Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jan 10, 2011 8:53 pm We have reserved a lot at stage 25 Somerfield Keysborough, which should be contracted in November this year. I am wondering if anyone has experience in regards of the securing the builder. Should we hurry to get the plans drawn or should we wait till land has been contracted/purchased? Re: somerfield stage 25 2Jan 11, 2011 9:02 am mirabella We have reserved a lot at stage 25 Somerfield Keysborough, which should be contracted in November this year. I am wondering if anyone has experience in regards of the securing the builder. Should we hurry to get the plans drawn or should we wait till land has been contracted/purchased? Welcome to H1!! Try and find out if any of their other stages have had delays in the titles being released - if they have then there is a good chance that your land might also be delayed - it is quite common unfortunately. If you sign with a big builder and your land isn't going to be ready for a few months then they will often put in a clause that says that if they don't have access to the land in X months then the price of the house will increase by $x so I would say definitely start looking around, but you have quite a while yet before your land is ready so don't hurry too much. It also really depends on if you are going with a big builder or a small one. 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: somerfield stage 25 3Jan 11, 2011 2:27 pm I haven't bought bare land before, but I think if you can get some details about the block you have purchased, you may be able to do a bit a forward planning to get the ball rolling. Try to get the following details. Site dimensions (length, width) including any slope on the block. This will help you find houses that will fit without too many changes. Details of the building envelope allowed for that block. This will allow you to look at how big a house you can fit on the block. Find out what the requirements are for facades, ceiling height(yep some require extra height, others don't allow more than 2550mm) and other aspects of the house that may cost you extra. That way you'll be ready. If you're set on getting that particular block, try to get an establishment survey report then go and check the stakes are still in the ground. Also you may want to get a soil report so you can find out what sort of foundations you'll be looking at. If you do choose a builder to go with, find out what appliances they allow for. You may want to get a different brand and you'll be able to shop around a bit before you sign up. You can also do this with carpets and other fittings. GLGLGLGL Re: somerfield stage 25 4Jan 27, 2011 3:49 pm We have bought in Stage 1j and our area was delayed for 6 months... so yeah i would probably take my time in deciding what home to build and plans getting drawn etc. we rushed in december 2009 to get the larger first home buyers grant. other reasons were because we were led to believe that the land would be ready in april/may 2010. since then there have been lots of new home designs that suited our 14 meter wide block. would of had a larger range to choose from if we didnt rush to sign the contract. either way we are still super happy with the house we are going to build. Building with Places Homes - Glendale 23 (plus 2 square bonus). Stage 1j, Somerfield Estate, Keysborough. Sweet! Re: somerfield stage 25 5Jan 28, 2011 8:36 am Somerfield has been plagued with Delays. I was lucky and bought in stage 1a and the land was already titiled, but been watching since then. At one stage the company contracted to do the development went under, and they had to get a new developer in. Plus all the rain we have had. By all means start shopping for your house. Work out what you like and pick your builder etc. Even start negotiations. But be warned that if you sign, most builders will put a clause in the contract that if the start date is delayed they get to charge you $XXXX per month. Ive read of people getting charged $20,000+ in penalties. Check out our thread over here: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=24067 Drop in and say hi! Milesy Not unless you have managed to put it as a special condition into the contract somehow. 1 6154 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 8706 1 4695 |