We have Lift Off!!!

What a nice surprise we got today. We went past the block, as we do every week, and lo and behold, we have movement!!

I know the site supivisor did say they wanted to start this week but I wasn't really expecting much because it's been raining quite a bit. Very happy and very surprised!

I'm guessing I'll be passing by more then once a week now to check out any progress. 

First Contact!

The site supervisor called today and introduced himself. Seems like a very nice guy.  Will look forward to eventually meeting him.

He said they would like to start this week, BUT, there would be a delay in the overall build due to JG King having an influx of new purchasers.  I'm guessing the super low interest rates are paying off for them.

They plan to have the slab down by Christmas, and then will start the frame Jan 11th. Very much looking forward to it.  At least we now have an idea of what's going to happen in the coming months.

Was planning on doing the lawns prior to them starting but if they are wanting to get out there this week, I'm going to have to get someone out there to do it for me before they start as there is no way I can do it before then.

Bank docs signed full deposit paid.

We received the docs from the bank on Thursday (well it was technically Wednesday but they went to  out broker, and so we got them first thing the next day). I went through the paperwork and we signed everything and posted them off on Friday.

At the same time I pulled out the invoice from JG King and paid the Balance of the Deposit. This now means that the building can start!! Yeah! We are hoping to get a call from the site supervisor this week.

JG King have already applied for the building insurance (we received the docs for these during the week), and we also have received the Building Permit

We went past our block during the week too. Looks like both our neighbours on either side of us are about to start building as well because their Water Meters have been installed. Ours hasn't yet but here's hoping it goes in this week! Who installs these things anyway? Is it the builder once the full deposit has been paid? Or the council once the building Permit has been given? Or is there some other process for this to get done? Well I'm sure we will find out soon enough! Would be great if we visit next week and ours is installed too!!!

I'm sure I'll begin posting a little more frequently once things start up.  Really hoping it will be this month (or at least no later then the end Dec).

At long last...

Well, I'm pleased to announce we have received Unconditional Approval from the Bank!... finally!!!!

There were a couple hiccups along the way though...

First we went ahead and got the Valuation done for the property - from the same company the bank uses. It came in a little under but we fixed that up.

Then we submitted everything to the bank... It took some time for them to eventually get to it but when they did, they ordered the valuation again... Once we found that out, we contacted them and they suddenly realised that we already subbmitted the valuation to them... (apparently they mustn't really do their job of checking the files).

So, they then canceled their request for the valuation... This is where it gets a little funny. A week or so goes by and we are starting to get edgy... When they are contacted they say they are having trouble uploading the valuation we gave them.... Anyway, to cut the story short, after a number of calls the bank realizes that when they canceled their valuation, they also canceled our valuation and thus, no valuation was able to be submitted... So in the end they re-instated the valuation and "eventually" got to our loan.

What a nightmare that was. Now we need to let JG King know it's all good to go ahead.

Contracts Signed

We made an appointment with Mr K for 9.00am just this Saturday past (Yes Election Day) to sign all the documents.  Mr K took us through each section and explained everything in detail.  We signed off on everything (Which I'm very pleased about), and now we will be waiting for the builders to sign off and then send us our copy back, and of course one other copy out to our Finance Broker.

This should be done this week so here's hoping we get the documents by Friday (or Monday) at the latest.  After this, our last step is getting all final approval from the Bank.  This is the big dreaded wait.  I don't envision any problems but you know, anything can happen with the banks... Can't wait to get the approval through and then finally have our first home begin to build.

Contract Arrived!

I received an email from Mr K yesterday informing us that we should be receiving the Contracts that day! The wife and I were both very excited, to say the least.

Unfortunately for us, we didn't get home until 12:30am this morning however there was the Contract just as promised!  This thing is pretty big. 120+ pages to it. I had a brief glance at it first thing but was just too tired to go over it at that hour of the morning.

I now have the task of taking out my fine comb and studying the contract in full, which I hope to do today.  On the quick run through of what I had time to do today, things are looking good.  But of course, me being me, I'm going to have to peel through every page before I finalise anything. Then we will be having our conveyancer (Specialist Lawyer) go through it to double check.

Next step after this will be to arrange a time to sit down with Mr K and sign all 3 copies (Builders, Banks and of course our copy).  Apparently this will take a bit of time as most if not every page needs to be signed or initialled and at the same time, what we are signing will hopefully be explained to us so we understand it all better.

Will be updating again soon.

The Herald Sun Home Show

We got some tickets to the Melbourne Herald Sun Home Show so we decided to go on Saturday.

It was bigger then I expected... a LOT bigger.  Took us over 6 hours to go through it all... and that was just once!  Not to mention we bypassed sections of it (Bathrooms, kitchens and the like) due to already have chosen those for our home.  We could have gone through a second time too it was that interesting.

I was very interested in a number of things including Outdoor Designs, Hybrid Solar Systems, beds, curtains/blinds, Lounges, to name a few.  There were just so many things covered at this show.

We've now got a fair few great ideas of what we want once we are finally living in the house.  Plenty of things to aim for over the years ahead... At least there'll be plenty of things for me to keep posting on, well on into the years after the house has been completed.

In the end, I say that show was absolutely fantastic.  If any of you are building, or even already live in your own home, go to this show next year.  It is so worth your time and Money (Entry Ticket) to see so many things in once place.  I can guarantee you the wife and I will be there next year.