The land title has been pushed back to October of this year (unlike the June / July window we were given when we signed the contract). So because the land title has been postponed the deposit bond we'd applied for is no longer 'short term' and is deemed a "long term" which of course has additional service fees, higher intrest... so I bit the bullet and paid the 5% for the land outright. talk about being messed around! By the time the banks and the brokers got their acts together we'd saved enough money to save the hassle!
So last week I took a day off work and we ventured out to Hoppers Crossing to make our tile selections. To be honest it was harder than picking the bricks, roof tiles, bench tops, cupdoard finishings, door handles, wall and celing paints, window trims, garage doors, and gutters! There were so many coloursm, finishes, price brackets and sale prices (which confused the matter even more as the builder dosen't get the sale prices because of the delay between ordering an having the tiles delivered). So after almost two and a half hours in the showroom, we ended up with white... yes white tiles for the bathroom, ensuite, laundry and toilet. The kitchen got spoilt with some latte ceramic and glass tile for the splashback above the stovetop. The floortiles for the main living spaces we will lay after handover (as we WILL get the sales prices in 12 months time and be able to but builders premium tiles for the price of the standard inclusions!)
The plans came back with the changes we wanted to make, but we've noticed little things, like the meter box is on the wrng side of the house, and the site plan is half a meter further from the fence than we'd planned. So they need to go back to the draftsman and be 'tinkered' with again before we can sign off on them.
We have seen the naked shell of the display home version of our plan out in Officer as it was still being built. It has now been open to the public for a few weeks and we have pictures of the display furnished - which is good as it gives a betterunderstanding of what till actually fit in the rooms (they all look so bg when they're empty!!!)
The next step is signing the builders contract with Clarendon on the 15th of next month when we get back from Queensland. At this stage the build should start Oct / Nov and be finished before Easter next year. Then we'll need to have the tiles, carpets and other little extras that we've recently discovered aren't included (such as the toilet roll holders).
2 months down, another 10 to go!!! Long process but fingers crossed it will all pay off in the long run!
Mxoxo
2 comments:
I can't wait 10 months to see the splashback!
Do you think you'll do lighting similar with the shades over the kitchen bench?
Haha - it's been 7 already since we picked that splash back and I had to stop and seriously think about what we picked!! To think there's still another 5 months to go before you get to see it!!! Takes longer to build a house than to give birth! :)
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