This little email came as quite a surprise today...... a notice to pay an additional $2400 to Eden Brae within 5 days. I wasn't expecting it let alone 2 days before Christmas. Thankfully I had the money and was able to pay it.
The money was to pay the 5% deposit for all the extra things we added to the house.
Tuesday 23 December 2014
Saturday 13 December 2014
CDC approval
It has been a busy couple of weeks getting the plans to the CDC and making sure it is all planned exactly as we want it to be.
Our plans were lodged with the CDC on Wednesday 3rd and we received the approval on Friday 12th......and yay it has no difficult specifications.
Having never built lke this before I was unsure what changes they might have or want but thankfully for us, there is nothing that matters to us needing changing.
Now, a little more paperwork needs to be processed before the Christmas break and then final plans for signing in new year.
I have been really lucky because our Admin officer has kept me well informed along the way!
It's getting real!
Our plans were lodged with the CDC on Wednesday 3rd and we received the approval on Friday 12th......and yay it has no difficult specifications.
Having never built lke this before I was unsure what changes they might have or want but thankfully for us, there is nothing that matters to us needing changing.
Now, a little more paperwork needs to be processed before the Christmas break and then final plans for signing in new year.
I have been really lucky because our Admin officer has kept me well informed along the way!
It's getting real!
Tuesday 25 November 2014
After thoughts and Hiccup #2
A last minute change to my plans...... I think the round water tank will take up to much space in our not very big back yard so have decided to upgrade to slimline water tank for $1318. I just think it will look better.
Hiccup # 2 is that because we decided to tile to the ceiling in the two bathrooms, we now have to change our windows. We have to have pop out windows instead of sliding ones for some maintenance reason that I don't quite understand.
Also, because of the additional tiling we now have some additional costs that we were not expecting
Return visit by the plasterer to fit the bathroom cornices after the tiling is complete $384
Additional cleaning charge due to additional tiling $274
Awning windows $624
We will also have to pay a small additional fee as the plantation shutters price for this windows will be different
Not exactly thrilled given that none of these costs were mentioned when we asked about tiling to ceiling! Knowing it was going to cost me an extra $1000 may have impacted my decsion
Hiccup # 2 is that because we decided to tile to the ceiling in the two bathrooms, we now have to change our windows. We have to have pop out windows instead of sliding ones for some maintenance reason that I don't quite understand.
Also, because of the additional tiling we now have some additional costs that we were not expecting
Return visit by the plasterer to fit the bathroom cornices after the tiling is complete $384
Additional cleaning charge due to additional tiling $274
Awning windows $624
We will also have to pay a small additional fee as the plantation shutters price for this windows will be different
Not exactly thrilled given that none of these costs were mentioned when we asked about tiling to ceiling! Knowing it was going to cost me an extra $1000 may have impacted my decsion
Thursday 20 November 2014
Hiccup #1
So I knew it was all running too smoothly..... apparently the paver we have chosen ( because it was on the list we were given ) is not allowed in my estate. SO, because we were given the wrong information, Eden Brae are ofering us an upgrade to a coloured concrete driveway at no extra charge.
Gotta be happy with that as that is what we wanted in the first place but didn't want to pay extra for it.
Happy days and thank you Eden Brae. An onyx driveway will go nicely with out monument roof
Gotta be happy with that as that is what we wanted in the first place but didn't want to pay extra for it.
Happy days and thank you Eden Brae. An onyx driveway will go nicely with out monument roof
Tuesday 18 November 2014
Land Registration
So, it has been a long few months waiting for our land to register, but finally the day is here! It's very exciting that we can now start the serious stuff to get this house ready to build!
We have as much paperwork completed with Eden brae as we could so we are on track to start building in February 2015!
Our lovely almost flat land!
We have as much paperwork completed with Eden brae as we could so we are on track to start building in February 2015!
