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:

• 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

And to put all of that into a vision ... here is my mock up (I even measure our furniture to see how we'd go!

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!

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! :)

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.

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!

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!

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!!

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!