KDR - What would you do differently?

EpicDNA · Dec 19, 2019 9:22 pm

Hey peeps,

Wife and I are interested in bidding at an upcoming auction this weekend with the intention of demolishing the place and building (her) dream home.

The vendor has suggested 60/90 settlement period. Keen to know for those who have been through the process, what would you do differently?

Would you opt for a 60/90 settlement and try to front load all the other activities (demolition quotes/permits, short list builders, sitings, colour selections, tenders, etc) all the way up toward settlement? A little concerned that 90 days is a bit too long.

Cheers
TIA

gogo65 · Dec 19, 2019 11:39 pm

90 days wont be long enough!
Everything takes much longer than you expect.
If you are considering a project home, it will likely be 2-4 weeks tender, 4-6weeks for plans drawn, then all your colour appointment, then contract etc...

SaveH2O · Dec 20, 2019 12:24 am

EpicDNA

Would you opt for a 60/90 settlement and try to front load all the other activities (demolition quotes/permits, short list builders, sitings, colour selections, tenders, etc) all the way up toward settlement? A little concerned that 90 days is a bit too long.

Where are you building? With the current dry conditions in many parts of Australia, you risk a whole lot of future pain if you trade site preparation best practice for expediency.

EpicDNA · Dec 20, 2019 12:31 am

Thanks for the replies. Looking to build north west inner Melbourne (Moonee Valley Council).

I didn't realise there was much we could really do until we actually settled the property and had proper soil test reports, but I'm presuming volume builders will be able to do this prior to settlement?

There are no overlays so we wouldn't need to go to town planning.

SaveH2O · Dec 20, 2019 12:36 am

Soil moisture levels are very important for kdr.

EpicDNA · Dec 20, 2019 6:21 am

Thanks, definitely do not want to rush site prep and foundation phase.

My question is, what can I do during the settlement process if I go ahead with 90 days?

I'll also have to check with my lender if I need to go through the approval process again.

brokenstick · Dec 20, 2019 4:32 pm

Do you already know what you want to build? Took us a year from when we decided to build to when the builder started building (Choosing a design, choosing a builder, preliminary pricing, finalising design, final pricing, contract, then demolition etc etc)

ddarroch · Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pm

brokenstick

Do you already know what you want to build? Took us a year from when we decided to build to when the builder started building (Choosing a design, choosing a builder, preliminary pricing, finalising design, final pricing, contract, then demolition etc etc)

Yeah, don't rush the design phase OP. I'd also have a very good idea what I wanted to build, before even bidding on a property.

Not all blocks are really suitable, some make it much tougher, or nearly impossible to build a comfortable, light, energy efficient home.

Hint: narrow blocks make this tougher (especially those with northern frontages), & may make the contruction process tougher, due to poor access. Orientation is very important too.

I'd recommend you have a good read of this website, of you haven't already. It will give you a great idea about how to build a comfortable, energy efficient home,

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design

EpicDNA · Dec 20, 2019 5:49 pm

We have a rough idea, have narrowed down to a few floor plans and two builders but need the block so we can evaluate orientation, over shadowing, etc. This has taken a few months already, but it's all conceptual.

During settlement, is there any reason why we can't organise demolition/crossover permits, and then actual demolition (cut services, electrical pit, actual demolition) right after settlement, before we actually choose a builder? Or do we need to choose a builder first.

EpicDNA · Dec 20, 2019 5:55 pm

Oh and I forgot to mention have done a lot of research on this forum thanks to all the awesome posts.

It will be east facing block and we've found a few floor plans that fit our requirements in terms of dimensions, budget and orientation. Worst case scenario we might consider swapping the crossover as the single story house on the left of us (north facing windows) has built close to the boundary and any double story house will most likely trigger overshadowing. So the idea is to swap the garage to that side and build closer to the right boundary instead.

Manhattan52 · Dec 22, 2019 7:14 pm

EpicDNA

We have a rough idea, have narrowed down to a few floor plans and two builders but need the block so we can evaluate orientation, over shadowing, etc. This has taken a few months already, but it's all conceptual.

During settlement, is there any reason why we can't organise demolition/crossover permits, and then actual demolition (cut services, electrical pit, actual demolition) right after settlement, before we actually choose a builder? Or do we need to choose a builder first.

you need to actually own the property to apply for any permits