Wednesday 6 August 2014
Colour Selection Day 2 - Kitchen Culture and DiLorenzo Tiles
I had been waiting or this day and with Mum in hospital I had to make the decisions alone. I knew I wanted to make changes and upgrades and I knew it was going to be an expensive day!
Thankfully we had chosen the bulk of the colours before she needed to go in for surgery. I decided to ask for all the possible options I might want and work backwards if the budget didn't allow.
Kitchen Culture
This gave me the opportunity to discuss what I wanted in my new kitchen as well as take on board suggestions from the experts. Again, not many suggestions although they have an entire showroom of options. I was given the quote on the spot and I was pleased overall with how the appointment ran.
I chose to add
Di Lorenzo Tiles
This appointment ran well and thankfully I was dealing with a person whom I ha asked questions of several times in my research visits. This was a huge help as she knew what I wanted. The only frustrating part of this appointment is that the quote didn't arrive for maybe 10 days.
I decided to go with included tiles for floor, bathroom/ laundry walls and floor and only upgrade the feature tiles. We wanted plain white tiles so it seemed silly to pay when the basic option worked.
There was a reasonable choice of floor tiles and I loved the large square tiles on offer. I had swatches of my chosen paint colour as well so I could match and compare.
Our choices
the feature tile for the ensuite with the vanity and benchtop
The feature tile for the main bathroom with the vanity and benchtop
We also decided to add tiling in lieu of carpet to the rumpus, Rear hall and children's retreat as well as having the porch and alfresco tiled.
Total additional tiling $6269
Carpet was also chosen at this appointment and we went with a standard carpet and an upgraded underlay at $8 sqm
Thankfully we had chosen the bulk of the colours before she needed to go in for surgery. I decided to ask for all the possible options I might want and work backwards if the budget didn't allow.
Kitchen Culture
This gave me the opportunity to discuss what I wanted in my new kitchen as well as take on board suggestions from the experts. Again, not many suggestions although they have an entire showroom of options. I was given the quote on the spot and I was pleased overall with how the appointment ran.
I chose to add
- pot draws x 3 to the bench either side of my oven $1386
- overhead cupboards on either side of range hood. $1724.8
- bank of 4 drawers in island bench where they had allowed for microwave $340
- lift up cupboard above fridge space $530
- extend the width of my island bench 30cm to give me a breakfast bar size bench $871.20
- add a two door cupboard on hallway side of island $585.20
- soft close runners to drawers $340.00
- soft close buffers to doors $200
- bulkhead above cupboards $646.80
- upgrade stone bench colour to Torrone $261.80
- Gloss Formica upgrade o cupboards $1232
- organisational tray to cutlery drawer $73.92
- upgraded laminate in both bathrooms $880
- garbage bin under sink $255
- glass splashback in lieu of tiles $2818
Di Lorenzo Tiles
This appointment ran well and thankfully I was dealing with a person whom I ha asked questions of several times in my research visits. This was a huge help as she knew what I wanted. The only frustrating part of this appointment is that the quote didn't arrive for maybe 10 days.
I decided to go with included tiles for floor, bathroom/ laundry walls and floor and only upgrade the feature tiles. We wanted plain white tiles so it seemed silly to pay when the basic option worked.
There was a reasonable choice of floor tiles and I loved the large square tiles on offer. I had swatches of my chosen paint colour as well so I could match and compare.
Our choices
The feature tile for the main bathroom with the vanity and benchtop
We also decided to add tiling in lieu of carpet to the rumpus, Rear hall and children's retreat as well as having the porch and alfresco tiled.
