We've moved! Our Head office is located at 1 Peters Avenue, Mulgrave 3170
Upsizing – it’s not just for fast food restaurants! Like many families, you have probably looked around your existing home and realised that pretty soon, your family will outgrow your available space. The true benefit of building a new home to accommodate your future space needs is you get to design your dream home from the ground up, incorporating the design, fixtures and features that will suit your family perfectly for decades to come.
Upsizing gives you more: more space, more modern finishes, a more stylish look, a more inviting entertaining area, and a more functional and liveable home that will have greater resale value in the future. If you’ve ever considered replacing your existing home with something larger and more modern, here are six important considerations to take into account:
Building your dream home can be much cheaper than you think. However, it’s still a big financial commitment – one that is made much easier when you consider one of the benefits of upsizing: using the proceeds from selling your existing home to fund building your dream home. Suddenly, it all makes sense – and you can really see the opportunity you have to start with a clean slate and create a beautiful, functional and future-proof space that is perfectly tailored to your family’s needs for many years.
As a further financial incentive to build your dream home, you can take advantage of a generous government incentive that encourages people to invest in the housing sector and contribute to growing the economy. The First Home Buyer grant provides $10k to get you started (increasing to $20k if you’re building in a regional area).
When you’re crunching the numbers on the cost of your dream home, it can be tempting to skimp here and there to save some money. But choosing high-quality finishes and appliances can actually benefit you in the long run. Firstly, they make sense financially – more durable products will likely last longer, and a home appointed with higher quality elements will attract a higher sale price if you one day choose to sell. But they also help with your quality of life – higher quality components work better, make you feel better, and save you time on repairs and maintenance.
If you need to prioritise where to invest, think about heavy-use areas such as your kitchen and bathroom. These spaces are a good place to start when installing durable, low-maintenance fixtures and finishes.
The ‘aspect’ of a house refers to the direction your property faces. Aspect is an important factor to consider when building as it can enhance your enjoyment of the home and boost its future value. North or north-east facing properties are generally considered most desirable, because they maximise the available sunlight; but with the right floorplan, you can make the most of any aspect.
To make the most of available light, aim to face your main living spaces, such as the lounge, dining room, kitchen and backyard towards the north. Also consider adding more windows or extending existing ones on the north side. If you can’t avoid facing south, choosing a light-coloured wall paint and lighter floor coverings will help brighten your space.
We believe that small things matter. Often, the difference between a house and a dream home is the attention to detail in the designing and building phase. The little things add up to make your home a truly amazing place to live. So, when building yours, think about the comfort and convenience you can include in the design that will help make life’s daily grind a little easier. Things like garage access from inside your home, a walk-in pantry, extra-large sliding doors into the backyard, and a security system for peace of mind might not seem important now, but you’ll be thankful for them every day for years to come.
A thoughtfully designed outdoor space provides endless opportunities for entertaining as well as an opportunity to quietly enjoy nature. In fact, a great outdoor space effectively becomes an additional living area that you’ll spend a lot of time in, particularly in the summer months. Think about your garden as an extension of your living space and opt for covered areas so that you can enjoy being outdoors all year round.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The information contained in this article is intended to be of a general nature only. It has been prepared without taking into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this information, Fairhaven Homes recommends that you consider whether it is appropriate for your circumstances and that you seek independent legal, financial, and taxation advice before acting on any information in this article.