Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 17, 2011 9:21 pm Anyone out there building @ Harcrest? Or even people who are interested in buying in future releases? So far only Stage 1 has been released. But I know there's a few of you, future neighbours, out there. I'm sure there will be much to talk about (or at least when titling starts) Don't be shy! (I know there is a similar thread, but I thought I'd make a proper 'Harcrest' one since the other one was created even before the name of the estate was announced) Built the Montrose 19 with PD @ Harcrest (Stage 1) 03.05.11 House Contract 01.07.11 Land Settlement 01.09.11 Site Start 12.10.11 Lock up 14.12.11 PCI 22.12.11 Handover Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 2Jan 17, 2011 9:23 pm Out of interest how much is land roughly going out there and what size blocks are they? Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 3Jan 18, 2011 12:04 pm A) I dropped in at the Mirvac sales centre at Waverley Gardens and the guy there had no clue about the titles. He advised me to contact their office that manages new projects. B) For those of you who have bought in Harcrest, Knox council has alloted the streeet numbers for the lots. You can ring up the council and find out your door number. You will have to provide them your lot number and street name (and mention Harcrest). Building with PD 01.06.11 Contract Sigd 01.10.11 Site Start 04.11.11 Frame Complete 20.01.12 Fix Stage Complete 31.03.12 Handover Complete *16.04.2012 Moved in* Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 5Jan 18, 2011 10:02 pm excitednewhomeowner Out of interest how much is land roughly going out there and what size blocks are they? The prices varied (because of the location and the slight variation of sizes) but the prices were around: $310k for 300sqm (courtyard) $360k for 350sqm (smart) $400k for 400sqm (lifestyle) $450k for 450sqm (premium) Built the Montrose 19 with PD @ Harcrest (Stage 1) 03.05.11 House Contract 01.07.11 Land Settlement 01.09.11 Site Start 12.10.11 Lock up 14.12.11 PCI 22.12.11 Handover Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 6Jan 20, 2011 8:22 pm Hi there all, I found this blog and decided to join. Me and my wife were lucky to secure some land at Harcrest. We are looking to go with Porter Davis and build the Chadwick. Does anybody know anything about estate covenant and the different prices? We have been quoted anything from $10K to $20K depending on which house design you choose with Porter Davis. Henry Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 7Jan 21, 2011 10:49 am henry jones Hi there all, I found this blog and decided to join. Me and my wife were lucky to secure some land at Harcrest. We are looking to go with Porter Davis and build the Chadwick. Does anybody know anything about estate covenant and the different prices? We have been quoted anything from $10K to $20K depending on which house design you choose with Porter Davis. Henry Hi Henry, Welcome! PD quoted our estate covenant to be around $11k (we're building the Manchester on a Smartblock). They gave me a site schedule with the break down pricings for the different houses that can be built on our particular land and the only price differences only depend on the amount of Cat 4 roof tiles and 450mm min. eaves the particular house design needs, the rest is all the same. Built the Montrose 19 with PD @ Harcrest (Stage 1) 03.05.11 House Contract 01.07.11 Land Settlement 01.09.11 Site Start 12.10.11 Lock up 14.12.11 PCI 22.12.11 Handover Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 8Jan 24, 2011 12:29 pm Hello neighbours, A) We had a walkthrough of the display model with our sales consultant. Believe me, I was shocked to see that almost everything in the display home was an extra (not included in the standard). The list of standard/non-standard items is as follows: 1) The façade you choose comes in brick ( don’t get carried away by those colourful pictures, rendering and stones and everything else is extra) 2) All light points to the exterior of the house are extra 3) Eves only to the façade of the house. If you need them all around, that is extra 4) One water tap at the front and one on the side 5) Most doors were of extra height – what you get will be flush door (six feet??) 6) The floor (tiles/carpet) comes as an extra. What is standard is just the concrete floor. 7) Awning window (standard is sliding windows) Timber window frames (standard is aluminium) 9) Mounted Vanity – standard is one that sits into the bench top (losing storage space below) 10) Towel, tissue rack/holders are extra 11) The timber stair case (ours is a double storey) that you see is not standard. What you get is an MFD/MVD (looks like wood) boxed and carpeted stair case 12) The ceaser stone bench tops are extra. Standard is laminate. 