Progress payments and cashflow during a Brisbane build
A construction loan is not a pile of money on the kitchen table. It is a sequence of releases that will not match your emotions, and should match the contract.
Money, paper and risk
Costs & Contracts
Costing, first-home grants, fixed-price versus cost-plus, and a plain-English reading of the Queensland HIA, Master Builders and QBCC contract forms.
How to read a Queensland home building contract
The useful reading is not literary. It is a hunt for the clauses that move money, time and the definition of "finished" after everyone has gone home.
Queensland first-home owner grants and the decision to build
The grant is a cheque with conditions. The transfer-duty concession is often the larger number. Neither should be allowed to choose the lot for you.
Fixed-price versus cost-plus building contracts
A fixed price is rarely as fixed as the first page suggests. A cost-plus contract is only honest when you can read the invoices and you have the stomach for an open-ended total.
Hidden costs of a new home in Queensland
The contract price is the cost of a weathertight shell with the fittings you specified. The house you can live in also needs a driveway, fences, coverings, a garden, connections, fees, interest and somewhere to sleep while the work runs.
A practical guide to Brisbane home building costs
A useful number is a number you can unpick. Dollars per square metre are a conversation starter. Preliminaries, site works, PC items and the exclusions schedule are the conversation.