Our Process

From Concept to Completion:
Our Comprehensive Home Building Process
Step one

Initial Consultation

Whether you contact us through our website, a friend's referral, Facebook, a showhome visit, or a phone call, the first step in our journey together is an "Initial Consultation." During this consultation, we will ask you numerous questions and listen intently to gain a clear understanding of your objectives and requirements for your new home. We will provide you with design options in line with your budget and discuss the process and timelines that best suit your needs.

To ensure a tailored build project, you will need to provide us with accessible Geotech reports, site plans, and drawings or samples of any ideas you may have. We will discuss with you your expectations for your new home, including your proposed budget allocation so that we can specifically tailor the building project to suit your needs in conjunction with the cost of building your home.

Step two

Concept Plans

We use the latest CAD drawing programs to capture all your ideas on paper and create a concept plan for your new home. We begin designing a floor plan which could be from one of our selection or your own. Our design will be tailored to suit your needs, maximise your site potential, and fit within your budget. After this, a small concept fee is paid then we bring your floorplan to life in 3D for you to view and make any changes. After these adjustments we will provide you with dimensioned floor plans, site plan, site elevations, and an indicative costing for the build project.

NOTE: If you proceed with building your new Headstart Home, we will refund the concept fee back to you by deducting it off your total build cost.

Step three

Specification

To ensure that we can price your new home correctly and include every fine detail and fitout required to complete the project to your expectations, we need to work together to select the options that best suit your home and lifestyle requirements. To do this, we'll provide you with a secure login to our customer portal (Co-Construct), which is an innovative and user-friendly software package. When you login to Co-construct, you will find an extensive specification list detailing every item / model description included in your quotation. To avoid ambiguity, we include photos of each specified item as well. There may also be flexible upgrade options which you can decide to select online and your quotation will be updated immediately.

Using Co-Construct, we can collaborate to identify the options that are best suited for your home and lifestyle requirements. You'll be able to make well-informed decisions pertaining to every aspect of the "specification" so that we can create a tailored build project that meets your needs.

Step four

Quote & Contract

Once the concept plans and specifications are finalised, we can identify the precise investment level required to finish the project. At Headstart Homes by Hallmark, we will distribute your plans and specifications to our key suppliers for pricing. We will then collate all pricing details to calculate the final investment amount.

We will discuss the final quotation with you and invite you to enter into an agreement with us confirming your acceptance for Headstart Homes by Hallmark to proceed. As registered Master Builders, we will put in place a detailed agreement, and upon receipt of your deposit payment, this will cement our relationship.

To ensure a smooth process, you will need to make sure that you have the correct funding in place and that all parties included on the contract are fully aware of their obligations.

Step five

Working Plans & Consent

Once we have an agreement with you to start, Headstart Homes by Hallmark will convert your 4 or 5-page concept plans into approximately 20 to 30 pages of detailed working plans. Before lodging consent, we will go through these plans in fine detail with you and request your sign-off.

Once consent is lodged, we will introduce you to our Headstart Homes by Hallmark team at a pre-start meeting. We will run through the project with you to ensure we totally understand your expectations of us and address any queries that you may have.

While all these details are being finalised, our Interior Designer will begin working with you to select your interior and exterior colour scheme.  Our kitchen designer will also chat with you about your new kitchen design and you will be involved in other important decisions relating to your home.

Don't worry though, our team are experts in their field and will guide you every step of the way.

Step six

Construction

During the building stage, we will work hard to ensure that your vision for your new home is fully realised. We'll keep you informed every step of the way, with regular updates via our customer portal Co-construct and on-site meetings to discuss progress through to completion. If you request any changes to the plans, we'll discuss these with you, confirm them in writing, and seek your approval before proceeding.

As the client, you have some responsibilities during the building stage as well. You will need to follow all Health & Safety requirements when visiting the work-site, provide any items you are bringing into the project on time, and arrange your progress payments at the scheduled time. By working together and communicating openly throughout the building process, we can ensure that your new home is everything you imagined and more.

Step seven

Handover

As we approach the completion of your new home, we will invite you to a comprehensive walk-through of your new home and attend to any details that need attention. We will organise Code of Compliance from the local authority and compile a comprehensive Warranty & Guarantee folder for all aspects of your home. Finally, we will arrange a meeting with you to present your new home to you and hand over the keys!

You will need to arrange insurance of your new home and arrange final payment before hand-over. And then you will be ready to move into your new master-built dream home and enjoy it!

Step eight

Ongoing Support

At Headstart Homes, we pride ourselves on our ongoing commitment to our clients. Even after you've settled into your new home, our customer service remains available to you. Our goal is to ensure any issues or concerns that may arise are addressed promptly and professionally.

To that end, we provide a comprehensive 10-year Master Builders Warranty and a 12-month maintenance period. This means that you can rest assured that any unexpected issues that may arise with your new home will be taken care of, and that our team will be there to support you every step of the way.

Headstart Homes Design Process Christchurch House Design NZ

Ready to get started on your new home build?

Testimonials

Our journey with hallmark homes has been simply great. The staff is so friendly and accommodating that you feel at ease straightaway. Staff is very professional and always just one phone call away with prompt responses to our concerns with practical solutions that work in the long run.

Quality build and a perfect example of great coordination and team work within a company with the focus always being the customer.

The Coconstruct app by Hallmark made the whole process soo seamless and stress-free as we were able to access all information relating to our build in real-time over a click of a button. So smart.

We highly recommend to build with Headstart Homes if you are looking for genuinely passionate people who care for your journey as they go out of their way to make sure the process of building is quick and stress-free as much as possible.

Mihir Khadawala

Headstart Homes has been absolutely fantastic to deal with. Kelly had a couple of health issues during the build that resulted in her being in hospital. Headstart were so great. They were determined to keep the build on track but whilst also being really sensitive to what was going on. They really helped Shaun too, because he had to make a lot of decisions without me around. They also sent a bunch of flowers / choccy's. Just that experience was fantastic. You didn't feel like a number. It felt like they really cared which was so nice because building a home is a big life event, and so is getting put in hospital too.

Shaun & Kelly Dalzell

Headstart Homes did an excellent job constructing our house. They were attentive to our needs and preferences, and the quality of their workmanship was top-notch. Communication throughout the project was clear and timely. We are very pleased with the end result and would highly recommend them to others.

Igor and Irina Gaghis

Headstart Homes are awesome. They built my nephew's home and I'd just love to be able to say start a Lincoln Plan for me tomorrow!

Anne

Fantastic company to build our first home with. Headstart provided us with all the information we needed to make our choices, were flexible and kept our best interests in mind always. We love our house design and the quality of the build is fantastic. Great value for money - plus lovely people too!

Kadie

Very impressive show home at Te Wharaki, Lincoln. Really worth going to see with great indoor outdoor flow. Best feature for me was the master bedroom walk in wardrobe - really great.

Wendy

Well presented Showhome, interesting smart features installed and some great ideas for layouts, especially in the outdoor living and master bedroom spaces. It's not cheap but you certainly get what you pay for here!

Robin

Headstart have been fantastic to work with, they have made the whole process of building our first home simple and clear, I cannot recommend them enough

Andrew

We first met Mark last year at the Faringdon show home. He was so helpful with all our questions and did a great job putting together the house we wanted to build. We highly recommend Headstart Homes and can’t wait to move into our new house this year.

Julie