Who'd have thought it would be so hard to get quotes from plumbers ... I mean seriously! One guy was so rude when I called him. His straight answer was 'look I just don't have the time' and pretty much hung up!
We need to get quotes for the PSS Sewer System (basically pump out) before we exchange on the land. The vendor will be contributing to it, and we need to negotiate everything before exchange on Friday. It could be a considerable amount (around $15k without hook up to the mains) so we want a quote in writing and a deal with the vendor.
The Real Estate Agent has arranged for someone to come out to quote so I've just asked if we can be there. Word of mouth isn't good enough in this case ... we need to be there for the discussion, and we need the quote in writing.
Fingers crossed we get some answers before Friday!
Monday 8 September 2014
Saturday 6 September 2014
Colour selections!
To take our minds off the fact that our house hasn't sold in the first 5 minutes (seriously!!!), we decided to spend the day doing colour selections so headed to PGH Bricks at Schofields ... what a great set up! We were a little overwhelmed by it all though and didn't make any selections today, but came away with a few samples and then drove around for a couple of hours looking at other new homes and finding what we liked or disliked.
The PGH Interactive tool is fantastic to help you select your colours and to be able to visualise it (something I was struggling with!).
This is what we've (I've) come up with so far. This isn't our house design but unfortunately you only get to choose between single or two storey as a design. Not complaining though - awesome tool!
The PGH Interactive tool is fantastic to help you select your colours and to be able to visualise it (something I was struggling with!).
This is what we've (I've) come up with so far. This isn't our house design but unfortunately you only get to choose between single or two storey as a design. Not complaining though - awesome tool!
Friday 5 September 2014
First open home ...
Call me impatient, but I wanted our house to sell within the hour!!! That's not unreasonable, right? ;)
Feeling very deflated now. Patience isn't my strong point (that's putting it mildly!), and I was really hoping that there would be a lot of interest right from the start. Having said that, we have no board out front yet, it missed the papers this week and it only went online Thursday arvo! You see what I mean about my patience??!! :)
Feeling very deflated now. Patience isn't my strong point (that's putting it mildly!), and I was really hoping that there would be a lot of interest right from the start. Having said that, we have no board out front yet, it missed the papers this week and it only went online Thursday arvo! You see what I mean about my patience??!! :)
Cooling off extended!
So, the vendor has agreed to contribute to the costs of the PSS. To give us time to obtain quotes, we've been granted another week extension on the cooling off. Negotiations this week!!
Wednesday 3 September 2014
Bloody Sewer!!
Well I take my hat off to Allworth today! We're due to exchange on our land tomorrow and we got a phone call today from Allworth asking if we were aware that on our plot we would need a Pressure Sewerage System (PSS) and that it would need to be at our cost. The land was advertised as having sewer so we hadn't even considered this. After lots of phone calls we've discovered that this will cost us around $20k! We have to purchase the equipment and pay for a licenced plumber to install, then we will be responsible for the maintenance of it. Sydney Water kind of wash their hands with it. They have also been really helpful though I have to say.
So ... I'm now waiting to speak with the agent to try and negotiate on the land. $20k is a lot of money and something that we hadn't been made aware of ... so, lets see how we go.
I'll update soon!
So ... I'm now waiting to speak with the agent to try and negotiate on the land. $20k is a lot of money and something that we hadn't been made aware of ... so, lets see how we go.
I'll update soon!
Real estate photos are in!
It just gets more real every day!! The real estate photos have arrived today and our property will be online tomorrow! Kinda scary if I'm being honest?! The following day we exchange on the land. We're not in a huge rush as the land registry will take around 3 months, but geez it would be good to get an offer quickly so we know we're financially ready for the next step!
Wish us luck guys!!
Wish us luck guys!!
Monday 1 September 2014
Photos tomorrow!
Well it's all feeling very real now! The real estate photos are going to be taken tomorrow and we have our first open home on Saturday! Everyone keeps telling us that it'll sell really quickly but I must admit to fretting ever so slightly! We've already committed to buying the land, and although we can't complete on that sale until land registration is complete (around 3 months) we will still have paid the deposit! It would just be nice for us to know that we have the money in the bank ready, so the sooner we we'll and are in rented, the more relaxed I'll be (I hope!!)
