The day has Come

CONSTRUCTION LIST

20 Working day countdown for things to start, I would say we are looking at 20th January for things to take shape, with Christmas and Holidays for Tradie's. But you never know!!

CDC APPROVAL!

Now to Fill in the paperwork, and get the bank to action payment. OoOoo Yeah!

Mowed the Lawn Today, and Broke the Mower!

The grass was really high and thick in the centre, my poor little mower survived, but it's got an injury I'm not sure it will recover from.

Building Plans Lodged

Hi Everyone,

Been sometime since the last post.

We finally settled on the 7th of November, it's been a long wait.
Today we got an sms from the builder saying they had lodged our plans.

not sure if this is with the Developer or council, but will chase this up on Monday to confirm.

Keep you posted.

PRECINCT SUBDIVISION PLAN 27/8/2014 REGISTERED - FOLIOS CREATED

Could it be True......

OMG!

Electrical Meeting Booked

MJH Today sent out our Meeting request for the Electrical's

Time to start planning all those light and switches hey!.

20th October is the meeting, hopefully Land is registered by then.

Woot, a Real Update.

REGISTRATION OF YOUR ALLOTMENT

We are pleased to inform you that the plans of subdivision for the Highlands, (Bowral, Park, Stirling, Penrose, Balmoral Rise 1 and Kangaloon Releases) were lodged with the Land and Property Information office on the 27^th August, and we anticipate registration of your lot to take place in 3 to 4 weeks with settlement to follow 14 days after.

The Wait Continues

Well the council did release our Subdivision, however it is sitting with Lend Lease (The Vendor) right now.
I guess they have to do their Administration before lodging with the Lands Department.

But 2 weeks have gone by and still no lodgement by the looks.

We did however get an email from the Estate saying there is an update coming out soon in regards to registration.

Fingers crossed it's all ok. But we will see.

Heard a Rumour!

Hi Everyone,

It's been a little while between posts, and almost 1 post a month. A Little slack hey.
We have heard a small rumour that council has released 2 Stages today.

Hopefully 1 of these stages are the 1 we are in. Will be chasing this up over the weekend and Monday.

Small Update

Hi Everyone,

Been a little while since our last update, we have not had any further notice on the land registration, however sounds like registration might be end of August now, we will see. Apparently the Vendor hit some snags in council and didn't comply with certain council obligations from what we have heard.

We also tried asking MJH for an extension on our Additional Building cost's that kick in from July 22nd due to our 150 Day Quote period running out, this got shot down very quickly. So the Additional $1000 a month starts this month. O Joy!

The only good news is the Office of State Revenue approved our concession on Stamp Duty, so that's a positive for our First Home Buyer Grant being approved as well.

This was our last condition on our loan, so that looks to be fully done now.

So we wait until Registration, maybe settle on block late August, but who knows at this stage.

Waiting!

Just as the title says, *Waiting*.

No news on the registration at all, so we just wait!!!!
The down side is the longer this takes, the more weeks go by where we have to pay the Builder $1000 a month in additional charges on labour costs and material Costs.

This kicks in from July 22nd, so by the time registration comes in, then settlement, then DA approval then retaining walls and then finally construction list, We could be up for 2k to 4k additional charges.

Not happy with that let me tell you.  What doesn't help is the lack of feedback from the vendor. they wonder why people start to get pissed and shitty. Especially when it starts to cost your customers real $$$$.

I need access to the site to conduct the Surveys, so that I can see how much retaining walls we need, and how much this could possibly cost. Cause I'll be honest, if the cost to do the retaining walls exceeds $15k, This will put me in a very tough position, where basically we might have to walk away from the deal.

What shit's me the most, is the fact we weren't advised of the 2 easements in the rear of yard and it's positioning, which forces us to have to put in retaining walls.

The lesson in this for anyone heading into off the plan purchase, *trust no one*, and prepare for the finger pointing fairies to come out in force.

No real new Updates

At the moment we really don't have to much to update on, we met with the vendor to discuss retaining walls and came to the conclusion that some will be needed due to 2 easements in the rear of the block.

To how high these will be is unknown, but the 2 metre number got thrown out the window fairly quickly due to the plans that were being reviewed by the vendor, were over 1 year old, and he had never walked the block before.

So now we wait for Registration which could be end of this month, and push for the Survey to be conducted to get a better idea of what were in for.

Wait and see, then work out how much it will cost to do the walls.

Retaining Walls!!!

As the heading say's, I am off to the block of Land this Friday Morning to meet the vendor!

We are discussing retaining walls, and the possible cost of $30k-$50k in doing so.
Number's Like this make my skin crawl if I am to be totally honest.

I have had 2 Landscape designers see pictures of our block, and Both have said no chance this would be needed.

I have even had a few family members and another person from the Vendor look as well and were all fairly certain any form of retaining wall would be minimal.

However the person meeting me on Friday is fairly certain I will need this, and not just any retaining wall, they are telling me a 2 METRE HIGH retaining wall.


Right hand side

Left hand side

Shot from back left to front

Now 2 Metre Retaining wall on this block?????? And I have to remove my Split level, or reverse it the other way?