13) Standard kitchen cabinet doors are laminated with handles sticking out. The display ones – frosted glass/timber etc. cost you more 14) Alfresco comes with only the roof above your head and a light point. Floor is extra Now having said that, they have these funky “options” where the builder charges you a small sum ($3,000 to 5,000) and provides you with upgrades worth 15 or 20 times that. What this upgrade option is giving you is “mostly” what you would have thought, are basic. I am wondering how much more it would cost me to just get the structure in place with basic things like flooring, timber windows, finished facade etc. Hope the above helps those of you who are yet to get to this stage. B) Harcrest say they are on track for the titles to be delivered in April – Jun timeframe. They have a meeting tomorrow when more information should be (hopefully) available on this. Keep watching their website. Building with PD 01.06.11 Contract Sigd 01.10.11 Site Start 04.11.11 Frame Complete 20.01.12 Fix Stage Complete 31.03.12 Handover Complete *16.04.2012 Moved in* Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 9Jan 24, 2011 1:06 pm Hate to say it, but you obviously haven't been looking around at house long have you?
I'll clarify some things for you as I understand mostbuilders operate 2. You should get one light point above the front entry door minimum.(batten type fitting) 3. Eaves have been almost non existent on most home designs for at least 5yrs. 5. Std door framing is 2040 height. Often they will increase the door height if you increase ceiling height. Std ceiling height by the way is 2400mm. Some estates specify 2550mm as a requirement, but you will have to pay extra( yes even though it is required as its not in their std). 6. Wet areas will be tiled as std but anything else will be extra. 14. The alfresco should also come with a concrete slab infill. If you want a deck you should be able to get a credit. Whenever you ask for a house price, they'll give the starting price for the floor plan they have listed. The floor plan you are looking at may not be standard. If you want to know how much the house you are looking at costs, Ask for the price as displayed. (it'll be anywhere from $30k-200k more) The display I looked at for our chosen house to build was by a franchised builder group. Base house cost was $200k as displayed $380k. As you mentioned, they have packages. Think for a minute about the next line If someone will pay extra for something, why give it away? They are there to make a profit, don't think otherwise. Ask a million questions before you sign anything! If you don't get an answer to a question and they tell you they'll sort it out later, tell them, you'll sign later too. These are big purchase's and some people seem prepared to sign away without asking questions, but they'll complain pretty quickly if things go south. I don't intend this post (kind of a rant too) to put a sour note on your purchase, but a little honesty goes along way. Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 11Jan 24, 2011 4:06 pm Thanks ChrisandKate Hate to say it, but you obviously haven't been looking around at house long have you? I'll clarify some things for you as I understand mostbuilders operate 2. You should get one light point above the front entry door minimum.(batten type fitting) If I am reading you right, the builder should provide one batten type light point at the entry.3. Eaves have been almost non existent on most home designs for at least 5yrs. 5. Std door framing is 2040 height. Often they will increase the door height if you increase ceiling height. Std ceiling height by the way is 2400mm. Some estates specify 2550mm as a requirement, but you will have to pay extra( yes even though it is required as its not in their std). My additional options package does raise the ceiling height to 9ft. But the door height is not going up. Stays at 2040mm 6. Wet areas will be tiled as std but anything else will be extra. 