Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 01, 2015 11:43 am We just want to share our experience throughout the whole process. This is our first home and we have learnt a lot in 12 months. I was away majority of last year with work and liaising with builders via email for 8 months now. We started the contract for sale of the land in April 2014. The developer's forecast for titles was around September 2014-Dec 2014. Titles were available in January 2015 which was not a big deal to us as we currently live in Sydney and we would rather get things right being our first build than rush. Part of the process last year was selecting the right house plan after we had chosen our land. We like to think the standard nowadays is 4bed, 2 bath, study, theatre etc etc. We had a budget in mind and have somewhat stayed within our means. We approached a few builders, not knowing much about them at the time as we are from the East. We soon learnt that the advertised price with a few carrots is not necessarily what you would call a complete home. Armed with this knowledge we listed all items that are not standard and ventured into the unknown. Many Quotes, Adendas, Variations, House plans later we thought we had completed our first home. Yes ticked all the boxes, in budget, upgrades and house plan to exactly what we thought we wanted at the time. We even got to the point of signing a Preliminary Works Agreement (PWA) and making a deposit. The builder came back with a variation of the PWA which was $15,000 more. We had read many reviews on the builder which were mixed. They are part of a large builder in WA and mixed reviews of good work slow progress. We made a trip to meet with our consultant and even checked display homes. The consultant was apologetic and owned up to his mistakes in under estimating the costs of variations. We understand people can make mistakes but it was at our expense. We got our deposit back and made our peace. We are glad we didn't go through with them. At the time we were in close discussion with the developer as titles should have been released by now. We wanted to ensure the timing fitted in so we could commence our build. We went back to one of many builders we had approached early on the process and the consultant was nice enough to pick up where we left off. We told him the original plan we had with him was no longer something we were interested in and we would like to start again. Fast forward 3 months and we have completed Prestart, signed the building contract and waiting on final drafting now. Hopefully unconditional finance will go through shortly which should fall in with final drafting 4-6 weeks and we should see something by Easter This is perfect as we are moving to WA in June in time to see most of the build. April 2014 - Contract of Sale for Land August 2014 - Signed PWA with CH September 2014 - Decided not to go with CH October 2014 - Chose new house plan with CL December 2014 - Unconditional Finance for Land January 2015 - Land titles released February 2015 - Land settled, Prestart complete, Building contract signed, in drafting. There are many things we have chosen to leave until after handover. LED Downlights Flooring (wet areas not included) Internal Wall Paint Cooling/Heating Soakwells (will be provided by WAsoakwells) Crossover (advice was to approach the sub contractor doing our paving when driveway is done) Landscaping (front provided by developer) Window Covering Security Screens/Alarm Ceiling Fans (Conduits installed for future install) Built in Robes for Bed 1 WIR and Bed 2 I guess we would like some advice if people have recommendations on Electricians and Cooling/Heating providers. We have gotten some quotes already but not knowing the market is making it hard. We have constantly been checking many forums on recommendations and it has been vast. Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 2Mar 03, 2015 6:56 am Hi edems - welcome to H1! Sounds like you've got all under control which is lovely. We've not actually start building yet, but there are many people on here that are very helpful so you'll be able to get recommendations I'm sure. Do you have your plans online? Would love to see it - and all your selections? Looking forward to follow your build! Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 4Apr 05, 2015 1:53 pm Hi. We also are building in lakelands... we will be just around the corner on barrington approach. Just signed the land contract yesterday so still in very early stages but will definitely be following your build Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 5Apr 05, 2015 2:00 pm Love your design! Nice and simple but plenty of room! Good luck with the build! Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 6Apr 05, 2015 3:06 pm @rebellegacy that's excellent must be excited. It's been a long road for us but worth while. We aren't in any rush so we've been able to take advantage of that and cover everything. Hope it goes well! @jlo1990 I saw you are going at it solo. Daunting at the start but great experience. We wouldn't do it another way. We enjoyed every bit of the journey so far and have learnt a lot. Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 7Apr 05, 2015 5:31 pm Hi edems those are lovely plans, as jlo says nice and roomy and using the space very well! Lots of storage too which is always a selling point. (If you want the google drive photos (that is where I upload mine to too) to show up directly in the post then right click on the picture, and 'copy image url'. You could then paste this in the post between [img]url[/img] tabs) Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 9Apr 05, 2015 9:25 pm We've got our unconditional loan (we wanted to have prestart variations included in mortgage) agreed, the plans are now with the builder's shire department to check everything over, then go to scheduling which apparently takes around 3 - 5 weeks, and then to construction. So basically we have no clue when we can expect a slab lol all I can hope for is that we'll have a home by Christmas! Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 10Apr 06, 2015 9:43 am @MalSannie that's fantastic. Yes we had our variations included although we have deleted much of the standard as we can save further by doing it after handover. That's where we are now, drafting shouldn't take too much longer and should see a slab soon. I'm sure it will all or out. Re: Building in Lakelands, WA 12Jun 21, 2015 8:39 pm edems I can't see your photos - but congratulations on slab down and brickwork starting - we're neck and neck! How exciting go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110916 Even if it's not being sub-divided and you want to keep it as Torrens title, you will still need to talk to a town planner or Council themselves, to see if they will allow… 1 11163 |