Browse Forums Building A New House Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1341Mar 07, 2011 7:20 pm Sorry I'm not at the meeting - am working tonight... Just my 2 cents worth... I, too, wish we had a water tank and not recycled water. I hated the idea of ceiling fans when we first signed up. I wanted them removed and managed to talk them down from 5 minimum to 4...but after living here for almost 2 years, I have since installed them in all of our bedrooms as they are cheaper to run than our airconditioning and keep us surprisingly cool in summer. I now love them..and once you're in, you don't notice them. Mind you, we have very high ceilings. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1342Mar 07, 2011 7:56 pm oztish Sorry I'm not at the meeting - am working tonight... Just my 2 cents worth... I, too, wish we had a water tank and not recycled water. I hated the idea of ceiling fans when we first signed up. I wanted them removed and managed to talk them down from 5 minimum to 4...but after living here for almost 2 years, I have since installed them in all of our bedrooms as they are cheaper to run than our airconditioning and keep us surprisingly cool in summer. I now love them..and once you're in, you don't notice them. Mind you, we have very high ceilings. i agree if you like them get them , i personally didnt see the point in them if i had evap cooling which has a vent option therefore i could get air from outside vented into every room in the house not just living zones and it is cheaper to run the evap cooling then a ceiling fan whether its on vent or cool this is not the case with refrigderated cooling though. so that was my agruement with them why have both. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1343Mar 07, 2011 8:38 pm boj aurorafrog As for the recycle water, I do feel it's like a scam. Have you tried asking yarra valley water to disconnect you from the recycled water system? Their the company responsible for your water connections and bills, it doesn't really have anything to do with vicurban after they've put the pipes in under the streets. I imagine if you asked them they could come out and lock your meter, then you'd just have to connect your normal water supply into the other set of pipes so your toilet still works - just like your builder would have done before your recycled water was connected. But if you think about it economically, you'll still be paying the same amount for water used, all you will save is the $20 a year connection fee, but getting a plumber out to redo your pipes will cost about $300 which is 15 years worth of connection fees - is it really worth it? IMO, having unrestricted access to the recycled water for watering the lawn and garden is worth $20 a year to us. I agree with the opinion of unrestricted water for only $20 a year..... i seriously don't mind paying for the recycled water... I remember asking about it when we first bought our block... when I asked what is cost I was always told... Same as your low water tarrif and $5 per bill for the meter... Now considering I have gardens that would take a hell of allot of work and money to replace I am happy to have recycled water on tap... If you don;t want to pay for it... get a tank, but at the end of the day that costs allot for a decent system with a pump etc, and takes up space... The recycled water is definately worth it... I do think however if water restrictions are lifted and we can use it for whatever we like again we should get a discount as an incentive, but right now... the incentive is we have it available to wash cars, water gardens and lawns etc.... some of the costly landscaping will survive and not require replanting due to a lack of water... VU never said it was free, and I think the assumption it would be free has led to allot of confusion... I re did all the landscaping at my old home, which was destroyed by the drought... I said I would never put that effort and money back into it with the risk of drought doing it again, that's one of the big reasons I moved here... I now have landscaping that looks neat and tidy, and I can protect it by watering and basic maintenance... far better than starting again every few years due to drought..... Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1344Mar 07, 2011 8:58 pm i dont mind paying if its a one off $20 a year supply i was under the impression it was just like your normal water bill with a supply charge every 2 months and then the normal water bill again with supply charge. I have just checked my normal water bill for the new house(not in yet) and there is a service charge on that for recycled water $5.20 for this bill and on the recycled water bill its $0 because we have yet to use it so it looks like there is supply charge on recycled water bill and a service charge on normal water bill for the recycled water wierd and confusing. