You've chosen your homesite and picked the ideal home to match - time to lock in the budget, right? Not quite yet.
Your final consideration when securing finance to build that dream home is 'site costs' which - in simple terms - is the cost of preparing your homesite to build on.
And, when it comes to lots, not all are created equal.
This means the cost of building your home on your land could be dramatically different depending on where you have chosen to build.
Chris Reid, sales consultant at the Everleigh masterplanned community being developed by Mirvac in Greenbank, says many homebuyers don’t consider site costs when purchasing their lot - and it can lead to unexpected expenses.
"Buyers understand they have to purchase the homesite and the home, but they often neglect to factor in that consideration in the middle that is site costs," he says.
“These cover what it costs the builder to establish your house on your block, and depending on what the developer has done, these costs can either be very reasonable or quite high.
“At Everleigh we’ve invested heavily in the preparation of the blocks to ensure this cost is minimised, leaving buyers free to spend their budget on their home, the homesite itself or even landscaping."
Mr Reid says when constructing Everleigh, Mirvac ensured it focused on all the details - big and small - that go into creating a homesite, to make the process of building a home as simple as possible for buyers.
"The Everleigh team put in significant thought from the get-go, managing earthworks and retaining walls to provide the best possible outcome for customers," he says.
"It is not a topic that is talked about a lot, but it is certainly a very important consideration when it comes to building your new home. The more work the developer has put in from the ground-up, the less time and money it will cost you to build.
"We believe what Mirvac has done at Everleigh is the best in market and we encourage anyone to compare the lots here to elsewhere and to speak to their builder about what it means for them."
Mr Reid says in addition to saving buyers money, it also improved the outcome for the community.
"The extensive work that has gone into the lots promotes an attractive streetscape, with garages to be positioned higher than the street ensuring the homes sit 'proud', while the driveways have a minimal slope," he says.
"All homesites have a flat building pad, with lots oriented to best respond to any slope and to reduce retaining wall heights. When retaining walls are required, they have been constructed by Mirvac from concrete sleeper or concrete panel for longevity.
"The vast majority of lots drain to the street, meaning few have easements for buyers to consider.
"All of these factors mean builders can confidently offer fixed price packages and buyers have more certainty around their total build cost."
Located about 30 kilometres from the Brisbane CBD, Everleigh is within the State Government-declared Greater Flagstone Priority Development Area (PDA), which will undergo significant expansion in coming years.
For more information, please register here, call (07) 3859 5960 or stop by the Everleigh Sales Centre, located at 3 Guroman Drive, Greenbank, between 10am and 5pm daily.