Big, Big Backflip!

OK, it's been nearly two weeks since the last update-and what a change has occured!

His Lordship and I have decided that we are actually going to buy an acre block out at Winslow ( Lot 6 Church St)! Economics and lifestyle have been the driving force behind the decision...after all, owing 100k less to a bank can be quite an incentive....

The reality is that by moving 15 minutes out of town we will be enabling ourselves to have a much more self sufficient lifestyle- to say nothing of the amount of space we will have!

We are currently waiting on a quote from Rod Stephens- a local builder who specialises in building country homes. We have selected a design which has around 18 sqs of living-smaller than what we are currently in, but more effeciently designed.

Rod's quote will take a couple of weeks to come in, so in the mean time I will be checking out various appliances and options. There is power, but no gas or town water on the block, which will mean rainwater tanks and a septic system.

Plans perfected?

Although it has been over a week since my last report, there has still been quite a bit happening!

We have visited quite a few display homes and also continued to research which option would be best in regards to our block of land. We had been toying with the idea of an acre out of town ( from $75- $95k)-which enables quite an extensive garden and a certain degree of self sufficiency. However, at this point the 20 min drive in and out of town a few times a day makes this a less than feasible proposition!

Therefore, I have contacted the agent for Marrakai Estate nad confirmed our purchase through them. Our house doesn't settle until December 1st, so we have negotiated a smaller deposit until then.

We have also made an appointment to travel to Ballarat on September 30th to meet with the National Builders representative for costings on changes to the house plan we have chosen. There are a few minor changes which we would like to make, so the cost should be reasonable!

We have been through a number of display homes with various builders- but none can offer the value for money that National Builders can. Symonds comes close, but doesn't quite make it!

Firm Foundations

Even though it will be some months before we can commence building, we have still been busy with the whole process! Over the past week we have confirmed that there will be some fill on the land. After speaking to Mark Conlan (the local builder who builds for National Builders), it has been confirmed that we will definately be looking at around $5000 to upgrade the slab.

It's official!

After 11 months, we have finally sold our house! The sold sticker went up today and settlement will be on December 1st.

$$$$$$$$$......

Our Customer Service Rep from National Builders (Michelle) rang yesterday to talk about upgrading our slab. Although we haven't got soil tests done yet, we feel that it's a good idea to have a ball park figuire.

Michelle was confident that it would only be a "M"slab, but as I pointed out to her, it's clay soil and will have some fill. I don't think that it will need deep footing piers-only waffle pods, but we will contact the local builder who constructs locally for National Builders and discuss it with him.

At some point over the next couple of weeks we will also make the 2hr trip to Ballarat to meet face to face with Michelle.

This morning His Lordship was laying in bed "thinking about Turbo's new kennel"! The fact that the "kennel"has to house the human members of the family too is apparently a secondary consideration.....

The Princess keeps requesting an outdoor shower-which actually makes a bit of sense considering our lifestyle! I wonder how much it would cost to have one plumbed in during construction?

Soiled again....

After taking 11 months to sell this house, we have finally received some good news! We have been waiting for the couple who signed contracts a couple of weeks ago to receive notice that a sale of theirs has gone through-in order for our sale to become unconditional. Today it has! Yippee!

However, we have realised that we will probably have to upgrade the slab of the house we are going to build. Most builders have "M"class slabs as standard, whereas in Warrnambool a minimum of "H"class is usually required due to the clay based soil. It will be interesting as to how much extra that is going to cost!

Planting (and planning) the seed....

An integral part of the whole planning and building process is the garden. What style of garden should we have? Many people leave the garden planning until the last minute-or even until after they have moved in. I think that a lot of thought needs to be put in prior to the plans of the house being finalised. Much thought needs to be applied to where the house will be sited on the block as this will dictate where gardens, lawns and utilities such as clothes lines and garden sheds can be placed.

The last two homes we have built have had gardens loosely based on English lines-plenty of flowers, deciduous trees and a vegie garden. Considering that these blocks were 1/2 acre and 1/4 acre is size, there was quite a bit of scope for the garden!As you can see from these photos, our current garden is unfurling it's finery for the spring ahead.

This time the house block will be 760sq m, and we are wanting a different design for the garden. Although we currently have a large alfresco area (13m x 5m) we rarely use it (although I find that it is very useful as an undercover closeline!) as it doesn't flow very well between the living areas and the garden. I am keen for the new outdoor entertaining area (which will be on the northern side of the house) to become a well utilised feature in our future home.

Beware the BUDGET! And traps for young players...

I don't think that there is anything which becomes more all consuming than the dreaded "B"word! Our total budget for this house is $360,000-which becomes quite scary when I remember what the budget was for our first house.....

Within this amount we need to pay for: land (including the stamp duty), house, driveway and crossover, fencing, window coverings and basic landscaping.

Many people fail to allow for the "extra"costs listed above-and receive quite a shock when they realise how much more money they need to find! For example, the stamp duty on our block will be around the $5000 mark. The governement will debit your nominated account for the stamp duty-so it is imperative that the correct amount is available as there will be no date given as to when the stamp duty will be withdrawn-potentially creating a nasty and expensive surprise if your account is overdrawn.

A good lender will factor in and discuss these amounts when you apply for finance.

Part of the process for us over the past few months has been finalising how we will spend our money on this house-what do we really need as opposed to what we want.

Mind you- we have decided that I really need reconstituted stone bench tops! Lucky for me that National Builders Group are offering them as a special inclusion!

The before photos....

The machinery set to create the estate.

Currently all is green-

and muddy!

The site pegs are in place-just waiting for good weather!

Our block (Lot 77 Wells Street) will be somewhere towards the centre of the picture.

Weather it will or whether it wont...

After weeks of wet weather, it looks like it might fine up! Which is reassuring because everything is currently at a standstill on the Marrakai Estate!

The reason we have decided to build in this estate is because of the overall aims of the developer to ensure a reasonably eco friendly approach to water usage. They have designed various features on the Estate itself (eg: wetlands, retaining swales) and each home must have a water tank fitted. There is also a number of rebates offered for those who have a grey water system and leave guards fitted-all of which bodes well for the future!

There is also a fantastic playground and walking tracks planned-which promotes a great lifestyle in the area. The fact that there are no unit developments is another plus!!!

On another note, we have continued looking at costings from other builders-and can't believe the amounts some charge! One company who builds locally wants $310,000 for a house the same size as what we are building with National Builders for $205,000-and only offers basic inclusions! It really pays to do your research!