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.

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