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1345Mar 07, 2011 9:40 pm Hi, I am new to this forum, I am looking for buying a land and come across one in Aurora, its a stage 17 release across the creek. VU said it will be tittled by aug, just wondering what is every once experience in regards to tittle the land, site cost, process time, internet, other costs, over all the estate, pls share as I am a newbie, cheers Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1346Mar 07, 2011 9:56 pm urk697 Hi, I am new to this forum, I am looking for buying a land and come across one in Aurora, its a stage 17 release across the creek. VU said it will be tittled by aug, just wondering what is every once experience in regards to tittle the land, site cost, process time, internet, other costs, over all the estate, pls share as I am a newbie, cheers i think it depends when it comes to titles, mine was only one month behind what they told me but i know alot of the early stages were way behind. The was no site cost with me it was all in my contract with house and land so check your contract and ask builder. I built with burbank and i have to say they take forever with there paper work to get going infact nearly as long as it took to build. I left $10,000 in march when the land was titled in june it still took another 3 months after that to have the paper work done. As far as the building they were pretty quick except there were a few delayswith there tradie hurting himself and they took awhile finding a replacement so it held the rest up. i have been told for my stage (14) there is no interent phone or tv as yet but it should be sorted shortly they are in talks with a few providers at the moment so as far as price for that i cant tell u. All the fibre optic connections to the house were included in the price of the house its a requirement. i didnt have any other costs as far as building except any upgrades i wanted which werent much.There is a stamp duty on land you have to pay on settlement of land i think it was around $4 to 5000 your solicitor will tell you about that. oh and check the requirements if it is a corner block with vu they have other requirements. i hope i have helped Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1347Mar 08, 2011 7:45 am boj aurorafrog As for the recycle water, I do feel it's like a scam. Have you tried asking yarra valley water to disconnect you from the recycled water system? Their the company responsible for your water connections and bills, it doesn't really have anything to do with vicurban after they've put the pipes in under the streets. I imagine if you asked them they could come out and lock your meter, then you'd just have to connect your normal water supply into the other set of pipes so your toilet still works - just like your builder would have done before your recycled water was connected. But if you think about it economically, you'll still be paying the same amount for water used, all you will save is the $20 a year connection fee, but getting a plumber out to redo your pipes will cost about $300 which is 15 years worth of connection fees - is it really worth it? IMO, having unrestricted access to the recycled water for watering the lawn and garden is worth $20 a year to us. Hi boj, don't get me wrong. I do like recycle water if it's an option. But still I hate to use too much water that from the water plant whereas you can get plenty just from the sky for free... The recycle water might seem having a reasonable price at the moment. But it's not in your control. Who knows what price it'll go up to in the future? Interestingly in the Aurora's pamphlet it has a small text saying it's not guarantee the recycle water is unrestricted in the future. Our house design was with a water tank in it. However, due to in Aurora there is recycle water available, hence the builder delete the tank and put in the recycle water instead. So you can see a water tank doesn't actually cost me extra but now I don't have the options anymore. I admit this is something that I should have investigated, but I have gotten the impression that it's not changeable. Our lot is small, hence I have very minimum garden to maintain. I don't wash my car often either since it's in the garage. I'v been very sensible to my water usage and it doesn't seem to affect my life that much. And I am proud of myself for saving water. So you see why I would want to pay extra. Oh, there is also sewage fee in the bills too. I have nothing against recycle water, everyone has a choice on what to use. I just don't like the fact I have to use it at the moment. But thanks for your advice. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1348Mar 08, 2011 8:00 am urk697 Hi, I am new to this forum, I am looking for buying a land and come across one in Aurora, its a stage 17 release across the creek. VU said it will be tittled by aug, just wondering what is every once experience in regards to tittle the land, site cost, process time, internet, other costs, over all the estate, pls share as I am a newbie, cheers Regarding the land title, mine's currently being delayed for 3 months. You'd better check with your builder and make sure the building contract gives you plenty of time for the possible delay. Otherwise you'd end up like me being penalised by the builder. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1349Mar 08, 2011 8:06 am Quote: I don't wash my car often either since it's in the garage. I DO agree with you Aurorafrog (re the recyled water), but just on this comment of yours (above)...trust me, you can drive 500m around here and have a spotless car turn to a dirty mess, especially in winter. All the heavy trucks leave dirt on the road, then it rains and it turns to mud and last year was terrible. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1350Mar 08, 2011 8:39 am oztish Quote: I don't wash my car often either since it's in the garage. I DO agree with you Aurorafrog (re the recyled water), but just on this comment of yours (above)...trust me, you can drive 500m around here and have a spotless car turn to a dirty mess, especially in winter. All the heavy trucks leave dirt on the road, then it rains and it turns to mud and last year was terrible. Thanks for the warning I did not know that. Call me lazy I only wash my car once or twice a year. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1351Mar 08, 2011 8:40 am I didn't get a chance to attend last nights meeting due to other commitments. Did anyone here go? What were the topics discussed and their outcomes? Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1352Mar 08, 2011 8:49 am aurorafrog oztish Quote: I don't wash my car often either since it's in the garage. I DO agree with you Aurorafrog (re the recyled water), but just on this comment of yours (above)...trust me, you can drive 500m around here and have a spotless car turn to a dirty mess, especially in winter. All the heavy trucks leave dirt on the road, then it rains and it turns to mud and last year was terrible. Thanks for the warning I did not know that. Call me lazy I only wash my car once or twice a year. Same here. I do not take my car to the car wash so frequently. With regards to the recycled water, when I was finalizing my plans with my builder, I was keen to go ahead with the rain water tank; as the water from the tank would be free from the rains. But, as far as I remember or if I am not wrong. I was told by my sales person that they cannot give us the rain water tank or get the recycled water disconnected for us, as it was a requirement by the estate to have the recycled water taps to be connected and it was then left on me to have it changed at a later stage after I move in, of course with the consultation of VU. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1353Mar 08, 2011 9:05 am angelviper007 I didn't get a chance to attend last nights meeting due to other commitments. Did anyone here go? What were the topics discussed and their outcomes? I went, along with a couple of other people in these forums as well. I didn't take any notes on what was being discussed, so I'm only going by memory. There were representatives from the City of Whittlesea council and VicUrban (but not Arise). 1) Parks, gardens, nature strips and swales – whose responsibility it is to look after the nature strips, what's happening with the maintenance and upkeep of the parks and gardens. There was a lot of discussion about swales, nature strips and the mess that's currently in the nature strips. 2) Telecommunications issues – phone and TV issues, lack of internet service, updates on what's happening with ISPs (or retail service operators as they were called) – VicUrban said that they were very close to cutting deals with a number of providers, and that more information will be available at the end of March. They have been testing the network for a few months now and apparently the results of these tests are very positive. Apparently the delay in getting up to this stage is due to the NBN (and the attention it has caused, diverting ISPs' attention to the VicUrban FTTH network) and of course, lawyers. 3) Arise – their tender is due to end mid 2011, "new" estates (stages 8 onwards) will have a range of ISPs offering their services to them right off the bat, whereas those who are with Arise right now will need to wait as VicUrban goes door to door and organise hardware replacements in their cabinets. In other words, Stage 8 onwards will have the new ISPs offering them service before stages 1 - 7 4) Keys to cabinets – why some people have keys and others don't. I must admit, VicUrban didn't have much to say about this, most of the discussion was anecdotal and from the residents' point of view. One lady mentioned that she had to break into her cabinet as the phones were down and she had an emergency to tend to. This doesn't look good. One other lady (who I assumed was a prominent member of the ACA, and I'm sorry but I can't remember her name right now) mentioned that she heard from someone who serviced her cabinet that when the new providers come in, we're getting keys to the cabinets too. I'm a little skeptical about this, as it's just anecdotal evidence for now and VicUrban were suspiciously quiet at this moment in the meeting, I suspect they didn't want to promise anything at that stage. 