New Home Buyers Blog

When looking for your builder, make sure you are not just dealing with a marketing company and they are real builders. Currently in Melbourne and around the country there are many marketing companies masquerading as builders. This is a major problem the industry has at the moment and the practice should be banned.  Ask to meet the builder before you sign anything and definitely before you part with any money. If meeting the builder is a problem at the start, imagine
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Are you and your children outgrowing your old family home? If so, instead of buying into another suburb you should consider a knock down rebuild with Berstan Homes.  By doing a knock down rebuild you are able to stay where you currently live in a brand new home purpose built for you and your family. What are you waiting for, call the team at Berstan Homes today to get started.
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With so many new home builders out there how do you choose one? Well there are a few ways of selecting a good builder. Have a look at their work; when did they start building? When going into their display are you talking to the builder or just a sales person? It is very important to speak to a builder and not just the sales staff and it's not unreasonable to request to meet the actual builder that will build
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Berstan Homes are currently tendering on a knock down rebuild in Balwyn. The clients have a piece of land that they have owned for 15 years. They are interested in knocking down the existing out dated dwelling and constructing a dual occupancy.  The homes would be 35 square each with courtyards at the rear and four bedrooms on the first floor. We are also designing the homes to have studies which can be easily converted into ground floor bedrooms.
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When looking for land let the builder do the work and get the builder to source your land.   This is a good idea because the builder knows where all the estates are and will be able to get you a better deal.  Developers give builders a better deal because they are securing land every day for their clients.   The builder will be able to work out many features of land that most would not know about and could
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Berstan Homes have been pricing several knock down rebuilds in the Balwyn area with special interest being shown in the Florence 51. This magnificent French provincial home by Berstan Homes has air and grace that would suit any discerning new home purchaser.  Features include ground floor guest room with full appointments, large open plan living spaces with views to the expansive outdoor entertainment area. The kitchen is of commercial size and comes equipped with walk in larder and second cooking area
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  We are building the swimming pool at our displays first as access will be an issue later on once all the homes are built. Please see attached photos for the amount of steel work placed in the pool walls. Day 1 the excavation was done, Day 2 the steel was placed and Day 3 the concrete was sprayed onto the pools walls. The pool size is 9m x 2m and is a perfect size for a few laps after work
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We are currently working on several knock down rebuilds in the Ivanhoe area and I am personally surprised by the abundance of building activity. There are very few streets without some sort of building project under way.
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With more than 10 lots per week selling at Mernda Village, a lot of people are choosing to call it home. Mernda Village is one of a few new estates that can offer schools, shops, Woolworths, parks and public transport, and this is the reason many are turning to this estate.
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Berstan Homes are currently pricing several knock down rebuilds in the Alphington area with most involving the construction of two dwellings on the same site. I feel the homes will sell very quickly being in such a high demand area. Alphington is only 7km from the Melbourne CBD, has its own train station and plenty of quality schools close by. It is little wonder the properties are not on the market long.
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  We are currently having many clients requesting windows to the kitchen to provide natural light.  Years ago we used to install skylights to kitchens which were very effective for providing light however they also let in a lot of heat. Kitchens can get hot enough so the inclusion of a window is a way of introducing light without heat.
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Don't buy into a retirement village without looking into the facts about them. A client came to me last week and explained how some friends of hers had purchased a home in a retirement village and the costs were very high.  Some of the fees are as follows site fee for having your own home on their property. A 30 year lease was offered and the end of that period the lease would need to be renegotiated. The homes offered
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The only way to get what you want is with a knock down rebuild. It is as easy just buy an old house on a piece of land where you would like to live.  Then simply call Berstan Homes and we can arrange the rest all permits, planning, design, surveys, engineering and of course the whole process for our clients is as effortless as possible.  We will design exactly what you and your family require and we will build it
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Berstan Home new display village is well under way with the concrete slabs being poured and framing will start shortly. The slabs were poured in perfect weather and are looking great. Berstan is building the display village with a difference, with three very popular Berstan Homes, being the, the Stockton26 and the very popular for first home buyers, the Javier18.
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Berstan Homes has just been awarded a 49 square knock down rebuild in Pascoe Vale. The build involves the construction of a five bedroom three bathroom home with large open plan living areas. An alfresco is just one point of difference in this magnificent abode spanning the full width of the home to maximise the outdoor living area.
