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Finding Joy

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You are here: Home / Home / Building a house / Lessons from a First Home Builder – Part 1

Lessons from a First Home Builder – Part 1

11 November, 2015 By Joy Adan 2 Comments

Planning to or in the middle of building your first home? Make sure you read this lessons from a first-home builder!

My husband and I have been house hunting for quite a while. Like… a few years. Earlier this year, it happened. We finally scored a high enough priority number (yes, hubby had to sleep out for a night and line up for a priority number) and signed a contract for our own little patch of Australia. The land is in a new development and isn’t registered with the council, so technically it’s not ours yet, but we’re still slap-bang in the middle of our hunt for the right builder, and man have I learnt A LOT. Some lessons are from the wisdom of homeowners gone before, and others after mistakes made from our ignorance. Here are just a few of those (and I’m sure I’ll be adding to this list as time goes on):

Accept where you are

An older relative asks: “When are you going to buy a house?” and I used to choose between the following answers:

a) None of your business.
b) When we win the lottery.
c) When I get to access that inheritance you promised me [grin slyly and drum fingers suspiciously].
d) When I’ve stopped spending all my money on dresses I don’t need.

Ok, fine. I always answered with b). But I’ve had to bite my tongue a few times because a), c) or d) often feel like appropriate responses when people ask. It irks me that often, people who barely know you are always asking what you’re going to to do next. When you’re dating someone, they ask when you’ll get engaged; when you’re engaged it’s when you’re getting married; when you’re married they ask when you’re having kids; and when you give birth, they ask you when the second child is coming and (failing any of that happening) when you’ll get yourself together and purchase a permanent home, like a good, responsible adult should.

Except these days it’s not that simple. Less than half of 25- to 34-year-olds now own their own home, compared to 61 per cent in 1981. The truth is, breaking into the property market is harder than it used to be, even with a dual-income. That said, it’s not impossible.

Don’t let the pressure get to you. Just be grateful for where you are today, and learn to embrace it. You are where you are, and that’s perfectly fine. Don’t let questions about when or what you intend to tackle next distract you from what you’ve already accomplished. 

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve saved 2% or 20% of your deposit or rent one property vs owning a whole portfolio compared to other people your age; your journey is your journey and no one else’s. Accept where you are right now and focus on the things you can influence to move you forward.

 

Advertised project home prices doesn’t mean jack $#**

When we started this whole “shopping for a house” business, we waltzed around display homes dreamily thinking that many of them were totally in our price range. It wasn’t until we sat down to look at the fine print that we realised homes cost at least an additional 20-30% (or add about 1/3 of the base price on top) thanks to upgrades — of which there will certainly be several, since some builders don’t include tiling, carpet, fly-screens or half-decent lighting in their base price. And don’t even start me on site costs. Even builders that claim to offer “what you see is what you get” pricing will cost more if your land has anything more than a 30mm slope.

You would think “base price” meant the price of a basic house. But it doesn’t. One builder who had gorgeous display homes eventually revealed that their price didn’t include any flooring. No tiles, no carpet. For another builder, “base price” includes flooring but no kitchen cupboards. One builder will include insulation, and another won’t but will include air-conditioning. The disparities between one builder’s inclusions vs another’s does my head in.

Their advertised prices and “summer packages” are designed specifically to bamboozle you. Why has no one created an app to simplify this comparison process???

Photo of Kurmond Ruby kitchen
See this gorgeous 40mm white stone bench top? That’s not included in the base price. It’ll cost several hundred (maybe even thousand) dollars to get it.

So, when you see a display house you like, don’t just get the floor plan and standard price list. Ask for a list of inclusions as well and another list of the upgrades and pricing you would need to design the exact same home you visited. Some builders are completely transparent about this and others keep their inclusions list close until you pay them for a tender (I walk out of their office when they say crap like that).

