Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 28, 2009 10:26 pm Hi all, Í'm into my final stage now. Floor and wall tiles have just been completed. I'm quite apprehensive over the final inspection as I do not know what to expect and what to check. May I have advice from your experiences? I'm told that I will be expected to arrange a time with the supervisor to inspect the house and I'm supposed to highlight all the defects. I'm wondering if it is possible to identify all the defects during the time. The bank will need to organise an inspection before they will agree to issue the payment. How long does the bank take usually? I'm currently renting. When is a good time to submit vacating notice which should be 28 days? I do not wish to have to pay unnecessary rent nor having nowhere to move to if the handover is delayed. Thanks. Re: Questions about notice of completion 2Mar 28, 2009 10:40 pm I look forward to replies, as we are in exactly the same boat.. -Sha Re: Questions about notice of completion 3Mar 31, 2009 11:43 am I think this may be what I intend to do but I'm not sure if it works. Two things that can bring much delay to my possession of the house are the reworks and the bank's inspection that can take more than 5 working days. I do not want to inform the bank only after completion of the reworks nor do I want the bank to pay the builder before the reworks. When I receive the Notice of completion, I will inform the bank so they can carry out their inspection. But I will ask them to issue me a cheque for the final payment to me. In this way, my payment is ready to be paid as soon as I'm satisfied with the works. But this will depend on what my builder actually meant when they issue me the completion notice. I'm not sure if they will include the final payment invoice and the Certificate of occupancy will be required, I believe, for the bank to issue the payment. Still enquiring around ... Re: Questions about notice of completion 4Mar 31, 2009 11:53 am This is some PCI tips i have got from another thread - lights/powerpoints/appliances are working - window frames for scratches - finish of cornices and bulkheads - paintwork, particularly around door hinges and other fiddly areas - stone/laminex for scratches - tiles for marks and grout for efflorescence/discolouration - gouges or cracks in plaster - fill up sinks and basins to check drainage and to make sure they're not leaking into the cabinet below - open and unlock/lock all windows and deadbolts - flush toilets - chips or damage to ceiling - plaster finish around windows I went through PCI with my SS, but also i hire an inspector too.. So now all the defects are identified and SS is organising them to be done ASAP.. no firm date for the final PCI When i called the bank, they said they need everything completed before they do the final inspection, and it will normally take around 5 days So i have to wait for all defects to be fixed (because one of the items they need to fix is the LINEN, they need to bring the whole down and rebuild it), so the bank said LINEN is one of the inclusion in the contract and they need to see that during their inspection, so if the builder is going to take it down, they will wait until they re-built it and do the inspection So now i have to wait everything are fixed first, then call the bank and they will do the inspection before they issue me a cheque.. Hope i don’t need to wait any longer but i don’t see that i can move in before Easter… Blog - http://clageonewhouse.blogspot.com/ Building Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10886&hilit=milan I am in, with my husband and my beautiful bunny Re: Questions about notice of completion 5Mar 31, 2009 12:46 pm My advice to everyone, if you are nervous about it.. Get an inspector... If you are not used to "punchlisting" a project, you will miss things for sure. To "punchlist" properly you have to remove yourself from the emotional side and concentrate on what problems exist... Would you check if the doors swing properly? Would you check the quirks are consistent? Would you check the door levers all operate in one direction? Would you check any two way lighting? Would you check the outside lighting? Would you check the shower floor fall? Would you check the outside garden tap? Would you check for drummy tiles? Many people get rushed through these inspections, but they should be done over a period of a few(4) hours to be thorough... If you are lucky you may have been throughout the house and picked some of these up during constructionn... Electrical Engineer... Don't hold that against me... And keen owner builder... Mainly the building part!! Re: Questions about notice of completion 7Apr 02, 2009 6:15 am oops, more questions have just popped out. does the bank need the Certificate of occupancy to issue the payment? Do builders usually apply for the certificate before the items in the defect list that we submitted are rectified? Does anyone have an inspector to recommend? Someone who is detailed and fussy and picks out the slightest thing that causes eye sore. My house is in the southern suburbs of Melbourne Re: Questions about notice of completion 8Apr 02, 2009 12:57 pm Hey, I know you are renting and that costs money but make very sure that everything is as per your contract and variations before taking possession of the house. Sure you have a 90 day defect warranty and then 7 years warranty on that (in most cases) but while they are waiting for your final payment, they are more inclined to complete the work quite quickly...........afterwards when it comes to the defects list they will take their sweet time to finish them and care much less about it too. Always get an independent building inspector, they know what to look at ........ and at times I have got 2 separate inspectors. Always sit down and go through all your paperwork, variations especially and tick everything off, look carefully at your specifications lists within the contract and see that all the finishes were exactly what you asked for. Even then you will see hundreds of small problems after you have moved in ALWAYS put them on a list in a special book and be sure to write them in as you see defects because you do forget. It is up to all of us as home owners to ensure that these builders do what we pay them for. Good luck, Pinkladyloo Re: Questions about notice of completion 9Apr 02, 2009 2:09 pm another question- do banks usually do an inspection before they agree to issue the final payment? is that in all cases? i didn't know that... i guess that's a good thing in getting the house properly done before paying the builder the final payment. Re: Questions about notice of completion 10Apr 02, 2009 6:06 pm Yes, I am using Westpac and the will get the valuer to inspect. They approve the payment but there are still a numbe rof defects that the SS has not fixed which he promised. I am going to get an independent inspection report to press the SS to fix all these up before handover. My SS is a big lier and never keep promise so I am not takign the hosue until the defects are fixed. My bank also asked for a certificate of insurance. behw Re: Questions about notice of completion 12Apr 08, 2009 7:13 am Do you have items that are not clearly specified in the contract? It may be cosmetic or due to other reasons that you think is not acceptable. Does the builder debate against these matters? I saw some tiles with gaps in between, i.e. the tiler did not fill up these gaps properly with grout. Do you think this is a defect? Like I said the Occupancy Certificate is not the tollgate that marks the completion of the house. The contract defines… 7 10761 Personally, considering your layout (study/work desks in bedrooms), I don't think you have any other option but to leave NW windows and make them as big as possible e.g.… 7 10482 We had this happen to us last year and got charged a variation. Try and give away as much as you can that is usable to charity otherwise if you are in Sydney I have a… 1 4507 |