Waiting for the land to register is a whole lot of waiting.
Waiting for the plans to come back from council is a whole lot a waiting.
The waiting isn't an issue, I realise these things can take time as they follow the relevant course. It's just frustrating when you are trying to plan and have some kind of timeframe in order but no one can offer an answer. Still, having this time meant that we could really sit down and go through everything so that we were as prepared as possible for things to move quickly when they could.
April 1st, no joke, was when we heard the land had been registered and Beechwood could actually submit the plans to council. Mandy, in the Chisholm office, was helpful during this time and showed a genuine pleasure for us when everything came back from the certifiers clear. She booked us in for our colour selection at the earliest opportunity and we had a few last minute things to nut out.
We thought we were almost fully prepared for the Colour Selection but there were a couple of items we really had to think about... our budget was at the forefront of every decision. We meet with Jeannie on the day, and she was to take us through everything for the final selection. The bricks, tiles, colorbond colours and layouts were all an easy point to sort. We found Austral at Beresfield very helpful and courteous with their time and they made this part of the process quick and efficient.
There were a few points that we left the Colours appointment feeling disappointed with. Most notably was the cost in the sarking. We had been advised by many people to pay the extra and have sarking installed under the roof tiles to assist with keeping heat and rain out. We had this added in our first tender and thought $1900 was a high price but probably worth it in the long run. In the colours appointment Jeannie advised us that all through our variation no one had picked up the fact we needed to have ducted vents installed to assist with the airflow out of the house, and a casual $490 had to be added to tender.... not a great start. This item had been through as few as 5 people and possibly as many as 10 before it was raised with us!
Without boring everyone too much with negatives i will quickly list a few points to note for your consideration:
I Upgrading your front door. Expect to pay an upgrade for anything other than plain glass. Expect to pay and upgrade for anything other than a simple deadbolt knob. Buying an upgraded door means that you buy just that, nothing extra.
II Don't feel that you have to choose paint from the standard list. You can upgrade to any paint within Taubmans' range for $135... to do the whole house! Bargain?? :)
III Know where you want your outside taps. Don't waste 20 mins of the day trying to work it out. Remember of the 2 outside taps, only 1 runs off the water tank.
IV Don't assume that the Beechwood office staff have added your tender to the system correctly. Jeannie almost brushed over the fact that we had a 900mm oven paired with a 600mm electric cook top according to her software. Once we established the cooktop was in error, and had been reverted back to the 900mm gas cooktop, we picked our hearts up off the floor and continued on...!
V BE PREPARED! Our advice would be to take the final tender with you and go through each point one by one so that you have piece of mind that each item has been addressed how you planned. Window openings, mixer positions, power points, lights etc.
Over the following 24hrs there were quite a few occasions we turned to each other and said... 'oh hang on, we didn't mention...' Still, 3am emails to Beechwood kind of fixed this!
You're only a first time builder once, next time we will know better :)
Tuesday, 24 May 2016
Tuesday, 15 March 2016
Just a little update as things seem to be very quiet in the world of Beechwood.
On Friday 4th March I went in to the Beechwood sales office and met with Ashleigh again. Mandy had provided us with the plans and advised us to make any changes necessary and return them. We looked at a few minor cosmetic changes, nothing structural but it was then that Ashleigh informed me that the we could do this at colour selection. So it seemed a week wasted when all we had to do was sign off on the buildings' overall plan/footprint. Those changes that we made were then added and sent off to the drafting team.
Its now been almost 2 weeks and we have heard nothing back. 1 week wasted has now become 3 weeks wasted.
Still, on the plus side of that, the land hasn't been registered so there is technically nowhere to build yet... plus we snuck in through an open gate and had a good inspection of the block!
On Friday 4th March I went in to the Beechwood sales office and met with Ashleigh again. Mandy had provided us with the plans and advised us to make any changes necessary and return them. We looked at a few minor cosmetic changes, nothing structural but it was then that Ashleigh informed me that the we could do this at colour selection. So it seemed a week wasted when all we had to do was sign off on the buildings' overall plan/footprint. Those changes that we made were then added and sent off to the drafting team.