Friday is going to be interesting!!!!

Couple of Updates!

Firstly we have received our Loan paperwork from the bank, and have signed all this and will post back to bank tomorrow.

Our registration of Land is running 3-4 weeks behind, so Settlement looks to be mid July Now due to Registration being the end of June.

We found a new Landscape design person to assist in putting together our Estate Landscape design. (Keeping it simple)

Other than that, our First home Owner Grant was lodged with the bank to submit.

Bit of a waiting game now, have to pick some tree type's and a few little decisions on the Landscape plan but that's about all right now.

Still haven't had the vendor get back in contact with us in regards to a comment about Retaining walls. (2 weeks and no reply, must be busy!)

New Landscape Designer needed!

Some bad news for us today with our Landscape Designer having to pull out of the work needed for our Design Submission.

Due to issues out of our control, he has had to decline the work and many others as well due to a legal debate he is currently working through with a building company! (MJH what have you done now)

It's a real shame as he knew the estate and guidelines very well, so on the hunt again for a designer.
Most probably need to approach an old School friend of mine to assist.

I swear I didn't kick the Garden Gnome! But luck just isn't going our way. Maybe it's a Test of Patience and tolerance I am experiencing.

Said hello to the Block Today!

We dropped into the block of land today to see if we could get on site to take some more photo's

Got a better view of the slopes on the block, and spoke briefly about the retaining wall at rear of home, Apparently this would become the responsibility of the Lot behind us.

However the retaining wall on the left boundary is still needing to be discussed, depending how much they cut out of the front and middle of block.

We had 1 Photo which has a Pipe in the rear of the property, I forgot to ask exactly what it was, so atm it's unknown, but was good to see it now, Just in case our Landscape design had a Big Tree going there.

Anyway, here are some shots.

Front left Boundary

Back Left Corner

Back corner looking back to street

The UNKNOWN Pipe!

It's back!

The slope at the rear of the block

Back right corner looking to Front left corner

Front Right looking to Front Left

My Wife and Mum

Interesting Feedback

We are working with a Landscape designer for our Estate submission, really cool Bloke. (Hi Jason)
He got in contact with us yesterday after speaking with The Vendor in regards to our Plan Submission.

The feedback he got was very interesting, Apparently we need a 1.5 Metre High Retaining wall.

So I sent him some photo's I had of our block, cause the information that he was given about how our block sits and where the angles/slopes are just didn't add up.

The feedback from him was that I was right, it looks nothing like what the The Vendor guy was saying.
So now I have another loose cannon shooting words of wisdom off, which = $$$.

The guy from The Vendor wants to meet on site to explain this to me, I hope he know's his shit and can back it up. Because what he is describing is a $10k to 14k Wall.

To top it off, he mentioned to our Landscape designer, that our floor plan with the Split level in it, will need to be reversed the other way. (Is this guy on FKN Drugs>?)

Looking forward to keeping you all updated on this next Exciting instalment of utter BS.

Registration Running Behind

Got some feedback yesterday in regards to how the land was going for Registration.

Seems that the Land and Title Office has this, and could take another 2-4 weeks to register the land.
It was indicated to me that Settlement could then be Late June or July. (Damn)

This is annoying due to the fact our construction quote has 150 days of holding it's value before an increase of $1000 a month Kicks in.

So July 22nd is our deadline on this before we incur this charge. (Great)

Heh, Money grow's on tree's, so it's all good!

Exchange Documents All Signed

Today's update was that we went down to the conveyancer and got the Exchange paperwork all signed, this hopefully will be lodged with the Vendor Solicitor and signed off on their end fairly quickly.

We need the counter signed Land Contract for our First home owner grant to be submitted, and also need the land to register to complete the Plan # and Section Number for this to be finalised. the current detail for our land sits with 2 different titles and ID numbers, so it looks all a bit confusing.

Not really 100% sure it would pass it in current state with the FHOG submission, but you never know.

We engaged a landscape designer that is familiar with the Estate we are building in, and will get the Draft Landscape design and completed Plan once we submit what tree's we would like, garden flowers and how our fencing will be done with gates.

So still alot of admin to do over the next few weeks to get everything in place for settlement.

The amount of work that has to be put into this was something I didn't expect, and is something anyone going down this path, should expect.

To the Conveyancer we Go!

We are off to the Conveyancer tomorrow to finish the Exchange of Land Documentation.
Also getting our FHOG Grant completed and witnessed, and then given to the broker to hand to the bank for submission.

Our Tax Concession Grant is being done by our conveyancer as we near a settlement date.

Next steps for us is to Complete the Landscape Design, and pay the Trust money for the Landscaping.
Need to chase this up on when exactly they need this.

Tuesday night we are catching up with the broker to cover off the final bit's of the puzzle for our Loan setup.

Lot's of Admin over the next 2 weeks.

And the Verdict Is!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Land Value = PASS

Construction Value = PASS

The only condition we have left now is the First home Owner Grant Application, which is a no brainer!

BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday Update Part C!

Holy Sh*t........ It's complete.....

