Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 07, 2012 7:30 pm Good evening all, I am hoping we have some knowlgeable members viewing this post. We have signed a land contract for what seems a nice block on paper. Approx 645m2, 15.45m frontage and 30m deep. Title is meant to be relaesed in March 2013. Several people have said that they feel it won't release until at least June next year. Our building sales rep (whom has land sales management experience) says that is rubbish. We have several concerns; Building contract, of which have not yet signed, states we are liable for the building phase being held up after 120 days of the contract being signed (rep said it was not in the contract and that we would not be charged anyway)..... that would make it early Feb if we signed it now. Sounds suss! We are concerned that we may be up for expensive fees re rock excavation and removal and also structual piers if it is a "P" type soil, seeings the lot is on the side of a hill/ incline. Soil tests have not yet been recieved by builder. They have assumed already it will be p type soil. We have been advised by friends (whom have industry experience) that they would never sign a building contract until it was in their name, and also that the "unknown" factor of the soil type coupled with the chance of hitting rock in "Stonehill" seems like a good 50/50, we would be up for in excess of 30k with structural piers + rock. We are on a tight budget as it is with deposit and extras like fencing + gardens etc as it is. These possible issues have really got us worried and we may have to abort the whole thing. Issue now is, are we tied to the land by signing the land contract "subject to finance", which we put down as the entire construction loan?? Do we legally need to attempt to gain finance approval to purchase the land? Or, because we only paid the $500 holding fee, are we able to cancel the whole thing? Your help is appreciated and needed. Re: Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 2Oct 07, 2012 7:46 pm My advice would be to hold off on signing anything with a builder yet. These releases almost always get delayed - and yes most builders will add a charge or penalty once you pass a certain point of delay. Your building rep is going to be doing everything he/she can to make you feel like you need to sign up now - but you don't. Especially taking into account the soil concerns, it might be worthwhile waiting until you can do your own soil tests etc to get a clear idea of what you're building with. Some builders will do fixed site costs in their quoting process, which means you agree on an amount and pay that regardless of what the soil and survey comes back at. This could be something to look at if you can't afford a blow out in cost. Please don't rush into anything without really doing your homework! Building the Ascot 35 with Carlisle Homes in Pasadena Estate, Clyde VIC My build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59776 Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 4Oct 07, 2012 7:57 pm I would be concerned because 15.45 x 30 is no where near 645sqm. Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 5Oct 07, 2012 7:58 pm I would be surprised if the owner would allow an exchange before you have unconditional approval from the bank. Re: Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 6Oct 07, 2012 9:04 pm Re the size of your block, I assume it's wider at the back? You'd have to ask your solicitor about the contract. How long ago did you sign? The issue is that you would probably have to show you'd had a loan declined to get out of it, which you can't manufacture. I'd get to know your soil a bit better before worrying too much about that though - main thing is don't be rushed to signing with a builder right now. My land was due to settle in Jan 12 and is only about to title this week. ![]() Building the Ascot 35 with Carlisle Homes in Pasadena Estate, Clyde VIC My build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59776 Re: Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 7Oct 07, 2012 9:38 pm Thanks again andystar70. We signed around 2 weeks ago. Our builder offered to pay the remainder of the deposit for the land, and then we pay it back later. We have only paid the holdong deposit thus far. Re: Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 8Oct 08, 2012 4:22 pm At the end of the day if you have reservations about the block and can't get answers then think twice about going through with the block if you can get out of it. If you know you have a limited budget you need be sure you're not going to have a blow-out in cost, so perhaps a block that has already titled or a house and land package would be better? Building the Ascot 35 with Carlisle Homes in Pasadena Estate, Clyde VIC My build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=59776 Re: Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 10Oct 09, 2012 12:31 pm I am currently building in stage 2 of Stonehill and had no issues with soil test etc - building with Simonds who provided fixed site costs and they have been amazing through the whole process. I think you'll find that the developers have cleared a lot of the rock already as I was out there on the weekend and they were clearing all of the roads etc. I'd also see if you were to enter in to a building contract if you could put a clause / special condition that the 120 days is from land settlement. Re: Block of land in Stonehill Estate stage 3, Bacchus Marsh 11Oct 09, 2012 12:45 pm Ok. Excellent. I has there on Sunday and it doesn't seem too rocky, but just worried about surprises! I will see about getting that amended 're 120 days. They have said they're happy to provide 6 mths. The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 9568 ![]() 1 5044 |