If you love your location, but not your house, consider a knock down rebuild, also known as 'KDR'.

It is quite common to want different characteristics as your family evolves – parents may want additional bedrooms to accommodate the kids, empty-nesters may want to downsize with little to maintain. Some may want to eliminate stairs from their homes, while others may need to go up to a double storey to fit everyone in. Sometimes your current house just becomes old and tired, or doesn’t suit your lifestyle anymore. 

When this happens, you generally have four options: 

1. Stay and put up with it; 

2. Renovate or extend; 

3. Sell and move; or 

4. Knock down and rebuild a new home. 

Before embarking on a renovation, it makes sense to consider starting from scratch. You may be surprised to hear that knocking down your old house and building a new home is generally cheaper per square metre than renovating your house or building an extension. With the right builder, it should be easier as well. This is because your builder can take care of all the details instead of you having to project manage and having to deal with complex documents, time-consuming approvals and possibly unreliable trades. 

Another problem with renovating is sometimes nasty extras are identified after work starts. It’s not unusual for the plumber to find some expensive unforeseen problem that blows the budget as they try to connect the ‘new’ to the ‘old’. A knock down rebuild is less risky than renovating. With Beechwood, you have the benefit of a fixed-cost and fixed-time building contract. 

If you sell, sometimes a home to move to is sitting in the real estate’s window. But selling and buying is often fraught with difficulties such as not finding what you are looking, or not fitting your budget, the timings not matchings, the dollars not adding up, and most importantly, what you are buying not being a home that has been specifically designed for you and your lifestyle. The great risk of buying an established home is the unknown. There will probably be no builder’s warranty should something go wrong. The few hundred dollars you paid for a building inspection report is not going help if something goes wrong and they hide behind their disclaimers. Sometimes you might be taking a leap out of the frying pan into the fire. 

Building a new home doesn‘t mean that you need to move to ‘new’ suburbs on the urban fringe. No need to move schools or sporting teams or to re-establish in a new neighbourhood. You can continue with all the amenities and friendship networks you are used to. You can stay in the neighbourhood and street that you love, rather than having to reset your life in a new area. You can go from having the worst house in the best street, to having a home that your neighbours’ envy and your family will love. Another advantage of building a new home is that it is likely to be more energy efficient – allowing you to save money on your energy or water bills.

A knock down rebuild with Beechwood is easier than you think. Further, if you have owned at your current address for a few years, you are likely to have gained some equity in your current property and may not need to save up a deposit. Your dream could become a reality sooner than you think. 

The Process

Step 1 – Preliminary Investigation

Whenever you are building a new home, whether in a new estate or a knock down rebuild, this is likely to be one of the most important financial decisions you will make for your family. The decision needs to be financially sound. 

Check online or with a real estate agent about the likely resale value with the current house as well as if you build a new home. In some neighbourhoods, building a new home will see you ‘earn’ a great capital appreciation, while in other neighbourhoods, there might not be such a great gain.  

You should also get some information about your property. All those documents the conveyancer or solicitor looked at when you purchased your property are likely to be important. If you can’t find those documents, many can be re-ordered for relatively small fees.

The title documents, a section 10.7 certificate from the local Council (these used to be called section 149 certificates), the Council building regulations and zoning are all important. Council’s rules may change over time, so things that may have been permissible when you purchased your property may not be now and vice versa. Your title may have restrictions, such as easements, which prevent what can be built and where. 

Step 2 – Choose Your New Home

This is definitely the fun part. Visit a few builders to find out what is available, work out what home features you want and find out how much you will have to pay and what is included. Speak to a few different builders (just make sure Beechwood is one of them!), have them explain their process, ask questions, find out who will be responsible for obtaining permits and approvals throughout the demolition and construction process, ask more questions (even ones you think are silly).   

A word of warning - if you do not feel comfortable in your discussions with a builder (even us), move on to another builder. Like any relationship, trust and respect are of paramount importance. If the early warning signs are there, go elsewhere. 

Choosing the right builder is like dating. You find out a bit about your potential partner, you spend time with them, you ask your friends what they think, and if they treat you bad, you ditch them. Once you get started, a bad relationship with your builder is akin to a failed marriage with a child. Only, when building, the ‘child’ is your new home being built. Don’t let this happen to you.

Step 3 – Request a Free Tender and Free Site Inspection 

Unlike many other builders, when you request a tender from Beechwood, we will conduct a site inspection and provide a detailed tender (not a ‘guestimate’). We do not charge for this.

Step 4 - Deposit and Pre-Construction

When you accept your building tender, you will pay an initial deposit so we can get the design and planning processes underway. Paying a security payment will secure your price for your stated tender period as well as any promotional discounts offered.

Beechwood will then conduct a thorough property assessment and order various documents and reports. We will draw your proposed home with all your alterations on your block of land. We will also ascertain the location of existing utility services such as sewer, water, electricity and gas.

Step 5 – Council Approval

When you have signed-off on your new home plans and all necessary reports have been obtained, we will lodge a development application (or similar) with the local Council or certifier. 

Once approval has been given to build a new home, you will need to obtain a demolition permit for the existing house. 

Time to start looking for somewhere to temporarily live once demolition and construction get underway.

Step 6 - Selections  

Once the Council (or certifier) approves the development application, you will make your selections. You will choose your kitchen and all the touches that will make your home … yours. 

Step 7 – Building Contract

The next step is to sign your plain-English, fixed-price and fixed-time building contract.

Step 8 – Demolition

Beechwood will help you find a demolition company to knock down the existing house. You will need to disconnect utilities such as electricity and gas. 

Step 9 – Construction Commencement

Now, the exciting stage commences. You get to see your concept come to life.

Step 10 – Move In

Time to move into your brand-new Beechwood home.