Now I am PRAYING it Passes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COME ON SPINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday Part B Update!

Dig enough and you can get access to some information.

Managed to get my Case number, and then login via the Valex Website to see where my application is at.
After speaking with the Bank, they are still waiting for the file to be uploaded to them.

OMG this all started on the 8th Of May, and it's now the 16th. Talk about blowing a Gasket.

Will someone just press the DELIVERED Button FFS!

Friday Part A Update!

As it Happens.....

Conveyancer called to acknowledge that Exchange was approved before the Expiry date of the 14th. (Great News) No increase on my land sale value, thank-god.

So we are off early next week to complete the paperwork for this for the subdivision paperwork. And also complete the First Home buyer Grant Lodgement doc's which the Bank wants to lodge on our behalf. (A Little strange)

However the Valuation is still in no man's land, no update from Broker or Bank. It's now been a full 8 Day's the Valuation company VALEX has had this. So much for the 48HR turnaround, and the Urgency that was placed on this.

The amount of finger pointing from all 3 Parties (Broker,Bank,Valex) is astounding! And totally unprofessional.

Let's see what rainbow can shoot out of someone's backside today in regards to Valuation.

Right about Now it's dead to me!

Still no updates at all after today, nothing on exchange, and nothing on Valuation.

The passion and fun of this process is now disappearing, and being replaced with let down and broken promise.

Anger is most probably the next stage of this whole thing, and I feel really sorry for the person that cop's the first spray.

No words of wisdom tonight, no insight and no strategy, just plain out right disappointment!

Thank god for me I have a heap on at work, which is taking my mind of this during the day.
Let's see what happen's tomorrow......

Because I feel very sorry for people on Monday!

Today's Update!

Blow by Blow as it happens....... what else is a blog for!

So, Valuation was being worked on last night, however they didn't have a copy of our Land contract for the Valuer, WTF!

So i pushed many buttons first thing today and got this over to them, let's see what happens next in this department.

Next the Exchange documents have been sent to the wrong solicitor from the Builders Solicitor back to the Developers Solicitor, Instead of coming to my Solicitor.

So my Conveyancer is chasing this down as well to finish the exchange. (Brain going into Meltdown)

So right now, I have no idea if exchange has been totally finished and approved before the Expiry as of Yesterday, my Valuation to complete my Loan approval still has not come in, and I have deposited on the Land without 100% confirmation from all parties.

I'm ok if your ok is such a bad thought process right now!

Still no valuation given to bank!

How Amazing, still no Valuation passed across to the Bank, and to be honest I called Valex in relation to this, and the bank actually gave me their details to follow them up due to the urgency.

But all I got was a Totally rude and arrogant piece of you know what on the other end. Saying How dare I call them directly. So I mentioned that the people paying you to do this told me to call. All i got was tough Love and ZERO assistance, so I kept my cool and hung up.

They have had the information to complete the valuation since last Thursday, and they only just today put information in to process the valuation, giving them another 48HRS to hand to the bank.

(PATHETIC)

Thank God I have taken the risk to pay the 10% on the Land, cause If I waited for these Jokers, I'de be F(*&^ed right about now.

So I wait again, praying it's all good........

The amount of words I wanted to Unleash on this Lady was so called for, but I bit my tongue and said no worries, please attend as fast as you can. (Give her a bloody nose, and I'm sure my Valuation would never come across).

Wait till all this is settled, karma is a Bitch!

Words can barely Describe the last few days!

Where do I start....... yes Grey hair, that's a good 1.

The last few day's has been mentally tough, and some very tough decisions have been made, with the possibility of some tough decisions to pass after this week.

Firstly the Valuation still has not come back from the External party, due to being swamped with work.
On Monday morning we were advised that certain documents had not been passed to the Valuation company, however this was sent to them Last Thursday night.

Was then informed that it would be an internal valuation with-out needing to go on site. This changed as of today where they needed to send someone onsite to take photo's of our dirt.

So a 48HR turnaround on valuation has now turned into 4 Days with a possible 48HRS more to go. Let's Not forget my deadline was for Tomorrow Morning. (the part where this was URGENT, and a top priority to look into, clearly got that attention.....NOT)

So the tough decision was to take a massive gamble on the land coming in on target for the valuation, before the price increase could be actioned by the vendor (10k-40k increase based on the new release of land). So we paid the 10% deposit for the land, and commenced Exchange.

I am praying everything comes in fine with the valuation, and for the Land I am very comfortable with this, however the construction is the 1 that has my concerns.

We have 2 loans, 1 each for the Land and Construction, so the safest bet is the land with-out a doubt, so we took the risk to place the deposit, knowing that the equity in that block will secure a Loan from another Lender without much issue if the current valuation fails for the entire borrow amount for both loans. (I pray this is not the case).

So at worst we have to re-submit the loan for the land with good equity in that block now, and also knowing our borrow capacity has been totally approved gives a little comfort.

So tomorrow is another day and hopefully we get a call to say it's all good. Otherwise it's off to find another loan.

My advise, if you have a put and call option on your block, make sure everyone is transparent with the expiry date and what extensions you can honestly get added to this to enable the full finance process to run it's course.