Total additional tiling $6269
Carpet was also chosen at this appointment and we went with a standard carpet and an upgraded underlay at $8 sqm
Thursday 31 July 2014
Colour Selection Day 1 - Home Options Gallery
This was a big day...... a six hour appointment that covered the following. I had done a lot of research with multiple visits to the Home Options Gallery to look, touch, choose and ask questions. I was advised by many that until your appointment day there would be nobody to answer questions or give information but I didn't find this to be the case. I may have just been lucky by going on weekdays that people were happy to speak with me. They didn't however offer up any information with regard to prices of anything and I must admit to finding this frustrating. As with most people there is a budget to stick to and I was wanting to make sure I spent the money on what mattered to us. I also knew that I wanted to have as much of the additions I chose added in to the contract so that we could get the full amount from the bank, rathe than have to add extra items after completion as I know that when that time comes I will be poor. This of course means you pay a premium but I want this house as finished as possible when we move in.
Cooks Plumbing
This appointment included all tap fittings, toilets, baths, hand rails, oven, cooktop, range hood, microwave etc
The toilets were my Mum's only request for the new house as she does most of the cleaning and lets face it, who wants to get down and clean behind them if you don't have to.
Colour Consultant
This was lengthy and involved choices of lots of areas o the home including brick, mortar, gutter, fascia, flyscreens, security doors, garage door, downpipes, doors, entry frames, hinges, handles, locks, cornices, woodworks, moroka, paint colours, skirting, architraves, water tank
I had once again done lots of research with a visit to PGH bricks. We had a BAL 19 regulation on a small part of our home and 12.5 on the rest so flyscreens were mandatory on all windows and doors. We would have wanted them anyway.
My colour consultant was great and that helped a lot. Apparently me being organised also helped the process. I knew what I wanted and had a detailed list with the names, samples, colours and also the codes of the products I intended to choose.
This appointment had no huge shocks except with brick colour. The brick I wanted "mocha" was approved in an earlier land release in my estate but not mine and so in the en we went with "gravel". I didn't feel the need to spend extra money on bricks but was given no choise as Gravel was th only one I liked and it was $881 more
Our Choices
Brick - Gravel
Mortar - raked natural
Roof - Monument colorbond
Gutter- monument
Fascia - Surfmist
Windows and Stacker doors - surfmist
Moroka- surfmist
Eaves- surfmist
Downpipes- on moroka - surfmist, on bricks- monument
Front Door - Surmist
Garage Door- surfmist
Apologies for the crooked pic - we went with a classic round in Monument
This is our brick butted up again our chosen paver
Internal paint colour Winter Ice
Architraves , ceilings, skirtings - crisp white
This is the skirting we chose
The door handle for our front door
We chose the flatline garage door
We added
Abbey Blinds and Shutters
For the house I chose a variety of blinds and shutter. I am very aware we could get it cheaper after completion but I didn't think $7617 to do the entire house was too bad and they would be installed at completion or very shortly after as Abbey have access o measure well before any other company would.
We chose
Plantation shutters in white study, main bedroom, children's retreat, rumpus and both bathrooms
Sunscreen blinds in white - both sets of sliding doors to alfresco, formal living,
The blind on the left is the sunscreen chosen because we can see out during the day when they are down
Block out blinds in white to bedrooms 2,3 and 4.
Outback Landscaping
Here we chose our pavers for our driveway and also any additional paving or cement work. We added a small section next to our garage for our bins . Total cost $318
Electrical
I was well prepared for this knowing where I wanted my power points, what lights and fans and where I wanted them all. We chose a standard fan with light for the three bedrooms that we will use everyday, additional power points to most rooms, one under the island bench top in the kitchen as well as adding data USB points in most common areas and bedrooms.
My fathers main request was for fluorescent lights in the garage and we also added 5 additional television points in various places and both front and back outdoor lights and lighting to the alfresco and front porch.
We only added 3 down lights above the kitchen bench as they are $115 each and we don't yet know where we want them. A friend is a sparky and he will do those for me later.
$4281 was our total which I didn't think was too bad.
Air Conditioning
The air conditioning included in our $1 ducted air upgrade is expensive to run so we agreed to the more efficient $4234 upgrade. With power prices always on the ride it seemed a sensible idea as I know we won't want to feel unable to use our air con because of cost.
