Frequently Asked Questions

Hot topics to help you on your journey.

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Your Tender and Contract Presenter will schedule the contract signing and payment, which in most cases can be combined with your Tender Acceptance Meeting at Wisdom Homes' Head Office.


Upon acceptance of your Wisdom Homes Tender, a non-refundable deposit of $5,000 is required in order to prepare the new home building contract documentation.

 

A copy of our 'standard building contract' will be provided to you before your tender and contract acceptance meeting. Please take the time to review this contract thoroughly and ask any questions before your 'contract' signing.

 

In your tender acceptance, contract signing meeting you will be given your personalised 'new home building contract', with all the specifics of your new home outlined in specific detail incorporating your signed tender and contract plans.

 

Please ensure that each person listed on the contract is at this meeting to sign the contract documentation. Upon signing your new home building contract, you’ll be required to pay a balance of 5% deposit, less payments made to date.

From this point and beyond, no structural or façade changes are permitted to your build.

 

Please Note. We advise all our clients that they are responsible for seeking their own independent legal advice.

  • Landscape design
  • External selections
  • Internal selections
  • Tiles and flooring
  • Electrical
  • Kitchens and bathrooms
  • Air conditioning
  • Blinds and shutters
  • Home security

 

These selections can take time, so please allow up to two days for these design consultations. Once your Tender is signed and your deposit is paid, we will be in touch to organise your Canvas Quarter Selection Studio appointment. Our Canvas Quarter studio hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm, open strictly by appointment only.

Canvas Quarter is our dedicated, state-of-the-art interior and exterior design studio. Once your tender Is signed and complete, the next step who are here to help you turn your dream home into your everyday reality. The CQ showroom is located right next door to the Wisdom Homes Gregory Hills Head Office. Appointments are available Monday to Friday during office hours.

With building now underway, the Wisdom Homes Construction Team expertly coordinates every trade involved in the build process to ensure a professional and quality construction that is on time and within budget.

This is a 6-stage process which we have briefly outlined for you below. If you find that you have further questions around the build of your new home, please feel free to ask your Site Supervisor or CSR any questions or get your copy of our New Home Journey guide which takes you briefly through our construction process. Please find a brief outline below.

 

Stage 1. Site start and Slab Pour.
Stage 2. Frame and Trusses.
Stage 3. Brickwork.
Stage 4. Plasterboard.
Stage 5. Practical Completion Inspection (PCI).
Stage 6. Settlement.

During the Construction Process, you are guaranteed:

  • Site Supervisors conduct weekly site inspections.
  • Detailed quality audits by our Area Construction Manager prior to plasterboard stage and Practical Completion.
  • Inspections with your Quality Assurance Team.
  • Client inspections at Practical Completion and Settlement. You can also schedule additional site visits during the build in conjunction with your Site Supervisor.

Wisdom Homes will coordinate all of the required building approvals so your build can proceed as quickly as possible.

Below Is a list of the Independent third parties that need to approve your build before Wisdom Homes can proceed with your build. 

These include:

  • Land developer (where applicable)
  • Council
  • Principle Certifying Authority
  • Structural Engineers
  • Hydraulic Engineers (where applicable)
  • BASIX – Energy and Thermal Assessment
  • Sydney Water
  • Power and Gas Connection
  • Bushfire (where applicable)
  • Acoustics (where applicable)

Once all the items of the Building Contract are satisfied and complete and the final funds are received, we’ll hand over the keys to your new home at our Head Office.

You will be provided with a 'settlement pack' which Includes a maintenance check list. This is part of our After-Care program and the check list can be submitted to Wisdom Homes for our team to make adjustments to your home for any issues that may have occurred within the agreed scope.

Wisdom Homes has a proud reputation for building beautiful homes of the highest quality. During each stage of planning and construction we deliver on our promise through our quality assurance program.

Now that you have settled into your new home, you can benefit from the peace of mind with the Wisdom Homes' After Care Program, because we stand by our quality commitment to you.

In your settlement pack, our customers receive a maintenance check list as part of our After-Care Program, which allows you to record any adjustments or issues that may have occurred which need to be rectified. This checklist can be submitted 90 days after the Practical Completion for routine maintenance and any adjustments that have occurred.

For your added assurance, if you have any home emergencies or urgent queries, our hotline operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. 