Kurmond, for example, gave me the standard floor plan for a display home in Kellyville, and then another sheet with the modified floor plan of the display home and the full list of upgrades. To give you an idea of how misleading it all is, the cost of all the extras to get the “base price” Kurmond house looking like a “display home” house was over $70K. That’s not to mention the site costs and council fees, which can go anywhere from $15-$40K. That’s almost $100K extra than whatever’s was on their standard price list.

Yay. ?

But relax kid; you don’t have to buy your dream house tomorrow.

If I could sum up my house-buying journey to date, it would probably look a little like this:

1. Spend years collecting "dream house" ideas on Pinterest. 2. Realise your ideas would mean having a mortgage until 2185. 3. Stop looking at dream house ideas. Eat lots of chocolate instead.

Thankfully, my husband is the numbers guru in our family (sure, I’ll have design + layout + colour schemes… but make me count and multiply? Um, no.). He is constantly calculating and recalculating what we can afford to spend on our first home. He gives me excitement with a steady dose of realism.

The truth is, there are ways to keep costs down, even when you’re going with a project builder. Sometimes that means making a hard call on what you can live without, or simply choosing to do some things after they hand over the keys. Sure, moving in to a place with a tiled alfresco and built in BBQ would be fab, but just know the builders add their margin (approx 30%!) to both the cost of labour + materials, so it’s more likely to be cheaper to go with someone else. The key is being firm about your budget is (i.e. what you can afford in your monthly/fortnightly repayments) and look for ways to work within it.

 

Design and materials matter – do your research

It wasn’t until we started looking at land location and floor plans that we really took into consideration the importance of natural light, including when and where it entered the home and how to maximise it. We had many an argument about south vs north facing lots (we came close to putting on offer on a west-facing off-the-plan house but am so glad we didn’t). Then hubby found the Your Home website – a government resource that has incredibly helpful information for builders and renovators about how to create environmentally sustainable home. Highly recommended reading!

Talk about an educational process! The list of things you should consider include which side of the house to put your living areas so you make the most of natural light and heating in the winter, and where to place windows and doors so you get great breezes in the summer.

Keep in mind display homes are 1) not necessarily facing the same direction your block of land is, and 2) are almost always lit by a million down lights in every room to make them look brighter than they would be in your own home, where you’d want to rely on sunlight. You want to find one that suits your block and won’t cost a fortune to heat or cool. Not all builders are flexible with their plans, so it is good to know these things before you shortlist.

 

Create systems for the chaos (there will be chaos)

There will ultimately come a time you’ll feel somewhat overloaded with information.

Lucky for me, my husband accepts my need to systematise big challenges, and I’ve put almost every (useful) bit of information into about half a dozen Google spreadsheets.

Create a system for storing and sorting information that works for you – whether it’s a spreadsheet of shortlisted floor plans, a Pinterest or Houzz board of your preferred window fittings, bench tops, landscaping or colour schemes, or (go old-school, like me) and stick magazine clippings in a folder. There’s a lot of detail to wade through… so this will help you if you want to be thorough.

 

Mountains are climbed using small steps, not giant leaps

Building a new home is a massive undertaking, and the amount of new things you can learn (about the purchasing process, let alone the building one) can be daunting. I’m terrified because we haven’t even made up our mind.. and there have been so many nights where I’ve felt completely overwhelmed with information, and have wanted to crawl under a rock and let someone else make the decisions for me. Thankfully, there is a wealth of knowledge, wisdom and generosity in other home owners (the Homeone Forum is a godsend – truly!!) 

But I know when it’s all done, this is an achievement we’ll be very proud of, and that our family will be better off from. It can often feel like an uphill slog, but the views on the way to the top are certainly worth it!

Have you built your own home? What did you learn in the process that you wish you knew before you started?

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Hi

Joy Adan

I'm Joy. I'm a 30-something, storytelling, coffee-drinking, book-devouring, ocean-obsessed freelance writer, brush lettering enthusiast, speaker and content producer. You'll find some of my stories and art here, along with my advice about attempt at balancing the creative career + family life hustle.

