Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Apue's home building 341Dec 16, 2012 6:04 am Hi Apue, I was wondering how you were getting on with hand over. I am not surprised it has been delayed. But although I kept saying expect delays I am sure you will be in by next weekend - that was what I thought would happen. So when did you give notice on your rental until? SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Apue's home building 342Dec 16, 2012 6:04 am Hi Apue, I was wondering how you were getting on with hand over. I am not surprised it has been delayed. But although I kept saying expect delays I am sure you will be in by next weekend - that was what I thought would happen. So when did you give notice on your rental until? SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Apue's home building 343Dec 16, 2012 11:09 am SunshineT Hi Apue, I was wondering how you were getting on with hand over. I am not surprised it has been delayed. But although I kept saying expect delays I am sure you will be in by next weekend - that was what I thought would happen. So when did you give notice on your rental until? Thanks T. I have not given notice to the landlord. I would teminate the tenancy only when we are given the interim OC. The certifier will visit my site this Tuesday. My home building https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55844 Demolished: 11/May/12 Approval: 3/Jul/12 Concrete Slab: 20/Jul/12 Frame: 14/Aug/12 Handover: 21/DEC/12 Re: Apue's home building 344Dec 16, 2012 1:24 pm Hi Apue, hope it all comes through for you. We don't have interim OC yet & were happy to move in with out it, stuff is getting done towards that. Biggest problem is no rubbish bins, though our neighbour has been great letting us use hers but it will be good to have our own. Re: Apue's home building 345Dec 16, 2012 4:21 pm Ryan 1977 Hi Apue, hope it all comes through for you. We don't have interim OC yet & were happy to move in with out it, stuff is getting done towards that. We were the same - we moved in without Interim OC. Then we decided to skip IOC and just get full OC (which we still don't have - everything has been done except for plumber submitting detailed plans of the water tank). Given the Christmas break, you are probably better off just moving in if things are to a point where it is OK to move in, then save on the rent. I think you will find that the paper work will take time. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Apue's home building 346Dec 17, 2012 8:22 pm Really? I thought I need IOC before moving in physically? I wouldn't have rushed and been stressed if we could move without IOC. The most troublesome was to sort out the corssingover thing. I pushed & even paid premium to sort out the crossingover as Matt said it's an essential component to get IOC. In fact Jerue advised me not to give a notice to tenancy until we have IOC/OC from the certifier.. Hmm All are going okay. By this Friday, we'll have the retaining wall at the back, too. I disliked the bathtub is TOO high, I can't see why they built it so high, my kids may fall over and get injured when they climb over. My home building https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55844 Demolished: 11/May/12 Approval: 3/Jul/12 Concrete Slab: 20/Jul/12 Frame: 14/Aug/12 Handover: 21/DEC/12 Re: Apue's home building 347Dec 17, 2012 8:29 pm Apue, I wouldn't move in without IOC, we however got OC and had final approval the day we got keys. In our council we couldn't garbage bins without it and I didn't want to wait for weeks. The paperwork came about 2weeks later but we did have an email from the certifier saying he had approved our OC, once we had our paperwork I called council and arranged bins. Re: Apue's home building 348Dec 17, 2012 8:44 pm Whatever you feel comfortable with Apue. We already had garbage bins as a KDR. In terms of moving in, I am just concerned that paperwork can take time. As for your baths, I am sure it is standard height, although I know your family is smaller. Ours are high too, but is just how all baths come these days. Unless you found yourself a special low bath and specifically ask for that. Maybe you can get one of those little plastic steps for the kids. Good luck! Keep us informed of how it all goes. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Apue's home building 349Dec 18, 2012 10:19 pm SunshineT Whatever you feel comfortable with Apue. We already had garbage bins as a KDR. In terms of moving in, I am just concerned that paperwork can take time. As for your baths, I am sure it is standard height, although I know your family is smaller. Ours are high too, but is just how all baths come these days. Unless you found yourself a special low bath and specifically ask for that. Maybe you can get one of those little plastic steps for the kids. Good luck! Keep us informed of how it all goes. I've gave a notice to Meriton. My last day is 8th of Jan with Meriton. My bro is a RE agent and he said he wouldn't take the key unless OC is issued. In the end, I take the risk whether the house will be approved for OC or not