PROPERTY STARTING OUT
Buying a house and land package can make the dream of building your own home a whole lot easier and more affordable. Things don't always go to plan, however, and delays and unexpected costs can arise.
The best way to prevent problems is to arm yourself with information: knowing what to check before you sign the contract, which builders to trust, and what financial support could be available can be game changing.
Housing estates have been growing in popularity since World War II, when rising real estate prices pushed first home buyers with growing families out of the inner city in search of their own ‘quarter-acre block’.
Things have changed for the better since then, and house and land packages are no longer solely targeted at young families on modest budgets. Housing estates have become less about cramming in as many homes as possible and more about creating a desirable place to live.
“Some of these estates were absolutely atrocious,” says Steve Matsoukas, director at Loan Gallery Finance. “The streets were narrow, the houses were small, and not a lot of thought was put into the liveability of an estate … it was all about ‘how many blocks can we cut this paddock up into?’ Over the past few years, they've all gotten significantly better, and now they're