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Finding Joy | Joy Adan
Ran the first in-person lettering workshop of 2022 Ran the first in-person lettering workshop of 2022 today! So so so blessed to introduce a group of incredible women (and their beautiful kids!) to @findingjoyau and the joy that comes with exercising our creativity. 💕

Oh yes... and I'm moving/switching up my Insta. You'll find me sharing more of my art/lettering/how-tos and all things making and creating over here 👉👉👉 @findingjoyau so give this lady a bit of love (and a follow). 

xoxoxo
Needing rest and recovery is a massive shame trigg Needing rest and recovery is a massive shame trigger for many people, myself included.

I've found this to be especially true within migrant families and communities I've worked with - rest was not an option for lots of people because it was literally a matter of work now to survive, otherwise you die.  

I know that the absence of that "threat to survival" puts me in a very privileged position. I also know that even though the pressure to survive at any cost might be gone, the expectation to overwork and overcommit still weighs heavily and still demands sacrifice - from women especially. Thankfully, I (and many in my generation) have the added privilege of better education - we now know that failure to rest when our bodies and minds need to rest leads to poorer long-term health outcomes.

So a few months ago I turned down opportunities to do amazing work with amazing companies. Instead, I decided to hit "pause" and put my health and my family first. The past 2-3 years have been a bit of a fiasco. I really had to make a call about where to spend my time and energy, and I knew that if I wanted to keep giving my best in anything - work, home or community - I needed time out before taking on new or additional challenges.  

It was (and still is) terrifying, and it took me a good few months to truly "switch off". Once I did I became so grateful that taking a break meant being able to slow down and breathe, to focus on home and health, to enjoy agenda-free days with my kids, to take the foot off the accelerator, to embrace creativity, connection and serving my community... you know, things that too often get chucked on the back burner. 

I share this because I want to normalise people taking a break when they need a break. It might just be a short break in a busy day or week, it might be a career break. Point is... we all need rest, and we should NEVER feel guilty for wanting some downtime or pausing to reprioritise, refocus or recover. 

No one else should get to determine what "success" or "productivity" looks like/means for you. 💕
Impromptu paint workshop with some little visitors Impromptu paint workshop with some little visitors today! Whipped out the watercolours and acrylics after lunch and just enjoyed some down time, playing with colour, experimenting with texture and stamping mint leaves... and discussing the fact pink is not an actual colour according to science (and then had to assure them that pink did still exist... But apparently it is just something our brains made up? What?!). 

Painting really is therapy for me. There's something primal and grounding about the activity that helps me enter a completely different space mentally and emotionally. And so it was nice to be able to offer this as a method of play and recreation (and to experience it myself).

Tip 1: Watercolours are a far less stressful way to introduce paint to little ones - find cheap non-toxic washable paint and don't stress about mixing all your colours - it's part of the fun. Embrace the mess. 
Tip 2: I have been reusing the same blue dollar store table cloth to protect our dining table for 4 years. We wipe it down with paper towels or baby wipes at the end of a painting session, and wrap it all up abd shake it off outside after a play dough session. It's getting a bit holey but it does the job. 
Tip 3: Use a clothes horse to peg up and dry paintings as kids finish them. It's pretty satisfying seeing all their pictures hanging up and shining in the sun.

🌞🖌🎨🙌🏽💕
To the woman wondering if she'll ever get through To the woman wondering if she'll ever get through her to-do list before the end of the day... you are enough. 

To the woman wondering if she's cleaning/working/playing/exercising/cuddling/learning/teaching/disciplining/guiding/supporting/giving/loving as much as she can/should... you are enough.

To the woman who can never keep up with messages and voicemails and always forgets to reply... you are enough. 

To the woman doubled over in pain because her body isn't agreeing with her and she can't access the support she needs... you are enough. 

