Hi y'all!
First time builders here. We bought our land in Caversham in January 2014. At that time, titles were expected around June/July 2014. That quickly became July/August 2014. But we just received an email from the developer today saying that titles are now expected for the end of August 2014. I know, I know, this date is not set in stone, as getting titles usually becomes a running joke! But can't help getting a little bit excited!
Once we put our deposit down for the land, we started looking around for a builder. We checked out the Donnelly by Ross North, but it was a bit out of our price range and the salespeople were shocking with communication. We then walked around the Element by Home Group WA, where we met a friendly sales rep who didn't seem desperate for our business (like some of the different reps we ran into during this process *shudder)
A few days later, we drove up to Alkimos to view the Bellevue Platinum, and fell in love instantly. The big open floor plan was just what we wanted! After visiting a few more display homes, we were sure that we wanted to go with HGWA. We worked with our rep, making changes to the Monte Carlo until it basically evolved into the Bellevue Platinum. It was a better option to go with the MC which had $55,000 worth of inclusions, rather than starting with the more expensive Bellevue Complete.
Changing the plan had its fair share of frustration, but we are pretty pleased with the end result. It was a tough decision making the main bathroom internal, but we had to...so I don't want to hear it - lol. Here is our reasoning for the changes: A) We thought it's easier to turn a bedroom into an office/study, but it's not easy to turn an open office/study into a bedroom. 5 bedrooms is more versatile - and no, number of bedrooms does not equal number of kids One room will be my studio, one room will be my husband's office, one room a guest room, and one room a kid's room. B) By having the bathroom internally, we could have the sleek highlight window in the theatre that we wanted
Below are original and updated floor plans, along with our precious dirt!
Monte Carlo:
Bellevue Platinum:
Our Design:
Our Block:
Our Timeline:
13/01/2014 - Placed deposit on land (due to be titled in June/July).
17/02/2014 - Signed preliminary agreement with Home Group WA.
09/09/2014 - Signed building contract with Home Group WA.
09/10/2014 - Land title issued.
28/10/2014 - Land settlement.
07/11/2014 - Practical completion of block and site survey.
02/02/2015 - First Documents.
03/03/2015 - Prestart.
14/04/2015 - Final Documents.
04/05/2015 - Building Permit.
22/05/2015 - Earthworks.
29/05/2015 - Footings.
03/06/2015 - Slab.
25/06/2015 - Brickwork started.
16/07/2015 - Plate height.
03/08/2015 - Roofing started.
14/08/2015 - Roof frame complete.
27/08/2015 - Roof complete.
02/09/2015 - Grey render complete.
07/09/2015 - Ceilings complete.
18/09/2015 - White set and windows complete.
22/09/2015 - Lock up.
26/09/2015 - Bath tubs installed.
02/10/2015 - Ceilings painted. Doors/frames primed. Cabinets, benchtops & basins installed.
05/10/2015 - Linen, robes and pantry shelving complete.
06/10/2015 - Garage grano complete.
07/10/2015 - Hobs and waterproofing for wet areas complete.
08/10/2015 - Tile meeting.
12/10/2015 - Tiling started.
16/10/2015 - Front render undercoat.
29/10/2015 - Garage door installed.
30/10/2015 - Tiling complete.
04/11/2015 - Oven, hot water unit, tapware, toilets, shower screens, mirrors, sliding doors to robes/linen installed.
05/11/2015 - Insulation and fly screens installed. Painting finals started.
06/11/2015 - Lights and power points installed.
20/11/2015 - Interior door handles/towel rails/toilet roll holders installed, air con installed, brick pavers delivered.
24/11/2015 - Paving done.
25/11/2015 - Windows cleaned.
26/11/2015 - Painting done.
30/11/2015 - Carpets installed.
01/12/2015 - Site clean.
03/12/2015 - Sealant for benchtops/showers.
04/12/2015 - Smart wiring box in garage installed.
08/11/2014 - QCI.
09/11/2014 - House clean.
11/12/2015 - PCI.