We chose three zones which we separated as
The day ran much to time and there was a break in the middle to grab something to eat which was much needed given that it was a brain overload kind of day. I shudder to think how people who haven't done any research cope.
I was surprised though that people didn't try to give me more alternatives or suggestions particularly with electrical. I love to shop and I like gadgets and nice things so if a suggestion of some great product was made I probably would have taken it. There was no mention of upgrading the alarm or any other optional extras and to be honest, I was a little disappointed. That said, I didn't feel like I was unable to have any option I wanted, it just came at a price.
Cooks Plumbing
This appointment included all tap fittings, toilets, baths, hand rails, oven, cooktop, range hood, microwave etc
- upgrading our appliance from Venini to Baumatic $620.00
- longer length bath in both bathrooms $670.00
- closed couplet toilets in both bathrooms $374.00 + $75 inst.
- double towel rail in main bathroom instead of single $25.50
- increasing the height of the shower head slightly no charge
Colour Consultant
This was lengthy and involved choices of lots of areas o the home including brick, mortar, gutter, fascia, flyscreens, security doors, garage door, downpipes, doors, entry frames, hinges, handles, locks, cornices, woodworks, moroka, paint colours, skirting, architraves, water tank
I had once again done lots of research with a visit to PGH bricks. We had a BAL 19 regulation on a small part of our home and 12.5 on the rest so flyscreens were mandatory on all windows and doors. We would have wanted them anyway.
My colour consultant was great and that helped a lot. Apparently me being organised also helped the process. I knew what I wanted and had a detailed list with the names, samples, colours and also the codes of the products I intended to choose.
This appointment had no huge shocks except with brick colour. The brick I wanted "mocha" was approved in an earlier land release in my estate but not mine and so in the en we went with "gravel". I didn't feel the need to spend extra money on bricks but was given no choise as Gravel was th only one I liked and it was $881 more
Our Choices
Brick - Gravel
Mortar - raked natural
Roof - Monument colorbond
Gutter- monument
Fascia - Surfmist
Windows and Stacker doors - surfmist
Moroka- surfmist
Eaves- surfmist
Downpipes- on moroka - surfmist, on bricks- monument
Front Door - Surmist
Garage Door- surfmist
Internal paint colour Winter Ice
Architraves , ceilings, skirtings - crisp white
We added
- dead bolt lock to internal garage door access $ 153
- door lock to main bathroom and toilet $ 66
- matching handle to pantry door as other doors $ 25
- clear mesh supascreen doors to meals, rumpus and from door $3677
- additional cold water tap to fridge space (for a water/ice fridge) $ 136
- melamine shelving to pantry instead of included wire racking $616
- sliding door instead of opening standard door to bedroom 2 wardrobe $417
Abbey Blinds and Shutters
For the house I chose a variety of blinds and shutter. I am very aware we could get it cheaper after completion but I didn't think $7617 to do the entire house was too bad and they would be installed at completion or very shortly after as Abbey have access o measure well before any other company would.
We chose
Plantation shutters in white study, main bedroom, children's retreat, rumpus and both bathrooms
Sunscreen blinds in white - both sets of sliding doors to alfresco, formal living,
Block out blinds in white to bedrooms 2,3 and 4.
Outback Landscaping
Here we chose our pavers for our driveway and also any additional paving or cement work. We added a small section next to our garage for our bins . Total cost $318
Electrical
I was well prepared for this knowing where I wanted my power points, what lights and fans and where I wanted them all. We chose a standard fan with light for the three bedrooms that we will use everyday, additional power points to most rooms, one under the island bench top in the kitchen as well as adding data USB points in most common areas and bedrooms.
My fathers main request was for fluorescent lights in the garage and we also added 5 additional television points in various places and both front and back outdoor lights and lighting to the alfresco and front porch.
We only added 3 down lights above the kitchen bench as they are $115 each and we don't yet know where we want them. A friend is a sparky and he will do those for me later.
$4281 was our total which I didn't think was too bad.
