One step forward, two steps back!

June 29, 2007 - Time for an update. After a lot of wandering around through display homes, we have decided on the home we want to build (again!).

Believe it or not, it's another Porter Davis! I can hear everyone shouting "What? Why would you want to go down that path again?"

The answer is simple. They have the house we want. They have also proved themselves to be very professional through the saga of the Hamilton 34. Let me explain:

1. PD decided to take the hard decision, and tell us that they wanted tree root barriers. They could have just gone ahead with the initial quote - and we would have been none the wiser. The crunch may have come a few years down the track if our house was affected by tree roots.

2. PD realised that they held some of the blame for not letting us know earlier. They refunded our deposit in full as an act of good faith - even though there was no requirements for them (contracturally) to do so. I should stress that our circumstances were unique - there's no precendent here for anyone else to claim a full refund.

So - what's different this time?

If you go back and have a look at the layout of the Hamilton on our block, you'll see that it's a tight fit. We are close to trees near the front (which are the biggest problem), and close to the large shed at the back.

We decided to look at double storey places - a smaller footprint means that the trees are less of a problem, as we are further away from them, and we will also have some room between the house and the shed.

If you have been reading previous posts, you will know that we liked the Dennis Homes Riverton 350. The problem with the Riverton was that by the time we added a few things we wanted, it was going to be way too expensive. Example - a facade with a balcony is an extra $11,500!

One Step Forward

The home we would like to build is the largest in the Porter Davis Lifestyle range. To be honest, we had discounted these homes in the past, because the first home we walked into was the Hamilton 34. A look at this home made the decision easy. The price is good ($232,000 for the base house, incuding a facade with a balcony). There are some tasty extras available in the current promotion, and PD still have a pretty good name out there on the forums.

Two Steps Back

The problem we have is with our land. You may recall that we signed up at the start of the year for a 1100 sqm block which is being subdivided at the back of an existing house. We were happy with the agreed price.

The problem is that (up to now) nothing has happened! I've been to see the owners a few times, and it seems that the subdivision is tied up in permits and approvals. The permit for the subdivision was granted by the council before we signed the contract - the issue (apparently) is that existing services to the house need to be disconnected from the front, and re-routed through the new subdivision at the back.

This means permits, paperwork and headaches from gas, electricity and water companies.

We decided that we didn't want to wait forever, so started looking at other blocks in the area. There's not much land available in the area which will suit - we found one block which could fit the house and a large shed I want to build, only to find out that there is a 3 metre easement at the back which kills the idea of the shed!

Sigh. We preferred our original block anyway.....

The House

I contacted Porter Davis and was advised that orders are being taken now for a December site start.

What do we do? Sign up now and hope that things are ready by December? The Hamilton was supposed to start in July, so we would have been stuffed had we decided to go ahead with it.

Anyhow, I've included a floorplan for you to check out. More information is available (of course) at the Porter Davis website.

"May you live in interesting times".

A quick tour of our land

Hello again! As we still haven't made our mind up on what house we want to build, I thought it was time to provide an update on the land.

Here it is - via video! Hope you enjoy it (sorry - I don't exactly have a "radio voice").

Unfortunately the subdivision is taking longer than we would like, apparently due to delays from the relevant authorities (water, gas, electricity etc.).

We are still looking at display homes, and we will provide an update soon!