Settlement Looming

As of 5pm tomorrow Mick will officially own the land!!!!!!!!!

We'll be driving past this evening just to make sure nothing untoward has happened to the land since the last time we went past (i.e. that no one has dumped rubbish or a big pile of dirt etc on it).

Also, the colour selection folder from Rawson turned up (can't wait to have a squiz!) and Mick has nearly finalised the fiddly details mentioned before like extra ceiling height (which Mick is getting). Rawson thankfully have been very helpful today and it looks as though everything will be right to go to the draftsmen. Then when we get the first set of drawings, we will select the external colours (subject to where there is brick and render etc) and Mick will need to pay another large amount of money for council submission.

The last set of plans I mocked-up and had Mick email through are below:

We have a few windows to play with (this plan has three less than the original), and Mick is contemplating putting one in the back-left corner of the garage and I'm considering one extra in the study and formal lounge...those decisions can happen later when we ask for extra power points etc. At the moment we are considering the following little add-ins:

- 4 extra external light points
- 2 extra TV points
- Translucent windows for bathrooms (and garage if we have a window there)
- (knowing Mick) extra power points

Then of course, kitchen details are the most important of all!

In the meantime, Mick's living room is full of removalist boxes as we contemplate packing, and tomorrow I will start uploading things for sale on EBay.

Another big thanks to Mick's Dad who has helped with some last-minute fixes to Mick's unit as we continue the slow process of getting it ready for sale (and of course I need to mention Mick's mum and I who kept the men-folk fed and watered!). With a bit more handy-work and excess stuff moved out, Mick can put his unit on the market!

Out with the old and in with the new!

The Waiting Game

We are currently in the throws of a tug-o-war with Rawson about the small stuff. Little extras that add up quickly. Hopefully soon we will reach a compromise and will have proper specs to upload for you to view.  The wait for the colour options folder is still on as well. I'm just looking forward to decisions being made and building commencing. The sales office have told us our project manager is on-the-ball and great to deal with *fingers crossed*.

In the meantime, Mick and I are concentrating on the finer details like kitchen appliances: wall-ovens vs free-standing, electric cooktop vs gas...decisions, decisions!

SOLD!

We drove past the block yesterday and were very excited to see a big yellow sold sticker on the sign!

Our neighbours have also progressed a lot with their build, not a couple of weeks ago they only had a slab and now they have both stories framed and some windows!

Our own build process is coming along now, Mick signed the Tender and paid a fee to Rawson as well as signing some docs for the conveyancor. Luckily there's not much of an extra cost involved in the changes we've requested to the plans. Mostly the extras to the contract are just the addition of the cavity sliding door between the kitchen and stairs, the sliding door in the laundry (will save space and let more light in) and the corner pantry and extra kitchen cupboards. We've also asked for a larger front door, floor to ceiling tiling in the bathrooms and higher ceilings downstairs.

For the next step Rawson will send the interim plans to the draftsmen who will draw up final plans and Mick will be contacted next week to start the colour selection process (specifically for the external colours) so that final plans can be submitted to council. How exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also took a photo of the view accross the road to post (sorry for the car windshield in the way!):

This is the main reason we picked the house design and facade we did, and why we've asked for the upstairs lounge to be at the front.

Now we're off to pick up boxes to begin packing up Mick's unit, and then we're off to Bunnings to pick up some paint chips and price some bits and bobs. All part of the fun!

Cooled Off

Cooling off officially finished Wednesday at 5pm (Mick was the keeper of 'the countdown')!

Tomorrow Mick signs the Building Tender and pays a deposit which means we will get proper plans drafted and ready for council submission. We will also be seeing the Conveyancor to finalise some contractual obligations that were placed on the block as it is a "premium" block in the estate. Mick will also start the ball rolling on selling his unit.

After all that, we will drive by the block and gaze lovingly at it for a while...well, I will!

The story so far...

The story so far is that Mick has purchased land (due to settle within next two weeks) and will accept the Builder's tender this Saturday. It's been a bit of a process as the land is considered a "premium" block and therefore is subject to strange contractual inclusions, but for now they're sorted...so, onto important things:

Realestate.com Link

Link to the house we want to build   (Metro Facade with MK II floor plan)

Our proposed plans:

(Like my SnagIT work on this design? I have noticed one error though...I need to put a pic of a motorbike where the second car is placed in the garage...hmmm...will have to rectify!)

It should be noted that the main changes we've made are to the kitchen (thanks to Mick's Dad for some gems of wisdom there), opening up the informal living space by moving the alfresco area, and swapping the upstairs lounge with Bed 2. We've made the swap upstairs because the land looks onto a golf course and we want to maximise the views for the living space. We've also asked for a recessed, sliding door between the kitchen and stairs to allow the front and rear of the house to be divided (especially great when one person is watching something loudly in one area and the other person doesn't want to be disturbed...and have to move upstairs!)

Rawson have been great so far, really helping us out (not just with the plans but with getting a survey done quickly with little notice, giving us info about the area etc etc). They've mocked up a rough scaled drawing of how the house will fit on the block (can't seem to attach that at this point in time) and it's perfect. Especially good to hear seeing as we originally wanted to build their single-story house design (Pembroke) but can't due to size restrictions of the land. We've fallen in love with this house though and can't wait for the build to begin. Between now and then however, Mick needs to pack up and sell his unit...fun <insert sarcasm here>!

Ash.