PRE-PURCHASE DESIGN ADVICE AND Consultations

We believe that good architectural and pre-purchase design advice should be widely accessible before clients commit to a major investment.

Whether you are considering purchasing a property, exploring its development potential, planning to design or renovate your home or commercial space with studio203, upgrading a rental investment or renovating to sell or rent, we can help you understand your options and make informed decisions. Simply book a Pre-Purchase Design Advice session or a Consultation with us.

Our dual qualifications in Property Development and Architecture uniquely position us to provide comprehensive Initial Consultations and Pre-Purchase Design Advice services, combining design expertise with property development and planning knowledge. Our long-standing Sydney-wide advice service is trusted by private clients and real estate agents who refer their clients to us for informed, independent guidance. Each consultation is prepared around your property and objectives, allowing us to provide considered advice.

Fees: prepaid for a 1 to 2 hour verbal on-site discussion at your property or a property you are consider purchasing. Please refer to the relevant service description below for details.

To make an appointment: Please complete the relevant consultation form below. We look forward to hearing from you!

Please also refer to our Terms and Conditions and FAQs below.

Pre-Purchase Design Advice

Elevating purchaser confidence through vision and awareness.

Considering purchasing a property? Book a Pre-Purchase Design Advice consultation to explore its potential, understand key constraints and identify opportunities before you commit.

Fee: $1100 (Total Price)

Why Pre-Purchase Design Advice Matters:

**Visualise the potential:** we help you look beyond the property's current state and explore how it might accommodate your goals.
**Identify key constraints:** discuss potential site, planning and title constraints, along with opportunities arising from the property's context and available information.
**More informed decisions:** by offering design insights upfront, we streamline the decision-making process, empowering buyers to make informed choices.
During our Pre-Purchase Design Advice meeting we discuss big picture items such as:
o Your goals and long-term aspirations for the property
o Potential site constraints and opportunities arising from the site, planning framework, title constraints, context, and available property information
o Whether your aspirations and budget appear aligned
o Potential short-term improvements, hidden costs, and constraints
o The likely development process, including approvals, timeframes, consultants, and construction considerations.
We value our relationships with our referring real estate agents. Our advice, however, is always independent and given solely in your interests as a purchaser. We will give you a candid view of the site, even where that suggests the property may not suit your goals or budget.

Initial Consultation

The first step towards your architectural and interiors project.

Please book an Initial Consultation to begin your Architectural Design Process with studio203. Together, we will establish an achievable project brief to inform our fee proposal to you.

Fee: $750 (Total Price)

We will discuss:

o Your goals, aspirations and project requirements
o Site opportunities and constraints
o Potential design solutions and approval pathways
o Your budget and its relationship to your project brief (see FAQ below on initial construction budget)
o The design, approval and construction process
o How we use 3D modelling, imagery and walk-throughs so you can experience your design in every detail before it’s built
o Consultant fees, authority costs and procurement options
o Builder selection and key considerations when building
o How the design intent, material quality and carefully considered details are carried through into the finished building, rather than compromised during construction.
o Sustainable design opportunities, materials and long-term performance (life-cycle considerations)
o Typical project timeframes.
After booking your Initial Consultation, you can download our *Architectural Design Process* guide to learn more about our design and procurement process.
***Additional Services,*** including the provision of reports, conceptual design services, design feasibility studies, and detailed research, are available for additional fees, which will be agreed on a case-by-case basis if required.

From Concept to Completion

What happens after your Initial Consultation?

**Studio203 is a full-service practice, guiding projects from concept through construction to post-completion.**
**DOWNLOAD** your journey from Concept to Completion explained in detail after you have submitted your booking form for the Initial Consultation. You will receive a link with your enquiry.
Contents:
o Kicking off your project
o Concept Design - Exploration of options in sketch form
o Design Development - Finalising the design
o Design Development - Approvals (DA or CDC Part 1)
o Design Development - Your other consultants
o Construction Documentation Stage 1 - Approvals (CC or CDC Part 2)
o Construction Documentation Stage 2 - Tender Documentation
o Construction Documentation - Finalising Selections
o Contractor Selection
o Your Building Contract
o Contract Administration + Post Construction
After submitting your Initial Consultation booking form, you’ll receive a link to download our **Architectural Design Process guide**, explaining the journey from Concept Design through to Completion.
Please also refer to our Blog page *‘Less is more - studio203 in the new Your Home Book’* to find out more about how we engage with materiality.
In special circumstances, we can conclude our engagement at planning or building approval (DA, CDC or CC), for example if you are seeking an approval to add value before selling, wish to secure an approval now but build later, or your project is interstate. For interstate and regional projects only, we can provide advice during construction in lieu of full contract administration.
Studio203 coordinates cost advice from builders or quantity surveyors at key stages of the project. This helps ensure the design stays aligned with your budget and can be built practically and efficiently.

General Advice Consultation

Practical guidance to help you make informed property decisions.

Already own a property but are unsure how to improve it, where to start or what may be possible? Book a General Advice Consultation to explore your options and identify next steps.

Fee: from $750 (tailored to project brief)

We can:

o Look at opportunities and constraints of a site or property you already own
o Refine your ideas and establish a brief for future works
o Consider temporary or staged improvements before renovating, moving or renting out your property
o Help you understand the architectural design and development process, including approval pathways, consultants, fees and sustainability opportunities
o Discuss analytical project phases to start a project, such as Design Feasibility or Masterplan Studies to explore development potential, possibilities and constraints
o Provide advice on specific services, such as interior design options and minor alterations or improvements to optimise functionality
o Discuss options for adapting your home for a growing family, working from home or ageing in place
o Discuss how to improve thermal comfort and energy performance of your existing home
o Help you prepare and draft an objection to a Development Application .
***Additional Services,*** including the provision of reports, conceptual design services, design feasibility studies, and detailed research, are available for additional fees, which will be agreed on a case-by-case basis.

