BSA guarantees on an owner built home

[tobydogger]

I have an owner builders licence and plan on using trades people (plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc) to build my home whilst I manage the project and do all the 'easy' jobs (tiling, painting, landscaping, etc).

As an owner builder I understand that the BSA won't guarantee any of my work and that when I sell the property I will have to insert a caveat in the contract saying the house has been owner built.

Will I still need to include this caveat even though I have used trades people for all the major works and if so will it make my house harder to sell?

Any advice is very much appreciated.

[Ducati Lad]

Toby, yes, the caveat will be on the title for seven years, even though you've used tradies for the bits you can't/won't do.

I'm looking to do an Owner Build and that is the advice I was given.

Good luck with the build!

[tobydogger]

Will I find it harder to sell the property as an owner built home or are buyers not too bothered about who built it as long as it looks nice and has a good quality finish?

[Yonnee]

My mate is a reg'd builder and built his own home. Not even he will sell it before seven years as he is responsible for the guarentee. You just never know what the new owner will want you to fix for nothing.

[sol381]

Builders can actually. be responsible for the life of the house.. The 6 years is just how long the bsa licence lasts for.. there have been cases where the builder has had to rectify problems with a house after 14-15 years.

As for selling an owner built house as long as the prospective buyers are happy with the final product and have had a building inspection then i dont see a problem. Ive had a few mates sell owner built and the sale went through ok.. the new buyers do take a risk tho because you give no guarantee and if anything does go wrong your are not obligated to fix it.

[tobydogger]

I would like to think that owner builders would be more worried about quality of workmanship and finish on THEIR home. After all, to a builder it is just another job. Right!?

With reference to the BSA 6 year guarantee, the house I own now is pre war and the fact that it didn't have a guarantee didn't stop me from buying it.

I'm sure that the majority of the population is in the same boat and if any homeowner today isn't, they will be in 6 years!

[journeyman Mick]

I would like to think that owner builders would be more worried about quality of workmanship and finish on THEIR home. After all, to a builder it is just another job. Right!?...............

Toby,
not trying to offend here, but without completeing an apprenticeship as a carpenter + minimum 2 years of supervisory experience which is the "default" requirement to get a builder's license in Qld will you even know what to look for as far as quality goes when supervising the building of your house? Do you have much/any building experience? Whilst it's not rocket science it would be foolish to assume that you will have the neccesary skills, experience or knowledge required to succesfully build a house without any prior training.

For instance, you say that you will concentrate on doing the simple jobs like tiling. Do you know the requirements are for waterproofing membranes? Do you know that you don't grout in internal corners or where tiles contact a dissimilar material? There's lots of potential pitfalls, many of which won't be apparent until they're upon you. I'm not trying to dissuade you from going owner builder, but it does amuse me greatly when people who have little or no experience assume that they can pull off what is actually quite a complex task.

Mick

[tobydogger]

No offence taken.

I have previous building and renovation experience but not in Australia. I plan on using trades people for electrics, carpentry, plumbing etc but I would not consider paying someone to paint a wall for me (licence or no licence).

To be honest (and I do not mean to cause offence) if they could get away with it, I sometimes think the powers that be would make us all buy a licence to go to the toilet if they could get away with it.

I am currently on a building course at TAFE and would not undertake anything outside of current building regulations or that I didn't think I could complete without first obtaining advice from either the council or current building publications.

As Clint would say "A mans gotta know his limitations".

[DvdHntr]

I would think that as long as the house has no problems at the time of the building inspection, you would have little problem with the sale. The key is to have the work certified either by council or a private certifier.

[DvdHntr]

No offence taken.

I have previous building and renovation experience but not in Australia. I plan on using trades people for electrics, carpentry, plumbing etc but I would not consider paying someone to paint a wall for me (licence or no licence).

Things like plumbing and electricals are something that you definately need an expert. Also, the structural items like brickwork and framing, you need to know what you are doing.

[tobydogger]

We are buying a kit home and I will be employing a carpenter to oversee and manage the construction of the kit.

I would never consider doing slab / steel / electrics / plumbing / aircon / etc myself. These are jobs for the professionals.

There will be no brickwork. Just supporting steel and a frame on top.