Sunday 31 August 2014
Our variations
I'm actually enjoying the process of being able to make variations to a property before we actually build it! This is probably a once in a life time thing for us and I plan to make the most of it!
Initially we were going to go with a mirrored front so that the garage was on the left, but after realising that this blocked the flow from the entry, and gave us a smaller WIP and Storage cupboard, we've decided to go with the regular layout (garage to the right), and put a request through council to move the kurb drop for the driveway!
So, our list of variations are:
Initially we were going to go with a mirrored front so that the garage was on the left, but after realising that this blocked the flow from the entry, and gave us a smaller WIP and Storage cupboard, we've decided to go with the regular layout (garage to the right), and put a request through council to move the kurb drop for the driveway!
So, our list of variations are:
- Change media room window to highlight window (this is always in the display homes but isn't standard apparently)
- Provide tiles to hallway between bedrooms 3 & 4 in lieu of carpet
- Deadlock to entry door
- Privacy locks to all bedrooms and bathrooms
- Corner bath in lieu of basic
- Extend wardrobes in beds 2, 3 & 4 to 1.8m - still keeping just two doors to reduce costs
- Relocate bedroom 3 window to rear
- Provide flyscreens to all windows and doors
- Reposition fridge position to media room creating a 1.2m wide x 750mm fridge space with wine rack and bulk heads over
- Provide additional 900mm underbench and overhead cupboards to original fridge space (centering cooktop to suit)
- Provide one Hume LIN 1 720mm side hung door with translucent glazing to pantry in lieu of two laminated doors
- Reduce linen cupboard to width of just one door so that it doesn't take out space from the laundry
- Provision for LPG gas
- Cavity sliding door to Master WIR
- Provide toughened glass to bedroom 1 windows with acoustic seals (the road is quite busy so this should help reduce traffic noise)
- Provide microwave provision with pot drawer underneath including trim kit to breakfast bar / island
- Change laundry door to cavity door to free up space
- Change windows in the family room to those in the Winton (two tall long windows)
- Request manhole to be placed in garage (this is usually the norm anyway apparently)
- Deadlock to internal garage door
- Waterfall edges to kitchen island / breakfast bar
- Add cavity door to family room into bedroom hallway
Friday 29 August 2014
Deposit paid!!
That's the next step taken!! Deposit paid to Allworth today! Very exciting (and scary!).
We cool off on the land Friday and then have to wait for land registration (3 months maybe?). In the meantime Allworth will work on our plans (this will take around 8 weeks) and we'll make our colour selections!
We cool off on the land Friday and then have to wait for land registration (3 months maybe?). In the meantime Allworth will work on our plans (this will take around 8 weeks) and we'll make our colour selections!
Quote has arrived ...
I waited patiently all day for the quote today! There were a few surprises but overall it was pretty much as we'd worked it out to be. One thing I wasn't expecting though was the $550 cost for provision for NBN. I guess this is just a sign of the times, so I'm not bothered by it ... just hadn't factored it in thats all.
Overall site costs Building, Statutory & Basix costs came in at a total of $41,200 - most of these are fixed but there are a number of provisionals, so we'll need to set aside some sort of contingency for that. Of course there is also the possibility that we will get a credit for those (we can only hope!).
We also asked them to quote for a stencil crete driveway. We had been advised that it would probably be expensive, but to get a quote anyway just as a guide. It came in at $12,000 which is pretty high, so we'll be doing that ourselves after completion, along with a host of landscaping. Thats all going to be pretty costly, but again, we're hoping that we've budgeted ok for it!
So ... we're meeting with Allworth tomorrow to run through it all and to tee up any changes, and then we'll move on to the next step.
Our cooling off on the land ends next Friday.
This weekend will be spent getting the house ready for the all important Real Estate photos on Tuesday. Here's hoping we get someone who falls in love with it as much as we did and gives up top dollar! That would just be the icing on the cake! :)
Overall site costs Building, Statutory & Basix costs came in at a total of $41,200 - most of these are fixed but there are a number of provisionals, so we'll need to set aside some sort of contingency for that. Of course there is also the possibility that we will get a credit for those (we can only hope!).
