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Hi everyone,
Absolutely loving all the info on this forum. I'm happy to say that I'm finally taking the plunge and building with First home buyers direct
I've put down the land deposit and also the PPA building deposit, currently waiting for plans to be drawn up, site survey etc which should be completed mid august and all been well I'll get finance approved and settlement on land done early in september...Exciting times!
What I have already realised is just how fun/exciting/stressful the whole process is going to be and also how obsessed I have become! lol
I'm sure my other half is getting sick of me constantly researching things and running new ideas past her on a daily basis. haha
The biggest changes I've made so far would be:
- Raised ceilings to garage, alfresco, living and dining with kitchen bulkhead to remain at 28c ($5000)
- Garage moved across 500mm for wider entry ($1100)
- Amend ensuite vanity to double ($1200)
- Upgrade to frameless screens in bathroom and ensuite ($1100 - screens were originally credited so unsure of price difference yet)
- Upgrade to laminate benchtop in laundry ($550)
- Extended alfresco by 1.5m and added grano and tiling ($700)
- BAL 12.5 allowance is $4500 PS
Although the plan doesnt show it, I have also upgraded to a double shower and double entry doors to the theatre.
Things I'll be doing post handover are LED's, landscaping/retic, internal wall painting, overhead kitchen cupboards and kitchen splashback.
Original house plan and my revised plan are below. Would love to get some feedback on the changes and anything else you think could be done
ORIGINAL
MY LATEST PLAN
WOOOO!
May - Land deposit
June - PPA building deposit
Oct 2nd - Contract signed, windows and lighting meeting
Oct 10th - Unconditional approval
Oct 26th - Settlement
Oct 28th - Pre-start
Nov 16th - Building Approval
Dec 2nd - Final plans signed off and moved into scheduling
Dec 14th - Moved into construction
Jan 12th - Slab!
Feb 17th - Bricks delivered!
Feb 26th - Brickies started
Mar 8th - Roof frame started
Mar 29th - Plumbing & elec rough in completed
Apr 4th - Roof cover
Apr 28th - Grey float
May 24th - White set
May 25th - LOCK UP!!
Jun 5th - Cabinetry installed
Jun 14th - Grano
Jun 25th - Wet area tiling complete
July 15th - Main floor tiling and driveway paving
July 18th - Garage doors and kitchen bulkhead completed
Aug 9th - Electrical final
Aug 10th - Plumbing finalAug 18th - Carpets, blinds and final fixingAug 23rd - Front door paintedAug 29th - PCI
Hi! I'm building in the Vista as well, we are almost at roof level! We had a long wait for Titles which was really frustrating, but well and truly on our way now.
Hi Gypsy!
I've been reading over your build as its the only other one I've seen in the vista
I've heard there was a huge delay with titles so I bet your stoked to see it all coming together now!
I was lucky as my lot had come back on the market already titled, just waiting until the end of august for my finance so I can settle
Hopefully things go smoothly for you, as once settlement happened for us everything has just flown by, I can't believe we are nearly at roof stage, if feel like we only got a slab a couple of weeks ago
I seriously have too much time to think! Haha
So the latest idea I have had is to remove bed 2/study, extend the theatre by around 1.3m and use the remaining 1.3m for a walk in pantry to the kitchen?
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Will resale value be reduced by losing a bedroom??
Probably change the WIP to 1.3m wide however, so its not so cramped
Good idea looks nice
perhaps look into and speak to a real estate agent about the resale of 3bed houses vs 4bed houses in the area though, even though the house may be the same size area wise it might devalue it by only having three bedrooms
something to think about anyhooooo
Yep, your spot on!
I'll be sure to look into the resale more to see if I can justify the change...Fingers crossed because I like it much better without the 4th bedroom haha
We have a similar size theatre to you, 3.15x4.17 if you can make it bigger I recommend it! We thought we had a good size till it was built! 4.5 would be a good length meaning you can make the pantry slightly wider
See if you can push you theatre out 500mm wider as you're limited for seating if you want the whole cupholders between the chair recliners etc
Cheers Archetto!
The more I've thought about it, the more I've realised I wont be happy with a smaller theatre.
I think 1.3 should be wide enough for the pantry which in turn will make the theatre 4.76 which I'll be stoked with!
I did actually suss out moving the theatre out 500mm to the eave but pricewise it wasnt worth it in the end so I guess I'll just deal with that one haha
$550 Saving to make those changes...happy with that!
That's a great deal! Go for it
All adds up
I love my huge pantry so I'm sure you/your other half will too!
Yay finally some one else building in karnup, we were going through the same process around the same time as you but last year, we did all our paperwork July-August and were supposed to get titles September/October but they ended up being released in January this year... Finally we will be doing our first final inspection next week
luckily the time has passed super quick.
My husband and I also made quiet a few changes but had 31c ceilings, ducted aircon, 900mm appliances and a $3k upgrade amount as part of our house package.. we added a laundry bench, a sliding door linen closet in the laundry... we moved some walls around, extended the kitchen, added a walk in corner pantry and added a few windows, I think all together there was $7k upgrades and $7k flooring upgrade.
My husband bought established before we met, so I have really had fun building (besides the wait on titles) I can't wait to plan the landscaping and add some awesome lighting, I will also be getting my dad to work his bricklaying magic on a heap of ideas I have
I will be on here more now I think, especially for home decoration ideas so I will be following your process
goodluck!
Hi 1stbuild,
Great to have someone else building in the vista!
Check out gypsyhabitats build in the vista too if you havent already
How have you found buzz homes?
My variations have cost around 15k up to this point so pretty similiar to yours...I just need to keep myself under control when I get to prestart in a few weeks! haha
Currently stuck going back and forth getting the post contract variations sorted before I sign as the builder made quite a few mistakes and omissions with the quotation/contract
Hoping to get my slab down before xmas but its coming fast! haha
Hope your inspection goes well and keep posting progress photos! Ahhh building is so exciting
Yay finally some one else building in karnup, we were going through the same process around the same time as you but last year, we did all our paperwork July-August and were supposed to get titles September/October but they ended up being released in January this year... Finally we will be doing our first final inspection next week
luckily the time has passed super quick.
My husband and I also made quiet a few changes but had 31c ceilings, ducted aircon, 900mm appliances and a $3k upgrade amount as part of our house package.. we added a laundry bench, a sliding door linen closet in the laundry... we moved some walls around, extended the kitchen, added a walk in corner pantry and added a few windows, I think all together there was $7k upgrades and $7k flooring upgrade.
My husband bought established before we met, so I have really had fun building (besides the wait on titles) I can't wait to plan the landscaping and add some awesome lighting, I will also be getting my dad to work his bricklaying magic on a heap of ideas I have
I will be on here more now I think, especially for home decoration ideas so I will be following your process
goodluck!
Hey 1stbuild! Yep I'm in the Vista as well. We should have our garage grano this week and hopefully the toilets installed, but it's been a slow week
Buzz/wow has been awesome, heaps of communication and the build has been super fast, almost like they are making up for a long title wait... yes pre start is so exciting and scary, when having all those options and a 'budget' haha
I will check it out thanks