To the woman who is run ragged... you are enough. 

To the woman who knows she shouldn't probably eat that/buy that/say that... you are enough. 

To the woman wondering if she should apply for the job when she doesn't meet all the criteria... you are enough. 

To the woman who wonders if her contribution to her home or her community will ever get the recognition it deserves... you are enough. 

To the woman who is tired of searching for a place where she is respected - not just for what she brings but who she is... you are enough. 

To the woman wishing days like this weren't so exhausting... you are enough. 

To the woman who fears (or has been told) she is intimidating (instead of confident), outspoken (instead of articulate), too soft (instead of empathetic), power-hungry (instead of hard-working), lazy (instead of balanced)... you are enough. 

To the woman wondering what her worth is when so many are seen, recognised, paid and promoted before she is... you are enough. 

To the woman feeling uncertain, afraid, exhausted, frustrated, alone, restless... you are enough. 

To the woman who hopes and works hard for a better world for the future, wondering if we'll ever get there... you are enough. 

The world needs you, whether you're ready for battle or ready for rest. The world needs you, whether you're certain or still seeking. The world needs you as you are, because you are unique and irreplaceable. You are worth celebrating, today and everyday. 

You are enough. 

--- Tag a sister who needs reminding. ❤ xoxo

#iwd2022 #internationalwomensday #sisterhood
Yesterday marked the start of the Lenten season fo Yesterday marked the start of the Lenten season for millions of Catholics around the world. The road to our usual church was blocked yesterday due to floodwater, but thankfully some the rain eased and I could make it to morning Mass today. 

This week the skies are heavy, as are the hearts of many who have lost their homes and their peace - whether due to war or natural disaster. And so I pray. I pray because I know I need to ask for God's grace and mercy - I know I am so small and unable... but when He guides me I can see more clearly where to serve, how to help, where to channel my energy, time and resources... 

When it's all too much and I am unsure, this is the place I can return... knowing that the time I spend in His presence empowers me in a way no human eye can see.

If there is something you would like me to pray for, especially this Lent, let me know (you can shoot me a message too), and I'll bring it to our Father with love. ❤❤

#Lent #Lent2022
Went to Mass this morning after a very restless ni Went to Mass this morning after a very restless night. The Gospel was about a man who had brought his child to the disciples asking them to heal the child from convulsions that would often put him in physical danger. The disciples were unable. Here's part of the the conversation Jesus had with the father: 

"Jesus asked the father, 'How long has this been happening to him?' 

'From childhood,' he replied 'and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.' 

'If you can?' retorted Jesus. 'Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.' 

Immediately the father of the boy cried out, 'I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!'" For the full Gospel, see Mark 9:14-29

Yes, this Gospel is a reminder that anything - and everything - is possible for anyone who has faith. But, as Fr Redmond pointed out this morning, it's also about believing that our faith has the ability and opportunity to grow. Faith isn't a one-off grace or gift we get once. It's a seed that is planted, it is something we can nourish and nurture. It is something that can wane when challenged or ignored. 

Simply put, faith is something we shouldn't take for granted. Faith required prayer, action and desire on our part.

That exclamation from a father desperate to do whatever he can to save his son is a prayer. It is a cry for help to God, asking him to increase and strengthen his faith. "Help the little faith I have!" he pleads. 

O Lord, that I may be humble enough to come to you and request the same when my faith is too small and I put limits on your grace. Help the little faith I have.

ID 1: An open page of a dot grid journal. The words “I have faith. Help the little faith I have” are lettered in pink ink. A pink Pentel Brush Sign Pen lies on an angle in top right corner. 

ID2: A golden tabernacle is in the centre of the frame. On either side are embroidered images from Bible stories.

.

.