once hand-over is done. Luckily I've made most efforts in order to get OC (i.e retaining walls & drive way etc). My council (horsnby) advised me to call them 5 days before moving in to arrange bins.. So I'll call tomorrow. I can see there are still several items are missing but Zen expects me to pay the full balance on the hand over date. My balance is +ve from Zen since I installed flooring at my own. The major items are; Handrails for both porch (worth over 2k) turf (Worth 1.5k) Masonry Letterbox Would you pay in full regardless of the completion of the house? I still appreciate Zen has built so quickly so we could move in so quick. But the outstanding items may be delayed to be done another several weeks since we're towards long X-mas holidays. So I'm thinking to ask 'A' if he allows a few thousands dollars outstanding till these are done. He seems to want to receive them all though. My home building https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55844 Demolished: 11/May/12 Approval: 3/Jul/12 Concrete Slab: 20/Jul/12 Frame: 14/Aug/12 Handover: 21/DEC/12 Re: Apue's home building 350Dec 19, 2012 5:30 am To be honest Apue, that is actually a really small hand-over list. Most people don't put turf in until weeks (sometimes months) after they move in. So the turf is not a priority. The letter box - won't affect your living but is annoying for mail. Some people put boxes out there until they get a letter box. I think you can live with both of those easily. The handrails are more important, but I don't recall you having big upstairs porches? Remember we didn't have our upstairs balustrade porch for 2 months, but we still paid our final instalment in full. We had many many more important things missing when we moved in but we still paid. I think Zen have done very well by you to build so incredibly quickly and with two dwellings, that my view would be to pay. But that's just me. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Apue's home building 351Dec 19, 2012 10:57 am Hello Apue, We are also currently building with Zen and although lock up by Xmas seemed very possible a month ago, turned out it wasn't. Main reason was that SS together with many of Zen's trades were completely focussed on achieving hand overs, yours being one of them, so we didn't see our SS over the last month. We first met with Zen in August 2011, concept and tender followed and we paid our deposit on 31 October 11. Although we were promised that plans and DA would easily be finalised and submitted to Council by Xmas 2011, nothing happened. DA was submitted to Council on 31 May 2012! The usual unexplained Council delays then ensued until we were finally granted DA approval on 20 July and our build commenced on 13 September. When did you actually first meet with Zen? Appears via H1 maybe first quarter of 2012? Your approvals were quickly achieved and your build commenced before ours, now you are 99.5% completed for hand over. Wow! You may not realise how very fortunate you are and how much in rent you have saved. That is not the case for us and it's not so joyful knowing that several builds have been handed over to people who met with Zen way after us. There wasn't anything at all over complicated about our build and it's not even a big home, just under 30 squares, double storey, KDR. Overall we are happy with Zen, however we realise that good and bad timing plays a huge part in the overall build journey and we seem to have lucked out on many occasions, however you clearly have been blessed from start to finish. Not for a second from when we first met with Zen did we imagine that we would not be spending 2012 Christmas in our new home... That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. My point is that we would love to be in your shoes right now and would gladly make all of our final payment. We consider you extremely lucky in that you have have achieved a super fast build and compared to others on the Zen thread, you only have minor outstanding items for completion post hand over. Congratulations to you and your family on your new home Apue, such a great time to celebrate and we can't wait for our turn. Enjoy your lovely new home. Re: Apue's home building 352Dec 19, 2012 11:28 am Apue Would you pay in full regardless of the completion of the house? After my last experience, I personally will not be making the final payment until the house is fully completed. When we last built we were pushing to have our place finalised before our wedding. When we returned from our honeymoon there were still some outstanding items for the house - however being newlyweds we wanted to be in our new house before Xmas (so we weren't living with the in-laws). Our builder wouldn't hand over the keys until final payment was made - so we organised the payment and moved in on 15th December 2008. However it subsequently took the builder 9 months to rectify some of the issues that we had with the house - because we made the final payment, we were put at the back of the queue - we no longer had any bargaining power... Don't get me wrong - our builder was great (building with