Terms and Conditions

Our consultations focus on the big picture.

**Scope:** On-site Pre-Purchase Design Advice Consultations provide verbal preliminary design advice and are available within the Sydney metropolitan area only. Other consultation formats, including remote site assessments, may be available upon request, subject to suitability.
**Need it in writing?** Upgrade your session to include a Summary Sheet (Property Snap Shot) for $550.
**Fees and payment:** Initial, Pre-Purchase and General Advice Consultations, as well as Additional Services, are prepaid. An invoice will be issued upon booking confirmation. Additional travel charges apply for distances exceeding 5 km from our office in Sydney.
**Additional services:** Written reports or advice, conceptual design services, design feasibility studies and detailed research are available for an additional fee and are subject to a separate fee proposal.
**Limitations of advice:** Initial, Pre-Purchase and General Advice Consultations provide preliminary advice only. They do not include specialist consultant services or advice, including building inspections, structural or specialist engineering, sustainable design, legal matters, heritage, specialist town planning, or advice from Council or other authorities.
Where appropriate, we may recommend engaging suitably qualified specialists to investigate specific aspects of your project or a property you are considering purchasing.
**Pre-purchase planning due diligence** Our preliminary pre-purchase design advice does not constitute a comprehensive assessment of planning risks. It does not include investigation of speculative planning risks, non-gazetted or proposed planning legislation, documents that are not readily publicly accessible, complying development certificates relating to other properties, or potential future impacts of neighbouring development, such as overshadowing or loss of views.
For detailed planning due diligence or speculative planning risk assessments, we recommend engaging an independent town planner.
**Building and pest inspections** Initial and Pre-Purchase Consultations do not replace independent building and pest inspections by suitably qualified professionals.
**Cost advice** studio203 does not provide formal cost advice. We may offer a general indication of whether your project brief and budget appear aligned with your aspirations. Detailed cost advice should be obtained from a professional cost consultant (quantity surveyor) or builder.

Golden rules for budgeting your building project
1. You get what you pay for.
Investing early in well-researched project documentation, prioritising quality construction (the ‘bones’ of your building, not to be confused with finishes, which are replaceable), and choosing the right builder and building contract for your project will mean fewer headaches during the build and better long-term outcomes.
2. Everything costs more and takes longer.
Over many years in the industry, we’ve learnt that building projects frequently exceed initial expectations on both cost and time. Building a realistic contingency into your budget and schedule from day one puts you in a far stronger position when the unexpected happens.
Project budget and construction costs:
Some indicative figures on architecturally designed custom houses can be obtained from https://www.bmtqs.com.au/construction-cost-table
Use ‘high-level finish’ here for a rate that reflects a standard level of finish and quality of construction in Sydney and Canberra.
It should be noted that the table divides rates into categories such as standard, medium and high-level finish. These labels can be misleading. In our experience, architecturally designed, one-off houses rarely fall into the lower categories, which better reflect volume-built homes using standardised plans, materials and construction methods and predictable finishes. For bespoke houses, we have found the high-level finish rate to be a more realistic starting point. This reflects the bespoke nature of the work, not necessarily luxurious finishes.
These figures are construction costs only and do not include fees for consultants and authorities. Construction costs can vary significantly and depend on factors such as location, access, site constraints, type of building, size and complexity, construction methods, materials used, availability and cost of skilled labour in your area, remediation and restoration requirements, energy rating, acoustic, flood and fire-rating measures, the required timeframe, etc.
Detailed cost advice should always be obtained from a professional cost consultant (a quantity surveyor) or a builder.
Notably, alterations and additions, as well as small builds, typically attract higher construction costs and fees per square metre than larger or new custom houses at the same level of ‘finish’, a term often misinterpreted (refer our Blog Post ‘Less is more’ https://www.studio203.com.au/blog/less-is-more).
Living on the property during construction will also typically add to construction costs and tends to prolong the build.
Cost forecasts are influenced by inflation and many other factors: when a builder or cost consultant provides a customer with an estimate or cost forecast at today's date, it's important to recognise that the costs for the same project could rise by the time you're ready to build and sign a contract. Additionally, the perceived increase in costs may also stem from the additional detail available to the cost consultant/ builder towards the end of the planning phase compared to the project's initial stages.
Cost forecasts during an early project phase serve only as an approximation of costs, as opposed to the quotes received from builders at the end of a fully documented project, which are reflections of current market prices. Fully documented projects will include all specialist consultants and authority input, as well as all construction drawings, schedules and specifications.
For more information on Quantity Surveyors we recommend reading ‘Quantity Surveyors: Do I Need One for My Building Project?’ by Homebuilding & Renovating UK. In Australia, the AIQS (The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors) is the peak body for built environment cost professionals in Australia.
Reliable cost forecasting requires sufficiently detailed project documentation, including drawings and supporting information, from the early stages of a project onwards.
So, when budgeting for your dream home, invest in well-researched project documentation now, prioritise quality construction (often mistaken as ‘finishes’), and select the right builder for the project and chosen contract. This will lead to fewer headaches later and better long-term outcomes.