We also asked them to quote for a stencil crete driveway. We had been advised that it would probably be expensive, but to get a quote anyway just as a guide. It came in at $12,000 which is pretty high, so we'll be doing that ourselves after completion, along with a host of landscaping. Thats all going to be pretty costly, but again, we're hoping that we've budgeted ok for it!
So ... we're meeting with Allworth tomorrow to run through it all and to tee up any changes, and then we'll move on to the next step.
Our cooling off on the land ends next Friday.
This weekend will be spent getting the house ready for the all important Real Estate photos on Tuesday. Here's hoping we get someone who falls in love with it as much as we did and gives up top dollar! That would just be the icing on the cake! :)
My latest design ...
OK, so having photoshop at hand to be able to play with this layout frequently is sending me a little bit crazy ... but I guess its better to swap and change ideas at this stage, rather than afterwards!
So, after mirroring the front of the Harmony Entertainer to get the garage on the left hand side, we realised that this then gives you a smaller WIP, smaller Storage and also the free flow from the front entry is block by the kitchen wall. Any display homes I've been in where you are greeted by a wall at the end of the corridor I've instantly taken a dislike to, so this has been bugging me big time.
The main reason we were trying to put the garage to the left was because thats where the driveway is already sitting (albeit just gravel), and so the kurb is already sunken. Having thought about it though, it would be worth paying a little extra to move the driveway and get the house that we really want. I've also done a little bit of research on positioning driveways and came across a site which mentioned 4 key points when making this decision (click here to visit the site)
This brings up a very important point, that being 'access'. Where we currently live you could easily fit 4 car on our drive, and plenty of street parking. The new property is on quite a busy road so street parking isn't really an issue. So, we need to create parking on the property, and also the facility to be able to turn the car so that we can drive out rather than reverse! This will also be useful for getting our caravan in and out of the garage ... so ... I've created a parking / turning area! This will also ensure we don't park at the front of our bedroom (another concern of ours if the driveway stayed to the left, with the garage to the right).
So anyway, this is the latest design, and I think we'll go with this.
So, after mirroring the front of the Harmony Entertainer to get the garage on the left hand side, we realised that this then gives you a smaller WIP, smaller Storage and also the free flow from the front entry is block by the kitchen wall. Any display homes I've been in where you are greeted by a wall at the end of the corridor I've instantly taken a dislike to, so this has been bugging me big time.
The main reason we were trying to put the garage to the left was because thats where the driveway is already sitting (albeit just gravel), and so the kurb is already sunken. Having thought about it though, it would be worth paying a little extra to move the driveway and get the house that we really want. I've also done a little bit of research on positioning driveways and came across a site which mentioned 4 key points when making this decision (click here to visit the site)
This brings up a very important point, that being 'access'. Where we currently live you could easily fit 4 car on our drive, and plenty of street parking. The new property is on quite a busy road so street parking isn't really an issue. So, we need to create parking on the property, and also the facility to be able to turn the car so that we can drive out rather than reverse! This will also be useful for getting our caravan in and out of the garage ... so ... I've created a parking / turning area! This will also ensure we don't park at the front of our bedroom (another concern of ours if the driveway stayed to the left, with the garage to the right).
So anyway, this is the latest design, and I think we'll go with this.
Thursday 28 August 2014
The current deal for the Allworth Harmony Entertainer
I know that prices change quite frequently, and likewise deals change too ... so I thought I'd just post the deal that we're going with ... it'll be interesting to see what deal is running by the time we finish the build, and what the price is.
Our plans for the land (my mock up)
To pass the time whilst waiting to get any official paperwork through, I put a mock up of how the house would sit on the land. The pool is no doubt a pipe dream (unless of course we get $50k more for our house than we're expecting!!), but we wanted to be sure that we could fit one on the side if we wanted to. Of course there is always the option to put it in the back (after the large shed is removed), which would then also give us side access, but we'll see. I like the idea of having a pool straight off the alfresco and to be able to see it from indoors. We all have our dreams ...
I'm sad I know, but I work with graphics everyday so it made sense for me to make it visual! Its all to scale too!
I'm sad I know, but I work with graphics everyday so it made sense for me to make it visual! Its all to scale too!
Waiting for the quote ...
Hoping that the quote from Allworth comes in tomorrow. I don't think its really going to bring us too many surprises but it will be nice to see it all on paper! Such a shame that the site costs are an unknown until after you've committed, but I guess there's not much you can do about that. Hoping that $40k covers it ... would be great if it was less (obviously!!).
