Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 21Jul 19, 2017 5:54 pm No worries. Yes my colleague went through the process with Catherine and apparently she is very good according to the feedback. I have Andrew who seemed good at the start then his service, accuracy and attention to details deteriorated after I signed up and paid the 2k. Until I kicked up a fuzz with the boss he seems doing better now. He mucked me up for a few time with underestimating site cost. It is just not good. Now I am still considering and waiting to see how they justify the 32k site cost when they originally quoted me 15k and they were known for being good at sticking to the quote. Well, at least that's the feedback from my colleague and she built a 300k custom house on a sloping block that is worst than mine. Yes they are good with being flexible in their plans as they are actually advertising themselves as a custom builder. Are you building Lucas? I hope everything go well with your broker and get started quickly. Yes the coastal stone are quite good already. I didn't want anything fancy as it was just an investment property back then and so as this one too. I am going for Macedon this time. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 22Jul 19, 2017 7:50 pm Building the other end of Ballart in Ploughmans Arms Estate, its in Bonshaw. We just waiting for the land loan to be approved first and then when that is settled and titled issued we will start to work on going to contract on the building side. I've had our soil test done, it came back h2 classification which is quite normal for the area. Will have to wait for the engineering drawings to see if it changes the site costs. But at this stage mine are quite reasonable compared to what I got quoted for by the larger volume builders. My block of land is fairly flat. My partner liked Macedon brick too. But I prefer coastal. I think it will look better with the colour scheme we trying to achieve internally. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 23Jul 25, 2017 1:28 pm I love your floorplan and selections - your ensuite and butlers pantry are just perfection! I haven't been down to Ballarat for years, but remember it as being a beautiful place - there was also a very attractive magician who worked at Kryall Castle who is imbedded in my memory... is the castle still there?! Will be following along Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 24Jul 25, 2017 4:20 pm Just found your thread! well done on everything so far it's looking good! My partner and I are looking to build for our first home, we put an offer to purchase on a block of land in Ballarat but the builder who we were going with told us it would be $50,000 and split level design to level the land.. i didn't even think it was that much of a slope! so back to square one. Maybe a house and land package will be easier for us . we don't have a mortgage broker going through a lender from commonwealth bank. Do you have any advise on your journey so far? Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 25Jul 25, 2017 8:37 pm Bridgetwitch I love your floorplan and selections - your ensuite and butlers pantry are just perfection! I haven't been down to Ballarat for years, but remember it as being a beautiful place - there was also a very attractive magician who worked at Kryall Castle who is imbedded in my memory... is the castle still there?! Will be following along The castle is still there, but I've never been to it. It is a nice place, but cold in winter. I moved up here last year to be with my partner. Thanks for your nice comments about the floor plans. I still haven't signed off on the plans with the builder as I'm taking my time to make sure its exactly how I want. Basically now just tweaking it. I'm still looking at maybe moving the entrance to the master suite through the WIR area from the main corridor. Will lose a bit of WIR space but I think it make it a nicer entrance. I have a bit of time as the land not titled and probably realistically want to start maybe October. I commute every day to Melbourne for work, so plenty of time for browsing websites and ideas. The builder has been good at providing costs for all the things I have requested to date. There is still a few more things to get costs on like the tiling and carpets but there is a provision in the inclusions and I just pay additional if its higher than the amount. I probably post some more of my thought process for the internals of the house at the weekend. I've been looking at basins and taps this week. Also trying to find some nice wall scones for the main ensuite bathroom on either side of a large mirror that is included. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 26Jul 25, 2017 8:47 pm Gecko Just found your thread! well done on everything so far it's looking good! My partner and I are looking to build for our first home, we put an offer to purchase on a block of land in Ballarat but the builder who we were going with told us it would be $50,000 and split level design to level the land.. i didn't even think it was that much of a slope! so back to square one. Maybe a house and land package will be easier for us . we don't have a mortgage broker going through a lender from commonwealth bank. Do you have any advise on your journey so far? Thanks for your feedback. Its slowly coming together. I started this process about a year ago when we decided that we wanted to purchase a house. My partner wanted to buy existing, but I didn't want to have to do up an existing house so I convinced him that we should build. We