The Right Decision

Do you want to know what were originally looking at?

Mossvale on Manly (Mirvac) http://mossvale.mirvac.com.au/

I had found a 5 year old home that was up for sale in the Mossvale on Manly estate – we went to have a look at it…. It was obviously a ex-rental and needed a massive amount of work inside and out to get it up to scratch.

What struck me as weird was the price they wanted for it – High 5’s even into the 6’s (tell them they are dreaming)!

We left that house dumb founded and went to have a look at the new stages display homes.

We could get a house and land for nearly the same price as the run down rental in the earlier stage.



We loved The 1209 house which was designed for contemporary indoor/outdoor living and entertaining.

http://assets2.mirvacdevelopment.com.au/assets/mydQZkLuxLEOcj2/1209.pdf

With Mirvac houses you can only build on Mirvac Land and we wern't 100% sold on the location.

That is what lead us to Plantation Homes. We like the style, finish and transparency pricing and it didn't matter where the land was located.


I think in the end we made the right choice and we are overall very happy with Plantatin and the process thus far.

Hand Over Date

We have received confirmation that our hand over date is going to be Wednesday, 3 November 2010.

This is the fixed term date between our builder and Brett and I, if they go over this date then they have to pay us $300.00 per week.

At the rate that things are going to don’t believe this is going to be a issue.

We were also advised that once the kitchen cabinetry goes in they will be able to give us a better idea of the date (meaning sooner)!

At this stage we are very happy with how things are going!

Everybody Needs Good Neighbours

Today we met the new neighbours that have purchased the block to the right of ours!

They are actually H1ers and introduced themselves last week via private message – talk about technology! It’s pretty cool to chat to your neighbours via a forum site and discuss fences, retaining and plans!

We met them today onsite to sign off on council documents and meet face to face.

We are lucky that both next door neighbours of ours have been great to deal with and our adjacent neighbour is also fantastic.

We are looking forward to have some great street parties down the track!

Knock on Wood

Brett and I decided to go with the Urbanstyle PURB4 Corinthian Door http://www.doors.com.au/Product/Show_144.aspx for the house entry.

I just have a thing about glass panels – they look fab but they aren’t for me – so solid it is (and then we can add a peep hole)!

As we are using Colourbond Monument (black) for all of our features and accents of the house we want to have a high gloss black front door!

The strange thing is…. we had to sign a waiver in case something happens to the door because its being painted in a dark colour – fine by us our porch is almost as big as a room so we doubt any sun light is going to damage it!

Boggling Backyard

Now that we have a clearer picture of how the house and how much room we have in the backyard the mind boggles!

The width of the backyard is approx 5 metres and the length is about 20 metres.

The Alfresco area and the Master Bedroom have access to the backyard.

The issue that we are now starting to see is that due to the sewer line running along the back of the fence and the height of the slab we are really not 100% sure what to do.....

We are certainly open to ANY SUGGESTIONS out there regarding what to do in the backyard.

We want to have a rendered feature wall across from the Alfresco Area and we are also going to have a BBQ structure off the left side of the feature wall.

Day 6: Site Set Out

Well today is the day the site is set out!

I just hope the weather can hold out until tonight!

Friday the drainage should be put in as well – so fingers crossed we stay on track!

Forecast for Wednesday
Cloudy but mostly fine. A little rain at times, mainly during the afternoon and evening. Light to moderate W to SW winds.
Precis: Cloudy, mostly fine
City: Max 19
Bayside: Max 19
UV Alert: 10:40 am to 1:00 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 3 [Moderate]

Thursday A few showers, mainly afternoon and evening. Min 12 Max 20

Friday A shower or two. Min 12 Max 21

Saturday Mostly fine, brief shower or two. Min 12 Max 22
Sunday Mostly fine, brief morning shower. Min 12 Max 22
Monday Mostly fine, chance of a morning shower. Min 11 Max 22
Tuesday Fine. Min 11 Max 23

Day 2: Love the Mud

We went to have a closer look at the block!

Well its certainly flat and due to the rain was a bit muddy!