We offer comprehensive guarantees and support for Wisdom Homes customers Including

- 25-year Structural Guarantee on your build, giving you peace of mind.
- 90 Day Aftercare maintenance.
- 3 Quality Build Inspections
- 24/7 Maintenance Emergency Care

For any Information about our build, please contact us by submitting an enquiry on our website, visiting one of our display centres or calling our number on 1300 855 775.

Yes! The benefit of building with Wisdom Homes is that we offer the complete turnkey solution offering a wide range of landscaping services and pools. We specialise in custom concrete pools as well as offer a range of fibreglass pool packages. Our landscaping services includes retaining walls, fencing, driveway, decking, pergolas, garden design, and more!

Building with Wisdom allows you to enjoy one builder, one contract and one-timeframe with our comprehensive turnkey landscaping service including pools and spas.

From a small service to a full scale outdoor renovation, we can create a unique outdoor design to suit your home and lifestyle. 

Contact us to find out more about how Wisdom Homes can build you a new home complete with a pool and landscaping.

Standard inclusions are products, fixtures and appliances that that are included in the advertised cost of the home. Wisdom Homes has 2 inclusions packages to choose from. Complete inclusions Package comes standard with the cost of the home, our next level up is the Premium Inclusions Package which is available at an additional cost. Any of your inclusion items can be upgraded dependant on your budget and lifestyle requirements.

As standard, all Wisdom Homes customers will have an opportunity to make further upgrades to their home inclusions in our Canvas Quarter Selection Studio appointment. With an experienced interior consultant, you are able to select your external and internal colours and further upgrade items such as lighting, flooring, tiling, tapware, benchtops, electrical and more. One of our experienced interior design consultants will also demonstrate what is included as standard.

A ‘site scrape’ means to remove the top layer of the block, to make it clear for construction.
 
An ‘excavation’ is needed when the site is required to be at a certain level and usually consists of a cut and fill method.
 
A ‘cut and fill’ refers to the process of cutting into the hillside or slope of your site. The material removed from area is then used to ‘fill’ the site to achieve the desired level. 

A restriction on the title of your land to which that part of the land is to be left free for some purpose.

DA references the Development Approval. Applications are lodged through the council. Compliance rules are council and block specific.

Site costs are those that arise due to a chosen home placed on a block of land that has such items as:

  • Dirt that needs to be taken away, or brought in, to have a levelled building platform
  • Changes to concrete slab due to site classification
  • Building close to sewer mains or easements (drop edge beams, additional piers, and additional approvals).
    And more!

Wisdom Homes pricing includes standard site costs* as part of the price, as well as standard BASIX* requirements, Standard Council requirements* and more.

*Additional costs may apply due to your individual block and council requirements.

A provisional sum is an amount of money included in the contract sum to cover work or materials, the extent of which cannot be specifically detailed when entering the contract. A provisional sum may be credited back if it is not required via a post contract variation, after the contract has been signed.

This amount may or may not affect your finance depending on your budget as it will be factored into the final contract amount.

Yes, Wisdom Homes has a range of seven granny flat designs that can be added to your Wisdom Homes build at an additional cost**.  Adding a granny flat to your build will incur additional costs and is available subject to individual block such as the size of the block, council requirements and more.

**Subject to individual land.

To find out if your suburb falls within our build zone, please see our build zone page. Extra building zone charges apply to specific areas within our build zone.

If you are unsure of where your suburb falls within our build zone map or if you would like to get a comprehensive estimate for what the build costs might be for your project, speak to a Wisdom Homes sales consultant today.

Yes. Wisdom Homes is proud to offer the customisation of plans and can work with you to tailor your unique home, pool and landscaping design to suit your individual requirements. Please note, we don't offer major structural changes, but we can alter smaller details like room sizes, positioning, windows and doors and more.

Please note, ALL changes to house plans are subject to compliance approvals and will incur additional costs and may delay the build time.

A $2,000 deposit is required to secure your price and prepare your tender. Upon receipt, we will begin the preparations of your initial home plans and tender document, which includes the itemised costings, upgrades, pool and landscaping provisions of your build.

The contour survey will give us accurate levels, check boundary lines and determine the exact slope of your land. It will help us to accurately determine the site costs and cost to run services to your new home. This is organised by our pre-site team once the deposit is paid, before contract signing.

