House Design Part1

Oh! Choosing between tens of templates of house layouts from the list of builders is truly as exciting an experience as confusing.

At first we just went around and visited display villages and display homes for atleast three weekends non stop to finally start realizing what we want. Every brand of builder have their own set of inclusions and upgrades and it is this comparision that you need to do your thorough homework on to get a clever deal.

Here is a sample of what Inclusions List looks like:

This list includes the specifications for garage, laundry, bedroom, bathroom etc. The specifcations will include what they have for the initial quoted price. So for example, you will know what width of skirting you will have, what material your house walls and roof will be, what material of flooring and benchtops will be included, how can lights, electrical points and many more.

This exhaustive list is quite detailed and differs quite a bit between builders. It is a good idea to read through a few of them to get yourself acquainted to think about what you would like in your house. 

For us, we really did not want tiles on our floors as it brings down the temperature of the house and also my husband wanted Stone Benchtop in kitchen. All these features come in their 'Upgrade' package for most builders and as and how you add on things you add on price to your initial quote. So be very cautious and read through properly if you are on a strict budget.

Coveyancer and Signing Up for the Land

After finalising your chosen lot, you need to go and find a Solicitor or Conveyancer to read through the Contract for any discrepancies. It is relatively easy to find a conveyancer, we found a few through friends and other networks. The prices can vary between a few hundred dollars depending on who you go to and is mostly well below $1000. The conveyancer does not usually charge for the initial read of the first contract and you pay him to stick with you through the entire process of settlement of land.

We found that most contracts are pretty straight forward to read and understand but it is a thick document to eye through. Unless you are like one of my freaky friends, who actually wants to sit and read the 10,000 word document and highlight the parts you don't understand, its better to go through a Conveyancer.

After this, it was easy as going up to sign the Land Contract with a 10% deposit cheque.

So at the signing, there are three copies of the Agreement you sign after you have discussed any changes you would like included in the agreement.
From our conveyancer, we found two important points:

1. The land cannot be used to build multiple properties until 10 years from now. This means that it can only have one house per land size, not multiple townhouses etc.
2. To make sure there is a clause in the agreement to say that the Sale is 'subject to finance'. This is very basic but just as important considering most lenders want an 20% deposit for the loan and you would want to avoid scenario where you are short of money and cannot retract on your decision of buying the land. Ouch! That would hurt.

After the signing, one copy goes to the nominated Conveyancer, one to the developer and one for you to keep.

Done! Bought the land... A congratulatory hot chocolate at a cafe and we are onto our next step - House Design Part1

Display Homes

We are now also considering the various list of builders out there in the market. This is the first time I have ever visited these fabulous display homes and like all first timers I had my mind blown away!!
Here are some amazing pics...

 

Roaming from one amazing house to another I was in my own mesmerised world looking at their furniture, decorations, bed spreads, cutlery and the lot. After a few hours of wandering through the houses, we decided to get a general quote from Porter Davis Homes consultant.

Reality hit afterwards when he sat down to list inclusions and I realised that all display homes are heavily upgraded from the façade to the alfresco! All things that I needed to look at in the display house were floorings, structure, doors... you get the picture. But as always is with us girls, the beautification takes your eyes off it all when you first visit a display centre.

My learning: Have to do another round of visits into these display houses this time looking at structure and layout and trying hard to keep my eyes closed towards all those uniquely amazing vases and lampshades!!!

None the less, for a wonderful weekend outing of imagining what living a dream could mean, please go ahead and visit your nearest display homes, can definitely give you some good designing ideas...

Selecting Suburb and Land

This is my first blog and I have been thinking of starting one for ages now, as have many of your been I am sure!! Anyhow, what inspired me to finally start is that me and my husband are now in the process of building a new house. Through this blog I would like to take you through the journey of the stages involved and what it takes to step into your new house!!

I have heard that it is a lengthy (may I say sometimes very frustrating!) process but you can follow me in every step of the way.

So for the last two weeks we have been shortlisting our choice of land to buy. We knew we did not want to extend our budget and go full out on a huge house and backyard as it will be impossible to maintain (considering the lazy butts we both are!) and also it would be quite unnecessary for just the two of us living.

The first step was to shortlist a suburb which would have a good growth long term and has  amenities around it. Following is a snapshot of which suburbs are under spot light as predicted in media:

We found a cozy little small land at Williams Landing two weeks ago and were happy with it. Yesterday we spoke to the land sales and found there is a bit bigger plot and it was 'Titled'!

(Now for those of you who may be new to the real estate side of things, a 'titled' land means its approved by the council and is ready to start building immediately.)
Now, we are looking to start building quickly and possibly a pre-christmas move in, wouldn't that be lovely? We generally aren't those kind of people who would think it out for too long, if we decide then its better to get started with the process early and take the dive in.

So our chosen lot is  shown below and as you can see it is a corner plot and hence a little odd shaped.

Now I know some of you may be sceptical about corner lots and believe me I was too. After a week long of detailed discussions between me and my husband and a long list of pros and cons we did finally come to the conclusion that this is it for us.

Corner lots are hard to find builders for and you have additional requirements like Corner Feature requirement etc. which is why some people do not prefer it. Since we were looking for a small lot to start with the loss in house size due to easements does not bother us. Anyways, that's a discussion for another post if you really want to discuss corner plots.

Ending the week with a copy of the contract in our hand... Next step -  Convenyancer