We may require retaining in some areas, however due to us having “E” class soil our slab will be approx be 47cm (higher than a normal slab) so by the time we put soil in to fill it up we may not need to.

It’s a bit a waiting game to see what our neighbours do as well. So we shall just wait and see!

Day 1: The Block is Cut!

Well we never thought this day would actually come!

The Block has been cut and filled – whoo hoo!

Looks like we have movement at the station!

7 July – Site Set Out

9 July - Drainage

14 July – Slab

Cutting the Block Tomorrow

I just got off the phone from our Site Supervisor (SS) and the good news is we are going to be cutting the block tomorrow!

Talk about happening fast… since February we have been waiting for this to happen and it seemed to take forever and then a simple as that tomorrow is D day!

Look forward to seeing it on Saturday (pics to come)

Floor Plan

Here is our Q2 Retreat by Plantation Homes

Procedures - Plantation Homes

As this building game is a new kettle of fish for us – I am sure all of our “newbie build watching friends and family” it must sound like a nightmare (oh the stories)!

We thought we would shed some light on the process... we have completed Stage 1-4. Stage 5 is almost complete all we are waiting on is - Order materials required for construction & Allocate your job to a building supervisor.

These are Plantation Home's procedures of purchase...

Stage 1. The Owners are required to:
- Supply a list of requested variations, including facade choice.
- Supply details of finance provider.
- Supply a proposed site plan - a diagram of where you want your house sited on your block (this is prepared during discussions with your sales consultant).

Stage 2. The Owners and Builder are required to:
- The Cosham Interiors colour selection appointment is booked and completed. Weekend appointments are offered, subject to availability.
- Complete the Preliminary Tender for presentation at the relevant Office. This Tender includes facade details, catalogue options, colour selection items, estate requirements and electrical changes.

Stage 3. Land Title now released:
The Builder is required to:
- Order soils report, site survey, Council and other information.
The Owners and Builder are required to:
- Presentation of final Tender at the relevant office, on a weekday, including facade, catalogue options, colour selection items, estate requirements, electrical changes, site costs, and items resulting from receipt of Council or other information.
- A deposit of $2500 is required at this point to prepare contract drawings and progress to Building Contract stage.
A Builder is required to:
- Apply to land developer for assessment of plans and/or colours (where applicable)

Stage 4. The Owners are required to:
- Sign the building contract.
- Pay balance of the deposit on contract signing.
- Supply proof of ownership of land. Land ownership and finance approval must be supplied before construction will start.
- Supply a finance letter of offer.

Stage 5. The Builder is required to
- Apply for the building permit.
- Complete a check of the file.
- Prepare final drawings.
- Order materials required for construction.
- Issue final drawings for confirmation by owners.
- Allocate your job to a building supervisor.
The Owners are required to:
- Provide written confirmation from the finance provider that funds are ready to be released for construction.

Torville Heights Estate

Well here is our block of dirt!



Torville Heights Underwood is an exciting new limited land release on the south side of Brisbane offering exclusive family size blocks of land.

Torville Heights, Underwood is roughly 18kms south of Brisbane’s CBD. With close connections to the M1, Gateway and Ipswich Motorway you will have easy access to Brisbane City, the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast. Torville Heights offers you the opportunity to enjoy the peace of a natural environment for young families and relaxing afternoons while watching the sunset over the suburban views.

Lighting Plan

Here is our final lighting plan.

Council Approval!

We are starting to get somewhere – our Logan City Council approval has come in!

We have about 3 weeks of “pre-production” and then we are onsite (where the count down begins)!

Stay tuned!

Jazz and Brett

We Did It Yeah We Did It!

We have made the decision to sell our townhouse and build our dream home.

We decided to build as we both have very set ideas on what type of house we want to live.

After looking around, we found that we couldn’t find exactly what we were after.... so building is the option we have gone for.

It’s funny how when you tell people that you are going to build everyone feels compelled to tell you horror stories!

Stay tuned for the trials, tribulations, the story behind the story, tips, where we are at and who we are using!

Cheers

Jazz and Brett