Wisdom Homes will undertake a soil test to understand if the block is suitable for the right foundations. This is organised by our pre-site team once the deposit is paid, before contract signing.

At Wisdom Homes, we have a range of seven Granny Flat designs which can be added to your Wisdom Homes build**. Please note, we do not build granny flats on their own. They must be added to your Wisdom Homes, home build.

**Subject to individual land.

Yes, we have 3 different split-level homes, architecturally designed to suit steep or sloping blocks. Our Ashcroft 30 is designed to suit a high-side lot whereas our Pinnacle 30 and Zenith 31 both suits side-sloping lots.

The validity of mortgage pre-approval letters can vary between different lenders. Pre-approvals are generally valid up to 90 days. If your pre-approval has expired, your lender may request an extension assuming your financial situation hasn’t changed during the validity period.

Canvas Quarter selections have many factors, suppliers, and processes that need to be followed to finalise your selections. Our Canvas Quarter team have their own dedicated Estimating team to assist with providing costings and variations within a timely manner. Supplier documents can also take some time as they have their own processes and procedures that they need to follow. Your Canvas Quarter Consultant will guide you through the process as quickly and smoothly as possible, and they’re always here to assist with any questions you may have.

We request the final file check to be completed by our Estimating department as they review and finalise any outstanding provisional allowances or charges that may have not been reconciled or raised in a variation previously. This is the final check that is completed to ensure the contract amount and balance deposit is correct, prior to providing to your bank.

Your pre-construction coordinator will identify the tender expiry date in their initial introduction email and call. Wisdom Homes fix the tender period for 12 months from the date of your initial deposit, which you can find on your signed tender acceptance form. Your pre-construction coordinator will continue to note this date in key milestone emails to remind you of this important date.

We need the Canvas Quarter selection process to be completed entirely to ensure you have made all your selections for your home. Some selections and quotes are referenced on the construction plans and need to be finalised to do so. We also require this to be completed to do the draft CCV, which is your tender and all variations to date, and will also be used to complete the construction plans.

Unfortunately, Wisdom can not provide you with a specific date that we will be on site as there are many internal and external factors that need to be taken into consideration and obtained. Your Pre- Construction Coordinator is here to guide you through this process and keep you updated on the progress regularly, so your home goes into construction as soon as possible.

Any plans required for your home are completed by our internal drafting department and can take approximately 10 working days to complete. Although an amendment may seem minor, it can take time to complete due to the work involved in drawing, creating, and considering any restrictions around the location / request.

As council is a third-party authority, timeframes do vary from council to council. Wisdom Homes have no control over their turn around time or processes. Your Pre- Construction Coordinator will follow up your application with council regularly and provide you an update once your application is under assessment. You will also be provided with the DA application number that will enable you to also track the progress of your DA through the Council website.

  1. Our sales consultants can provide you with a free initial estimate of your wish list.
  2. Our partner ‘Mortgage Advice Bureau’ can also provide a free initial assessment to gauge your borrowing capacity.

Yes, at Wisdom this is all covered by us, however sometimes DA lodgements can attract more fees pending conditions of the block, house design, and some council’s specific requirements

CDC references the Complying Development Certificate, which is a state code of rules approved through a certifier. Your 10.7 certificate and block constraints will determine if you can go down this path for building approval.

DA is Development Approval which is done through the council, and rules are council and block specific.

a. Both have advantages based on your block and the house size you want to build.
b. CDC is a much faster process, but also has rules that must be strictly met.
c. DA can sometimes take longer and pending on your block or 10.7 certificate, you may have to go down this path for your building approval. (BAL, Flooding, and Tree compliance normally require DA approval).
d. Our sales consultants and in house compliance experts will help guide you with the best option for your block and home design.

Yes, at Wisdom Homes we offer these services under the one banner, and we can quote or set up an appointment with an expert to talk into detail on your requirements and vision.

Your Wisdom Tender is valid for 12 months from initial deposit & must be accepted within 24 hours to maintain pricing.

a. In 2016 Sumitomo Forestry Australia – a division of Japan’s Sumitomo Forestry Group, became joint owners of WISDOM HOMES, and in 2022 took its ownership stake to 100%.

b. Japan's Sumitomo Forestry Group, is an organisation boasting over 300 years of experience and a global property leader, building over 20,000 homes annually.

c. Ownership by Sumitomo Forestry Group brings assurance of WISDOM's longevity, plus high standards of governance and professionalism.

