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What area are you building in? We're in Cloverton, north of the city, thankfully we live about 10 min drive away at the moment so keeping an eye on things has been easy.
a neighbour!! well almost, were building in "The Woods" the other side of the freeway, right now tho seems more like the sticks... hopefully the donny brook road duplication will be done by the time we move in
I will be in The Woods too
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Like many people here the title date has been delayed over and over. I first started this process in 2015. The title date was meant to happen last year. I barely even remember the choices I made during the PreStart Appointment :/
Before my appointment I did ask for any info to better prepare myself and didn't get anything. I guess I must not have been clear enough. Like others have suggested. Ask lots of questions.
It seems like having titles delayed is more the norm than things running on time.
I started my house/land journey back in late 2015 and the land only settled 2 weeks ago! It is frustrating and it felt like it would never happen. But the good thing is that I have been able to save more money and buys bits and pieces for the house.
Just waiting for for all the permits and such now and hopefully the build starts and progresses quickly
I'm slowly making my way through this entire thread (think I've read 150 upto now and the first 27 pages).
There was a lot of talk in the first 27 pages about updating the Brivis ducted heating to a higher tier unit (4 or 5 star) that had larger ducts so that a brivis ac system can be installed after build for a much cheaper rate than HBC would charge.
Is that still the case? And if so how much extra?
Thanks in advance.
I'm slowly making my way through this entire thread (think I've read 150 upto now and the first 27 pages).
There was a lot of talk in the first 27 pages about updating the Brivis ducted heating to a higher tier unit (4 or 5 star) that had larger ducts so that a brivis ac system can be installed after build for a much cheaper rate than HBC would charge.
Is that still the case? And if so how much extra?
Thanks in advance.
Here is what we learnt about the heating and cooling situation!
Heating wise a builder will normally install a 3 star heater (this is what HBC do). The big payoff of a higher star rated heater is the reduction in gas usage. I had a chat to the guys at NatGas in Epping and they gave me the following information.
Above a baseline of the 3 star heater
- 4 star 13% reduction in gas usage, or about $200/yr
- 5 star 22% reduction in gas usage, or about $350/yr
- 6 star 30% reduction in gas usage, or about $475/yr
HBC quoted $820 to upgrade from a 3 star to 4 star heater, and $1300 to upgrade from a 3 star to a 5 star heater.
If you want to go with refrigerated cooling this is what we were suggested to do
- Remove the included heating (~$2000 credit)
- OR upgrade the heater and ducting to a unit that will accept an addon refrigerated cooling unit
The example price I was given by NatGas if you go the remove the included heater option was
- Brivis 5 Star Pro SP521IA-XA + Addon ICE unit for $11K installed post handover
If you go the Evaporative cooling route this was their suggestion.
- Keep the HBC system
- Add evap cooling for around $3500 - $3700
The evap system needs different size ducting compared to heating/refrigerated so apparently they can't share ducting.
Hope all the above is useful!
Just as an FYI, on the Home Buyers Vic Facebook page, there has been a video posted talking about the Jasper 17, I know so many of us are building!
Just as an FYI, on the Home Buyers Vic Facebook page, there has been a video posted talking about the Jasper 17, I know so many of us are building!
Yeah I seen that! Doesn't give much away haha
I'm slowly making my way through this entire thread (think I've read 150 upto now and the first 27 pages).
There was a lot of talk in the first 27 pages about updating the Brivis ducted heating to a higher tier unit (4 or 5 star) that had larger ducts so that a brivis ac system can be installed after build for a much cheaper rate than HBC would charge.
Is that still the case? And if so how much extra?
Thanks in advance.
Here is what we learnt about the heating and cooling situation!
Heating wise a builder will normally install a 3 star heater (this is what HBC do). The big payoff of a higher star rated heater is the reduction in gas usage. I had a chat to the guys at NatGas in Epping and they gave me the following information.
Above a baseline of the 3 star heater
- 4 star 13% reduction in gas usage, or about $200/yr
- 5 star 22% reduction in gas usage, or about $350/yr
- 6 star 30% reduction in gas usage, or about $475/yr
HBC quoted $820 to upgrade from a 3 star to 4 star heater, and $1300 to upgrade from a 3 star to a 5 star heater.
If you want to go with refrigerated cooling this is what we were suggested to do
- Remove the included heating (~$2000 credit)
- OR upgrade the heater and ducting to a unit that will accept an addon refrigerated cooling unit
The example price I was given by NatGas if you go the remove the included heater option was
- Brivis 5 Star Pro SP521IA-XA + Addon ICE unit for $11K installed post handover
If you go the Evaporative cooling route this was their suggestion.
