Homes and blocks of land come in many different shapes and sizes, so here is what you need to know to create the perfect combination.

When it comes to buying a home, everyone has different wants, needs and priorities and all of these need to be addressed if your new dream home is going to live up to your expectations.

Homes and blocks of land come in a variety of shapes and sizes; many fit together well, but what happens when your ideal home on paper doesn’t work in the real world?

However, often is just a case of working with your builder and tweaking the design. A lot of builders’ standard designs come with a multitude of façade and floorplan options and will work with you to find a solution for your specific block of land.

Here are our top tips for choosing the right house and land package for your family.

Start smart

Before you fall in love with any designs you need to make a list of what you want out of your dream home.
Some things you’ll need to consider are whether you want a single storey or double storey, what your budget is, how important the size of your garden is, the timeframe for building and how many bedrooms.

It’s also a good idea to future proof your home ie. to think about whether you are planning to have a family, get a pet, a pool or additional cars, and think about your ideal floorplan and how you can use solar orientation to help keep your home cool in summer and maximise natural light.
Furthermore, seeing we are blessed with such great weather in Sydney, Indoor–outdoor flow and sustainability are huge considerations for most buyers, which builders are aware of, so most designs now offer great open plan living options.

Buy what’s best for you

It’s always good to explore the options available to you. Sitting with a Menangle Park sales consultant and understanding the different ways to buy in masterplanned communities will help you avoid mistakes. If you are choosing land as the best option, before committing to a block of land actually have a chat with a few builders and look at designs. Buying a block of land first is a great option if you’re after flexibility, as it means you can choose your own builder. This gives you a lot of choice in the different designs you can potentially use on that block of land.

If you are more interest in buying a split contract house and land package, then you are guaranteed that the home is going to fit on that block of land. Make sure you compare the benefits of choosing your own builder or a house and land package and always go with the option that best suits your needs rather than what’s easiest.

Don’t break the budget

As with every large purchase, it’s important to know your limits. We always recommend getting financing in place as soon as possible as it will give you a very good idea of what budget you have to play with. Then, it’s about matching the land costs and the build costs and making sure that fits within your budget. Also, always remember to keep a little extra in the kitty in case other expenses pop up eg. you decide you no longer want painted bathroom walls, you would like them tiled.

Size matters

When looking at houses and land, how wide the block is, or the amount of street frontage, will dictate the home designs available. It’s the first thing you need to consider when you’re looking to purchase a home and wanting a certain design to fit on the land.
Blocks with wide frontage and shallow depth are ideal for two-storey homes, while an innovative way to work around a long, narrow block is to rearrange your double garage to give it a smaller width but double length, giving you more space for front-facing windows.

However due to the smaller blocks of land these days, builders have entire design series dedicated to small blocks which are designed in a very clever way to maximise space limitations where applicable. No matter what the size you choose, you are likely to have a lot of floorplan options to choose from.

Use your builder’s expertise

Work collaboratively with your builder – they have loads of experience and insight and will help you get the most out of your block no matter what your lifestyle. You just need to make sure that you decide on what your dream homes looks like early, so the builder can work with you to achieve that.
In summary, finding the best House & Land package for your family requires you to:

1: Figure out what your dream house and land package looks like.

2: Make sure you understand the options available for house and land packages.

3: Stick to your budget for your new home and block of land.

4: Be mindful of how the size of your block will impact your home’s size and shape.

5: Always work collaboratively with your builder to get the most out of your house and land package.

Follow these simple steps to matching your land and house together and you’ll be able to find your perfect match.