Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 15, 2012 2:14 am Hi all, My name is Erin and I am brand spanking new to the forum although I have been reading for a few months. I have read some of your journeys and tips on what to do who to ask etc etc and thought that maybe now I could start to share. My partner Scott and I have signed for a nice little plot of land in the Selandra Rise estate and have been told we are 4 weeks from title and a further 2 weeks from settlement. From there we have been told by Henley that building will commence immediately. We have only been to the colours showroom once and it was all a bit daunting. Actually, the whole process is a bit daunting. From finance to land to house selections to structural changes to upgrades to colours to fences and driveways and electricals and landscaping - my head is spinning. Any tips you might have for me would be appreciated greatly. I hope you enjoy the read! BTW I have also set up a blog: http://scottanderinshome.blogspot.com.au/ Take care Building Henley - Lexington 993 Q2 in Selandra Rise, Clyde North Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 3Mar 21, 2012 9:31 pm Hi Rojak, thanks for your response. I don't even know where to begin. We have our coloured appointment in 3 weeks time and I'm not even certain on anything to do with structure changes or anything. I overheard someone asking about a mitred edge on the benchtop at the showroom and asked what that meant so I'm now realizing how much I don't know I should be asking!!! Any suggestions in what to be asking them? Thanks so much, Erin Building Henley - Lexington 993 Q2 in Selandra Rise, Clyde North Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 4Mar 22, 2012 8:35 am Hi Erin, Henley's colour appointment is quite daunting, it really depends on how well the lady is trained on the model of the house you choose, but by choosing Lexington which is quite a popular model from Henley any colour consultant working in cosham should have some knowledge. Depending how helpful she is, some of them may mention the extra upgrade you can do that is not on the list, some just bring you through the standard procedure. Things like wall tile to ceiling height in ensuite, rangehood venting, many different option of cupboard material that is not on the list etc. Another method is to request a copy of upgrade list and colour selection for the display home, which they normally have in a folder with picture at the first page, then use that as a master copy to go through your uprade, this is to make sure you can cover most of it and not overlooking some of the area because display home usually have almost everything covered. but the most important preparation is to attend cosham multiple times before your actual appointment, get a copy of selection document and choose your colour and upgrade in advance, and then bring any other idea that you have not seen in the cosham showroom to your actual appointment, because they may just have it but not on display. to go in advance, find out the session starting time, join the group and act stealthy. lol.... sometime it doesn't hurt just to follow a colour consultant that is walking through the options with a real customer. as for structural changes, i think Henley is not the most flexible one among other builder but you can try, I remember they have options to extend rear porch, but limited to 80% coverage of the land, and then changing Study to bedroom 5 etc, kitchen cupboard has many different configuration, but remember the small benchtop in display home that has a coffee machine on it? if you choose double wall oven, that is gone. there is no need to do your electrical plan there, you will be asked to send it back after all the drawing. (deleted, just realize Q2 has different layout)side note: my personal preference, because of the size of our ensuite shower space, it could do well with 2 showerheads, i would go for 1 standard and 1 drop down showerhead from the ceiling. lol..... at rear porch there will be a very good looking, huge and thick timber beam extending from left to right, that is the support beam but exposed. I would stain it and retain the timber natural looking, rather than paint it which i overlooked. it's a big distraction now everytime i sit in my rear porch. edit: ask about the base of hot water system, i heard they are changing to concrete base from plastic milk crate. double wall oven model number + version! ensuite entrance door / not door Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 5Apr 02, 2012 10:23 pm hi rojak1, I would have to agree with you on some of your tips there. They have a lot of options when you get to the colour appointment. My partner and I visited Coshum twice before our actual appointment and each of these times they were overwhelming because we didnt have a guide and we didnt follow and structure. But on the actual day of our appointment it was much more manageable with the consultants breaking up the 3 hours into 3 parts: 1 - External, 2 - Internals and 3 - The fittings e.g. door nobs etc. We asked our sales consultant to book our appointment for the entire day because I knew it was going to be hard to make up so many decisions on the one day. With the rear porch you mentioned, we have decided to paint it, instead of stain it and it goes really well with out overall house finish. Here's a picture : Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We also got a 3k discount on the coshum fittings Follow JK's Lexington build: http://thehotdogdog.blogspot.com/ Roofing: 22/11 (current) Frame: 9/11 - 21/11 (9 days) Slab: 3/11 (1 day) Trenching: 26/10 - 2/11 (5 days) Contract Signed: 4/10 Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 7Apr 03, 2012 9:22 pm rojak1 Hi Erin, Henley's colour appointment is quite daunting, it really depends on how well the lady is trained on the model of the house you choose, but by choosing Lexington which is quite a popular model from Henley any colour consultant working in cosham should have some knowledge. Depending how helpful she is, some of them may mention the extra upgrade you can do that is not on the list, some just bring you through the standard procedure. Things like wall tile to ceiling height in ensuite, rangehood venting, many different option of cupboard material that is not on the list etc. Another method is to request a copy of upgrade list and colour selection for the display home, which they normally have in a folder with picture at the first page, then use that as a master copy to go through your uprade, this is to make sure you can cover most of it and not overlooking some of the area because display home usually have almost everything covered. but the most important preparation is to attend cosham