I will hold my tongue on who to point the finger at here, but the common feedback from everyone involved is pointing to 1 company for sure, and that's added more fuel to the fire of the opinion I had already had with them during this process.

50% There!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Broker just sent through a letter from the CBA Bank giving us a Pre-Offer for the Loan.
Our Borrow amount has been approved and is just down to Valuation now.

SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

50 Million Phones calls and emails

What a Day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phone calls to broker, Conveyancer, 2nd Broker for additional advise and the CBA bank.
Our Loan is sitting as a priority for review, apparently this can take up to 48hrs now.

We had an amendment go through on Monday which slowed the process down a little bit (Grunts)..... This sat with the bank for a full 5 Days before the amendment went back in, (*&^ me!).

So I got in contact with the Bank directly outside of the brokers to inform them of my situation, and to add notes so that they can see why this is so important to us right now. (Damn Call and Put option).

What happens after the Banks 48hrs is the file is then given to a 3rd Party for Valuation with a company called VALEX.

This can take another 48hrs or more before giving feedback to the bank.

So right now, I am sitting on a ticking time bomb with what available days I have, to give the vendor their 10% before next Wednesday, because honestly the vendor is in a RUSH to lock this in, otherwise they are going to increase my land value by up to $30,000 through the grape vine.

If we pull this off, and I am PRAYING this comes in By no later than Tuesday Afternoon next week, I'm going to have the biggest weight come off my shoulders!

I have to give a special thanks to Rebecca @ Two Red Shoes for her additional advise and help. If your looking for a Mortgage broker that is willing to go above and beyond to assist you in getting a Home Loan, you need to call this Lady. CALL 0404 494 929 

Valuation and Processing Underway!

Our Broker approached us today for the most up to date payslips, as the bank has indicated it is processing our Loan approval.

Found out they are doing the Valuation on both the Land and Construction together.
We have 7 Business days to go to hand over our 10% deposit, and I have to admit waiting on the feedback from the bank is paying it's toll on me.

That wait and having no-control over this part of the process is nerve racking, backed up with the whole problem of our Put and Call option on the Land expiring and being extended to the 14th of May for Exchange. Failing this we face the very real problem of the Vendor Increasing the Land Value, which in that situation will kill the whole deal.

Crossing fingers and wishing all the best.

Still no news from Bank!

Been 5 days since the bank received everything needed to confirm valuation and Security Deposit.
Looks like next week now for an update.

Talk about pushing this to the wire......

Another Day in Paradise!

My smooth sailing is hitting an interesting point where our conveyancer and Mcdonald Jones has left us in an interesting position.


Our block has a put and call option on it which expires on 30th April, but we got an extension to the 14th of May. (thank GOd)

If we don't exchange before then, the price of the land will go up apparently.
My delay was getting the front page land contract over to the bank which only happened on Monday. So I have roughly 9 working days to get the bank to do Valuation, and also approve a Deposit Bond of 10%.

I nearly died on the inside today due to this, but my Broker assures me everything should be ok.
Kinda feel a little annoyed I have been placed in this position where MJH loose the Put and Call on this block in 14 Days forcing me to move heaven and earth.

Damn House and Land Packages! LOL.

My fingers are crossed this passes without delay and we can exchange on the 14th, otherwise I think I'm going to be a little deflated.

Both Contracts with the Bank

We have given now both contracts to the bank (Land and Construction). Hopefully we will get a good result on the Land within a week, I guess the bank now does it's valuation on the Land to see if all good.

Will be an interesting wait to say the least.......

Another Lesson in Buying a Home!

If anyone had told me, that before you are given full Unconditional Approval from your bank for your home loan, that you would need to part with over $16,000 in up-front deposits and fee's to start the process, I would of saved the mental torture and waited another 6 months before getting into this.

So as a First time home Buyer, if your thought process is that you only need the 5% Deposit for the Bank, and a Possible extra amount for Paying LMI upfront, you are dead set in for a surprise.

My breakdown of Cost's before being Fully approved are as Follows.

• $1000 Land Holding Deposit (You get this back after paying Builder Deposit)
• $5000 Building Deposit to start the Contract phase for Construction Quote (This comes off your Final Tender price)
• $2600 Conveyancing Fees
• $5000 Land Deposit to start Exchange (Plus 10% of Entire Value before/On Settlement)(Also comes off the Purchase Price)
• $3500 Landscape Design Bond (Paid on Land Settlement, you get this back later)

Then you will still need your 5% Deposit for the bank, and the LMI difference.

It's no wonder most first time home buyers buckle as they enter this process, because none of the above was a thought pattern of mine before heading into this, bah saving the basic 5% and LMI.

And let's not forget the unknowns for Rock Removal or Retaining walls that might come up during your build.

I am sure there are a few more cost's heading my way, 1 of which might be a security bond for the 10% upfront on the land, it's a 1.2% fee on the 10% deposit so I am only looking at around $300-$400 for this.

However it's an additional step I didn't for-see.

Let's hope over the coming week my front page land contract get's to the bank, and they approve the Land Loan to assist with the 10% Deposit needed.

