How to build a cost effective house in Australia?
As cost of living crisis continues and in particular the property market continues to inflate, most households are barely meeting their budgets or able to survive on single income. Many dreams of owning their own house feel like their dreams keep inching away from them as the market continues to inflate and prices sky rocket.
In such conditions, many are left to wonder, how can we build the cheapest possible house, even if it means they have to do the hard work themselves and get their hands dirty. Why pay so much hard earned money to the builder, right?
We thought that too, and as a result we have come up with the right solution for the market. At Virk Construction Management, we present the best solution for saving costs and paying less money to the builder. We understand many want to be hands on and completely involved in the construction of their one and only family home, and rightly so. This is why we take a different approach to the traditional Lump Sum, House and Land package approach.
Introducing our Cost Plus, Open Book model. This model of construction allows the Owner and the Builder to work collaboratively to achieve the same goal. A fixed fee is set and paid to the Builder for their ‘Services’ i.e. providing their Project and Construction Management expertise, Builder’s License and industry knowledge. All other costs are competitively tendered to the market and quotes are sought in an open book model, for the Owner to pick and choose based on their needs.
This not only allows the Owner to benefit from a competitive market approach, but also allows them to make the selection of finishes, materials and inclusions of their preference. The Owner may prefer joinery from Sydney at cost effective rates, or they may want a high quality renderer and painter. These decisions are all placed in the Owner’s hands and the Builder acts as the enabler, rather than the shot caller.
The Builder is still responsible for ensuring compliant and safe construction, management of Cost, Time and Quality and achieving the Owner’s brief, including:
Site Management and supervision
Cost Reporting and Invoice management
Program / Gantt Chart management and sequencing and ordering of materials
Hold Point inspections and authority approvals
NCC compliance and quality construction
Purchasing of materials and trade tendering and procurement
Contracts management
We charge a nominal fee for the above services, whilst enabling the Owner to sit in the driving seat and truely control how they want to build their house and what materials, finishes and inclusions they prefer, without breaking the bank! The best part is, we charge no extra fees on variations, and only the trade/material cost is passed onto the client in Open Book model.
Get in touch today to discuss how we can help you with this.