Hello again blog!
It has been a while - just on three months actually!
Since last time there has been some movement in the right direction! We now have quotes from Town Planners (RiskSMART) and we are currently looking at these to see who can achieve what we want for the smallest fee!
The geo-engineer report came back and for that $800 we found out that YES we can build, apparently Metricon know what they are doing when they propose a dwelling be build on a slope - Go Figure!
Our block is being re-valued as a way to allow refinancing to occur and therefore allowing us to apply for a construction loan.
My parents have visited and have done an amazing job of clearing out a heap of lantana - Thanks a heap Dad & Jo!! The place still looks amazing.
FROM METRICON - we have plans on a contour map to which we made a couple of little tweaks to. Our sales assistant was away this last week (getting married) so that has stalled us getting the Preliminary Contract signed, handing over $1000 and then moving to Contract.
If the planets align, the valuer will be kind and give us what we want/deserve; the Town Planner gets things happening quickly and we can progress with the build!
What Metricon has done to get the Denver to fit on our site looks amazing, especially considering the extent of the cut and fill - the back verandah looks amazing! I just hope everything else runs smoothly too.
Monday 12 November 2012
Saturday 11 August 2012
Who's That?
Driving home from work today, I saw a ute parked on the road up near our top gate. It was the surveyor coming to plot our land, hopefully to make sure it's possible to build here.
In our contract there is an allowance for 500mm over the building site included in the cost. If there is any more angle to the block then we need to pay for it (cut and fill costs). Apparently anything up to a metre isn't too bad - PROBLEM - our fall is at least 5 metres from front to back! Due to the size of the cut and fill, we now need to have a geo-engineer's report to ensure we can still build.
We're still waiting on the Real Estate Agent to get back to us regarding the sale of one of our investment properties (will post a link once it is listed). I am sure I'll have a heap to say about the Selling process - real estate agents are not my favourite people to deal with!
In our contract there is an allowance for 500mm over the building site included in the cost. If there is any more angle to the block then we need to pay for it (cut and fill costs). Apparently anything up to a metre isn't too bad - PROBLEM - our fall is at least 5 metres from front to back! Due to the size of the cut and fill, we now need to have a geo-engineer's report to ensure we can still build.
We're still waiting on the Real Estate Agent to get back to us regarding the sale of one of our investment properties (will post a link once it is listed). I am sure I'll have a heap to say about the Selling process - real estate agents are not my favourite people to deal with!
Friday 3 August 2012
Small Victories & Set Backs
Trying to attack a TODO list whilst working full time (leaving home before 6am and getting home between 6-7pm most nights doesn't leave much time for personal jobs during the week. For that, I rely heavily on my wife to chase up things! Thankfully amongst her full time role as mum and the time spent driving kids to things and doing stuff around the home, she finds time (and is willing) to chase these things up!
Locating the Lot plan was easy, we had collected a copy of it at settlement, so we could send that to the Sales Manager to get the ball rolling with the contour plan. Clearing the trees that have regrown where the old chook pens were (and where we want to build) - the request for quotes are out, just waiting for the people to come and assess the situation.
Getting the council approval is a bit difficult - I am not sure which way to go!! We could look to apply for a multi-dwelling property, subdivide the block into two (and have a house on each) or 'decommission' half the house so that it is small enough to be classed as a granny flat! The first option makes the most sense, but seems fairly complicated, the other two, well, I am not sure what to do with them.
The trickiest TODO - finance, well let's just say that is being tricky!! As it stands, without trying to sell an investment property or pay out existing loans, we couldn't do it! If we paid out the tractor loan ($700 per month) we'll be able to get the loan through, but only to $440k, $10k short of our minimum quote from Metricon so far, and that's before we look at fixings etc!
Our only option then is to sell an investment property. Thankfully even though the market is flat we could sell one of our 'long termers' and make a fairly decent profit allowing us to pay down some other debt and also increase the deposit. So, despite regretting having to sell an investment property 6 years ago, we're looking at it again.
We'll keep you posted!
Locating the Lot plan was easy, we had collected a copy of it at settlement, so we could send that to the Sales Manager to get the ball rolling with the contour plan. Clearing the trees that have regrown where the old chook pens were (and where we want to build) - the request for quotes are out, just waiting for the people to come and assess the situation.
Getting the council approval is a bit difficult - I am not sure which way to go!! We could look to apply for a multi-dwelling property, subdivide the block into two (and have a house on each) or 'decommission' half the house so that it is small enough to be classed as a granny flat! The first option makes the most sense, but seems fairly complicated, the other two, well, I am not sure what to do with them.
The trickiest TODO - finance, well let's just say that is being tricky!! As it stands, without trying to sell an investment property or pay out existing loans, we couldn't do it! If we paid out the tractor loan ($700 per month) we'll be able to get the loan through, but only to $440k, $10k short of our minimum quote from Metricon so far, and that's before we look at fixings etc!
Our only option then is to sell an investment property. Thankfully even though the market is flat we could sell one of our 'long termers' and make a fairly decent profit allowing us to pay down some other debt and also increase the deposit. So, despite regretting having to sell an investment property 6 years ago, we're looking at it again.
We'll keep you posted!
Saturday 28 July 2012
First look at our block by Metricon
The house plan we have gone for is fairly stock-standard with only a few minor tweaks. The major inclusion is the Colonial facade which adds $50k straight up - it does add a 'window seat' to the master bedroom, something my wife has always wanted in her 'dream' home.
