GinaUK

ACE,

was wondering if your contract has a completion date and a penalty clause in case it's not completed on time? Like they have to pay you $x per day if it's not completed on time?

And: did you get a clause put in that you'll get a key at the lock-up stage?

Gina

ACE

WOOHOO! You've got a slab!

I can remember when ours was laid (march last year) I was soo excited! I could easily do it all again


Oh yes, very excited about the slab. The dunny and window/door frames turned up today-always a good sign.


Floor plan looks great btw

Thanks. the house plans were a real labour of love. I designed 11 different versions until I came up with the one we were both happy with not to mention the hundreds of plans and display homes I looked at before we started our own design. The consultant and the In Vogue draftsmen did the final adjustments to make the plans more workable.

ACE

Hi Gina,
Yes, ours has a 310 day completion clause from commencement, after that they pay us $x per day. However, the 310 days does not include extreme weather days, holidays or weekends. I have designed a Spreadsheet with the commencement date, the 'count down' day, our site visits plus any conversations with the supervisor, progress payment details and weather stats for each day with a Hyperlink to the relevant page on the government met office website for reference purposes. This is just in case they go over schedule and claim extreme weather I can refer to my spreadsheet to support any counter claim I might raise. To be honest though, I reckon if they keep up their current pace they will finish well within 310 days.

Do you have a penalty clause in your APG contact?

GinaUK

We're not at the contract stage yet. I am just trying to think what I have to look out for.

Do you mind saying how much they pay you per day if they are late?

How do they define "extreme weather"?

Gina

julesandco

It does happen eventually.....

Two years later, $ xxxx later, blood, sweat, tears and arguments with the builder and we go from two dimensional drawing to moved in and lived in (still no grass though )

All the very best of luck with it all, Ace.

I sincerely hope it's an enjoyable and stress-free process

Jules x

ACE

does happen eventually.....

Two years later, $ xxxx later, blood, sweat, tears and arguments with the builder and we go from two dimensional drawing to moved in and lived in (still no grass though )

Well done Jules! you survived and your house is gorgeous you must be over the moon.

All the very best of luck with it all, Ace.

I sincerely hope it's an enjoyable and stress-free process

Thank you for your kind wishes. Luckily it has been great so far but I am prepared for the worst.

julesandco

Hi Gina,

We had a key. We had to give them a $400 deposit which we had returned once the key was given back after handover.

Be prepared though as you are 'responsible' should things go missing! Our builder let us have some trades in; painter, floor tilers, etc, but an internal door just 'disappeared' from site. It was there and the chances are, when the builder's chippy came through, he scraped the wrong door, but we were still liable for $500 to get the door replaced and had to faff about ordering it and arranging delivery as the builder blamed our trades for its disappearance


Just be forewarned that the builder is an elephant and you are an ant under foot. They have no idea of customer service, or that you are a customer who pays their wage - I have a few choice emails from our builder I would love to post on here

Anyhow....... just be prepared for a bumpy ride; then anything else is a bonus

Jules x

GinaUK

ACE and Jules,

did you have window sills put in on the inside? How much extra was that?

(I am talking about the wooden bit that goes over the plastered and painted bit on the inside. Our rented house doesn't have window sills except for the theatre room and I find the "naked" window sills look ugly and unfinished.)

Gina

P.S. Sent you both some karma .

julesandco

Hi Gina,

We didn't go for windowsills as we've got Californian blinds which need to fit snuggly against the window and windowsills wouldn't allow for this - again, something you need to think of down the line...... (as if you didn't have enough to think about!).

The builder wanted a complete fortune to add skirting, so we are going to 'live with it' for a while and once I've knocked chunks out of the wall with the hoover, will have this added later to cover the damage

Jules x

ACE

Hi Gina,

Thanks for the Karma.

We haven't gone for window sills but that is just a personal preference.

ACE

We're not at the contract stage yet. I am just trying to think what I have to look out for.

Do you mind saying how much they pay you per day if they are late?

In our case it is only $30 per day which doesn't cover our rent but is better than nothing.

How do they define "extreme weather"?
Gina

I would think that extreme weather would be defined as too hot, too wet or if working at height too windy. Any out builders on here know the official figures?

ACE

They wont give a key at lock up stage I think this is for insurance purposes as much as anything else as they are liable for the house contents until hand over. However, they will allow us access at anytime, we just have to clear it with our supervisor, probably for safety reasons. So far our supervisor has been really good and lets me know in advance if anything is happening on site as he knows that we want to be involved and to take progress pictures. We turn up onsite most days, they all very friendly and don't seem to mind us being there at all.

ACE

Hi Folks,
A few of you on here and also in person have asked me about the land buying process so I have put my reply here for FYI

If you find a block of land that you are interested in you can ask any estate agent to make an enquiry on your behalf (even if it is not listed with them or even listed for sale). They can then check their database to find out who owns the land or who it is listed with. Don't rush to make any offers on any land. It is vital that you find out as much as you can about your potential purchase first. You should go to the shire and ask if there are any plans for the land or surrounding land or any disputes with neighbours. Find out about building restrictions in some places you are not permitted to build two-storey houses or you have to build a garage as opposed to a carport. There might also be restrictive covenants put in place by the developer which determine what roof cover or paint colours you have to use. You should then check with the utilities companies to see if you have mains gas, 3 phase power, cable infrastructure etc. Visit your land at different times of the day during the week and weekends and only when you are completely satisfied should you put in an offer. Whether you have the money or not make the offer subject to finance. This gives you a cooling off period because you cannot pull out if you simply change your mind without a 'subject to clause'.
Depending on the location and condition of the land you might want to make your offer subject to site survey which could be worth doing if you have any worries about what's under your land i.e lime stone boulders. If the block is densely treed or needs retaining you can sometimes negotiate a price reduction based on your preparation costs.

OK so now you have done all your homework and you have made your offer, once it is accepted there will be a time limit for you to get your finance so you have to move quickly. Your financial institution will usually do a survey as well as all the usual checks before they agree to lend you the money. You then have to engage a settlement agent who will take care of all the legal stuff. The whole process generally takes aronnd 4weeks but could take longer depending on your individual circumstances.

ACE

ACE

Yeah! more progress we have drains and site power. I am really impressed that the guys have still been up there working in this filthy weather. However, the drains guy reckons the plumbers have not plumbed in the dual pipework to accommodate the grey water recycling system (and so it begins) I called the supervisor and he was very helpful and polite and is adamant that if there is a problem it will get sorted.

Update coming soon.

GinaUK

Which grey water recycling system did you go for? We thought about it but have decided against it. We are however getting a rainwater tank to use with the toilets, washing-machine and garden.

Gina