Nikkis2000 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 I'm part excited, part stressed about pre-start at the mo. We know roughly what changes and upgrades we want but are both agonising over kitchen and bathroom cabinet colours! It's really hard to visualise when you don't even have a drawing to go off. I'm hoping once we see the working drawings that some inspiration will hit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Lol. I know what you mean. Even now, my wife often pulls all the samples out and start pondering if we have chosen right. We were unlucky as our full drawings didn't arrive before pre start (we dint know they were supposed to) so had to do it all blind. Dulux have a thing on their web site for paints that allows you to put any color in a virtual room. Which reminds me of another tip. Will post it separate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 A tip for renders. Check with your builder if the render is mixed with the paint or if it is painted on later. If the later, then be aware that according to dulux, the result will be a shade or two darker. Not an issue for some colours but is for some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 Shale grey comes out lighter than the colourbond when painted on ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give me a break! Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 We are looking to build again but this time as an investment property. Going to have a good look around when OH is on his R&R. Not sure where yet. Was wondering if anyone else has done it. We were hoping to get a really good deal like the one we got with our current house 3 years ago but alas the same package in the same suburb is $120,000 more now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 We're not looking at investment building ourselves but from what I've gleaned you can still get a good deal, but you might need to shift your search areas. There are opportunities if you go quite far north, Banksia Grove and Alkimos etc. It might seem a bit far right now but there is loads of development round there and once the freeway and trainline get up there I imagine it will be very popular. I don't know SOR quite as well but you hear about Piara waters a lot. Not sure you'll ever get the prices of 3 yrs ago but Id say go for the suburbs in development rather than those already almost finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give me a break! Posted August 22, 2014 Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 We're not looking at investment building ourselves but from what I've gleaned you can still get a good deal, but you might need to shift your search areas. There are opportunities if you go quite far north, Banksia Grove and Alkimos etc. It might seem a bit far right now but there is loads of development round there and once the freeway and trainline get up there I imagine it will be very popular.I don't know SOR quite as well but you hear about Piara waters a lot. Not sure you'll ever get the prices of 3 yrs ago but Id say go for the suburbs in development rather than those already almost finished. Thanks for the tip. We don't mind looking further a field as we arent going to live in it but it obviously needs to be desirable for renters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted August 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 Pre start is booked for 24th sept!!!! You're right VS - the cycle of wait/excitement/wait is very like the visa process!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 That is great Nikki. Have you made all your choices? The elctricals are the tricky one as deciding where everything will go is not easy. We took a copy of our plans and then used a colour code system to draw on where we wanted everything. It is a good idea to get as many as possible in conduits so that you can make changes later without too much hassle. Remember to look and check if you need a conduit under the drive for reticulation. Most do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 27, 2014 Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 My guess is you will have slab down about mid January - Redink seem from watching builds around here, take about the same time as ours and we had just over 3 months between pre start and slab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted August 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2014 We're getting there on the choices front. We haven't seen any drawings yet so hopefully will be able to finalise some stuff when we get them next week. I do like the colour coding idea! I was able to book pre-start already because we want to go away at the end of Sept. We knew it would likely clash with pre-start so we asked if we could book now to avoid delaying anything. They were very accommodating!! Pre start itself isn't any earlier but it means we can on with booking stuff. On the slab front I was working to that sort of timeframe too. There's an outside chance it could be earlier if the shire approve fairly quickly but I think that the Xmas shutdown will eradicate any gains made there!! So I'm telling myself mid Jan then anything earlier is a bonus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 It the scheduling and purchasing that takes the time. We had our shire approval in 4 days. But scheduling took an age. At least you won't have the weather problems of building then. We were hoping brick work would be complete today, but they need a crane to lift the last steel work on - the back of the house has a single steel beam running the length of the house. They can't lift in high winds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted September 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 Ok so we recieved our contracts today, which I was very excited about but one thing has concerned me a bit. I may be about to ask the stupidest question ever but it's stressing me out a bit already, so here goes. When we signed our PCQ we were given a price and nowhere that we signed did it state the price was exc GST, or a value of GST given. Now we've received our contract the price they are quoting (which is also somehow different to PCQ) states its exc GST and the GST is obviously quite substansial and has come as a bit of a shock. Am I just being incredibly naive or should the PCQ have stated inc/exc GST and why is the price different on the contract (I'm not including any of the site costs, just the basic houseprice.) Help! I'm panicking!! Also they have quoted 45 days from signing to commence works. Oh and 350 working days to complete - which I will be querying!