Already there is a TO DO List!
1/ Clear the regrowth from where the slab will go.
2/ Council approval to live in current house whilst new house is built.
3/ Search for the lot plan of this block.
4/ Get finance approved.
It's a start, we're excited - well, I am, I think my wife is more anxious than excited at this stage!
Display Homes & Sales Agents
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This is post # 1 of what I will aim to add to from now until the day we move into our new home!
Just on 12 months ago we moved onto acreage. Getting here was half a battle - in September 2010 we first saw the block, put in a low offer subject to sale which was accepted. Over the next 9 months we saw the list price of our house for sale plummet $75 000. Due to it taking longer to secure the contract the acreage owners decided to rent out their house and as such we had to no option but to cancel the contract until we were able to sell our property.
Thankfully in June 2011 an offer was made on our house and thanks to the help of our real estate agent (who took no commission) we were able to make a much lower, but still reasonable offer on the acreage which the owners, whilst not happy, still accepted.
THE PLAN was to always buy acreage and then build a Garth Chapman (Traditional Queenslanders) home, however with a cost of over $500k before any changes, and I had a heap of those in mind, it was going to be many years before we could build.
In early 2012 I had read about the latest display village opening at Rochedale and we went on a day trip to have a look. After looking through so many houses, we commented on just how much we loved the inside of the Metricon Range. We enquired as to what would look good on acreage and were pointed to the Denver (28, 33 & 46 squares). Naturally, the 46 sq was the only one that would satisfy my requirements.
After a 'brief' conversation with the Sales Agent, we were promised an emailed quote and a phone call to discuss the next stage. Having never build before (though not novices as we have bought several houses and dealt with Real Estate Agents plenty of times!) and not knowing what had to happen next we left very happy and excited at the prospect of building only 12 months after moving onto the block.
A few days later, I received an email with a really good price for the house $370k, so I approached our broker to look into a loan for $450k (allowing for improvements). On the weekend, after not getting a call from the Sales Agent, I phoned and emailed him. I eventually did get a return call and was told that he would get in touch with me sometime during the week (when not so busy). This, we hoped was not a sign that Metricon was not the right option.
When the next weekend came around with still no contact we phoned another display village, to see if we could talk to someone there to move ahead. This time, we were off to North Lakes, which was a bit of a drive, but the sales agent seemed keen. Also on our mind was the current promotion of free upgrades to steel frame, colourbond roof, solar panels and hot water and free ducted air con. Thankfully the new Sales Agent was good to his word and it all stated to come together. Unfortunately, the cost is a heap more than we thought - already, it is over the $450k mark, before upgrades!
Whilst the new (higher) cost isn't too much of a problem, it is making us think that the inclusion of a pool at the same time is not a possibility.
In the morning the Sales Agent will be on site to see whether or not the Denver will work (size wise) in the spot we think it should go.
Just on 12 months ago we moved onto acreage. Getting here was half a battle - in September 2010 we first saw the block, put in a low offer subject to sale which was accepted. Over the next 9 months we saw the list price of our house for sale plummet $75 000. Due to it taking longer to secure the contract the acreage owners decided to rent out their house and as such we had to no option but to cancel the contract until we were able to sell our property.
Thankfully in June 2011 an offer was made on our house and thanks to the help of our real estate agent (who took no commission) we were able to make a much lower, but still reasonable offer on the acreage which the owners, whilst not happy, still accepted.
THE PLAN was to always buy acreage and then build a Garth Chapman (Traditional Queenslanders) home, however with a cost of over $500k before any changes, and I had a heap of those in mind, it was going to be many years before we could build.
In early 2012 I had read about the latest display village opening at Rochedale and we went on a day trip to have a look. After looking through so many houses, we commented on just how much we loved the inside of the Metricon Range. We enquired as to what would look good on acreage and were pointed to the Denver (28, 33 & 46 squares). Naturally, the 46 sq was the only one that would satisfy my requirements.
After a 'brief' conversation with the Sales Agent, we were promised an emailed quote and a phone call to discuss the next stage. Having never build before (though not novices as we have bought several houses and dealt with Real Estate Agents plenty of times!) and not knowing what had to happen next we left very happy and excited at the prospect of building only 12 months after moving onto the block.
A few days later, I received an email with a really good price for the house $370k, so I approached our broker to look into a loan for $450k (allowing for improvements). On the weekend, after not getting a call from the Sales Agent, I phoned and emailed him. I eventually did get a return call and was told that he would get in touch with me sometime during the week (when not so busy). This, we hoped was not a sign that Metricon was not the right option.
When the next weekend came around with still no contact we phoned another display village, to see if we could talk to someone there to move ahead. This time, we were off to North Lakes, which was a bit of a drive, but the sales agent seemed keen. Also on our mind was the current promotion of free upgrades to steel frame, colourbond roof, solar panels and hot water and free ducted air con. Thankfully the new Sales Agent was good to his word and it all stated to come together. Unfortunately, the cost is a heap more than we thought - already, it is over the $450k mark, before upgrades!
Whilst the new (higher) cost isn't too much of a problem, it is making us think that the inclusion of a pool at the same time is not a possibility.
In the morning the Sales Agent will be on site to see whether or not the Denver will work (size wise) in the spot we think it should go.
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