Build your dream home on the Sunshine Coast with Beachside Constructions
At Beachside Construction we love nothing more than seeing the dream of building your new home on the Sunshine Coast become a reality. Thanks to the Morrison Government’s new HomeBuilder Scheme, your dream may be a little bit closer. And if you’ve never owned a home before, this could be the perfect opportunity; the HomeBuilder Grant, coupled with the First Home Owners’ Grant could give you a $40,000 boost, and depending on your build cost, that could save you up to 15%! We’ve put together a handy guide with all the information you need about the HomeBuilder Grant. Let’s start with the basics.
The Basics of HomeBuilder
What is HomeBuilder?
HomeBuilder provides eligible owner-occupiers (including first home buyers) with a grant of $25,000 to build a new home or substantially renovate an existing home. HomeBuilder will assist the residential construction market by encouraging the commencement of new home builds and renovations. (source: Australian Government, Treasury Department). HomeBuilder will complement existing State and Territory First Home Owner Grant programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, as well as the Commonwealth’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme.
Do I qualify for the HomeBuilder Grant?
- Be an Australian citizen aged 18 years or older and be an individual, not a company or trust.
- Be on an income of less than $200,000 combined for couples, or $125,000 for singles. This will be based on your 2018/19 Tax Return or later. The income limit is based on your gross income, before tax and excluding superannuation.
- Be spending between $150,000 and $750,000 on a renovation for a home that has been previously valued at less than $1.5 million (for house and land). This doesn’t include building things outside of your home, like a swimming pool, tennis courts, granny flat or shed.
- Be building a new home that you will live in worth less than $750,000 (house and land).
- Sign a building contract after 4th June and before 31st December, 2020, through a licensed or registered builder. Paul Johannessen, owner of Beachside Construction, is a licenced builder right here on the Sunshine Coast.
- Begin construction of your new home, or renovation, within three months.
Also worth noting:
- Any building or renovation contract entered into must be at arm’s length, meaning the contract must be made by two parties freely and independently of eachother.
- The terms of the contract must be commercially reasonable and the contract price should not be inflated compared to the fair market place. This will be determined by requesting specific information from the builder, comparing a similar product (quality, location and size) as at 1 July 2019.
What’s not covered by HomeBuilder?
As mentioned above, HomeBuilder is only available for building contracts. So unfortunately you’re not eligible if you are:
- Building a new home which has a house and land value OVER $750,000
- Building or renovating an investment property
- An owner builder
- A permanent resident, New Zealand Citizen or visa holder
- Building something outside of your home (eg. a granny flat, swimming pool, tennis court or outdoor spa)
- If you’re building a duplex, it’s important to remember that you will only be able to claim one of the properties as your principle place of residence. This means the other property will be classes as an investment and therefore not eligible for the Grant.
Using the HomeBuilder Grant together with the First Home Owners’ Grant
As we mentioned in the start of this article, you can use the HomeBuilder Grant ($25,000) together with the First Home Owners’ Grant ($15,000), giving you a $40,000 boost. This could go a long way in helping you secure your very first home, right here on the Sunshine Coast.
The next steps to getting your HomeBuiler grant approved
The next thing you need to do is to contact Paul or Tonya at Beachside Construction. If you already own a block of land, or have a block in mind, we will meet you on-site to discuss design options and our build process. From there we can draw up plans and develop a quotation, submit a building application and finalise the construction contract. After the contract is signed, we can guide you in the right direction to apply for the HomeBuilder Grant, and get you on your way to building your dream custom home on the Sunshine Coast. Contact Beachside Construction today!