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One of the first mistakes first home buyers make is to search for the cheapest prices. This is certainly a sure way of getting into trouble with the cheapest price meaning just that. The cheapest builders use the cheapest products and trades on their projects meaning more problems for you the home buyer down the track. Most of these type of builders also cut corners and this leads to serious building faults in the future. Many would then say just
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With the amount of older homes being knocked down and rebuilt in the Kew area and surrounding suburbs, people are asking me why?.   The answers are many; Better design, low maintenance, able to create your own style, value adding, more environmentally friendly construction, green living solutions are just a few. With a clever design Berstan Homes can create the perfect family home in Kew and its many surrounding suburbs.
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With an increase of homes starting to all have the same look many of our clients are seeking a point of difference. The addition of a stone feature wall can add this to a home and create an outstanding look and a talking point for years to come.                             .
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Aurora estate is a master planned community owned and being developed by the state government. Berstan Homes currently have 12 homes under stages of construction or development within the Aurora estate. With Construction of the new shopping centre featuring Coles and speciality shops are starting shortly and completion scheduled for 2016.  Now is the time to purchase a home and land package and take advantage of these prices before the shopping complex is completed.
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One of the benefits of doing a knock down rebuild with Berstan Homes is that you are able to stay in the same area that you know and love.   Through doing a knock down rebuild you remain, generally speaking, in an area that is already established with amenities.  Knock down rebuild saves the worry of having to make new friends like you would if you bought a new home. By choosing to do a knock down rebuild with Berstan
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Access issues at many knock down rebuild sites are often a problem faced by builders. In this particular case, overhead wiring was directly where we needed to get our concrete pumped from, so we decided to use a line pump in lieu of the often used boom crane pump.
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The design of your home is very important for easy living with this in mind our designers have created  practical functional living zones. We have a choice of 2 bedroom homes and all come with their own secure garage parking. All homes are built on land with its own title and have no body corporate fees. 
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Berstan Homes has just been awarded a knock down rebuild project in Rosanna and the clients are cashing in there extra land. The knock down rebuild consists of the demolition of the existing home and the new build of two homes on the same site. estimates for the knock down new build are showing the costs involved for the project are close to being negative once the second home is sold. This is a great way for the clients to
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A client came to me over the weekend and claimed a major new home builder in Melbourne was over charging for fly-screens.  On further investigation I found the claim had substance and the company was charging 700% over the cost of the fly-screens. An average home of 20 squares has a fly-screen cost of $280 dollars so the company concerned is certainly charging way over the costs it should be. Most building companies put a margin on their goods at
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Berstan Homes has construction well under-way at our knock down rebuild site at Porter Street, Templestowe. The existing home has now been demolished and the concrete slab is down ready for framing to start shortly.  The home selected by our clients at this knock down rebuild site is the Berstan Homes Florence a French provincial home of some 50 plus squares. There are many features to this beautiful home just one that comes to mind is the grand entrance staircase
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Berstan Homes is one of Victoria's leading home builders and a name you can trust. In partnership with our developer Berstan Homes can offer outstanding value for money and a quality built home with land in some of the best areas in the North. The homes have been custom designed by our drafting team for low maintenance and easy living with all the comforts you would expect.  
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When considering a knock down rebuild your land size is a very important factor. The land must be large enough for your purpose and easements can also play a major role in the ability to build your project.  Thought must also be put into the access for the rear property if two or more homes are to be built on the site.
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When doing your research into knock down rebuilds, one item often overlooked are the councils views on knock down rebuilds. There are without a doubt some councils that are very challenging to deal with.
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I had some clients come to me to discuss their first home requirements over the weekend nothing out of the ordinary there I thought. Over the next few days I found them a great block of land in the Mernda Villages estate and I priced an Onella18 Berstan home on the site and fixed the price no more to pay. I then sent the details to the client who replied back with a much lower price with a major volume
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Berstan Homes has just completed a knock down rebuild in Melbourne with a very unique kitchen feature.  The kitchen has been arranged in a U-shape with a twist, on the rear wall are a group of what looks like cupboards with full length doors. Behind these doors on one side the pantry and the other hides the laundry working area. Laundries and pantries are not really attractive areas but by using this method we have been able to create a
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