Professionals Real Estate 
A big problem with the HomeBuilder grant
Time is running out for those looking to take up the federal government’s offer of a $25,000 grant towards building or renovating their home.
While generous, the HomeBuilder scheme comes with a lot of stipulations including having to sign a building contract by its 31 December 2020 deadline.
This might seem like a decent length of time to get a new build underway, however even if your plans seem straightforward there is usually a lot that needs to happen before you’re at the stage where you can get accurate quotes from builders.
Design and planning takes time
Whether you’re undertaking a large-scale renovation or a new build you’re going to need to have your plans drawn up by a designer or architect and you may need to engage a variety of other professionals too, such as engineers, surveyors and possibly landscapers or interior designers.
Plans will need to be certified and meet council regulations too, so there can be a lot of back and forth between different parties while you adjust plans so they meet requirements, while also staying as true to your original vision as possible.
Take action as soon as you can
Every building project is unique, but in general it will be easier to take advantage of the Homebuilder scheme if you already have plans ready to go or if you take on a renovation project that doesn’t require development approval.
Those hoping to buy a property and build new will have a harder time trying to get everything organised by the end of the year as they will not only need to navigate the buying process but will also need to navigate all of the approvals needed to build an entirely new dwelling.
Don’t forget too that there may be a lot of people applying for development approvals towards the end of the year as everyone tries to take advantage of the HomeBuilder scheme, which could cause a bottleneck and slow down the process further.
To avoid disappointment you’ll want to start looking at buying a property or getting designs drawn up as soon as you can so you can get your project started as soon as possible.
For all the details on eligibility for the HomeBuilder scheme, visit treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/homebuilder.