them again), but there is no way I would be making the final payment until everything is completed. As much as it would be nice to be in before Xmas, I want to move into a fully completed house and not have the headache of chasing things up post handover. Sounds like Zen have been pretty good so far and if its important for you to be in before Xmas it's probably a risk you want to take - my post is just a warning of what can happen. Re: Apue's home building 353Dec 19, 2012 12:57 pm Apue I am sure a percentage of the final payment held back till everything completed is reasonable. Just say You will make final payment, less a couple K until handrail etc, don't ask, just state this is what you think. It is a very small list of outstanding items though. Re: Apue's home building 354Dec 19, 2012 5:12 pm SunshineT To be honest Apue, that is actually a really small hand-over list. Most people don't put turf in until weeks (sometimes months) after they move in. So the turf is not a priority. The letter box - won't affect your living but is annoying for mail. Some people put boxes out there until they get a letter box. I think you can live with both of those easily. The handrails are more important, but I don't recall you having big upstairs porches? Remember we didn't have our upstairs balustrade porch for 2 months, but we still paid our final instalment in full. We had many many more important things missing when we moved in but we still paid. I think Zen have done very well by you to build so incredibly quickly and with two dwellings, that my view would be to pay. But that's just me. Hi, T. Thanks for your feedback. Good news is that Zen advised that we'll have hand rails for both areas by tomorrow. Today I went down mood again.. I wouldn't call it a big major issue though the bathtub was built so high that the spout and mixer are lower than the height of bath tub. Initial Mat's response surprised me but he agreed that Zen will fix it by raising them up. The job can't be done within 2 days so we need to delay till next year. My bro (RE agent) is more used to dealing with off-the-plan house/land package where the handover happens only when the job is 100% complete. So he couldn't understand how I dare to take the handover where lots of lots of things are to be done. My landscaper also advised that the finishes are pretty rough so there are lots of spots to be fixed/patched. These problems are common for most people who had rushed to move in, so I think I can live with rather than delaying the hand over. To me, the jobs are relatively minor My home building https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55844 Demolished: 11/May/12 Approval: 3/Jul/12 Concrete Slab: 20/Jul/12 Frame: 14/Aug/12 Handover: 21/DEC/12 Re: Apue's home building 355Dec 19, 2012 5:42 pm our forever home Hello Apue, We are also currently building with Zen and although lock up by Xmas seemed very possible a month ago, turned out it wasn't. Main reason was that SS together with many of Zen's trades were completely focussed on achieving hand overs, yours being one of them, so we didn't see our SS over the last month. We first met with Zen in August 2011, concept and tender followed and we paid our deposit on 31 October 11. Although we were promised that plans and DA would easily be finalised and submitted to Council by Xmas 2011, nothing happened. DA was submitted to Council on 31 May 2012! The usual unexplained Council delays then ensued until we were finally granted DA approval on 20 July and our build commenced on 13 September. When did you actually first meet with Zen? Appears via H1 maybe first quarter of 2012? Your approvals were quickly achieved and your build commenced before ours, now you are 99.5% completed for hand over. Wow! You may not realise how very fortunate you are and how much in rent you have saved. That is not the case for us and it's not so joyful knowing that several builds have been handed over to people who met with Zen way after us. There wasn't anything at all over complicated about our build and it's not even a big home, just under 30 squares, double storey, KDR. Overall we are happy with Zen, however we realise that good and bad timing plays a huge part in the overall build journey and we seem to have lucked out on many occasions, however you clearly have been blessed from start to finish. Not for a second from when we first met with Zen did we imagine that we would not be spending 2012 Christmas in our new home... That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. My point is that we would love to be in your shoes right now and would gladly make all of our final payment. We consider you extremely lucky in that you have have achieved a super fast build and compared to others on the Zen thread, you only have minor outstanding items for completion post hand over. Congratulations to you and your family on your new home Apue, such a great time to celebrate and we can't wait for our turn. Enjoy your lovely new home. Well, I'm sorry to hear that your schedule was postponed so long.. My construction started early July. I knew moving-in before