14. The alfresco should also come with a concrete slab infill. If you want a deck you should be able to get a credit. Thanks for this. I shall follow up and make sure that I get the slab or a deck with credit for the slab.Whenever you ask for a house price, they'll give the starting price for the floor plan they have listed. The floor plan you are looking at may not be standard. If you want to know how much the house you are looking at costs, Ask for the price as displayed. (it'll be anywhere from $30k-200k more) The display I looked at for our chosen house to build was by a franchised builder group. Base house cost was $200k as displayed $380k. As you mentioned, they have packages. Think for a minute about the next line If someone will pay extra for something, why give it away? I do understand and that makes perfect sense from a business perspective. What I am not able to digest is that even basic things like a decent floor (carpet/tiles/vinyl whatever), deadlocks for external doors, light points on exteriors etc. are not part of the standard build. They are there to make a profit, don't think otherwise. Ask a million questions before you sign anything! If you don't get an answer to a question and they tell you they'll sort it out later, tell the, you'll sign later too. These are big purchase's and some people seem prepared to sign away without asking questions, but they'll complain pretty quickly if things go south. Yes, and thanks again. I intend to ask as many questions as I can think of. We have opened a new notebook and started making notes. I don't intend this post (kind of a rant too) to put a sour note on your purchase, but a little honesty goes along way. No worries. It is indeed to get fair and open comments/views that we come to this forum. Thanks heaps. Building with PD 01.06.11 Contract Sigd 01.10.11 Site Start 04.11.11 Frame Complete 20.01.12 Fix Stage Complete 31.03.12 Handover Complete *16.04.2012 Moved in* Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 12Jan 24, 2011 4:36 pm Awesome thread, be great to share the experiences with everyone building at Harcrest! Tramsok Building Montana 27 with Carlisle Homes @ Harcrest 23/10/11 Land Ballot 05/12/10 Deposit 27/07/11 Contract 20/08/11 Site Start 13/09/11 Slab 22/09/11 Frame complete 13/10/11 Lock-up 25/11/11 PCI Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 13Jan 24, 2011 4:49 pm henry jones Hi there all, I found this blog and decided to join. Me and my wife were lucky to secure some land at Harcrest. We are looking to go with Porter Davis and build the Chadwick. Does anybody know anything about estate covenant and the different prices? We have been quoted anything from $10K to $20K depending on which house design you choose with Porter Davis. Henry Hi Henry, I'm glad to hear you're interested in building the Chadwick. To help answer your question, a PD sales consultant will be able to go through this in detail with you and give you a fixed price. If you would like me to put you in contact with a sales consultant feel free to send me a Private Message with your details, including a contact number and I'll do my best to help you out. Let me know if you have any further questions. Cheers, Jess. Porter Davis Homes Questions? Call 1800PORTER Mon - Fri 9am-8pm Sat - Sun 10am-4pm info@porterdavis.com.au http://blog.porterdavis.com.au/ http://www.porterdavishomes.com.au Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 14Jan 24, 2011 7:41 pm When I said credit, I meant for the concrete. slab It will cost more for the deck than the concrete, but most builders won't do the deck themselves. Door height increase is up to the individual, as I said it will cost more. When it comes down to it, the things in my first post are my experience with various builders. The builder you choose may have completely different standard inclusions, btu if they aren't going to include an external light point or other little things, then you should at least look at other options Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 15Jan 24, 2011 8:38 pm Bruno, it does seem like there is a lot of upgrades which should be standard isnt there. But builders tend to usually only include the necessary items which the house needs in order to get the Certificate of Occupancy. Hence why the wet areas will be tiled but the rest of the house will just be the exposed concrete slab as standard. We've already gone through what you're doing now (we're doing our selections and signing the contract in feb). I recommend you think about what you could do after handover like flooring, evap cooling, downlights etc. You will be surprised on how much you can save that way. If you're going to build with PD I suggest you look into getting the 'PD Complete' promo. I'm convinced that they've worked (at least partly) the cost of the promo into the standard. Don't get me wrong PD has been great, but they're a business afterall! Built the Montrose 19 with PD @ Harcrest (Stage 1) 03.05.11 House Contract 01.07.11 Land Settlement 01.09.11 Site Start 12.10.11 Lock up 14.12.11 PCI 22.12.11 Handover Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 16Jan 24, 2011 8:58 pm John17 Just wondering if anyone has heard any confirmation from Mirvac if they will be providing optic fibre connections (FTTP) to the blocks? Section 17 & 18 mentions fibre optic in the Contract of Sales. It says 'Fibre to the Home will be provisioned in the street