multiple times before your actual appointment, get a copy of selection document and choose your colour and upgrade in advance, and then bring any other idea that you have not seen in the cosham showroom to your actual appointment, because they may just have it but not on display. to go in advance, find out the session starting time, join the group and act stealthy. lol.... sometime it doesn't hurt just to follow a colour consultant that is walking through the options with a real customer. as for structural changes, i think Henley is not the most flexible one among other builder but you can try, I remember they have options to extend rear porch, but limited to 80% coverage of the land, and then changing Study to bedroom 5 etc, kitchen cupboard has many different configuration, but remember the small benchtop in display home that has a coffee machine on it? if you choose double wall oven, that is gone. there is no need to do your electrical plan there, you will be asked to send it back after all the drawing. (deleted, just realize Q2 has different layout)side note: my personal preference, because of the size of our ensuite shower space, it could do well with 2 showerheads, i would go for 1 standard and 1 drop down showerhead from the ceiling. lol..... at rear porch there will be a very good looking, huge and thick timber beam extending from left to right, that is the support beam but exposed. I would stain it and retain the timber natural looking, rather than paint it which i overlooked. it's a big distraction now everytime i sit in my rear porch. edit: ask about the base of hot water system, i heard they are changing to concrete base from plastic milk crate. double wall oven model number + version! ensuite entrance door / not door Rojak!!! Your my angel! Thank you. I have printed out sections of what you have written to take to colours! All getting daunting over here! You don't happen to know if a powder room is possible in the Q2? I have emailed the admin however I am impatient lol. Thanks again so much! Building Henley - Lexington 993 Q2 in Selandra Rise, Clyde North Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 8Apr 03, 2012 10:01 pm ruby22 hi rojak1, I would have to agree with you on some of your tips there. They have a lot of options when you get to the colour appointment. My partner and I visited Coshum twice before our actual appointment and each of these times they were overwhelming because we didnt have a guide and we didnt follow and structure. But on the actual day of our appointment it was much more manageable with the consultants breaking up the 3 hours into 3 parts: 1 - External, 2 - Internals and 3 - The fittings e.g. door nobs etc. We asked our sales consultant to book our appointment for the entire day because I knew it was going to be hard to make up so many decisions on the one day. With the rear porch you mentioned, we have decided to paint it, instead of stain it and it goes really well with out overall house finish. Here's a picture : Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We also got a 3k discount on the coshum fittings Hey Ruby, What was the 3K discount for??? House is looking fantastic!! Building Henley - Lexington 993 Q2 in Selandra Rise, Clyde North Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 10Apr 07, 2012 4:02 pm Hi Erin/Scott, The discount was negotiated during the tender process (before the colour appointment). We also negotiated a complimentary drive way. Pre-inspection on our house is next week - can't wait!! We also want to take a look at the display house again just to compare... Follow JK's Lexington build: http://thehotdogdog.blogspot.com/ Roofing: 22/11 (current) Frame: 9/11 - 21/11 (9 days) Slab: 3/11 (1 day) Trenching: 26/10 - 2/11 (5 days) Contract Signed: 4/10 Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 11Apr 08, 2012 11:07 pm How did you manage the negotiations. We need all the help we can get. We would be happy with just a driveway!!! Good luck with the pre-inspection. Are you taking an independent inspector? Erin Building Henley - Lexington 993 Q2 in Selandra Rise, Clyde North Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 12Apr 09, 2012 9:47 am PM Sent! Follow JK's Lexington build: http://thehotdogdog.blogspot.com/ Roofing: 22/11 (current) Frame: 9/11 - 21/11 (9 days) Slab: 3/11 (1 day) Trenching: 26/10 - 2/11 (5 days) Contract Signed: 4/10 Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 13Apr 17, 2012 11:16 pm Your the best Ruby! Building Henley - Lexington 993 Q2 in Selandra Rise, Clyde North Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 14Jun 20, 2012 2:30 pm Well nothing is happening at the moment we are be d!ck3d around by the bank and the builder at the moment. Driving me crazy that we have the borrowing power but the valuations supplied from the builder and the bank are ridiculous. They are not for our suburb and not for our house size or structure. It might be a case of cancellation of contracts. Building Henley - Lexington 993 Q2 in Selandra Rise, Clyde North Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 15Jul 14, 2012 1:38 pm hope things have moved along... Follow JK's Lexington build: http://thehotdogdog.blogspot.com/ Roofing: 22/11 (current) Frame: 9/11 - 21/11 (9 days) Slab: 3/11 (1 day) Trenching: 26/10 - 2/11 (5 days) Contract Signed: 4/10 Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 16Aug 02, 2012 2:50 pm erinandscott How did you manage the negotiations. We need all the help we can get. We would be happy with just a driveway!!! Good luck with the pre-inspection. Are you taking an independent inspector? Erin I would love to know how you negotiated a driveway too!??? I think it might be too late for us to do that now though!? Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 18Apr 10, 2013 1:54 pm Hi Ruby22, I'm also building with Henley and about to have our contract appointment. Could you also PM me how you managed to negotiate the price/bonus items? thanks a lot! Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 19Jun 16, 2013 8:04 pm Hi Ruby, If you are still active with this blog, could you please share your secret of negotiations with Henley? I am about to sign my house tender for Lexington 32, would love to know the tips for negotiating $3k discounts and complementary driveway? Plz PM me Thanks in advance Ash Re: Henley Lexington Q2 Build - Selandra Rise, Clyde North, 20Jun 19, 2013 6:24 pm Hi guys! If it helps i didnt managed to negotiate a driveway like ruby but i did get a 5k cosham voucher. It depends on who you deal with and just ask them whether they can add any extras for you. We visited our consultant a few time so i think they saw that we were genuinely interested.. 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