X-mas was challenging and everyone told me not to hope to move in before x-mas so I would not have disappointed. I must say I should be happy with the progress so far, but there were a few interruptions during the construction. Particularly when Zen was dealing with 5 handovers late November, I also couldn't see SS and their tradies for some weeks. I also made every effort so we could avoid the delay. For instance, a plumber broke a P trap pipe and I had to travel to Botany to buy the parts for them. To be honest, I couldn't have a chance to check if the hot water is coming or all electricity are working in order yet. I saw all downlights are working though.. There may be loopholes that surprise us. Zen sent the invoice yesterday for the final payment. Their credit/debit balance was pretty honest and there was no dod*y hiding or overcharge item. My home building https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55844 Demolished: 11/May/12 Approval: 3/Jul/12 Concrete Slab: 20/Jul/12 Frame: 14/Aug/12 Handover: 21/DEC/12 Re: Apue's home building 356Dec 19, 2012 5:45 pm Apue To me, the jobs are relatively minor Regardless what anyone says, that is the most important thing - how YOU feel about the jobs. Sounds like your RE brother has unrealistic expectations and is more used to commercial construction. our forever home - sorry to hear about your experiences. That is rough indeed, and is a reminder that any problem we have is relative. Some people have done it tougher. I hope things go better for you next year with Zen. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Apue's home building 357Dec 19, 2012 5:49 pm atom_ute Apue Don't get me wrong - our builder was great (building with them again), but there is no way I would be making the final payment until everything is completed. As much as it would be nice to be in before Xmas, I want to move into a fully completed house and not have the headache of chasing things up post handover. Sounds like Zen have been pretty good so far and if its important for you to be in before Xmas it's probably a risk you want to take - my post is just a warning of what can happen. I totally agree with what you suggested. Most people around me suggests not to pay in full as there is no motivation anymore so the builder won't appear again to fix the problem. That's why I'm thinking to have a list of items to be fixed and setting the due date to be fixed. If I have a written document, probably no builder wants to be in trouble with fair trading or legal issues. Hopefully Zen won't break their words. My home building https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55844 Demolished: 11/May/12 Approval: 3/Jul/12 Concrete Slab: 20/Jul/12 Frame: 14/Aug/12 Handover: 21/DEC/12 Re: Apue's home building 358Dec 19, 2012 6:06 pm Apue, if you are not happy then don't pay the final invoice but do not expect zen to hand you the keys. We paid our invoice in full on handover, although we owed a little bit more for some of our upgrades, which we didn't pay immediately. In regards to them coming to fix things up, I have no hesitation in knowing it will get done, our major fixes were done immediately but we are still waiting on little things to be done from original handover. We are in no major hurry although I would like the three missing flyscreens! You have two choices pay in full and get keys take a risk that everything will be completed or don't pay invoice and wait until the new year for them to return to complete things then have handover when everything is complete. Unfortunately you can't have it both ways. You cannot expect them to give the keys without paying the invoice, as it would most likely be issues when they finish the work that you won't pay final amount and they will have no leverage to get it back. Forever home, that sux I hope things pick up in the new year. Apue has definitely had an exceptional run, while our paperwork stage didn't take long it our delays were with our land registration. Good luck Re: Apue's home building 359Dec 20, 2012 9:23 am Agree with gogo. If you want to move in early, you need to pay. Especially as your build has been so fast and they have done the right thing by you in trying to meet your request for a handover prior to Christmas. It cuts both ways - they give you give. A list is an excellent idea - we did the same. If you want it to be 100% finished, you need to wait and not move in and because they are shutting down like all other builders you won't see any work start again until mid to late January at the earliest. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Apue's home building 360Dec 20, 2012 9:43 am Apue is only suggesting that he hold a little back, I think that is fair & reasonable. Didn't you & gogo do the same? I would be wanting to move before xmas if it was me, just use the showers until the bath is done. We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 18237 Hi AKG, We had a base tender of $592 for 31 squares from MC Donald Jones. It looks relatively cheaper than other builders. But I assume there are many hidden things that… 1 17388 |