It's been a while since I last visited the blog site, had a busy holiday period with family from overseas coming over to spend christmas and new year with us. We also spent a few days in Sydney and Canberra which the kids really enjoyed. Went back to work on the 10th and was inundated with heaps of urgent tasks.
At the building front, we were relieved when the land settlement finally happened on the 17th December. We promised not to hire the same conveyancer in the future because his customer service was nil, we had to chase him just to get things done for us. I guess thats what happens when you opt for the cheapest service offered in the market. In saying that, they were highly recommended by our land vendor's agent and we thought that they really knew what they were doing. Enough said....
On the 23rd December, we have received and signed our final plans. Our house has a 6.1 energy rating and there was only one variation asked by the developer before they approved our plans - that was to provide translucent glazing to the bathroom and ensuite windows. Our slab was also going to be H type, which made us feel happy for choosing fixed site costs because the standard inclusion was only for M type of slab.
Our FHOG and FHOB was approved on the 5th January, after a few dramas because we had to submit our documents four times due to some stringent requirements e.g. the certifier of our documents need to put in their full name with no initials accepted, we also had to dig for our missing marriage certificate which was another requirement. It was all worth the troubles when we received our letter from the Victorian State Revenue Office approving the $20,000 grant (yey!!!).
Our construction loan account was opened on the 11th January, the bank transferred across our land loan and advised us that everything is now set and ready for our next progressive draw down which is going to be when our slab is poured. Our CLE from Carlisle rang us up on the same day to tell us that our site will be scraped in the next few days. Our Site Supervisor remains to be appointed and we will know and meet him shortly before the slab-pouring.
On the weekend 14th January, we visited our site and lo and behold! the scraping has started. We are ecstatic, couldn't believe that finally it is now happening. A few other sites on the same and nearby blocks also started building - some had temporary fences, some don't - ours was placed on Tuesday 18th. The drain pipes were also installed. Husband is so excited that he visits the site everyday since Monday of this week. Here are some photos....
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| Rain rain go away so our site scraping can be completed |
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| Builder's Porta Loo |
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| Fenced!!! |
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| Finally the SOLD sign is up! |
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| The Park/Reserve In Front Of Our Site |
Congratulations on a start - we've had an excellent build with Carlisle, hope you do too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb. Have seen the progress of your build too, very impressive.
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves the arrival of the portable toilet, it means the job really is underway!
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