Air Conditioning
The air conditioning included in our $1 ducted air upgrade is expensive to run so we agreed to the more efficient $4234 upgrade. With power prices always on the ride it seemed a sensible idea as I know we won't want to feel unable to use our air con because of cost.
We chose three zones which we separated as
- main bedroom / ensuite / hall
- living areas
- bedrooms 2-4 and rear hall area and children's retreat
The day ran much to time and there was a break in the middle to grab something to eat which was much needed given that it was a brain overload kind of day. I shudder to think how people who haven't done any research cope.
I was surprised though that people didn't try to give me more alternatives or suggestions particularly with electrical. I love to shop and I like gadgets and nice things so if a suggestion of some great product was made I probably would have taken it. There was no mention of upgrading the alarm or any other optional extras and to be honest, I was a little disappointed. That said, I didn't feel like I was unable to have any option I wanted, it just came at a price.
Thursday 17 April 2014
Tender Presentation
So, time to get serious about our home plans. This was a lengthy 2 hour appointment and I must admit I left with a head full of "is that right" , "does that make sense" and feeling a little overwhelmed.
I love details but the details involved with this got my head spinning. This gave us the opportunity to ask questions, make changes and discuss what things we may want to change in our plans.
For us the changes were minor as we loved the house design just as it was.
We took a pile of papers home and then had seven days to accept the tender.
I love details but the details involved with this got my head spinning. This gave us the opportunity to ask questions, make changes and discuss what things we may want to change in our plans.
For us the changes were minor as we loved the house design just as it was.
- removed the mud room and changed the door from garage into hallway.
- utilised the mud room space to allow the wardrobe in bedroom 2 to have a walk in.
- added a door to the ensuite and removed the decorative nib
- removed the hob from both showers ( with my elderly parents we had to factor in safety)
We took a pile of papers home and then had seven days to accept the tender.
Saturday 29 March 2014
The chosen one!
What a week deciding which blocks we wanted in our top 8, whether our chosen house would fit, how big a block if we want and how much did we want to spend.
We were fortunate that our conveyancer was very familiar with our estate and offered much insight into what we needed to look for in a block. This was incredibly useful info because land plans are not my area of expertise. I also found out over the week through various conversations with people at land sales office what blocks were likely to be gone before we got to our #8 choice.
So after a week of chats with the bank and conveyancer, we nutted out our top 8!
Mum, Dad and I headed to our Saturday morning appointment filled with excitement and a little fear. Were we crazy for deciding on all of this in such a short time. Had we considered alternatives etc.
We were thrilled in the end to get our 3rd choice block........ 497m2 of land that was reasonably flat, on our first choice street across the road rom a waterway that would never be built on. Excited is an understatement.
This choice of block also meant we had chosen our house because being only 15m wide we could not go with the Coral Home we had in mind. An Eden Brae Hawthorne 31 it was. Due to special condition by the CDC we were able to fit a larger home on a smaller block as long as it was between 450-499 m2.
We signed some paperwork, received a goody bag from the estate and paid a deposit on the land.
Next we headed to Eden Brae and paid a deposit for our dream home. We were now locked in!
This is the outside of the display home
1564 - our little piece of heaven
This is as close as we can get to the land at the moment as it has yet to be subdivided.
We were fortunate that our conveyancer was very familiar with our estate and offered much insight into what we needed to look for in a block. This was incredibly useful info because land plans are not my area of expertise. I also found out over the week through various conversations with people at land sales office what blocks were likely to be gone before we got to our #8 choice.
So after a week of chats with the bank and conveyancer, we nutted out our top 8!
Mum, Dad and I headed to our Saturday morning appointment filled with excitement and a little fear. Were we crazy for deciding on all of this in such a short time. Had we considered alternatives etc.
We were thrilled in the end to get our 3rd choice block........ 497m2 of land that was reasonably flat, on our first choice street across the road rom a waterway that would never be built on. Excited is an understatement.