All I can say at this point is wow!!! We are managing this, but it's juggling alot in a very short amount of time.

Execution!!!!

Our Conveyancing group KWS got back to us first thing in the morning to ask us to come in and execute the purchaser's counterpart of the Land Contract.

Luckily we both had today off so we went straight down to Bondi and got this done.
Exchange has begun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We also forwarded the Soft copy of the Construction Contract to our Broker for the bank, just need the front page Land contract now signed by both parties, and the Bank has what it needs till CDC and DA approval, and that nasty Bank Valuation.

Only a Little Update.

We got our signed hard copy of the contract back from the builder today, just need to get this into a soft-copy now so that we can give to our broker for the Bank Loan.  (91 pages)

I reached out to our conveyancer as well, just to see what steps need to be taken to action the front page signing of the land contract, and begin exchange, hopefully hear from them tomorrow with some feedback.

Other than the above, we visited the block again and noticed the water had been hooked up with the taps out the front, and the Electrical Box (Little Green Cone) was there as well.

The feedback from Bingara is everything is still on time, so let's keep fingers crossed everything registers on time, would be great to be in the new home for Christmas if we get lucky.

Thought I would have a Crack!

My Landscape design has to be done soon, so I thought I would try a few ideas.
To be honest, I got nothing!

But here is my first crack at it, trying to put ideas down so that when I sit with someone that does this for a living, It will kind of make sense what I'm trying to say.

Contracts Signed!

We have signed the contracts and progressed to the next phase of our Home Build.

My Solicitor had reviewed the contract and came back with alot of Questions, and suggestions for changes on the contract.

The short answer on the changes, none were applied. The presented contract and MJH's stance was to not modify anything.

For a First time home buyer this can feel a little daunting, especially receiving legal advice from people that specialise in these legal matters, and to have them all rejected.

So for the next 2hrs i went through every clause that was questioned, and asked for explanation on why, and what impact this has.

At the end I felt MJH covered off these questions fairly well, however for all those people heading into a contract like this, don't expect any modifications at all, you have to make a gut commercial decision to hope you are making the right choice with the building company.

The legal advise I received helped me get better answers from MJH, making me feel more comfortable with the knowledge and explanation that was needed to be given.

Time to move onto the Land exchange now, and get that front page signed that the bank want's.

Waiting on Feedback!

Well tomorrow is the big day to sign this contract, but I am still awaiting feedback from my Solicitor.
I know they have holidays atm due to Passover, but hopefully they can review and give me a call in the morning.

Fingers crossed.

Then It's Land Contract Exchange time and then........................................... I get some feedback from Voyager point in relation to Unconditional Approval, I think you are right.......

This go's to show how green I am as a First home Buyer!

Voyager PointApril 16, 2014

Hi, I was reading home one forum. but i found very useful try to read as much as possible.
It caught my attention that you are starting your unconditional approval after your contract?. Maybe I am wrong, but don't you need your CDC/ DA approval for the unconditional approval?
Maybe, I am with the wrong bank lol.

Thanks for the feedback Voyager, it's appreciated!

Then it's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday is the Day of Signing!

We have sent the draft copy of contract to our Solicitor and Conveyancer.
They will review and get back to me over the next few days to ensure everything is in order.

We have booked our signing of the Contract for this Thursday, fingers crossed the Solicitor doesn't find anything in the contract that will hold things up.

We have 2 small changes I have found that need to be addressed, basically small admin changes in numbering, not a deal breaker, but because I do contracts where I work, it's important to me to have each clause correct.

Once signed the real work begins, Bank valuation, Land Exchange, Draft Landscape Design and the surveys of the land.

If all the above checks the right boxes, Off to council and wait for the Land to register. Getting close now.

Wasn't go to Post this But.......

Replacing the old post with a new 1.

I was informed today that MJH had mailed out the wrong contract, and that another client got my copy as well.

It seems the contract we got tonight via Express Post is the correct 1, so I am guessing that they duplicated mine and sent out to another client. Still unprofessional, but we seem to have the right contract.

Contract Emailed to me!

The contract was emailed across for me to look at over the weekend, then I head over to MJH next Tuesday to sign it away.

Noticed 1 error in the Schedule on Deposit, so will address that next week, however it does seem to fix itself in another clause later on, so a typo here for sure.

91 Pages to read through over the weekend, looks fairly standard and is a HIA Plain Language building Contract. However I will pass a copy over to my Conveyancer and Solicitor to review as well.

Some plan's are in there as well, with the changes for the Fire-place and Water point clearly noticeable, will look in more detail over these as well.

No Porch Tiles for Me!

Well today I was advised that during the colour meeting, and with us changing the floor tiles to Vinyl Floor Planks in the house, MJH have forgotten to now charge us for the front porch tiling.

Just a quick $900 extra to the construction to now have these included.

Simple answer, Delete it - I'll do it myself.

I'm guessing the next email will be they forgot to include the roof!

What's even more amazing, is the total cost of Tiling now matches what I was originally (By mistake) quoted for the tiling. Even though I am using a cheaper product. GO Figure!