- Keep the HBC system
- Add evap cooling for around $3500 - $3700
The evap system needs different size ducting compared to heating/refrigerated so apparently they can't share ducting.
Hope all the above is useful!
This has been extremely helpful!!!
im getting my final house plans tommorow. I'm so excited its been such a long wait what with HBC's inability to multi task, im on cloud 9:-P
Stupid question, but it's been a long day......
My kitchen island upgraded bench is the same as the prep area countertop yeah? Both are upgraded right?
I'll drop my costings from my color appointment tomorrow..... shower niches are back too if anyone else didn't know, was a recent return I was told since it was demanded so often.... is $480.
Stupid question, but it's been a long day......
My kitchen island upgraded bench is the same as the prep area countertop yeah? Both are upgraded right?
I'll drop my costings from my color appointment tomorrow..... shower niches are back too if anyone else didn't know, was a recent return I was told since it was demanded so often.... is $480.
Best. News. Ever. On the shower niche front!!
I looked into the niches, the sizes they gave me were far too big for my liking, would have taken up half the shower, I was given 2 different sizes, one was 425mm X 425mm or 330mm X 630mm, so we opted for a shower head with the basket and hooks attached to it.
If you want to go with refrigerated cooling this is what we were suggested to do
- Remove the included heating (~$2000 credit)
- OR upgrade the heater and ducting to a unit that will accept an addon refrigerated cooling unit
I went to an appointment today and they said if we remove the heating, they also remove the ducts. We were looking at installing a split system, which is apparently about $11k after build. Will they need the ducts pre done, or will they install themselves. Just wondering if we should take the $2k off the house price.
If you want to go with refrigerated cooling this is what we were suggested to do
- Remove the included heating (~$2000 credit)
- OR upgrade the heater and ducting to a unit that will accept an addon refrigerated cooling unit
I went to an appointment today and they said if we remove the heating, they also remove the ducts. We were looking at installing a split system, which is apparently about $11k after build. Will they need the ducts pre done, or will they install themselves. Just wondering if we should take the $2k off the house price.
When we looked at at this the company we spoke to about costs had included the ducting and install costs into their quote.
Things to think/ask about from the company your thinking of getting the system from
- zoning is it included/ needed for your house?
- should you have HBC pre provision a power/water/gas outlet?
- controller type, manual/smart/programmable?
- A quote to take to your bank / broker so that the valuation includes the heater/cooling or that it maybe able to be included in the loan?
When we looked at at this the company we spoke to about costs had included the ducting and install costs into their quote.
Things to think/ask about from the company your thinking of getting the system from
- zoning is it included/ needed for your house?
- should you have HBC pre provision a power/water/gas outlet?
- controller type, manual/smart/programmable?
- A quote to take to your bank / broker so that the valuation includes the heater/cooling or that it maybe able to be included in the loan?[/quote]
That's actually a great point to get quotes first to take to the bank! I never thought of doing that at all!! I wonder if it's allowed though. And how can you get quotes when they are only going off a plan?
That's actually a great point to get quotes first to take to the bank! I never thought of doing that at all!! I wonder if it's allowed though. And how can you get quotes when they are only going off a plan?
It may, definitely worth asking your broker if it would help or not, especially if you plan to take the heating out.
I was able to get quotes pretty easily from heating companies over the phone, they just ask how big the house is, how many bedroom/living areas etc your house has, and what type of heating/cooling you want. From my experience, it seemed pretty straight forward and took about 10 mins on the phone.
Thanks guys.
I'll get the heating removed and get the aircon installed after build. While I probably can get it installed as part of the loan, not sure I want to keep paying for the aircon for 30 years, when it may not last that long.
I'll see if I can get it installed via interest free finance post build.
Now to figure out whether I want to stick with Resolve for the loan, or go elsewhere. I have an interview with Aussie next weekend to see what they can do for me. Haven't been too happy with the communication with homebuyers/resolve lately so thought it may be a good idea to get another quote for finance.
They were great when we started with Josh for the home saver plan, but have gone downhill since he left and I had to chase them up, where he would at least contact me each month to touch base.
I have been handed over to construction, finally. Apparently it will be another 5-7 days before anything even happens on the land, snail pace or what for HBC
Hello everyone! I have been reading this forum for some time but only recently signed up! We are purchasing our house and land package (the Vibe 25) in Officer this week! We are first home buyers and I am incredibly nervous about EVERYTHING but have found the information on here to be so helpful. So thank you!!
Hello everyone! I have been reading this forum for some time but only recently signed up! We are purchasing our house and land package (the Vibe 25) in Officer this week! We are first home buyers and I am incredibly nervous about EVERYTHING but have found the information on here to be so helpful. So thank you!!
Welcome.Where about in Officer?