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#FindingJoy #JoyAdanWrites #PursuitOfJoy #PerfectlyImperfect #PracticeMakesProgress #CalledToCreate #CreativePractice #CreativeEntrepreneur #CatholicCreative #BibleLettering #Journal
Consider this permission to slow down. ❤ ID: Op Consider this permission to slow down. ❤

ID: Open page of a notebook with lilac hand-lettering that says “Don't rush to the urgent at the expense of the important”. A lilac @pentel_australia brush sign pen lies on top the page beside the writing.
I reckon this is one of my favourite lines in “S I reckon this is one of my favourite lines in “Surface Pressure”. It's one of many truths in the song, but I love this one in particular because people who know their worth & dignity tend to light up the room. 😉

Meanwhile, we've just ended 1 week of iso.. which we spent listening to the @encantomovie soundtrack on repeat and playing Super Mario and table tennis for hours on end. Thankfully, COVID symptoms were mild and shortlived, the boys maintained good spirits, and I managed to squeeze in painting as down-time over the weekend while everyone else slept. Now to declutter my desk and get back to business.......

ID: An open page dot grid notebook lies on a wooden desk. The left page is painted with blue, gold, brown and green watercolour flowers around the border. In the centre is navy blue lettering, with the words “I move mountains, I move churches, and I glow coz I know what my worth is.”

#ink #handwriting #catholiccreatives #qotd #pentelbrushpen
Flashback to this nugget of wisdom. ❤ Wherever y Flashback to this nugget of wisdom. ❤ Wherever you are, whoever you are, may you rest in the knowledge that not only are you made to love others, you are made to receive and worthy of being loved also. 

Image: Framed image of the quote “Love is, therefore, the fundamental vocation of every human being. - St John Paul II - Familiaris Consortio” lettered in blue foil and sitting on a wooden shelf surrounded by green plants. 

#LoveIs #Vocation #Calling
#StValentinesDay
Have had the best kind of whirlwind week of weddin Have had the best kind of whirlwind week of wedding bliss!! Big big love to my Toasties @kate_samways @sammyjkerr and cuzins4lyf @philipjamolin @simmyyyy 

You both chose parts of John 15 for your ceremonies. ❤ Praying you always remember that your love for each other comes straight from the same Love that powers every good thing in this universe... that whenever you hear music that moves you, marvel at the mountains, feel the sunshine on your skin, ride the waves, or stop in awe or wonder, you remember that a spark of those beautiful things isn't anywhere as big and powerful as the spark that brought you to the one you chose to enjoy your days with. And that through every magical moment, big or small, joyful or sorrowful, that your love for each other remains powerful and complete. 🥂💕🥰💕❤
“Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will no “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” - St Augustine

Been reflecting about this one a lot over the past few weeks... about the agency we too often forfeit or conveniently forget when change demands effort and intention. We're invited to be co-creators, to be cooperators... but that in itself is both power and a responsibility (yep, just got all Spiderman on you, whoops) 😝.

I lettered this one while watching the morning surfers at Flynns Beach. The waves came in fast, strong and big that day. And the thing that kept popping into my head was the determination of the surf students as they made their way out. We can't control the waves... another power beyond us does that. But we do have to consider when we start kicking or when to jump on the board if we want to ride the waves. 

🌊
I made a thing! Finally unboxed and turned on the I made a thing! Finally unboxed and turned on the sewing machine I bought during the last lockdown. The first thing I did was “fix” a fitted sheet (by sewing a seam on the wrong side, but I mean it still fits on the bed so... It's technically fixed). And because I'm an impatient person, I jumped right into making a half-circle skirt with remnant fabric (thanks Google) and then stuffed it up by adding a pocket without really planning ahead. Because why would I even bother making clothes if they don't have pockets??

You know my love for imperfect things (the pocket kinda faces the wrong way and there's a random seam next to the pocket that makes it bunch up) 😂 but WHATEVER. It fits (*just*😝), the pocket is functional and I am wearing it today because I can. Lol. 

#WhatAmIEvenDoing #SewWhat
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