Building in an area affected by noise means that your land has been identified as Acoustic affected by an 88b.  Some of the reasons why the land would need additional Acoustic treatments would be building near a highway, building near a train line, or near an airport. It is mandatory for DA and CDC approvals that the items identified in the Acoustic reports are shown on the plans, as the Acoustic report and plans are stamped as part of the approvals package.

Acoustic treatments include increasing glazing thickness, increasing insulation, thicker or double plaster board to walls or ceiling, and different construction methods such as full brick construction without any lightweight construction materials such as cladding.

Generally, the 88b will identify that an Acoustic report has been prepared and needs to be reviewed to determine the level of Acoustic treatments required for the proposed dwelling in relation to the location of where the noise is coming from that would affecting the lot and proposed dwelling. In some cases, the Acoustic report will advise that a site- specific report is needed, based on the house design, to ensure compliance with the maximum noise levels outlined in the report or other legislative guidelines.

The Acoustic items that are required for your chosen house design are required to be shown on the plans before applying for the BASIX and Bushfire assessments, (if applicable). In most cases, Acoustic requirements increase the glazing thickness which needs to be considered when doing the BASIX thermal assessments as the Acoustic, Bushfire, and BASIX requirements all need to be considered to ensure compliance.

Acoustic treatment costs are dependent on many factors.  Some examples include:

  • The type, size, & design of the house.
  • Double storey vs Single storey.
  • How many windows.
  • How close the lot is to the noise source.
  • Acoustic levels that are required to be achieved in the dwelling, which are outlined in the reports.

Building in a bushfire prone area means that your land has been identified as being bushfire prone land by way of a 10.7 planning certificate from council or an 88b.

To determine the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL), a qualified Bushfire Consultant will review the site against the Australian Standards, considering any Developer reports applicable, and provide a BAL Certificate or BAL Report identifying the level.

There are 6 Bushfire Attack Levels.

BAL Low means no additional requirements are needed for your build. The other BAL levels are 12.5, 19, 29, 40, and Flame Zone. As the BAL level increases, so does the compliance requirements. Increased requirements may include toughened glazing, use of steel posts instead of pine, use of villaboard sheeting to outdoor areas, and other requirements depending on the selected house design. If the land is identified as being BAL 40 or Flame Zone then you must seek approval via DA consent with council, as CDC does not allow for BAL 40 construction.

Wisdom will not build in a Flame Zone.

If lodging via CDC, a BAL Certificate is required to determine the level and any relevant requirements. All compliance requirements are to be shown on the plans when lodged for approval, accompanied with the BAL Certificate.

A BAL Report is required when lodging a DA with council.  As part of the DA assessment council may refer the proposed DA to the Royal Fire Service (RFS) for comment, and in some cases the RFS may recommend the BAL level be increased.

Costs are dependent on the severity of the BAL rating and selected finishes and is costed by our Estimating Team once the report or certificate is received from the qualified Bushfire Consultant.

Wisdom Homes do not suggest, confirm, or advise as to when you should ask tenants to vacate the property. We also do not recommend you demolish your existing home until we have obtained your DA/CDC approval. We do encourage you to obtain your demolition approval at the earliest time. You can obtain the approval for demolition through council or a private certifier, in which your demolition company will be able to assist you.

Each block is different from another, which is why our sales consultants assess each block on its merit to determine what extra costs may be applicable, such as traffic control or double handling for example.

Our site supervisors will also visit your site to provide a detailed report of costs that may arise, so they can be included in your tender.

a. Each block is different from another, which is why our sales consultants assess each block on its merit to determine what extra costs may be applicable, such as traffic control or double handling for example.
b. Wisdom Homes will conduct a site assessment to determine what costs may arise, so these costs can also be included in your Tender.

Unfortunately, there is no standard turnaround time regarding the approvals needed for your new home. Once an application is lodged to the relevant authority, it is dependent on any additional requirements that may be requested and their processing times. As they’re a third- party, Wisdom is unable to provide timeframes although we will follow up and action any additional information requests as soon as possible.

A “Readybuilt Home” is a newly construction home that you can simply move into. It follows a more standard process to purchase an existing home. With Readybuilt by WISDOM, you get the benefit of a brand new home without having to wait for construction.

