We sat down with Angela Vidler, one of our recent happy clients, to discuss the process of going through a home build and her experience working with McCarthy Homes. We’ve included some of our questions and Angela’s answers below.

Was this your first time building a custom home?

This was actually our second home build. The first time we built was in 2012. At that time we had no children and had always lived in an apartment. So we had very little idea of what we wanted in a house and built a very standard off the plan type of home.

The second time around we had a much clearer idea of what we wanted in our home. We now have two children and my husband and I also wanted to be set up to work from home. For us it was important that we had a very open plan living/dining space the flowed into our outdoor entertaining spaces and the pool.

The kitchen is also the centre of our home so we had a very clear idea of how we wanted the space designed.

Your home was a knock-down rebuild, how long was the process from initial purchase of the property to demolition stage?

It was actually 9 months from when we purchased the block and had the house removed. We had a bit of a false start and were a fair way down the design process with another builder when we came across McCarthy and realised they were the better fit for us.

Did you have any challenges with your block?

The removal of the old house was a little more challenging than we expected. We ended up advertising the old house on gumtree for someone to come and take away at no cost as long as they paid all removal costs. This saved us approximately $20,000. We had an incredible amount of interest which surprised us. In hindsight, it may have actually been easier to pay the money to have the house removed. We ended up having a fair amount of difficulty with the people that took the house and the house removal company they selected.

The block itself was incredibly flat and easy to get ready for build once the old house was removed.

What was the initial brief provided to McCarthy Homes?

Initially, we fell in love with the McCarthy display at Rochedale. Our initial brief was to do something similar in look and feel but with a very open living / dining / outdoor entertaining area. We also wanted to ensure there were separate living spaces for the kids. For us, it was important that the house felt warm and liveable.

How did you find the process working with McCarthy Homes to execute your brief?

Over time our design really evolved and the McCarthy team were wonderful at working with us through all the changes. The guys never made us feel like anything was ever too much trouble including adding a set of additional French doors when all walls were already up! We did end up with 15 or so variations…… The process was incredibly smooth and easy to follow.

How long did the build process take?

From the time the site was cleared to when we took handover was about 10 months.

What was your inspiration with your interior design?

The inspiration for the house really all started with the display at Rochedale! Throughout the process, it somehow evolved a little into a more Hamptons feels.

Did the final design differ much from what you originally wanted?

I think we ended up right where we wanted with the design in the end.

Why did you choose the Grange?

We chose the Grange because we loved the family nature of the area. The parks are wonderful for the kids. We also wanted to still be central to the city and the Valley where Matt and I have our main office.

Build your own home with McCarthy Homes

We have hundreds of happy stories just like this one. We’ve worked with families around South East Queensland to build the perfect “forever home”. Our specialties include:

Custom Homes

Knock Down Rebuilds

Hampton Style Homes

If you’d like to work with us, please get in touch.

Click here to visit our contact page.

Or, call us on (07) 3358 9704

If you are just getting started with landscaping your property, you will quickly discover that there are a couple of tools that you will need in your arsenal. Tarps are very handy for shifting bulk amounts of lighter materials. If you are weeding garden beds, lay a tarp down and throw all your refuse into it – it will make it far easier to unload into your bin.

Weed fabric has its place, but if you know anything about weeds, you know that they can live anywhere. We recommend utilising weed fabric under gravel beds, or individually placed pavers, but not in gardens themselves. It will not take long for weeds to take root on any soil or potting mix you have placed over the fabric, and it can get in the way of the plants you are actually trying to grow.

Mix up your edges

When you use concrete or pavers around your entire garden bed as edging for your gardens, you are putting yourself in the unenviable position of needing to maintain those edges in order to prevent your garden appearing unkempt. Instead of hard straight lines, use some ground cover or small bushes as edges in some areas – let them flow over where it makes sense. Ground cover can be let go for weeks or months without immediately looking as uncared-for as a few plants growing over a concrete runner.

Buy in bulk

If you are undertaking a larger scale landscaping project around your home, consider buying your soil and potting mix in bulk. It will be much cheaper, and if you plan on getting everything done over a weekend, there will not be any harm to the underlying grass or surface wherever you choose to dump the load. This is another situation where a tarp comes in handy – lay one down for your soil delivery, and then easily remove whatever you don’t use.

Get the right tools, the first time

Once you have set up your beautiful garden, you will want to maintain it. If you develop a green thumb, over time cheap tools will continue to break down and frustrate you. Spend the money and get the right tools upfront. A few basic things, like a trench shovel, a good pair of clippers and a solid metal rake are a good start to your repertoire of gardening tools.

