Filled and shaped

Yesterday the guys played in the dirt again, and did some shaping and levelling.

Instead of digging into the block (meaning a big retaining wall they will have to build), they brought in some fill on the opposite side of the block (which will probably mean a retaining wall that we will have to build!).

Photos are attached (of course!)

We've Started!

That's right - we have started, or rather Porter Davis has started moving dirt on our block.

Never thought the sight of someone playing with dirt could be so exciting. Even more exiting are the blue marks (yes - blue. Thanks for comments about the recent "pink" entries. You know who you are....)

Down to business - the block was scraped and cut today. Blue marks on the fence indicate (we assume) the various features of the house.

Here's a landscape picture:

click the picture to see a bigger version

Street Picture

Marks on the fence

and on the ground!

As we write this, it's started raining. Noooo! Sorry Geelong - but it's not allowed to rain for the next 30 weeks. The clock has started today!

Thanks to Al who lives in the same street, and alerted us to the activity!

Pink Ribbons

Yesterday we went past the block, in the vague hope that something may have happened and we saw pink ribbons!

No - not a breast cancer awareness thing (although I'm sure some clever marketing person could turn these ribbons into a fund raising activity).

Latest land picture

The survey has taken place and the markers put in, which means that we must be getting close to some dirt being moved. Yay!

Front marker


Rear marker

Later note: I just received a message from our CSR at Porter Davis - PD are waiting on council approval. As soon as the approval comes through, the file will be handed over to construction. Doesn't look like we are going to see that January start!

Signed contract with Porter Davis

Yesterday we visited Porter Davis and signed the updated contracts so that our house can start in January.

Phew! It's taken a while to get to this point (and we are spending more than we anticipated) but we are happy that there is something definite on the go.

Site costs have gone up due to a retaining wall and additional engineering for the new block of land - but we either wear the costs or go back to square one.

In January we should find out who our site supervisor is, and see some activity.

Have a great Christmas everyone!

Pink marks

Okay - not sure about whether to write this entry, but here goes.

Had a look at our new block today, and it seems that someone has attacked it with pink paint!

"Huh?" I hear you say...

It's like this - after a nice bottle of red with dinner last night, I grabbed a tape measure and some pink line marking paint, and announced to Bernadette that we were going to walk to the block.

Rolling her eyes (and more to keep an eye on me) she agreed to go with me.

Once there, I marked out lines all over block, along with comments like "This is where the front will be", and "the shed will go here", and"this is the fenceline", and .... well, you get the picture.

End result? Pink shit everywhere.

I wonder if that's how graffiti vandals get started?

Landed!

At 10.40 today, we were called by our conveyencer to let us know that we now have a mortgage again! Actually it was to tell us that the land had settled, but it means the same thing.

Excited? After 12 months of stuffing around - you bet we are! We have some dirt we can build on!

As mentioned in the last entry, our block is one of two left in an estate which was subdivided around 2000. These blocks have been for sale since that time!

Imagine our surprise when we were called by the estate agent, and told that the other block has just been sold!

The new owners are planning on putting up a double storey, and wanted to know if they could meet us just to make sure we were not building the same homes.

We look forward to meeting our future new neighbours! I wonder if they have signed a contract yet? They might change their mind after meeting us.....

Someone has got short arms and deep pockets!

Last weekend we went past the new block of land, as we get closer to our land settlement (this Friday the 14th).

Check the picture below (click on it for more detail):

There are actually two blocks for sale - we have bought the one on the left, and the one on the right is still for sale. The seller bought these as part of the whole subdivision about 7 years ago - these are the only two left. This means that there's a very healthy profit in these two blocks.

We don't want to think about that side of things!

A few days ago the block which was still for sale was slashed (the long grass cut). Our block (which we don't own yet!) was not. Perhaps we are being a bit picky, but isn't that being a bit of a tight arse?

We couldn't believe it! Still, perhaps we shouldn't be too harsh - after all, the person responsible for paying for the mowing may have thought we may be buying the land for the express purpose of growing very large weeds, and didn't want to upset us. Right.

How much does slashing the block cost? Priced it at $66. It's being done this weekend.

