FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
PROCESS
What happens step by step when you build a house in Broome?
Five stages. Free consultation on budget and block. Design and approvals, three to twelve months. Detailed pricing and contract with selections confirmed upfront. Construction, scheduled to 150 working days. Handover and then the defects period. Long lead items are ordered during design, because tiles alone can carry a four month lead time and the average custom home involves more than 200 separate orders.
What quality checks should a builder do during construction?
Our supervisor is on our own staff rather than contracted in, and works through dozens of internal test points across the build with photographic documentation at each one. The record exists whether anyone asks for it or not. Ask any builder who checks the work before the next trade starts, and whether that person is their employee.
How much contact will I have with my builder during the build?
You get Project Management Platform access to see progress photos and ask questions without chasing phone calls, onsite meetings at set stages, and a direct line to your Project Supervisor rather than a general office number. The complaint we hear most about other builders is that people never knew what was happening, so we built the process around fixing that.
What is practical completion?
The build is finished and usable apart from minor items on a defects list, and it is normally when handover happens. The defects liability period runs from that point, and it is the window in which your builder returns to rectify anything on the list. Following handover of your new home, H&M Tracey provides a 4-month defects liability period, together with a 6-year structural guarantee, subject to the terms and conditions of your building contract.
Property Investors
What rental yield can you get on a new build in Broome?
A $950,000 land and build can return around $1,550 a week, roughly $78,000 a year, which after interest leaves $25,000 to $30,000 positive cashflow annually. Land has moved from $200,000 to $225,000 five years ago to upwards of $300,000 today, so the returns remain strong but the margin for error has narrowed.
What is a GROH lease and how does it work?
GROH is Government Regional Officer Housing. The state leases properties to house the workers it needs in regional towns, mainly teachers, police and nurses, typically on ten year terms. The lease is signed before construction starts, which means you present a bank with contracted income rather than a projection, and that materially changes the finance conversation.
Can I build an investment property in Broome if I live interstate?
Yes, and most of our investment clients do. The thing that determines whether it goes well is not distance, it is whether your builder controls their own supply chain. Ask what the builder owns rather than what they can arrange, ask who signs off a material substitution, and ask what happens to your programme if a delivery is two weeks late in February.
What are the risks of building in Broome as a remote investor?
Delay is the main one, and it is expensive. An eight week slip on a $950,000 build costs roughly $12,000 in lost rent and $7,000 in loan interest. Cyclone season runs November to April and can close the road from Perth. The second risk is material substitution, where a builder swaps a cyclone rated component for one that only meets minimum code to keep moving.
Kitchen Renovations
How much does a kitchen renovation cost in Broome?
From $50,000, depending on the size, scope and complexity of your renovation. Because we manufacture in our own cabinet shop in Broome, you are not paying freight from Perth on the cabinetry or waiting eight weeks for it. Benchtops, appliances and tiling are the variables, and tiles in particular can carry a four month lead time so they are ordered early.
How long does a kitchen renovation take?
A straightforward kitchen changeover usually means about two weeks without a usable kitchen. The manufacturing happens in our Broome cabinet shop while the existing kitchen is still in use, so the period you are without a kitchen is the installation window rather than the whole project. We tell you which specific weeks those are before you sign.
Can you make a kitchen to fit an older Broome home?
Yes, and this is the main reason we manufacture ourselves. In an older Broome home walls are rarely square, and cabinetry ordered from a catalogue has to be packed out or trimmed on site. We measure the actual opening and build to it. If an adjustment is needed during installation it is a short drive rather than a freight booking.
Major Renovations
How much should I budget for a major renovation in Broome?
From $50,000, depending on the size, scope and complexity of your renovation. Whatever the figure, set a contingency at the start and treat it as spent, because what is behind a wall is unknown until the wall is open. Renovations in older Broome homes commonly turn up termite history, previous cyclone repairs, or unapproved work that has to be brought up to current code.
How long will I be without a kitchen or bathroom during a renovation?
Ask your builder to name the specific weeks rather than giving a range, and plan around those weeks. We stage renovations so the house stays as liveable as possible and tell you upfront which periods will be difficult. If you are staying in the house, that conversation happens before the contract is signed.
What causes most renovation disputes?
Something one party assumed was included. A proper renovation specification runs 20 to 30 pages or more and itemises what is kept, what is removed and what is replaced. If a quote is two or three pages with a single bottom line figure, the gaps get filled in later as variations. Renovations usually carry more provisional allowances than new builds, so check those closely.
Should I use a new home builder for a renovation?
Not necessarily. Working around an existing structure, staging work so the house stays liveable, and handling what turns up once things are open all require experience a new build portfolio does not demonstrate. Ask specifically how many major renovations the builder completed in the last two years, not how many homes.
What areas of Broome does H&M Tracey build in?
We build throughout Broome and the surrounding suburbs, including Bilingurr, Cable Beach, Djugun, Minyirr and Old Broome. Our office is at 9 Lucas Street, Broome, and we also operate from 2/19 Volcanic Loop, Wangara in Perth. We have worked across the wider Kimberley since 2000.
Residential
Why do builder quotes always end up costing more than the contract?
Usually two things, and both are in the contract from the start. A cost plus contract means you pay actual costs plus the builder’s margin, which can run up to 15 percent of the total build, so there is no final number when you sign. And provisional allowances are placeholder figures for items you have not chosen yet, set low to keep the quote competitive, and they correct upward as you make real selections.
What is a provisional allowance in a building contract?
A placeholder figure for something you have not selected yet, such as tiles, taps or benchtops. Every provisional allowance is a number that will change. Before you sign, ask for a list of every provisional item with a realistic figure beside it rather than the allowance figure. We keep allowances to a minimum by confirming selections upfront.
What are the five stages of a construction loan?
Funds release across five stages: slab or base down, frame up, lock up, fit out, and completion. Lock up means the home can be locked, so external walls, roof, windows and external doors are in. It is a loan stage rather than a finished house, which catches some people out.
Can a builder charge me if rock is found on my block?
Yes, and this applies even under a fixed price contract. If rock is found during excavation, removing it is at your cost, because nobody can price what is under the ground before they dig. It is a legitimate clause that every builder has. It should just never be the first time you hear about it.
Is it legal for a builder to take a deposit before insurance is in place?
No. In Western Australia it is illegal for a builder to take a deposit before Home Indemnity Insurance is in place. Ask for evidence of the policy before any money changes hands. That cover is what protects you if a builder cannot complete the work.