Use pots as a garden

Many people love a good garden bed with deep, well-tilled soil and lively plants. However, if you want a slightly lower level of maintenance, consider using a variety of pots on a tiled bed instead of just soil. It can be easier to care for and helps to add some variety to the appearance of your garden. It also provides the added benefit of making it far easier to move plants around as the seasons change, or as your landscaping ideas develop.

If you’d like to see the product of these landscaping and backyard design tips then come and visit our two display homes at Rochedale, the Metropolitan 36 and the Brookhaven 42.

Brookhaven landscaping photo

Contact McCarthy Homes

If you would like to discuss your new home plans with us, get in touch. We are always happy to guide you through the process and determine what we can do to get you into your dream home. We can help you with planning and design, site selection, knock down and rebuild, and more.

Click here to contact us.

Sydney auction clearance rates

November 30: 81%

December 7: 79%

Clearance rates hovered around 45% at this time last year. Buyers are hot to trot and sellers are motivated to shift properties fast and acquire liquid capital. Having watched the vagaries of the property markets quite closely over many years, we’ve become accustomed to the signs of an upswing in the making.

Sydney is not done yet

Sydney is in great shape right now, and the coming weekend will be the true testament to the shifting trends in Australia’s hottest property market. We firmly believe that the Sydney housing market has plenty of room left to expand, with the prevalence of cheap debt likely to continue to push buyers into the market and high prices likely to encourage sellers to make their move.

Interest rates

Low interest rates globally are contributing to hot markets across the board. As other investment vehicles such as equities become increasingly over-priced, the potential returns (and security) present in the property market become increasingly attractive to investors. Combine these attractive and arguably more stable returns with record-low interest rates and it’s little wonder that money continues to pour into the Australian property market.

The official interest rate will close out the year at 0.75% and it’s anyone’s guess as to where it will go throughout 2020. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is on record (as of December’s meeting’s minutes) that a slight upswing in the rate of GDP growth is expected towards the end of 2020 and into 2021.

The RBA flagged the fluctuations in new dwelling construction numbers as an area of uncertainty, alongside slow growth in household disposable income. However, in a positive signal, the RBA recognises that the Sydney and Melbourne market is in the midst of a turnaround, despite increased restrictions on the ability of people to borrow to invest in property.

Brisbane’s hottest property growth areas

So, if we expect the turnaround in Sydney to drive renewed interest in the Brisbane property market, where is that interest likely to manifest itself? According to the Residential Property Research Group, there are a few standout suburbs in Brisbane that are expected to benefit considerably from the growth in property prices over the next three years.

Red Hill

Red Hill is one of Brisbane’s most popular inner-city suburbs. It’s seen fairly impressive growth over recent years with a current median house price of over $850,000. However, significant growth is expected over the coming years, with experts tipping an increase in the median house price of over $200,000.

Keperra

Keperra is a hot growth suburb for Brisbane, with extensive investment in local infrastructure and growth in local business over the past five years. With a current median house price of just over $535,000, Keperra is an affordable location for most people on or around the median Brisbane household income. Keperra is projected to have an increase in median house price by around $130,000 over the coming three years, making it one of the hottest growth suburbs in Brisbane.

Other Suburbs

The Residential Property Research Group has identified a number of other suburbs that are currently very affordable but for a number of reasons are expected to have significant increases in median prices that greatly outstrip the growth rate of nearby suburbs. Some of these hot growth suburbs include:

• Mount Gravatt
• Rochedale South
• Arana Hills
• Morningside
• Chermside West
• Tingalpa

Build or buy?

The question of whether to build or buy is as old as the residential property market itself. The fact is, it’s very situation dependent. We always recommend building a property simply due to the flexibility of options and the ability to lock in the long-term value growth of a brand-new home.

Your options for building a new home in Brisbane are broader than ever before, with knock-down rebuilds, greenfield builds and house and land packages giving you a variety of methods to get a new house built. Building new ensures that your property is positioned to capture the higher end of property price increases over the coming years.

Get the right advice

If you want to know whether you should build a new home, or whether you’re in a financial position to do so, speak with us. We’re always happy to give honest advice to help people make the right choice for their own situations.

We’ve dealt with dozens of people facing this exact situation. It’s hard to know who to trust, particularly when you’re not even sure which questions you should be asking to begin with. We’ve put together a brief list of the type of things you should be on the lookout for while you’re searching for the best new home builder that you can find.

Past work

Many quality builders will have a portfolio of past work that you can take a look at. This should showcase many different housing types, across different block types, and should hopefully illustrate their capabilities in a range of environments with different house designs.