Can't wait to see what happens when we want some fencing! Have a great day!

Cross - over!

Today we were to have our appointment with PD to sign the contracts and tidy up the loose ends so we could start building on our new block of land.

Unfortunately there's been a bit of a hiccup, as the actual road doesn't match exactly with the plan of subdivision. If you look at the picture from Google Maps, you can see that our block is on a curve, whereas the plan of subdivision shows the road being straight:

As the planned orientation of the house means that the driveway will be at the top right of the block (as shown on the pictures), PD need to make sure that the council will allow us to have the crossover on the bend.

We contacted the council, yesterday and they arranged a meeting for us on site at 10:00am this morning. We had the meeting, and got the go ahead from the council for a cross over in the desired position. With that information PD will go ahead and apply for the necessary permits with Council.

While we were there this morning we noticed that there was another small change - the real estate people had been to the block and set up the signs again, and put up a "sold" sticker on our block. Fair enough! As a result, I've updated the latest picture.


We are now waiting on a new appointment time to sign the paperwork.

Soil Fairies!

Looks as though the Soil Fairies have visited our new block in the last couple of days. New bore holes show that the soil test has been done. As is normal, three samples were taken.


Updated shots of the new block...

from the front

from the back

It's not normal to get excited about some holes being drilled, but we have waited a long time for a start date, and it seems as though we can almost touch it!

Land Contracts

We now have the contracts for the new block of land. Amazingly enough, we can actually understand these - makes things much easier when the title is clear and available.

Anyone want to buy a 1100 sqm block in Leopold with a 12m x 8m garage on it? The catch is that we're not sure when the title will be available....

The only thing I need to do this weekend is to make sure the dimensions of the land are as shown on the site plan (lot 41 below - you can see a bigger version if you click on the image).

We did a bit of a positioning diagram, and sent it through to PD to assist with the drawings - normally the site positioning done with the Sales Rep when you first sign up.

Funnily enough it feels a bit more real now, because we have a date when we will own some land.

Have a great weekend!

Changes

Q: What do you do when you are scheduled to start building in January, and you still don't own some dirt to build on?

A: Look for other dirt.

That right - the saga with our land purchase continues, and we are so pi55ed off with the way things have gone that we have bought another block of land. The original land we put a deposit on doesn't look as though it's going to be available for months (despite early assurances), and the owner doesn't want to talk directly to us, so we decided not to wait.

Makes things very interesting of course - Porter Davis are coming to the party and are going to do everything they can to keep us on the January start date. Additional costs for us are a new soil test and site survey, and a small fee for the engineering.



We are booked in for another tender/contract appointment on November 30th. The new block of land is due to be ours on December 14th.

I'm so impressed with our Customer Service Consultant at PD that I'm not going to mention her name here - otherwise everyone will want to work with her! Our CSC has gone out of her way to help us with this transition, even though I'm sure it's way outside the normal job description.

The new land is still in Leopold, and is approx 720 sq metres in size (about 18 x 40 m). Smaller than the old block, it has some advantages - it's a bit cheaper, it doesn't have a 7 large trees on it, and we can get it now! We are giving up the large shed on the other block, but we will still be better off.

Here's hoping we can start in January!

News, News, News!

So much news, I don't know where to start. Ok, here goes.....

Land Progress

Had some good news this week regarding our land. Issues with utilities companies have been sorted, and soil tests completed. Looks like we might be seeing some earthworks soon! I can feel another video coming on.

Moved house

Last weekend we moved house. We are now in a rental with a 12 month lease. The new house is scheduled to start in January, so let hope we can get it completed on time.

"Hang on, what new house?", I hear you yell. That brings us to the next piece of news....

The new house

Well - we've done it again. Suckers for punishment? Perhaps. Eternal optimists? Definitely.

A couple of weekends ago we decided it was time to make a decision and actually DO something.

We were about to move house (into the rental), and if we didn't want to rent for any more than 12 months, we needed to do something about getting our new home built.

Since the problems with Porter Davis and our Hamilton 34, we decided that a home with a smaller footprint (smaller slab) would help to eliminate the problem with neighbouring trees, and also provide us with more space between the house and the mother of all garages.