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beandownunder Posted September 2, 2014 Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 sounds quite stressful Nikki, good luck xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted September 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 Thanks Bean. It's almost as stressful as the visa process!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annjean Posted September 2, 2014 Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 They usually give themselves plenty of time in the build time as they are subject to weather conditions and other unforeseeable problems, so they don't want to underestimate how long or they are liable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted September 2, 2014 Report Share Posted September 2, 2014 Nikki, that sounds bad. Though I have heard of builders increasing the prices along the way. All you can do is query the price with them. 45 days to commence from signing is probably about right. It may happen earlier, but probably not. Our plans were submitted to the shire on the 18/3/14. The slab was poured on 23/6/14. The 350 days is also within what I would expect. We are anticipating hand over in March, but the builder will allow longer than it is likely to be completed in. Don't forget, all trades stop work for nearly a month over Christmas. Then during summer a lot don't work if the temp is 35 or higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted September 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2014 . Don't forget, all trades stop work for nearly a month over Christmas. Then during summer a lot don't work if the temp is 35 or higher. Sheesh - part timers !! I'm going to ring RI this morning and query it. I think what may have happened is that the PCQ price is inc of GST but then they've added it again accidentally on the contract. At least I hope that's the case otherwise we need to find rather a lot of money from somewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs&MrW Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 I have a couple of questions regarding building: 1. What is best? Buy land first and then build or buy Land+House Package? 2. How much extra do you tend to invest on top of basic plan? Extra light fixtures, flooring, technology, etc. We love the look of the new builds but we know that there's a lot of extras in the pictured when they advestise, so we were wondering if they are as goos as they look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted September 15, 2014 Report Share Posted September 15, 2014 I have a couple of questions regarding building: 1. What is best? Buy land first and then build or buy Land+House Package? 2. How much extra do you tend to invest on top of basic plan? Extra light fixtures, flooring, technology, etc. We love the look of the new builds but we know that there's a lot of extras in the pictured when they advestise, so we were wondering if they are as goos as they look? We figured out that if you can buy the block & sign a building contract as quickly as possible you get a preferential mortgage interest rate & you get a discount on the stamp duty on the land, but you need to tell your bank what you are doing and you need to get a mortgage approved for the whole amount initially. we made our own package, a lot of builders will do a package for you. As for spending more than the plan, we made a couple of changes before we signed with the builder which amounted to a $3k, then we did what they call pre-start, this is where you make all your personal selections on fittings doors, kitchen cabinets etc, if you choose the builders standard range it doesn't cost anything, when you drift away from it, it starts to cost, we got carried away just out of curiosity when we got the costing it was $36k, then on top of that the smart wiring came to 12k. We couldnt afford any where near this , we managed to cut the pre-start down to $10k & new went with just the basic smart wiring package at $3k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted September 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2014 (edited) A lot of the house and land packages tend to be on the new developments so you will have a choice of blocks to choose from. If you find a block you like on a more established development you may end up buying from a real estate agent who wouldn't get involved with the building side. Also its worth bearing in mind that a house and land package doesn't make the building process any quicker. Most of the packages will be advertised on new developments and whether you can build straight away or not depends on if the land has been titled (registered). If it hasn't then you can't start building until the Titles are received. This is done by the builder I think and I have heard stories of people waiting an awfully long time to get their titles. With regard to what you spend on top of the basic house price really depends on what your standard spec is like. The first builder we went to had a very low spec so we would have spent a fortune on the most basic of upgrades (China toilet cistern instead of Acrylic etc). The builder we went with had a much better spec and had a really good offer on at the time we signed so most of our kitchen was upgraded. Having said that we are still planning on spending a small fortune at pre-start but they are going to be the really nice touches we couldn't have afforded otherwise! Electrics I'm planning around $5k bu we are going to just get conduits and do our own smart wiring. Things like flooring & painting is usually something you complete after the builders have finished as it can work out cheaper a lot of the time (unless you manage to get a super package from your builder of course!) Edited September 16, 2014 by Nikkis2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 We have a roof! We are having a colourbond roof and it took about 4 days to do the wood work and less than a day to do the colourbond. The base electrics and water / gas pipes are in and the next stage will be plastering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 We have a roof! We are having a colourbond roof and it took about 4 days to do the wood work and less than a day to do the colourbond. The base electrics and water / gas pipes are in and the next stage will be plastering. Lucky you, w e still waiting fir brickies, this is the 8th week, builder seriously taking the p1ss, not happy:mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenPen Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Yay! Good progress x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted October 1, 2014 Report Share Posted October 1, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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