5) Community website for ACA - aurorafrog stood up and had a short chat with the audience and what the goals are for the ACA website. Sounds exciting! 6) There will be a Moonlight Cinema event soon in June (I'm sure Lisa will provide more information about this) and there was a request for any more community ideas. Also a BBQ (can't remember when this is going to be happening, sorry). That's all I can remember for now. I must admit I wasn't listening much to the nature strip discussion (I'm one of the very lucky few that doesn't have swales in the front of their house) so hopefully someone else here can chime in with more information. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1354Mar 08, 2011 9:06 am ourhome With regards to the recycled water, when I was finalizing my plans with my builder, I was keen to go ahead with the rain water tank; as the water from the tank would be free from the rains. But, as far as I remember or if I am not wrong. I was told by my sales person that they cannot give us the rain water tank or get the recycled water disconnected for us, as it was a requirement by the estate to have the recycled water taps to be connected and it was then left on me to have it changed at a later stage after I move in, of course with the consultation of VU. This is what I was told too from my builder. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1355Mar 08, 2011 10:09 am acherion I went, along with a couple of other people in these forums as well. I didn't take any notes on what was being discussed, so I'm only going by memory. There were representatives from the City of Whittlesea council and VicUrban (but not Arise). ...... That's very good meeting minute Thanks Acherion. I have swale in front of my block, but I haven't come to realise any problems yet since I am not living there atm. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1356Mar 08, 2011 10:17 am aurorafrog acherion I went, along with a couple of other people in these forums as well. I didn't take any notes on what was being discussed, so I'm only going by memory. There were representatives from the City of Whittlesea council and VicUrban (but not Arise). ...... That's very good meeting minute Thanks Acherion. I have swale in front of my block, but I haven't come to realise any problems yet since I am not living there atm. I second what aurorafrog wrote. Really well summarised. Thanks Acherion Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1357Mar 08, 2011 10:52 am Thanks a lot Acherion. Really well drafted minutes of the meeting. This out of the topic we all are discussing at this moment. I wanted everyones opinion on what I am thinking. I have a corner lot and as per VU I cannot have any sort of fence at the corner and the front of the house but I think otherwise. As per me if I have a corner lot the I should be having strong, short metal fence/barrier which does not effect any sort of sunlight coming through or the looks of the area. The prime reason for me to believe in having these sort of barrier for a corner plot is a aspect of safety. As we all know the roads in our estate are too narrow. If there are cars parked then it is very difficult to drive in a low visibility a mix of all these conditions can sometimes lead a vehicle to run over the nature strip or worst come, land up in someones front yard. A few days back I saw in the news about such an accident in which a ute landed in someones master bed room. These type of accidents can be only one in 1000's but I don't want to be that one. Please do let me know if what I am thinking is practical or I am being over protective. Re: LYNDARUM / AURORA ESTATES: Epping, Victoria 1358Mar 08, 2011 1:57 pm i think with the council laws in general you cant have full size fence right to front of house but a smaller one yes. vu doenst allow it. I think the fencing they have supplied is cheap and poor quality anyway mine is splintering away already. i will covering up the gaps in the fence as i dont want people seeing into my yard or watching my children or the dog being able to see out to the street as he will bark all day. i have a large side fence and its all transparent. they told me i could cover it once i moved in. if i was u i would look into hedge planting around the front and corner sturdy trees block out noise people seeing in and the danger of cars coming through. The setback from the kerb is 4m. It is council land to provide an area for services like sewer main, gas mains, water mains, underground power or poles for overhead power,… 4 2694 For reference, this is the Austlii reference. My take on this is, that they would be breaking the law denying access to a homeowner in Victoria, or their agent from having… 1 10252 Hey everyone Not for me or anyone I know, just generally interested. For a single allotment house, are you allowed to take the fence on both sides of your house and… 0 21634 |