Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 303Apr 03, 2012 5:24 pm Tramsok Building Montana 27 with Carlisle Homes @ Harcrest 23/10/11 Land Ballot 05/12/10 Deposit 27/07/11 Contract 20/08/11 Site Start 13/09/11 Slab 22/09/11 Frame complete 13/10/11 Lock-up 25/11/11 PCI Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 312May 02, 2012 2:30 pm Hi Everyone! We are new to the forum! Just secured our plot at Harcrest and are looking at potential builders! Any advice to follow? We are particularly concerned about the site costs? Thank you Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 313May 02, 2012 3:57 pm Hi there and welcome to the forum. And Congratulations on securing your lot. Are you in stage 3? Have you already settled on the land as yet? There's a lot of advice and experiences on this forum so its best you go through each of the posts to identify common issues us lot owners have been facing - site costs, design guidelines, colour selections and so forth. That will prepare you for what's coming and ask the right questions to your builder. I have to say the majority of the process has been very pleasant and I found the developer to be approachable - though sometimes constant followup is required. Re site costs, there is no conclusive way to figure that out - a few variables come into play, the builder, the soil classification and the slab etc. You builder will do a soil test once you pay the initial deposit but they can only do so once the land is settled. The developer will also provide you with an engineers report but the builders will want to do their test anyway as they provide the structural warranty. I'd say about $25K is what you can reasonably estimate as site costs - though some people may have paid significantly lesser and I hope that is the case for you. Again, good to have another neighbour on the forum! Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 314May 02, 2012 4:13 pm Thanks for your reply Arun. We have just selected lot 88 which is a single story only and working to sign off the building contract before June 30th. We are hoping, fingers crossed, we will be in by christmas! I read through the forum and it is fantastic and really useful! What a great idea! Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 315May 07, 2012 8:09 pm Lot 88 is the one on the northern boundary, corner lot. This is stage 2. Given you are just coming in, you are probably spared of the difficulties encountered by those who purchased the lot during the Ballot (back in 2010). That lot of yours is relatively flat, in my opinion your site cost should not be anymore than $10k (tops $15k, even that is too expensive). The thing with site cost is that it has inclusions of fall like 300mm. Certain builders have special discount on site costs but if your fall is less than 300mm, your site costs should only be influenced by the slab grade (P the most expensive, M1 should suffice and cheaper, M is the cheapest - Cost Zero if fall is <300mm), the Infrastructure Tax (Bracks/Brumbies' legacy) worth about $4k, and OH/S Tax worth about $3k. Mirvac does give you a compaction report which will confirm the fall. Use this when going to a builder as many builders will try to make a buck out of site costs. In my opinion (and it's up to you), any offer to fix the site cost SHOULD BE refused especially on a flat land. I did with my builder and has saved $15,000 (I know this because there are others in this forum which are stung by the fixed cost of $25k). Then the frontage. Those who purchased during the ballot were told 6 metres distance from street to front door (frontage?). However, a house in Cerise Street successfully went around the Covenant and made it 4 metres, thereby having bigger backyard. Insist on this as I know my neighbour is using this Cerise Street house as a basis of 4 metres frontage and there is nothing Mirvac can do about it to stop it. Certain estate covenants can be done outside builder. Often builders charge 25% markup on things like water tank (I am a victim of this). If possible, have this done outside builder (and thus, post contract) but saves you money. A bit inconvenient I know. My 2c Regards Zz Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 316May 09, 2012 9:37 am Hi All, Been in the estate just over 1 month now, and settling into the house well. Had the fences complete, but need to get the driveway completed. Apart from all the dust and noise especially on a Saturday morning, its not too bad. Just wanted to ask if people have had there assessment completed to get there $10K bond back? Also did anybody put in there Landscape request for Mirvac to complete before the 60 day deadline after Certificate of Occupancy has been granted? I have gone past the 60 days and just wanted to know what other people have done, and have they missed out. Gren Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 317May 09, 2012 8:12 pm Hi Gren, Who did you go to for the fencing and how much in approximate? As for the COO, how would Mirvac know if you have been issued one anyway? I didn't think it matter. I am in the middle of asking the Sales Coord of what is she requiring for the $10k bond to be returned. Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 318May 20, 2012 4:26 pm Hi future-neighbours, We are about to pay our deposit on the plot of land we have on hold. All your info on this forum has been so helpful in helping us make some decisions and estimating costs. We are Wanny Sth locals but this is our first ever build, so exciting times ahead. Congrats to everone who has been through the process and moved in and helping us newbies learn from your experience. Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 319May 22, 2012 8:43 am Hi aasa1978, We went to Rob Kuhne Fences and gates. Most people on the estate have used his service, and he produces an impressive fence. Cost will depend on how many retaining walls you need. As we only required 1 retaining wall, total cost was about $2500. gren Re: Building @ Harcrest, Wantirna South 320May 23, 2012 3:38 pm TEAM_W Hi future-neighbours, We are about to pay our deposit on the plot of land we have on hold. All your info on this forum has been so helpful in helping us make some decisions and estimating costs. We are Wanny Sth locals but this is our first ever build, so exciting times ahead. Congrats to everone who has been through the process and moved in and helping us newbies learn from your experience. Hi Team_W congrats on taking the big leap, we too are considering buying our land. I am thankfull for this forum lots of ideas and things to think about, has anyone built with Carlisle??? how are they comparing to PD. We are still negotiating. Any info would help. Thx alot and all the best!! Keen to hear from people in the area who have got KDRB done on whom they got the build from? Looking for recommendations. Thanks 0 31622 Help!! I’m meant to start building soon and have only really just learnt about orientation. Im reading so much that no grass will grow on the heavily shaded south… 0 13724 Hi, thank you both for your feedback! Yes, unfortunately this is not the optimal orientation and we tried to make it work as much as possible given the land constraints… 3 9465 |