really wanted to buy a few acres of land and looked at a couple of sites out in Clunes area but just couldn't find anything that would work, so bit the bullet and decided to build in an Estate in Ballarat. I visited every display home in the Lucas area, and then we visited displays in Bendigo and Geelong and down in the Cranbourne/Pakeham area. I talked to a few of the sales consultants and got a couple of quotes from the builders I liked the plans of. I also wanted to wait until 1 July. Some of the project builders did try and make the suggestions that the deal wouldn't be available after July and prices would go up etc, but I didn't bite. Probably pused me away from them if anything. The mortgage broker I got as a recommendation and he has been good so far. The conveyancer was another recommendation and no compliants so far. Both have been prompt with responding to queries throughout the process so far. Sorry, to hear that your land purchase didn't work out. 50K in site costs is a lot. I looked at the house and plan packages too, but decided to find a plan I liked or could adapt and then go and find a block. Its worked so far. The house fits good on the site. I didn't want a 12 or 14 m width block as didn't want to feel too enclosed in. So brought a 16m wide block, so we have a bit of space either side without having to pin the garage to the boundary. Hopefully, you be able to find another site. I think I looked at every estate in Ballarat when deciding which to buy. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 27Jul 27, 2017 4:00 pm icat2000 Gecko Just found your thread! well done on everything so far it's looking good! My partner and I are looking to build for our first home, we put an offer to purchase on a block of land in Ballarat but the builder who we were going with told us it would be $50,000 and split level design to level the land.. i didn't even think it was that much of a slope! so back to square one. Maybe a house and land package will be easier for us . we don't have a mortgage broker going through a lender from commonwealth bank. Do you have any advise on your journey so far? Thanks for your feedback. Its slowly coming together. I started this process about a year ago when we decided that we wanted to purchase a house. My partner wanted to buy existing, but I didn't want to have to do up an existing house so I convinced him that we should build. We really wanted to buy a few acres of land and looked at a couple of sites out in Clunes area but just couldn't find anything that would work, so bit the bullet and decided to build in an Estate in Ballarat. I visited every display home in the Lucas area, and then we visited displays in Bendigo and Geelong and down in the Cranbourne/Pakeham area. I talked to a few of the sales consultants and got a couple of quotes from the builders I liked the plans of. I also wanted to wait until 1 July. Some of the project builders did try and make the suggestions that the deal wouldn't be available after July and prices would go up etc, but I didn't bite. Probably pused me away from them if anything. The mortgage broker I got as a recommendation and he has been good so far. The conveyancer was another recommendation and no compliants so far. Both have been prompt with responding to queries throughout the process so far. Sorry, to hear that your land purchase didn't work out. 50K in site costs is a lot. I looked at the house and plan packages too, but decided to find a plan I liked or could adapt and then go and find a block. Its worked so far. The house fits good on the site. I didn't want a 12 or 14 m width block as didn't want to feel too enclosed in. So brought a 16m wide block, so we have a bit of space either side without having to pin the garage to the boundary. Hopefully, you be able to find another site. I think I looked at every estate in Ballarat when deciding which to buy. I had the same situation with the builders saying about the price rise and trying to scare me, even when looking at buying an established home i was told the prices will sky rocket! they're roughly still the same.. lol I can't wait to watch your progress i love this forum! we have found another bit of land that we put on hold just waiting back for a site cost estimate from the builder to see if we can afford it into the budget and then we will go from there yay! I also love the Clunes area and will probably head out there when i'm an old gal. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 29Jul 30, 2017 11:08 am Koda The rugged concrete bench tops look awesome! I know. I really want it. A little bit frighten about how much will cost. But going to get them to quote on upgrading the pricing from fresh concrete to it .I also lose the waterfall so that costs can help bridge the gap. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Land Contracts & Finance 30Jul 30, 2017 11:09 am Gecko icat2000 Gecko Just found your thread! well done on everything so far it's looking good! My partner and I are looking to build for our first home, we put an offer to purchase on a block of land in Ballarat but the builder who we were going with told us it would be $50,000 and split level design to level the land.. i didn't even think it was that much of a slope! so back to square one. Maybe a house and land package will be easier for us . we don't have a mortgage broker going through a lender from commonwealth bank. Do you have any advise on your journey so far? Thanks for your feedback. Its slowly coming together. I started this process about a year ago when we decided that we wanted to purchase a house. My partner wanted to buy existing, but I didn't want to have to do up an existing house so I convinced him that we should build. We really wanted to buy a few acres of land and looked at a couple of sites out in Clunes area but just couldn't find anything that would work, so bit the bullet and decided to build in an Estate in Ballarat. I visited every display home in the Lucas area, and then we visited displays in Bendigo and Geelong and down in the Cranbourne/Pakeham area. I talked to a few of the sales consultants and got a couple of quotes from the builders I liked the plans of. I also wanted to wait until 1 July. Some of the project builders did try and make the suggestions that the deal wouldn't be available after July and prices would go up etc, but I didn't bite. Probably pused me away from them if anything. The mortgage broker I got as a recommendation and he has been good so far. The conveyancer was another recommendation and no compliants so far. Both have been prompt with responding to queries throughout the process so far. Sorry, to hear that your land purchase didn't work out. 50K in site costs is a lot. I looked at the house and plan packages too, but decided to find a plan I liked or could adapt and then go and find a block. Its worked so far. The house fits good on the site. I didn't want a 12 or 14 m width block as didn't want to feel too enclosed in. So brought a 16m wide block, so we have a bit of space either side without having to pin the garage to the boundary. Hopefully, you be able to find another site. I think I looked at every estate in Ballarat when deciding which to buy. I had the same situation with the builders saying about the price rise and trying to scare me, even when looking at buying an established home i was told the prices will sky rocket! they're roughly still the same.. lol I can't wait to watch your progress i love this forum! we have found another bit of land that we put on hold just waiting back for a site cost estimate from the builder to see if we can afford it into the budget and then we will go from there yay! I also love the Clunes area and will probably head out there when i'm an old gal. Good luck with your new piece of land. Just trying to finalise the finance on the loan. The bit that holding us up is the receipt from the land agent that we have paid our deposit. Bank won't accept my receipt from the money transfer. Little things are impacting it. Hopefully, its sorted out by Tuesday as that is when the finance clause needs to be sorted out by. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Happy Dance 31Aug 01, 2017 7:37 pm Got bank approval for the land today. Happy Dance. First major hurdle over. Now, next is waiting for title which hopefully should be in September. So have to review plans and sort out my choices in my mind. Decisions, decisions. Feels a little bit real today. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Happy Dance 33Aug 07, 2017 9:56 pm m Make sure you get a good tiler after watching the block tonight with a team attempting a full wall of penny round tiles. However they had a ******* builder so walls weren't straight. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Happy Dance 36Aug 09, 2017 7:25 pm mum2cj Can I please ask where you got this tile from - I love it. Thanks The tiles are from this place. http://www.perini.com.au/ They have some beautiful tiles. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Happy Dance 37Aug 14, 2017 6:41 pm Received loan docs for the land today. So many places to sign. Also received title sample for above tile. Way darker than image. So won't be using them. Bit disappointing. Also have completed our plans and waiting for final plans. Went through them pretty throughly but bound to have missed something. There is a good gap between the island bench and back bench over a metre. Also no dust catcher cupboards either. REmoved the drain lines out of the kitchen island bench decided it would ruin the look of the stone. Added in plaster hampers at either end of the hallway and reconfigured to have 1 and 1/2 door entrance into the master suite and re did the wir. Will post final plans when I receive them. Hopefully, we don't have any increased site costs. Did the electrical plan too. That was fairly quick. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Waiting on Final Plans 38Aug 26, 2017 3:20 pm Got my final plans. Just a few little things. Nothing major. Onto next step. Which I believe is the engineering plans and then I think its onto build contract. I just waiting for the kitchen stone quote to come back. Hopefully its a little bit less as it was coming in a bit high. Re: Our First Home - Ballarat - Waiting on Final Plans 40Aug 26, 2017 8:24 pm icat2000 Got my final plans. Just a few little things. Nothing major. Onto next step. Which I believe is the engineering plans and then I think its onto build contract. I just waiting for the kitchen stone quote to come back. Hopefully its a little bit less as it was coming in a bit high. Did you raise your ceiling height? If so, you might want to consider increasing height of any stacker doors (if u have them). A quick update, we didn't have site start before Easter. Summit can't seem to give me a day when they are scheduled to begin, so I'm left with a vague "within 10-20… 4 26722 Can you give advice on how to get missing certificates needed for a form 21? Our bank requires us to provide one but we are missing 4 building certificates from our first… 3 71736 yes it does, you've just not understood it. theres a difference. 4 5206 |