Preparing for Sign-off!

Today's little update is around the Final Tender, Apparently this has been submitted for the Final Plans to be drawn up and the Contract.

The next steps are to go into Mcdonald Jones to Sign these off once they are complete. Could be 1 - 2 weeks for this to be done, could be sooner (who knows).

Getting closer to start Exchanging on the Land, what a journey.

No News today!

Well we didn't get any news on the slight change on the final tender today, maybe tomorrow now.

Final Tender!

Today we received the Final Tender to Evaluate after all the inclusions were added from the Colour Meeting's.

My budgeting came in very close so I was happy with my calculations thus far. The only thing that didn't appear on the Final Tender was the $5000 deposit as a deduction, I nearly imploded when I didn't see this as a line item.

Again this comes down to not being explained the process correctly, and for me this is soooo important as I am using that deduction to budget for my Electrical variation to be added to the Contract.

After a few emails I got the following answer.....

Jeff …. The $5000 comes off the total price . It will show as an amount already paid on the contract when it is prepared for you

It isn’t shown as a deduction on your tender …. Your tender shows the full price of which you have paid $5000 towards already

Hope this makes sense

So with the above feedback, when the contract is presented to me, I am praying my Contract Value is actually 5k less than the Final tender that was presented to me, because that 5k is going to pay for my Electrical, and that's what i have budgeted for since the beginning of this process.

I can't help worry that the 5k has been inbuilt into all the Tender Quotes, and when the contract is presented to hand to the bank, the price doesn't change and is over what I expected.

So my example below

• Final Tender Grand Total = $300,000 (Got this Today)
• Contract Grand Total =  $300,000 showing a $5,000 Reduction due to deposit paid.
• Contract Balance Owing = $295,000 (This is what the bank lends)

It's the balance owing figure I am concentrating on, cause that's what the loan is being Judged against.

Now I could be a total idiot, and complicating the whole process by doing my own head in for no reason at all, But when thing's are not explained properly, and you have to ask and ask again to clarify this process, you start to doubt the information you get, and Question Everything.

This will all come to a head when that contract is handed over to me to review, and I must admit. If that $5,000 doesn't show as a reduction and deduction on the Contract, I think i may just loose my sh*t!

Because from the very first Quote before you pay the 5k, it doesn't appear anywhere, then the next Quote again doesn't show this either (but you then pay the 5k). And for when the Final Tender comes across and it's still not there (and at this stage no one has given a straight answer) You really start to wonder how that 5k can be paid, but never come off the total value.

I might be going slightly nut's, but give me a straight answer and this shiznit wouldn't be such a problem.

Colour Palette's Sent Over

Jessica at MJH Put our Colour Palette's together, here they are.

Internal

External

The Fireplace Look!

This is a similar look at what the fireplace will look like as a pop out in the family room (600mm pop out), also wanting to tile the fireplace surround similar to this 1, however a different type of rock tile finish, will tile that after handover.

Surprise Email Today!

To my surprise I received an email from Mcdonald Jones Senior Management today (Hi Phil!!) in regards to my questions over the last few weeks, and to clarify the position Mcdonald Jones takes on certain area's of the contract process.

What I can clearly say with-out a doubt is the initial communication wasn't as transparent at the beginning which certainly lead to expectations which didn't meet my understanding until today and commitments a House and Land Package offers, compared to a stand-alone House contract, (You already own the land)

Lesson here, Ask better Questions....so my mistake as well.

The biggest difference here, and what I'de like to share with anyone heading into buying and building, is that a House and Land package (Depending on Builder I guess) is a Fixed price contract, with the only pricing that's visible to you, being additional variations you add to this contract ie:- Spa-Bath, Fireplace, Upgraded carpets (the additional cost)

So for my issue, it was based around carpets and tiling, where these are included into the fixed price contract but the actual money assigned to these were not visible. And yes some helpful advise from Brett@MJH who in my eye's was being Honest/Truthful/Transparent and really painting a picture that would better help me budget and decide if going with MJH was the right choice.

Let's be very clear here, I rate doing business on winning partnerships, and a win win! And with the information I got from my Sales contact at the start of this process made me feel comfortable I was making the right choice.

Needless to say, if your heading into this be prepared to understand that a Package is a package, and you generally don't get the visibility to each line item, where-as if you buy just the construction part, you get the visibility into all line items ie:- Basix/Site Costs/Carpets/Tiling etc etc.

Another learning curve in this process, and I do appreciate (Phil@MJH) reaching out to answer my questions.

We are still going ahead with the build with MJH, and there are only 2 things left to cover off in the final contract. That's insuring the $5k deposit is deducted off the Final contract, compared to the consolidated tender value, and also allocating the variation amount for the Electrical into the final contract.

So we wait until next week now to receive the final contract amount, hopefully it's fairly close to what I have budgeted for, add the Variation for the Electrical and then it's off to the Conveyancer and Bank to start the final steps to lock this deal in.

BTW, Hi Bill!

Fireplace Position Set.

Now the Colours are totally signed off.