This choice of block also meant we had chosen our house because being only 15m wide we could not go with the Coral Home we had in mind. An Eden Brae Hawthorne 31 it was. Due to special condition by the CDC we were able to fit a larger home on a smaller block as long as it was between 450-499 m2.
We signed some paperwork, received a goody bag from the estate and paid a deposit on the land.
Next we headed to Eden Brae and paid a deposit for our dream home. We were now locked in!
Saturday 22 March 2014
Where it all began...
In March 2014 my parents and I made the big decision to sell our family home and upsize to a larger home. We have been living harmoniously now for several years but with my son almost 16 the need for more space was paramount.
Over one weekend Mum and I looked at some display homes and the decision was made to try and get some land and build. Now..... to get land, as it seemed every estate in our south western Sydney area seemed to have none and the display home people treated us very differently when it came to the question of "where is your land?" and we responded with "we don't have land yet". We were tossing up by the end of the weekend between building an Eden Brae Home or a Coral Home as they were the two that had designs that met our list of wants......
4 bedrooms
3 living areas
Open plan kitchen
Ducted Air
Main bedroom at front and remaining bedrooms at back
We found the estate we wanted and now it just came to the crunch of when there would be a land release and whether we would be lucky enough to get some. We registered with three local estates that all had land releases pending and waited. Mum and I had planned a weekend away and had dad on standby for what to do should a land release occur. Needless to say that filled me with panic because at almost 80 years of age, speed was not Dad's forte.
I must have had an inkling that a release was near ( I certainly had no actual idea) as on Friday night after work I slept with my hair in a ponytail and set the alarm to wake up earlier than I normally would on my day off.
7.54am I received a text message from our #1 choice of estates saying that the allocation of priority numbers would commence at 8am......... I leapt out of bed, threw on the nearest pair of shorts and a t-shirt and ran out the door...... no hair brushing or teeth cleaning, just a swift departure from home.
Thankfully for me our land release is only about 10kms from home so I knew I was in with a chance of securing a decent priority number. I walked into the sales office and was given lucky number 8! I was relieved and excited all in one! We now had 8th choice of he 47 blocks available to be selected in our first choice estate. We then looked in our details for our appointment the following Saturday and had a week to choose our top 8 blocks.
It felt like winning the lotto!
Over one weekend Mum and I looked at some display homes and the decision was made to try and get some land and build. Now..... to get land, as it seemed every estate in our south western Sydney area seemed to have none and the display home people treated us very differently when it came to the question of "where is your land?" and we responded with "we don't have land yet". We were tossing up by the end of the weekend between building an Eden Brae Home or a Coral Home as they were the two that had designs that met our list of wants......
4 bedrooms
3 living areas
Open plan kitchen
Ducted Air
Main bedroom at front and remaining bedrooms at back
We found the estate we wanted and now it just came to the crunch of when there would be a land release and whether we would be lucky enough to get some. We registered with three local estates that all had land releases pending and waited. Mum and I had planned a weekend away and had dad on standby for what to do should a land release occur. Needless to say that filled me with panic because at almost 80 years of age, speed was not Dad's forte.
I must have had an inkling that a release was near ( I certainly had no actual idea) as on Friday night after work I slept with my hair in a ponytail and set the alarm to wake up earlier than I normally would on my day off.
7.54am I received a text message from our #1 choice of estates saying that the allocation of priority numbers would commence at 8am......... I leapt out of bed, threw on the nearest pair of shorts and a t-shirt and ran out the door...... no hair brushing or teeth cleaning, just a swift departure from home.
Thankfully for me our land release is only about 10kms from home so I knew I was in with a chance of securing a decent priority number. I walked into the sales office and was given lucky number 8! I was relieved and excited all in one! We now had 8th choice of he 47 blocks available to be selected in our first choice estate. We then looked in our details for our appointment the following Saturday and had a week to choose our top 8 blocks.
It felt like winning the lotto!
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