Wish us luck!
Wish us luck!
Tuesday 26 August 2014
Site inspection done!
I was waiting for Allworths to contact our Real Estate Agent to arrange the site inspection. Just checked with him and he'd not heard anything, so I chased up Allworths. Thankfully the Site Supervisor had access to the land from the road so didn't need to authority to access. So ... The site inspection was done yesterday and we should receive our quote by the end of the week!
Our house is on the market!
Feeling very anxious about everything today! Our house is now officially on the market! Photos booked in for next Tuesday so first open home will be the following Saturday! Really desperate to get it sold quickly, and for a good price, but also don't want the stress of having to rush to find a rental!!
Wine please!!
Wine please!!
Monday 25 August 2014
And so the journey begins!
Hubby and I have been hunting for a 4 bed 2 bath property with a double garage for a few months, and it seems the longer we look, the more out of our price range they get ... and so the thought of building our own property popped into our minds! We saw a block of land quite close to where we live which was larger than our current block and allow us to get the house we've dreamed of for so long (well that's what we're hoping for anyway!)
Our current home is a 3 bed weatherboard home. Quite pretty from the outside and smart looking. Our initial plan was to stay here and extend up, but after receiving a quote for $160k (without the bathroom items, flooring or painting), we quickly realised that it would have been a foolish move and that we'd never recoup the money and would still end up with a house which still didn't meet all of our dreams.
So ... I did some research, and some more research, and a little bit more and finally narrowed the search down to Allworth Homes! They currently have a fantastic deal of $177k including ducted air, carpet & tiles and 20mm stone bench top, so waved decided that's the one for us!
We met with Allworths last Friday (22nd August), to arrange a quote. The quote will take about a week to come through and the site costs will be stated as 'provisional' because there is no way of knowing this cost until they actually start work. We have budgeted for $40k and are just hoping that it doesn't top that! We can only hope!
So ... After leaving Allworths office on Friday, and feeling confident that we were on track with costings, we found the real estate agent and put in an offer for the land. Saturday morning we paid the holiday deposit and we're now in the cooling off period! Very exciting (and also terrifying!).
Our house is going on the market tomorrow and as soon as it sells we'll be going into rented. We could wait a little longer but we'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing that the money is in the bank!
At the moment we're thinking that the process will take around 12 months. Only time will tell I guess!
Here's our land ... The Garage / Shed / Office & Carport will be getting sold off because it just takes up too much space - it literally fills the width of the block (almost 19m) and is 8m deep. If you know of anyone in need, let us know! We're hoping to keep it whilst we're renting (and through construction) for storage, but after that it'll be going!
Our current home is a 3 bed weatherboard home. Quite pretty from the outside and smart looking. Our initial plan was to stay here and extend up, but after receiving a quote for $160k (without the bathroom items, flooring or painting), we quickly realised that it would have been a foolish move and that we'd never recoup the money and would still end up with a house which still didn't meet all of our dreams.
So ... I did some research, and some more research, and a little bit more and finally narrowed the search down to Allworth Homes! They currently have a fantastic deal of $177k including ducted air, carpet & tiles and 20mm stone bench top, so waved decided that's the one for us!
We met with Allworths last Friday (22nd August), to arrange a quote. The quote will take about a week to come through and the site costs will be stated as 'provisional' because there is no way of knowing this cost until they actually start work. We have budgeted for $40k and are just hoping that it doesn't top that! We can only hope!
So ... After leaving Allworths office on Friday, and feeling confident that we were on track with costings, we found the real estate agent and put in an offer for the land. Saturday morning we paid the holiday deposit and we're now in the cooling off period! Very exciting (and also terrifying!).
Our house is going on the market tomorrow and as soon as it sells we'll be going into rented. We could wait a little longer but we'd feel a lot more comfortable knowing that the money is in the bank!
At the moment we're thinking that the process will take around 12 months. Only time will tell I guess!
Here's our land ... The Garage / Shed / Office & Carport will be getting sold off because it just takes up too much space - it literally fills the width of the block (almost 19m) and is 8m deep. If you know of anyone in need, let us know! We're hoping to keep it whilst we're renting (and through construction) for storage, but after that it'll be going!
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