We set the fireplace position, and opted for a Pop out instead of a Solid wall straight across, didn't want to loose all that space, now I got 2 corners to put some Plants in LOL.

We also got a little clarity on the carpets cost, well I had to do some number crunching myself to re-engineer the costing's, paid a little more than I thought, but it should be ok.

Now waiting on the final tender to be drawn up, then calculate the Electrical Variation. hopefully we get this today or tomorrow.

Another look at the block today!

Myself and Aedan went for Another drive today, Aedan was all stocked up in the back seat.

Thought I would try and get a shot of the block from a different angle.

Colours Signed Off! Variation approved!

Today was one of those day's where you just wonder if things will fall into place, I had my doubts at first however the variation to my contract came back with the changes we were looking for on the tiles, and we signed off on the Colour Selection as well.

So the main final tender should come back to me early next week, just need to look and check to see I am still on Budget, there's a small chance the budget will hurt a bit, we had the carpets pre-quoted during the consolidated tender phase, and now need to double check the old quoted rate isn't too far below the new rate that needs to be entered.  This will impact the price, I just need clarity by how much. It's hidden cost's like this that can catch you out, so my advise here would be to only get tiles and carpets quoted once you are at Colour Selection.

I'll be honest and say, it was a challenge to get this transparent, and changed without a small bloody nose given. If you ever feel like you might be getting hood winked, ask and ask again, if that fails - Demand IT!

If it all stacks up next week, I just need to include a variation into the Tender for the bank, so that i can cover the Electrical component, you don't do this till the Land registers but Mr Bank want's to see it before you move into Exchanging on the land. In particular House and land Packages.

Quick look at the Colours

I will do a more up to date colours in the colours Section, but here are some of our selections.

Aysha catching a happy snap of me and Jessica of MJH going over the Plans...

Here are the External colours:

Garage, Porch and Driveway:

This is the En-Suite and Main bathroom colours:

The Kitchen area with the Flooring and Carpets: Vinyl Planks in Lounge/Dining/Entry/Kitchen/Children's Activity, Carpets in all Bed's and Media Room.

Full Colour Selection and Prelim Plans Done.

What a day..... 6 hours in total, and a crappy 2hr's travel time in the morning due to the rain.
Will update more later on, but our Colour Interior Designer Jessica was Great and Patient, and Suzzanne our CLO was awesome as well. Sorry to Blast you Suzzanne, but MJH had it coming.

Just need 1 Question resolved before i sign anything off, and it's all about the Tiles downgrading to Vinyl planks. It's a cost saving of $2601 which I want credited, and so far none have been able to say yes.

So I had to put the angry hat on, and go into bat. Hopefully this is resolved tomorrow.

You-Tube is my Friend!

Now I have spent the last 4 hours going over my Draft plans, then comparing things to my consolidated tender. Like Tiled areas, Carpet areas, driveway length and how much of the bag and paint was allocated to the plan's itself.

Firstly when I looked at the plans I thought OoOOo pritty. But I wanted to understand the Square metres per room, and how to read them.

The biggest thing I was looking for was the actual floor space in SQM for all our floor coverings. In reading the interwebs, it's crucial to allow a 10% buffer on this for cut off's etc.

My main mission in all this, is to save money, get quoted accurately and allocate the additional money to other items in my budget that i would love to have. So far I have uncovered a few Questions that need to be raised in my Colour meeting, more around how my consolidated tender was built and how they calculated the SQM, and a better understanding of the prices given to me in the quote.

This has come about from including the Tiles, Carpets, Bag and paint and driveway into the quote before getting the draft plans. Now that I have them, the magnifying glass is out!

Most probably nothing Sinister in this, however I tend to be a details type person, and love breaking down things to see how they work or add up. And let's be honest, being a first time Home owner and never built before, I want this shiznit EXACT!

 If anything, I can pull everything out of the tender I'm not happy with, and add them back in hey!.

Draft Plans Emailed to me today!

Had the draft plans emailed across today, now to get skilled in reading plans.
Shame I cant see what the Square metre is per room, that would be helpful in costing the carpets and tiled areas.

Maybe I am reading them wrong. Question for Thursday for sure. My Initial quote on covered areas seemed high in $$ vs the actual living area's provided on the plans, so keen to see if I have a saving here for the budget.

Final Colour Meeting in 2 Days!

Well the last week has been all about looking at colours, finishes and what final pieces of the house we would like to have.

In this whole process the final budget is still up in the air, and really won't know how close we are to hitting the mark until the final quote is done. So this Thursday is going to be a solid day of number crunching.

Very much stuck on Vinyl Planks, or Ceramic Tiles for the main areas. Leaning towards the Vinyl Planks as they are a little more cost effective, and also come close to the Wood finish we would like to have. So far the Gerflor Ironwood Plank is leading the charge.

Final colour picks for the Kitchen and Bathrooms are still not 100% clear, but we have a good idea of what we are looking for. The other choice we have is full tiling in the bathrooms, however the cost to do this is fairly high.

Either way this Thursday I will have a good update coming in, with our Full colour choices and upgrades. How exciting.