Its now been almost 2 weeks and we have heard nothing back. 1 week wasted has now become 3 weeks wasted.
Still, on the plus side of that, the land hasn't been registered so there is technically nowhere to build yet... plus we snuck in through an open gate and had a good inspection of the block!
Tuesday, 1 March 2016
Timeline
21.11.2015 Tender 1 received
11.12.2015 Variations submitted
15.12.2015 Tender 2 received
16.12.2015 Paid deposit on land
17.12.2015 Received Beechwood contract
17.12.2015 Paid deposit on build
18.12.2015 Sign contract
20.02.2016 Received 1st draft of plans
28.02.2016 Received 2nd draft of plans after variations
30.03.2016 Land registered through council
16.05.2015 Plan approval from council and engineers
23.05.2016 Colour Selection
24.05.2016 Variation 3 received after colours
27.05.2016 Tile section finalised and ordered
11.12.2015 Variations submitted
15.12.2015 Tender 2 received
16.12.2015 Paid deposit on land
17.12.2015 Received Beechwood contract
17.12.2015 Paid deposit on build
18.12.2015 Sign contract
20.02.2016 Received 1st draft of plans
28.02.2016 Received 2nd draft of plans after variations
30.03.2016 Land registered through council
16.05.2015 Plan approval from council and engineers
23.05.2016 Colour Selection
24.05.2016 Variation 3 received after colours
27.05.2016 Tile section finalised and ordered
Monday, 29 February 2016
Going to Tender
With the Beechwood decision made, we set about how we could make the house our home. During the consultation process we met on numerous occasions with Ashleigh at the Beechwood sales office in Waterford County. Ash always made time available for us, either on the phone or in person. We had a few curly questions and requests that weren't immediatley able to be answered, however within a day or two Ash had all the info we needed.
The tender process through up a few curveballs, having not built before we weren't quite aware that BASIX requirements weren't going to be charged the same across all builders. What Beechwood quoted for certain services other builders charged a lot less or even not at all, and other items weren't even listed as a charge... this was strange at times. When this was questioned it was as if it was 'take it or leave it, its the way it is.' This attitude was a little stand-offish but we were assured that these prices were a fixed charge on the house we chose and there was no room to move unless we wanted to do it ourselves (that, by the way, wasn't a viable option!)
We had the standard range of inclusions, giving us finished floors throughout, basic kitchen finishes and an alarm system. From there we decided to pick and chose the 'upgrade' inclusions from the Genesis range. Once again, Ash was very helpful at this stage and allowed us time to chop and change, add and remove, and generally procrastinate! For us the 900mm oven, the kitchen pot drawers and the double ensuite vanity were a given.
We ended up settling on the 3rd tender. We thought this was a pretty good effort but with nothing to compare it too - who knows! I'm sure we would have been told if we were being more difficult than most! As we went along we knocked a few 'non essentials' off the list, such as the concrete slab for the outdoor area and added a few 'must have essentials' such as a 1200mm front door(??). Yes, James is writing this! We added a few future-proof items such TV aerial points to each room as you get only 1 included and multiple double power points as you only get 1 per room. Just little things but things that we know we will end up paying for in the end, so we may as well add them upfront. During this time we started visiting the tile showroom, carpet supplier and the brick and roof tile companies so that we were a step ahead when it came to colours and how we want the house to feel.
Going through this process in the final throws of 2015 we were hopeful of having our contract signed to enable us to qualify for the $15k home builder grant. Beechwood advised that we could sign our Consent to Build Contract prior to our final design being put together. This meant two things: 1, we would be $5,000 better off than if we waited a few weeks, and 2, we would be signing a contract with a builder without having a firm final price and what it would cost us. What's the worst that can happen we thought!!
The tender process through up a few curveballs, having not built before we weren't quite aware that BASIX requirements weren't going to be charged the same across all builders. What Beechwood quoted for certain services other builders charged a lot less or even not at all, and other items weren't even listed as a charge... this was strange at times. When this was questioned it was as if it was 'take it or leave it, its the way it is.' This attitude was a little stand-offish but we were assured that these prices were a fixed charge on the house we chose and there was no room to move unless we wanted to do it ourselves (that, by the way, wasn't a viable option!)
