Howdy!   Now we want you to enjoy this experience.  Investing your time and money into building a home or commercial space can be one of the most enjoyable experiences of your life.  However at the same time, many have felt this wasn't the case, and it all came down to the preparation.

Like a good meal, preparation is the key.

So how can you prepare to meet your building designers???

#1.  Find your sale of contract.

Go back to the filing cabinet and dig out that baby.  Somewhere in amongst the pages of jargon you'll discover a plan of the block with varied information, like Deposited Plan (DP) and Lot numbers, boundary measurements and angles, easements that run through your property, existing buildings, etc;

Now, this is crucial.  Bring it to your initial meeting so then your building designer can inform you as to whether your ideas for your project are feasible.  Better to learn early on what your options are than to find out later down the line once you have invested time and money that it was all just a waste of time.   

Depending on how old your information is, you should be prepared to pay for a registered surveyor to survey your property.  Many council's now will not accept a Development Application / Construction Certificate (D.A / C.C) lodgement without the accompaniment of a survey of your property that is not more than 2 years old.  

Architects and Building Designers can not take the place of a registered surveyor in any way since it's not legal for us to verify the locations of easements, boundaries and existing buildings.

#2.  Prepare your priorities.   

Now with every project there are 3 things of importance, which are Time, Cost & Quality.  

The trick is you can only ever have 2 out of 3.    For instance, if you want something quickly you will have to sacrifice money or quality.  If you want something complicated that will mean it will cost you either in time or money, but it's all your choice.

So, before you get carried away sit down in a quiet spot and calmly discuss with your partner, if you have one, which you will place as more important and which you will be prepared to sacrifice in your project because believe me there is always a sacrifice.

This will also apply to a greater or lesser degree to these 3 areas, budget, timeline, & lifestyle/quality).

Budget and timeline are pretty self-explanatory. However, when we reference 'lifestyle' we are really talking about what kind of lifestyle or outcome you wish to derive from your renovations, new home or commercial premises. 

An ancient proverb says, 'The plans of the diligent surely lead to success, but all who are hasty are heading for poverty.'  (Proverbs 21:5)

Enough said.