and the Purchaser must extend it to the Property'. So I guess not... (Reply from the previous thread) Tramsok, congrats on choosing Carlisle! We were going to look into changing crossovers too but we thought it's probably for the best not to. BUT if you think it's a better orientation for your house you should look into it. It's probably worth it in the long run Built the Montrose 19 with PD @ Harcrest (Stage 1) 03.05.11 House Contract 01.07.11 Land Settlement 01.09.11 Site Start 12.10.11 Lock up 14.12.11 PCI 22.12.11 Handover Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 17Jan 25, 2011 8:47 am The Fibre infrastructure as stated in the contract 17.1 (a) is only an intention to provide to the property. 17.1(b) then stats ....provision and timing of Fibre to Home is dependent on third party network prodvider being willing and able (at their cost) to provide and install the necessary infrasture .... Not sure when confirmation from Mirvac will be provided. Has anyone heard anything from Mirvac or their builder? Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 18Jan 25, 2011 12:19 pm John17 The Fibre infrastructure as stated in the contract 17.1 (a) is only an intention to provide to the property. 17.1(b) then stats ....provision and timing of Fibre to Home is dependent on third party network prodvider being willing and able (at their cost) to provide and install the necessary infrasture .... Not sure when confirmation from Mirvac will be provided. Has anyone heard anything from Mirvac or their builder? Hi John17, No idea, we've got the builder to quote and include the 'Telstra Smart Wiring' to the property but I'm not sure if that is sufficient. I presume you'd want to include the Smart Wiring during the build than try to include it later? Tramsok Building Montana 27 with Carlisle Homes @ Harcrest 23/10/11 Land Ballot 05/12/10 Deposit 27/07/11 Contract 20/08/11 Site Start 13/09/11 Slab 22/09/11 Frame complete 13/10/11 Lock-up 25/11/11 PCI Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 19Jan 25, 2011 12:27 pm Thought I'd past my previous post in this forum Welcome everyone, good see all our future neighbours. Our land hopefully will title in the April - June timeframe. Haven't heard anything from Mirvac as to whether this is on schedule. The sooner the better, fingers crossed! I've driven past it a few times and there hasn't seem to have been much progress since October last year, but then again it is fenced up. We've decided to go with Carlisle Homes, it was a toss up between them and Porter Davis but they ended up having a floor plan we liked a lot more. Carlisle were very thorough initially, letting us know about the front and rear set backs and site coverage of the house not exceeding 60%. This helped us rule out a lot of homes that wouldn't fit on the block (we're building a single story). We are considering changing the cross over, for better orientation of our living areas, but reading through the vendor statement, it sounds like a pain to do and at our own cost. Has anyone else considered this? Be great to hear also if anyone has submitted approval to Mirvac MDC yet for their house design, not sure at what stage this should be done? I would presume prior to signing your building contract with your builder. I've managed to get a few questions regarding facade design and articulation clarified by Mirvac, but have not submitted anything yet. I hope Mirvac are on schedule to title as our costs with our builder are fixed until June, every month after that we pay $1,000 to cover price increases (I think most builders have this same condition). We have our colour selection with Carlisle in a few weeks, so I keep you posted on how it all goes. Tramsok Building Montana 27 with Carlisle Homes @ Harcrest 23/10/11 Land Ballot 05/12/10 Deposit 27/07/11 Contract 20/08/11 Site Start 13/09/11 Slab 22/09/11 Frame complete 13/10/11 Lock-up 25/11/11 PCI Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 20Jan 25, 2011 3:20 pm Hi, I remember getting a quote on cost of connecting fibre optic and data connection from Porter Davis, it was roughly $1600. Has anybody seen a price escalation in the cost of their home since 2010 price to 2011? And if so, if you signed up before xmas has the builder honored the 2010 price? Henry Adam Baines Grad Cert Bldg Surv / Grad Dip Bldg Surv / MSAAPA Accredited Building Professional APB20210035 Builders Lic 183023 Pest Control Lic 84868 Ph 0412202336 PO… 3 46829 Well these guys are not looking good... I sent them a written enquiry last week and they have not yet replied. If they cannot respond to a simple… 4 10629 Keen to hear from people in the area who have got KDRB done on whom they got the build from? Looking for recommendations. Thanks 0 21099 |