If you already have a specific home design in mind, make sure that your chosen builder has the right experience to take on your project. Ask questions about their past work, where they expect challenges to arise, and how they’ve coped with difficult builds in the past, or builds similar to your own. If you aren’t yet firm on the type of design you’d like for your home, a good new home builder will be able to help you find the right design for your budget and needs.

Professionalism

Professionalism during the early stages of your relationship with any new home builder is a good indicator of how they will act throughout the rest of the home building process. Staff who are courteous and focussed on doing their job well is a great start to a relationship with a new home builder. Alternatively, if they take a long time to respond, are generally sloppy in their attitude, or otherwise present multiple issues when you’re first trying to deal with them, it’s unlikely to get much better from there.

Inclusions

The level of inclusions that come with any home package can cause a lot of frustration and confusion for people that are new to the process of purchasing a home off the plan. Make sure you’re very clear on what you’re getting for what you’re paying. Think of things like hot water tanks, light fittings, power points, different doors or double glazing on windows. There will be plenty of options available to you that you may not have considered.

Liability and insurance

The builder’s level of insurance may play a role in your decision-making process. This may help protect you from a whole range of issues down the track, particularly unnecessary delays or issues with your build if something goes awry. A couple of must-have types of insurance include Public Liability insurance and Home Warranty Insurance. All quality home builders will have both of these forms of insurance.

Registration

In addition to checking a potential builder’s insurance coverage, it can be beneficial to ensure that they are registered with relevant builder’s organisations. The two you’ll want to check are the Master Builders of Australia (MBA) and the Housing Industry of Australia (HIA). Up here in Queensland you could also consider contacting the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) or using their website to run a basic search for a builder.

The contract

Your contract will outline the scope of work that the builder will perform. It’s important to be aware of what’s included because in many cases you may not be getting what you initially expected. Some builders for example, will limit themselves strictly to construction of the home. This will leave you without some add-ons like a driveway, front fence, landscaped garden, and other “necessities” that many homeowners like to have ready to go when they move into their new home.

Have a good read of your contract, including scope of work, how adjustments work, scheduled completion, and the countless other factors that may seem needless or unnecessary now but can be critically important when things go sideways.

Due diligence

Above all else, you need to make sure that you do your own due diligence. Building a Hampton style house is a big step for anyone. For you to be sure that you’re working with the best new home builder in Brisbane that can suit your budget and personal requirements, you have to do the research yourself.

Send your questions our way

We’re here to help. Choosing the best new home builder for your particular needs and circumstances isn’t easy. Get in touch with us for a chat. There are no obligations – we’ve just been around the block a few times, so we can probably help answer some of your questions.

Click here to visit our Contact page.

Click here to see more of Riviera.

Fairhaven 42

Fairhaven is the ideal family home. Like all McCarthy Homes, it seamlessly blends luxury and comfort in an easy going, flowing architectural style that encourages effortless living. The office nook at Fairhaven possibly goes a little further than most office nooks, but we believe it still qualifies because it’s not quite technically an office, and it follows all the standard design principles of a good office nook.

Click here to see more of Fairhaven.

We’ve worked with enough people to have gained a fairly good idea over the years of the biggest issues facing those who don’t personally know a good custom home builder. Below, we have put together a quick checklist of the questions you should be asking any potential builder before you engage them.

Ask to see their past builds

This is fairly oft-repeated advice, and for good reason. Getting a good look at the past work of a custom home builder can give you a fairly good idea of the quality of their builds and the effort they put into ensuring their work stands the test of time.

If you can, speak to the owners of the homes. Ask them how the process of working with the builder went, from start to finish. Ask for insight into the builder’s response to problems or complaints, how they managed the build schedule, how they left the site at the end of the job and whether they fulfilled all basic commitments of the build.

Naturally, any long-term contractual relationship is going to run into the odd snag, so you’ll likely hear of a few issues. However, try and get a good grasp of whether the issues you’re hearing about are standard or deal-breaking. Generally speaking, if someone has had a terrible relationship with a builder, they will very emphatically let you know about it, in no uncertain terms.

Ask about the products they use

Unless you are very deeply involved in every aspect of the build, there is a good chance your chosen builder will have quite a bit of latitude in terms of their choice of products. There are choices to be made at every stage of a build, and naturally many builders will aim to find a good balance between quality and cost in order to be able to effectively compete for new jobs. If quality is more important to you than cost-cutting, speak with your builder about the materials that will be used during construction and ensure you understand the costs involved.

