Understanding House & Land Packages
House and Land Packages are a prominent marketing aspect of the Building Industry. You will see them advertised on builders’ websites, land estates will display them and of course you will find a huge range on realestate.com and domain.com.au showcasing various builders’ designs.
How are House & Land Packages made up?
A land Estate will have a list of lots that they are currently selling which they regularly send to the builder. The builder will then select a home design of theirs that suits the lot or lots they have chosen and prepare a price based on meeting the minimum requirements of building the home on that lot.
These requirements are things such as the site costs associated with the land, developer`s requirements required for that estate, a façade the builder has chosen to advertise and some basic inclusions such as floor coverings, driveway and stone benchtops.
Then it is prepared in the form of a simple A4 Brochure showing the overall Price, Façade, Floor Plan and the basic inclusions. The brochure is then normally displayed within the estate, builder’s office and online.
Although the House and Land is put together as a Package you will still need to make two separate purchases which means there will be two separate contracts;
1. Land Purchase (from the associated Land Estate)
2. Build Purchase (from the builder of the package)
What are the benefits of buying a house and Land Package?
When a customer first sets out to purchase a property or build a new home, they begin with some basic requirements they have. These could include a budget they have in mind, area which they want to purchase in, type of home ( single or double storey ) and the size and configuration of the home they are after ( ie. 25 squares, 4 Bedrooms, 2 Living Areas & Double Garage ).
House and Land Packages are the easiest way of viewing which Land Estates and which Home Builders has a product that will meets those requirements with out having to do a whole lot of running around.
For Example:
Say you are looking at purchasing a Double Storey Home in Tarneit and you are wanting something about 26 – 28 squares with 4 Bedrooms, 2 Living Areas and a Double Garage. Let’s say you are aiming for a budget of $550,000 all up.
So, you spend the weekend visiting Land Estates or perhaps spend your evenings researching all the available Land Estates online in the Tarneit Area. You come across two estates that look promising and are well located and have all the amenities and infrastructure you would be like.
You see two lots which seem reasonably priced and are in a good pocket of the estate. They are both 350m2 ( 12.5m wide x 28.00m deep ) and are priced at $300,000.00 each and are scheduled to title in 12 months’ time.
Now, the issue you have is, to ensure you meet your budget of $550,000.00. This leaves you with a build budget of $250,000.00. Will that be enough for you to build a 26 – 28 Square Double Storey Home, ensuring the site costs on these lots being reasonable, and all the developers requirements are going to be within your budget? Will the size of land be suited for the size of the home you want to build?
To be sure, you must start researching all the Builders and the available products they have. This of course takes time and the problem you have is, the two lots you were interested in might sell in the meantime.
This is where House & Land Packages come into the picture. Instead of looking at Land or Home Designs you can simplify the process by just searching for House & Land Packages which meet your requirements.
Once you find a House & Land Package which meets all your requirements you can then deal directly with the Sales Consultant offering that package and ask all the relevant questions you may have knowing that you are within your budget and the Land and House meets all your requirements.
Effectively it is the most efficient way of ensuring you are purchase the right product overall.
What to look out for when buying a House & Land Package?
House and Land Packages are a source of Marketing for Land Estates and Home Builders and in many cases the advertised price is one of the things that attract buyers.
Therefor, Home Builders can sometimes put minimal inclusions in the package to ensure the price point is attractive. So asks lots of questions about what’s included and more importantly what’s not included in the package price.
It’s easy as a customer to look over the small things needed in the home, but a lot of small things can add up to a lot of additional cost. The more questions you ask the Home Builder the more items you will probably realise you will need to add to the package.
Always allow yourself an extra buffer of $10 – $20,000 for extras and upgrades when looking for a House & Land Package. This will ensure you don’t miss out on anything you were after in the home. It also gives you more flexibility when choosing your selections for your home.