Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 07, 2012 1:55 pm Hello, My partner and I have sold our house and are currently renting while we find our new home. We had intended to buy an existing (older) house around Charlestown / Kotara / Lambton areas. We made the mistake of having a look at display homes and now I would love a new home. We have lived in older houses and are finding it challenging these days, since we have a young family - I find older homes hot in summer, cold in winter, creaky, impractically laid out (eg. bedrooms right next to living areas and toilets etc). I am having a harder time convincing my partner - he also loved the new homes, however he does not love the idea of being at Fletcher - he's used to being more coastal and closer to town I suppose! We work near Jesmond, so I think its quite close for work purposes. I am just wondering if I could get some feedback on what the build process was like at Hidden Waters if you went with Mirvac, and also at Sanctuary. Also, how do you find living there? I thought Hidden Waters was really nice, lots of trees and hills where Sanctuary was flatter. How is the community? Is it good for little kids? How do you find getting out to shops etc? Also, the most we could go to is $450k total and we'd be looking to build a 4 x 2 - does this sound doable given your experience at these estates? Thanks in advance anyone who can help, I would really appreciate some insider perspective! Re: Anyone at Hidden Waters or Sanctuary, Fletcher NSW aroun 2Nov 18, 2012 9:16 pm Hey there, me and my girl are halfway thru building our house in Fletcher, at Sanctuary and really love the community and we arent even in there yet !! We were thinking about buying an older house at Maryland and doing it up slowly, but done some quick estimates and it seemed silly to spend money on an old house in an older neighbourhood when we could build a brand new 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 garage house with alfresco area and everything to how we wanted it in a neighbourhood and estate that would easily be the best in Newcastle ( i think anyways ) I think your budget of $450k is easily do-able as there are blocks going now for around $210k with views ( last time i was in the sales office ) and then you can choose a house that tickles your fancy and in the price range you can afford, i think house and land are costing us $380k .. There are guidelines that you have to build by in Sanctuary, but they are all easy to abide by and also make the estate look alot better, if you pop into the sales office you can get a leaflet on the guidelines and also the leaflet showing you the landscaping package you'll receive if you tick all the building guidelines, and the $5k rebate too, you cant go wrong really !! there is also a big community centre being started at the very start of next year which will hold a function room that can be hired for parties or what not, kiosk/canteen for the sporting fields and a few other things .. also once the estate holds a certain number of people, there is also talk to starting up a small cafe As for small kids, it seems to be great, personally i dont have any at the moment haha but there are heeeaps of little kids out there and they all seem to get along great, there is big sporting fields, play grounds and also a bicycle track that goes around the estate. shops are going to be really easy soon, there is a new coles being built out of the estate, no more than 1km down the road, with other smaller shops, i think like a smaller version of Waratah Village. Hope this helps you convince your hubby to build !!! Re: Anyone at Hidden Waters or Sanctuary, Fletcher NSW aroun 3Nov 19, 2012 7:48 pm Hubby and I are about to start building at Sanctuary (in council still) but so far it seems llike an amazing community as serenityf said!! Nothing but great things to say about the people in the sales office. Cant wait to live in there!!!! There are lots of kids that we know of in the street we are building in and some really nice families!! We too looked at buying a preexisting house but in Newcastle we found it the same prices to build what we wanted as it was to buy a house...and even if we got a preexisting house, there would always be things we would want to change or do up! Our total spend will work out at $450000 and thats land and house all with the nice little extras. We have delt with sales staff as well as landcom directly for some minor issues with retaining walls (nothing to do with landcom) and they have been so helpful! Re: Anyone at Hidden Waters or Sanctuary, Fletcher NSW aroun 4Dec 03, 2012 10:51 am Thanks for the replies! I am sorry I am late back into this thread, I hadn't realised it had been responded to! I still really would love a brand new house, partner still really doesn't want to live at Fletcher although the market for existing homes is pretty ordinary at the moment in Newie, and we'd really wanted to at least know where we would be moving to by the time our lease here is up in Feb - so he may still be convinced. Sanctuary does look very nice, its laid out really well I thought. That is good to know about all the littlies out there too. Thanks so much for replying, I will try again on my partner, I dont think I will have any success but I can only try!! I hope your builds go well and you are in your nice new homes soon!! Re: Anyone at Hidden Waters or Sanctuary, Fletcher NSW aroun 5Mar 12, 2013 3:08 pm Hello, Just wondering if there is anyone out there currently about to start a build in Hidden Waters Fletcher? We are hopefully exchanging contracts on our land this week. Was hoping to find other people in the area to talk to. Thanks ) Re: Anyone at Hidden Waters or Sanctuary, Fletcher NSW aroun 6Mar 12, 2013 7:09 pm Welcome! There's quite a few members in the eden brae thread building in cameron park and the outlook, so you definately aren't alone. Hidden waters looks great, we were tempted by a few blocks there but eventually settled at the outlook..we aren't far behind you, about to exchange land contracts too! Have you picked a house yet? Re: Anyone at Hidden Waters or Sanctuary, Fletcher NSW aroun 7Mar 13, 2013 8:30 am Hi Marmalade, Yes we are looking at going with Huxley - the Palm Beach house. We are first home buyers/first home builders so it is an really new experience for us. Have your picked out your home plans as yet? We just got our colour pack in the mail yesterday - so lots of research this weekend ) Re: Anyone at Hidden Waters or Sanctuary, Fletcher NSW aroun 8Mar 13, 2013 8:21 pm very nice house choice! We're also first time builders like many others on here and have narrowed it down to the EB lawson24 or the Allcastle Neworth Thornton 25 (and are closely following progress of both homes being built nearby) enjoy the ride & keep us up to date! If so what were the "special circumstances" under which it was granted? "Note: If the development consent is for 'dual occupancy' an owner-builder permit can only be… 0 10944 There is evidence of water on the head reveals. That could have happened during the build, or may be happening currently. There are water stains above a couple of windows… 2 2678 You’re on the right track, wire brush in a grinder then a zinc rich epoxy primer then a top coat of some sort, like a waterproofing membrane. Raising the concrete would… 1 4214 |