We have a range of Readybuilt homes available at various price points. To see our Readybuilt homes for sale, visit our readybuilt page on our website.
 
For more information on our Readybuilt Homes, please visit our website to submit an enquiry or contact us on 1300 855 775.

No. As our Readybuilt homes are either already completed or have been designed and constructed by our projects team to suit council and developer requirements, meaning the plans have already been submitted to council. Therefore, you are unable to change a Readybuilt home by WISDOM.

Driveway is not included in our base price however, we can add this in for you as we offer landscaping services, including pools and can add this to your build.

All homes feature our luxury inclusions, and you can select the façade, exterior, and interior colours and finishes to suit your individual sense of style.

Our complete turnkey package typically includes:

  • Home design and facade of your choice (*Conditions Apply)
  • Standard Site Costs (Up to 1m of fall over block & M class slab)
  • Standard Council, Environmental Management, and Work, Health & Safety Requirements
  • Standard BASIX Package (including rainwater tank)
  • Ceramic Tiles to Entry, Foyer, Kitchen, Dining and Leisure Room ($25m2 tile allowance)
  • 50/50 Wool Blend Carpet to remainder of the home (excluding wet areas)
  • Concrete to front porch including Ceramic Tiles Over ($25m2 tile allowance)



Landscaping can be added to your build as part of our pools and landscaping services. 

No problem, if you’re ready to purchase a new home and love our designs but have a busy lifestyle, the easiest option for you would be to purchase a readybuilt home. (sometimes called Spec Homes) It’s brand-new, with all the quality inclusions and finishes that you would expect, as a standard. Speak to our Sales Consultants today about purchasing a readybuilt home.

No, whether you’re just getting into the market, upsizing, downsizing or investing and prefer a simpler way to ownership, with little need for modification, our home and land packages allow you to choose a block of land in an established estate already pre-packaged with a quality Wisdom Home for sale at a fixed price, a very cost-effective option in Sydney. Speak to one of our Sales Consultants today.

Congratulations! The first thing to do is to find a design the suits not only the site, but your family’s lifestyle and requirements. Its best to spend a fair amount of time documenting your required inclusions, a wish list, before meeting with the Sales Consultant to determine what’s possible and what you may need to compromise on.  Wisdom have a variety of designs to suit most sites, and we allow some modification during the sales process to our standard designs to better suit your needs.

No!  You can select your design, make your wish list and finalise your tender and plans, even sign contracts on unregistered land. The only thing that will take a little longer is the approval process as we will need to update the plan with registered contours/site requirements & site costs within the tender before we submit to the Council or PCA. We can however action the Developer approval, based on unregistered plans

Developed land requires finalisation with the NSW Government – Land and Property Information – before the approval process can commence, whilst this may increase the period it takes to commence onsite it affords you some time to pay off the land purchase before starting the home build. The typical timeframe from registration to site commencement is 10-20 weeks dependant on the submission type and site requirement. Ie. DA, CDC, KDR.

KDR is an acronym for Knockdown Rebuild. It refers to the demolition of an existing home to make way for a new one, most KDR sites require additional stormwater requirements, known as Hydraulic requirements, speak to one of our Sales Consultants about your site’s requirements.

Registered land means we can order reports necessary to prepare plans and a tender with known site costs. Once the home building agreement has been signed we can commence the approvals process and schedule site commencement. The timeframe is dependant on the site requirements by local councils (Developer Approval or CDC).

If you would like to find out how much it costs to build a Wisdom home, please submit an enquiry on our website via our build an estimate tool, or give us a call.

To receive an initial estimated cost to build your chosen design, we will ask you to provide the details of your land. This could be in the form of a developer disclosure plan, sales plan, estate guideline or the contract of the purchase of your land. If you do not have these records available, Wisdom Homes will help you source the information.

Once the land details have been received, Wisdom Homes will begin to check your selected home design meets the requirements of your land, the developer, council and more.

Once the compliance has been checked and approved, an obligation free design interview will take place to finalise the estimated cost of your selected home.

Yes. Once you have received an estimated cost to build your chosen Wisdom Homes design, an initial non-refundable deposit is required to secure the current listed base home price and promotional offer (if applicable) and prepare your tender and contract.

$1,500 for a Greenfield
$2,000 for a Knockdown Rebuild


This deposit forms part of the overall contract price of your new home.

Your new home journey starts here.