The complete building process
14 steps from research to keys.
Building your first home is the biggest financial decision you’ll ever make. Here’s exactly what the journey looks like — and where it pays to get a second set of eyes before you sign.
Step 1: Research & set your budget
Figure out what you can actually afford, where you want to build, and what type of home suits your stage of life. Check first home buyer grants and stamp duty concessions for your state, then back-solve to a realistic total budget — land + build + everything else.
Step 2: Mortgage pre-approval
Talk to a mortgage broker or your bank. Get a written pre-approval in hand so you know your borrowing capacity before you go shopping for land or signing anything with a builder.
Step 3: Choose your land and shortlist 2–3 builders
Pick your block, or look at house-and-land packages. Approach two or three builders and ask each for a quote or full tender on the same brief — same floorplan, same finish level — so you can actually compare apples to apples.
BuildScore entry point
Step 4: Score your builder quotes / tenders
Before you sign anything, get every quote or tender independently scored. BuildScore™ scores each quote or tender across Price & Value, Inclusions, Contract Clarity, Timeline, and Reputation — and flags every provisional sum, allowance, and contract term worth a closer look. We score; you decide.
Builder Question Guide add-on
Step 5: Ask the right questions
Going back to your builder with sharp questions lets you close the gaps before contract drafting. Our Builder Question Guide gives you a one-page checklist of pointed questions — site costs, allowances, Rise & Fall contract terms, timeline guarantees — tailored to your scored quote or tender.
Step 6: Select your builder
Once you've scored the quotes or tenders and asked the right questions, pick the builder. The decision is now informed, not impulsive — and you walk in with answers to questions most buyers never even thought to ask.
Step 7: Contract drafted
Your chosen builder drafts the formal building contract — usually HIA, Master Builders, or a firm-specific equivalent. You will typically receive it as a PDF for review, not a signed document yet.
Step 8: Independent legal review
Take the draft contract to a solicitor who specialises in building contracts. They'll flag contract terms you can't read, side letters, special conditions, and any unusual wording — before you commit anything in writing.
Step 9: Sign contract and pay deposit
Once your solicitor clears the contract, sign it and pay the deposit (typically 5%). This is the point of no return — but by now you've done the work, asked the questions, and reviewed the terms.
Step 10: Construction loan approval
Your lender finalises a construction loan based on the signed contract. Funds are released to the builder in progress payments as the build hits each milestone — slab, frame, lockup, fix, completion.
Step 11: Land settlement and site preparation
If you bought land separately, settlement happens here. The block is cleared, soil-tested, surveyed, and any required permits are finalised before construction begins.
Step 12: Construction
Slab → frame → lockup → fix → completion. Typically 6–12 months for a single-storey home, longer for larger or more complex builds. Progress payments are released after each stage inspection.
Step 13: Practical completion and defects
When the builder declares the home complete, you walk through with a building inspector. Anything not right — chips, scratches, missing trim, faulty fixtures — is logged on a defects list and rectified before final handover.
Step 14: Settlement and mortgage conversion
Final payment is released. Your construction loan converts to a standard home loan, usually principal-and-interest on a fixed or variable rate. Keys hand over. You move in.
Steps 4 and 5 are where most buyers wish they’d had more information.
By the time you’re at the contract drafting stage, the price is already locked. Score your quotes or tenders before you sign — from $222.
BuildScore™ reports are based on general industry data and analysis. They do not constitute financial, legal or building advice. Always engage qualified professionals before signing any contract.