First Grant Lodged

Managed to get down to KWS today to sign our Exemption and Concession Grant for the Land.
Looking forward to paying ZERO stamp-duty.

Only 1 week to go before we finally sit down and really nut out the final touches to the house, and review that final build cost.

Then it's time to move into exchange on the land, and final tender given to the bank!.

What I think our house might look like!

Thought I would Play around with the Finish we are after, this is something my Wife and myself seem to like.

PS.... Don't go bagging my artistic cut n paste!

• bag and paint around Mid-section, Possibly a darker shade.
• Tiled Porch
• Ledgestone Pillars either side of bag and paint
• Caoba Garage door, front door stained same colour
• Austral Freedom bricks
• Colourbond Monument Roof
• Surfmist eaves
• Ironstone Gutters or Basalt
• Plantation shutters
• Nex15L Front Door (Wrong 1 in Picture) But stained same as Garage

And then the way it was Built.... 

Today's Update, Bit's & Pieces!

I think the things I have learn't over the last 1 week is pure patience, and not to over complicate things.
Understanding the process is most probably the more important part here, because with-out knowing what steps are next, you kinda feel a little bewildered at times.

Our Conveyancer has Shot out a letter to the Mcdonald Jones Legal team to begin the exchange of contracts for the Land, now I know the exchange can't happen till the draft Building contract is drawn up, which can take up too 2 weeks after our Colour Meeting on the 27th, So around 2nd week of April this can be done. As long as we don't make any other changes.........fingers crossed.

Another thing I learn't today is in regards to the Electrical meeting, which isn't done till the plans are lodged with council, so for me this kinda slows the loan process down with the bank. So now I need to add a variation amount to the building contract to help cover the Electrical cost - (Hmm how much) Anywhere from 5-10k variation.

This is all good, but I need to ensure I don't go over my budget, and also don't leave myself short of items I would really need/want before the approval is passed with the bank.

The next thing I learn't today, and I got to tell you I am very green around the gills with this whole process, is that we can't settle on the land, until it's registered. So best case is June this year for settlement on the land.

Once the land is Settled, Game on! Council and waiting....Ooooo yeah!

So my Big thing's coming up

• Sign and have Witnessed the First Home- New Home Exemption or Concession from Duty grant with conveyancer on the 19th and get this lodged.
• First Review of Plans 27th March with my CLO Suzzanne early morning
• Full colour meeting 27th with Lisa, this will take majority of the day, and is the cool part. (BUDGET)
• Draft Building contract around 7th - 11th April
• Bank valuation (O Jesus)

More updates as they come.

Another Quick trip to the block

Me and Aedan went for another quick drive today, stopped in at Bingara and saw the block again, looks like all the piping for the street is starting to get laid, bit by bit it's getting ready for submission to council to register the land.

Looks like our block is the storage site for all the orange Pipes.

First Colour Walk through Done

The Reception

What an exciting 2hrs out at MJH today.

What lies through this door hey?

To be honest, what go's on tour stay's on tour, no more past this point I guess!

However here is the Bible that cannot be found on the net.....

It's almost like the un-spoken word, can you put the inner details up for all to read, at this stage I have never found it myself, so maybe it's best kept a secret.

The Unexpected Costs as a First time Home Buyer!

What a journey this has been so far, and again today yet another moment where you get unexpected news again. (Well I remember reading it somewhere, but forgot) thanks Mr Conveyancer for kindly reminding me.

If I new all the things that could come up as you entered into building a new home, I'de be a more wise owl that's for sure.

It's not only the Deposit you have to worry about to make Mr bank happy to speak to you, it's also the extra you need to cover for the LMI (Lenders Mortgage Insurance) this on its own can be 10-20k on-top of your deposit. Then you have to consider the extra deposit you need to give to the builder to start the quote process on the house (3-5k here), and let's not forget the holding deposit for the land. (1k for me)

Once this is all covered off, you then need to have a few thousand spare for the Conveyancer, set a little aside for unknowns like a deposit for Building and Landscaping if your building in a community estate, this is an additional 3.5k on it's own where we are building (GASP) (this sits in a trust to ensure we finish the Landscaping). On-top of all this, ensure you have a little piggy bank of a few thousand set aside in the event the Site cost's blow out due to un-for-seen things like Big Rocks while digging and clearing your block.

I guess this isn't just about me, it's really a brain-dump for other people heading into this themselves. It's not just about the 5%, 10%, 20% Deposit, there is Sooooooo Much more to consider and save before you enter into this.

So far we are managing it well, but seriously, Where's the little hand-out in life to pre-warn you.

O and PS...... Wait till you head into the Colour and Electrical meetings, make sure that Conditional loan has a buffer in it to be able to get some cool changes done before you lock in with the bank! Can easily spend another 10-60k here without blinking an eye.

2 More Sleeps!!!

Talk about being a Kid in a Candy Store....... 2 Sleeps to go and we have our first Colour Walk-through meeting, really looking forward to the process and ranges to ponder over before our main meeting on the 27th of March.

My Wife thinks I'm nuts currently, but hey it's not everyday you build a house Right. Looking forward to meeting our CLO Suzzanne on the day.