Monday 30 December 2013

Last update of the year!

There hasn't been a lot of progress since our last update!

It has been a slow few weeks with the back and forth between the lender and our conveyancer but they seem to have sorted all each others queries now.

Our lender sent off our loan application to the valuer so we have currently got everything crossed that it goes through without any issues. I do wonder how they value it off the plan but I don't want to question it too much at this stage!

We also went out and had a look at our block yesterday - they haven't opened up the roundabout yet but it wasn't exactly hard to slip through the barbed wire fence. Our block is flat as flat - which is great but also makes me query the need for steps at the front? Something to bring up with the builder once its registered I suppose. 
They haven't done the guttering yet - it looks like they are getting all the services in at the moment! The other half said that they can do the roads and guttering in a week or two if they pull their finger out.

Registration has been released for Stage 1 for the first week in March with Stage 2 (thats us!) a month later which puts us in early April which is fantastic. 

I doubt much will happen with the bank until after the 6th of Jan but I would really like to get the okay from the bank so that we can sign everything and get it all confirmed and locked in.

Sunday 8 December 2013

A few added extras and a signed fixed tender!

So we have our fixed price tender back and we are overall pretty happy with it.

We asked for a few extras to be added in

1. Floor to ceiling tiling in the bathroom and ensuite $3000
2. Glass splash back in the kitchen $650 upgrade
3. Upgrade the benchtop of the Quantum Quartz Deluxe range $350

We they were also about to lock in site costs (well as well as they can) they came in at $7k so pretty happy there too!

We aren't sure if we will be going ahead with the tiling at this point. We are going to wait to see how finances go over the next 6 months and see if we can spare the extra cash. I really like floor to ceiling tiles  and the inclusions is only skirting so we shall see!

We also drove past the development today and were pleasantly surprised to see roads, footpaths and street lights! So we may defintely be on track for a Feb/March registration but we will just have to wait and see.

So the ball is now in the court of the bank... I have emailed everything to our lovely lender to see how it works from here. We signed loan documents almost 10 days ago so hopefully that started the ball rolling. We have (almost we are about $150 off) the 5% deposit for the land and house which is what we need to exchange with the builder in the coming weeks.

I'm a little nervous that we will get knocked back for finance but I've got everything crossed that we have done everything that our lender has asked for and we are in the right range.

Saturday 30 November 2013

Day 1

Welcome! Hello!

Someone told me it would be a good idea to write a blog about the endeavour of building our first home so here I am!

About us - We are a young couple (B -20 and K - 22) who are getting married in October 2014. We were lucky enough to be able to save a 5% deposit to get us in the door to the housing market. We are going into this with the philosophy that this won't be a forever house but it will be our first house and we are pretty damn proud to be able to achieve this so young!

The Land - a 452sq m block in App!n Valley. It is a corner block so we also receive a $5k rebate back from the developer which is super nice (and basically pays for our site costs). They are estimating it will be registered in Feb 2014 - I think April is more realistic at this stage which is great as we wanted to start 

The House - W!llow by Mer!dian Homes
Mer!dian have been excellent so far. They are a small builder who only start 3 homes a month. You work directly with the builder/director for the entire process which is making everything quick, efficient and less costly.


This is the basic draft of our plan. Its only about 19 squares but its only the 2 of us. The plans are currently with the designer working on the concept and design as we have made a few changes.

Changes on the table at the moment:

- 2.7m high ceilings
- design change of Master WIR/Ensuite to a large built in robe with the ensuite behind.
- 300 mm in length added to the house - to be added to the bedrooms
- The alfresco 'slab' being added to the rear of the house - this won't be under the roof as we are intending to install a nice pergola
- front facade will have 3 vertical windows instead of 2 horizontal
- design change to main bathroom - remove the separate toilet as its not really separate.
- bamboo flooring to all areas except wet areas
- design changes to space between benches and island as well as cupboard modifications
- 3 phase connection
- added a door out the back of the garage to the yard
- mirrored wardrobes to all built in robes
- extra TV points, gas points and downlights

We will be doing landscaping, fences and air con after handover.

We have signed the estimate tender on Thursday 28/11/13, and have pre-approval from the bank. It's a house and land package so the builder wants both signed off which should speed up the process as well. Our bank is pretty positive so I've got everything crossed for no issues but you never know.