We had the standard range of inclusions, giving us finished floors throughout, basic kitchen finishes and an alarm system. From there we decided to pick and chose the 'upgrade' inclusions from the Genesis range. Once again, Ash was very helpful at this stage and allowed us time to chop and change, add and remove, and generally procrastinate! For us the 900mm oven, the kitchen pot drawers and the double ensuite vanity were a given.
We ended up settling on the 3rd tender. We thought this was a pretty good effort but with nothing to compare it too - who knows! I'm sure we would have been told if we were being more difficult than most! As we went along we knocked a few 'non essentials' off the list, such as the concrete slab for the outdoor area and added a few 'must have essentials' such as a 1200mm front door(??). Yes, James is writing this! We added a few future-proof items such TV aerial points to each room as you get only 1 included and multiple double power points as you only get 1 per room. Just little things but things that we know we will end up paying for in the end, so we may as well add them upfront. During this time we started visiting the tile showroom, carpet supplier and the brick and roof tile companies so that we were a step ahead when it came to colours and how we want the house to feel.
Going through this process in the final throws of 2015 we were hopeful of having our contract signed to enable us to qualify for the $15k home builder grant. Beechwood advised that we could sign our Consent to Build Contract prior to our final design being put together. This meant two things: 1, we would be $5,000 better off than if we waited a few weeks, and 2, we would be signing a contract with a builder without having a firm final price and what it would cost us. What's the worst that can happen we thought!!
Sunday, 28 February 2016
Setting the Scene
Welcome to our little corner of the internet.
Alyce and I (James) are heading into the daunting world of building! We are about 3 months in to the process and will spend a little bit of time explaining what we have been through so far by way of catching you up on the story.
We have been looking at the 'second-hand' property market on and off for the past 18 months or so and have not been inspired by too much. Alyce has always entertained the idea of building and because of that her view of the houses available was very much tainted. I have always been of the opinion that why build a new house when there are plenty already there to choose from. Well, you know who won that one.
Living and renting in Newcastle we knew that we couldn't afford what we wanted so the logical step was to look back in Maitland, where Alyce grew up. We visited a new estate that had quietly popped up in Chisholm that named it's self Harvest. Quite cute I thought. After much procrastination Alyce finally managed to drag me along and meet with Deb, the sales manager. Of course, she was very professional and quite the salesperson. One thing led to another, more open homes that failed to meet expectations and we were very close to committing to a deposit on some dirt.
During this time we travelled to Sydney, got quite involved with a few builders and seeing what they could offer us as we are on a fairly tight budget. It was back up in the Hunter that we meet with Beechwood Homes and decided on a house style that suited our block, our living needs and most importantly - the bank manager.
The Beechwood Verdhelo 4 Twist was going to be our home :)
Alyce and I (James) are heading into the daunting world of building! We are about 3 months in to the process and will spend a little bit of time explaining what we have been through so far by way of catching you up on the story.
We have been looking at the 'second-hand' property market on and off for the past 18 months or so and have not been inspired by too much. Alyce has always entertained the idea of building and because of that her view of the houses available was very much tainted. I have always been of the opinion that why build a new house when there are plenty already there to choose from. Well, you know who won that one.
Living and renting in Newcastle we knew that we couldn't afford what we wanted so the logical step was to look back in Maitland, where Alyce grew up. We visited a new estate that had quietly popped up in Chisholm that named it's self Harvest. Quite cute I thought. After much procrastination Alyce finally managed to drag me along and meet with Deb, the sales manager. Of course, she was very professional and quite the salesperson. One thing led to another, more open homes that failed to meet expectations and we were very close to committing to a deposit on some dirt.
During this time we travelled to Sydney, got quite involved with a few builders and seeing what they could offer us as we are on a fairly tight budget. It was back up in the Hunter that we meet with Beechwood Homes and decided on a house style that suited our block, our living needs and most importantly - the bank manager.
The Beechwood Verdhelo 4 Twist was going to be our home :)
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