Ask them where they cut corners

You’re unlikely to get an honest answer to this one, and some of the best custom home builders will be genuine in saying that they don’t cut corners. However, many builders will develop “efficiency hacks” over the years and may share this information with you. If a builder is upfront about where he thinks you can avoid additional expense, or things that simply don’t need to be done according to plan, then they are likely to be open about any issues with the build as it progresses. 

Ask them about communication and due dates

Having clear communication channels in place prior to beginning a build can help avoid future problems. Ensure you know everyone’s areas of responsibility and the issues that you should be discussing with your builder. Knowing how to approach issues to avoid a breakdown in the relationship will ensure relatively smooth-sailing throughout construction.

Establishing a timeline for completion is also highly recommended. There is always give and take on either side of the equation, and in any build some issues may crop up which will set back progress. However, most custom home builders will gladly work with owners to develop a timeline for delivery to ensure that everyone has clear expectations from the outset.

Do your research online

This is an important factor in any major purchasing decision. Get online using your favourite search engine and do some research around the builder’s name, their business name, and their ABN or ACN. Pay attention to any reviews or mentions of their build quality by past clients. Keep in mind that reviews can go both ways – some people will always find something to complain about, while others might be willing to overlook things which you will consider more important.

If you can, check out their social media or website and any images or galleries of their past work. A good custom home builder will have a portfolio that you can view to get an understanding of the kind of work they’re capable of producing.

Contact us for a consultation

Still have questions?

Get in touch with us. We have been the trusted custom home builders for countless Australian families over the years. With a large number of builds under our belt, we know how to get the best results for you and your family.

Call us on (07) 3358 9704 or click here to email us.

Architectural Design

Stepped Design

A stepped-design allows for a shift of about two metres across the housing site. It’s a great way to take advantage of a bad situation with a clever house design that, utilised correctly, can really improve the feeling of space in your home.

Multi-Level Design

Multi-level designs are generally appropriate for a slightly larger difference in height across the housing site. A multi-level design allows you to really flex your own approach to designing a home (in concert with a professional, of course) and develop a unique living environment.

Split-Level Design

Split-level designs have two entirely separate levels, often with one half of the home having two storeys while the other has one. These types of designs are ideal for homes that have over three metres of fall across the site, such as on extremely sloping blocks.

Knowledge and Experience of the Builders

Naturally, when you’re undertaking any home build, the knowledge and experience of the builders is going to play a large part in your decision-making process. However, if you’re contracting a sloping block builder, taking a look at their past projects and how those jobs have stood the test of time is critical.

Ask for references and ask them if you can speak with past clients. Most sloping block builders will have a couple of extremely difficult projects they’ve worked on where they’ve been able to knock it out of the park, so you should get to see some of their best work. If you know anyone who has worked with them previously, or anyone in the industry, speak with them as well. The more feedback about their knowledge and experience you can get, the better.

Site Evaluation

Carrying out an adequate site evaluation is the first and most important step of the process of building on a sloping block. We strongly recommend that you contract us prior to purchasing the land. We can advise you on the possibilities for construction and the additional costs you are likely to incur with respect to design, build and materials.

Site Preparation and Foundations

Regardless of the talent of the specific sloping block builder you’ve recruited, there’s almost certainly going to be some work required on the site. A bit of cut and fill is ordinary on most jobs, and on a sloping block some more than usual might be required.

Some other things you may need to expect are the need for extensive drainage works, retaining walls, and possibly the need to blast or drill through rock (very prevalent on many sloping blocks), although most good builders will try to find ways to work around this issue and prevent the need for expensive excavations.

Your foundations are going to be key. Many homes built on sloping blocks will need stumps or piers to support part of the structure. Your foundations may need to be driven deeper than that which a home on level ground would require. Drainage and erosion control measures may be required to protect your foundations. 

Surrounding Environment

The fact is, many of the most stunning locations in Australia aren’t flat. Whether you’re looking to build on the hills behind the dunes, in the hinterland or sheltered from the wind halfway up a spur on a mountainside, you’re going to need to deal with building on a sloping block. The surrounding environment will play a part in house design and even site access, particularly with regard to rainfall, soil type and drainage and erosion challenges.

Contact us for a consultation

Get in touch with us to learn more about the options available. We have managed builds on hundreds of sloping blocks in the past and have become very adept at overcoming the challenges associated with these types of projects.

Give us a call and we’ll chat about your options. Regardless of your future plans, we’re always happy to help new home owners get the best possible outcome.

Call us on (07) 3358 9704 or click here to email us.