in the building industry. everybody is struggling with supplies which is understandable.
How old are you and your partner.