The slow-march forward

We’re now fighting a war on three-fronts. Fairmont Homes have been lovely and very fast to deal with, but we’re not enthused by their design or inclusions. We’re currently debating whether or not to pursue changing the plans and tender. I know they are up for it, but the propect of starting at square one is a bit too much to bear right now. I’ve included their design below:

Cosmopolitan got back to us (a little slowly) and their prices are competitive (all-in we’re looking at $30k less than Rawson), their inclusions are good and we like their design (with some modifications). Here’s what we propose to change their Ecco 35 to:

Now to Rawson: We were less than impressed with our last meeting with them, and we haven’t heard back from them yet. Below are the changes we want to make to the design. There are some compromises and some upgrades:

 (If you think the amount of red is bad, you should see the electrical plan changes!!!)

The dilemma: The Illoura (with our modifications) is a wonderful house and we love it…but we’re not sure we can afford it (comfortably). The Cosmo home is also a great design (with changes) and we like it very much. Not as much as the Rawson home but it’s cheaper and probably a more suitable design for a young couple. Do we really need a formal dining room (Illoura)? Can we live without a study (Ecco)? What about having a separate W/C? We don’t need a walk-in pantry, but it’d be nice and beats having a really small corner pantry…Hmmmm. I think it will come down to how much Rawson will do our design for. If it’s reasonable, it’d be next to impossible for us to say no to…but I’m not holding my breath and the bottom-line can be very persuasive. 

And on the home-front, new carpet is getting laid next Friday and I have asked for a quote for epoxy-resin flooring for the wet-areas (not all the tiles have to get ripped up then) and Mick is organising a second quote on tiling. This Sunday will be packing day to try and make it easier for the carpet guys.

So where to now..? I think we need to wait and see what Rawson say then have a visit with Cosmopolitan and weigh it all up for good.

EDIT: I'm having trouble posting a comment back to you drewrenee so here it is:

Thanks so much. Not long after this post Fairmont got in touch with us and seem really keen to build us what we want. Their builder went past our block and apparently has some good ideas. It's nice to hear that they are good to deal with before and during the build. We are meeting wth them next Sunday to discuss exactly what we want and, as Mick put it just a few moments ago, "We like the Rawson plans but I don't know how much longer we can deal with them" (language slightly cleaned up). Rawson got back to us at about 4:30 Friday arvo after a 'hurry up' email from us, and it was a half-baked email that told us nothing new and would have taken 5mins to do. I also contacted Cosmopolitan (who seem to have a worse rep on the forums than Rawson) about arranging a meeting and have, so far, heard nothing. So, we're heartened by your words and hope Fairmont can be the go!

We'll have to continue sharing our progress :)