We looked seriously at Dennis, Hotondo, National and some others, as well as walking through countless display homes (have you noticed how they all look the same after a while?)

We liked a few of them, but the one we loved is the Porter Davis Cremorne 41. The Cremorne is the largest of the homes in the Lifestyle range, and has a base price of $233,900 - which represents pretty good value.

Why the Cremorne? Because of all the ones we looked at, it requires no changes to make us happy.

Understandably, we were a bit nervous about going the PD route again. I checked the PD website and were surprised by a couple of things: The surcharge for building in Geelong (3K) has been removed, and there was a local contact listed for Lifestyle.

I contacted Kerri (the Lifestyle rep) and we organised to meet with her. Kerri isn't based in Geelong, but provides a service which covers our area. What can I say? We are now signed up and have paid our $600 deposit for a January start. Kerri was very patient and understanding of our concerns, and was a pleasure to deal with. We would not hesitate to recommend Kerri (at the Caroline Springs Display Centre) if you are looking at homes in the Lifestyle range.

Obviously we a subject to the old site costs blow out, however we believe we can build the house we want, within the budget we have set, and I know that people in PD Head Office are aware of our concerns.

So - the current situation is that we need to call back Danielle at PD (who left a message during the week) and meet up for the Tender Appointment. If things don't work out this time, there may be a block of land available in Leopold for a very attractive price.....

So - here's a link to the brochure for our new home - Cremorne 41. We have a good feeling about this!

More details about the new home coming soon!

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!

Land Update

February 2007 - Well, we decided to sign the contracts for the land, even through there was a slight hiccup with the dimension (nothing serious).

Now we need to wait until the subdivision has been completed, and the titles issued. This is likely to take 2-3 months.

The house is due for commencement in July, so if everthing falls into place the timing should work out ok. Of course in the meantime we will need to sell the house we are in...

First look at our land

January 2007 - we decided to walk up and take a look at the block. The agent told us that the block already had a large garage on site, which would be sold with the block. Expecting that the garage may be run down shack that needed to be demolished, we were pleasantly surprised. The 1110 sq m block was almost exactly what we were looking for. Woo hoo!

The land is one of two block, yet to be subdivided. The photo at left is take from where the road will be, looking back up the block. You can see a peg on the left of the photo. Nice shed huh? 11 metres by 8 metres.

Land ahoy!

January 2007 - So.. the story continues! Just when we wondered whether we would ever be able to find some land we thought we could afford, we noticed a Real Estate agent board in front of a house on a major road in our area.

The board had been there for quite some time, and it was advertising an auction for two blocks of land behind the house - the auction was long gone. To be honest, we never looked too closely at the board, thinking that the blocks would be quite small.

Once we looked at them, we found that one of them was 1140 sq m, and the other was 950 sq m!

I called the agent, knowing that other blocks of that size we had seen were out of our price range.

The agent explained that the blocks were for sale about 12 months earlier at auction, and were passed in - since then the prices have been dropped, and we discussed the numbers.

It was certainly worth our while taking a look!

Some background on our search

December 2006 - Welcome to our first blog posting. This entry will provide you with some background reagrding our search for some land - after all, we need somehwere to build our house!

The search for land concentrated on the Geelong area - we already live near Geelong, and we like the lifestyle. We did the usual thing - scoured the online ads, drove around the new estates, looked in the papers.

www.realestate.com.au
www.realestateview.com.au
www.domain.com.au

We had a number of things we were looking for - a block big enough to put a good sized shed on it (to store a car or two), a block big enough for a decent sized house, and somewhere where it wasn't going to take too much longer to get into Geelong.

Early on, we decided that we liked one of the Metricon Homes (the Jardine), so the block had to be able to accomodate the house.

We had a couple of false starts. One block we found in Drysdale was the right size, and already had a shed on it, but it was too steep. Metricon use a slab construction, and the cut would be too severe.

The next block we found (in Leopold) was almost flat, but was a little small, and we were advised that there was a lot of fill on the block, and that the site costs would be much higher as a result. We thought land would be the easy part!

We did find one - quite by accident really. Check the next posting to find out more!