Our Final Contract Cost

After going through Post Contract Variation 1, Building Variation 2, Building Variation 3, Building Variation 4 and Building Variation 5, we are happy to share the final contract cost of our Forsyth 35.

Forsyth 35 Base Price: $246,900
Ludstone Facade: $10,900
Site Cost: $28,958
Local Government and OHS: $2,424

6 Star Energy Rating: $3,402
*****includes internal perimeter wall insulation to bathroom, powder and laundry, intermediate floor insulation above porch ceiling, double glazing to aluminium windows in lounge, powder, galley, family , living, master ensuite, bath, bedroom 2, 3 and 4 and game room (sliding windows to be upgraded to awning to suit double glazing)

DEVELOPER REQUIREMENTS
2590mm/increased to 2740mm ceiling height GF $7,436
450mm wide eaves to upper storey, garage and alfresco $3,206
22.5 degree roof pitch to garage and alfresco $315
Low Emission Paint $1,988
Recycled Water Connection $2,556
NBN connection $1,735
Additional render colour to porch projection and pillar $278

PROMOTIONS
Indoor Promotion Pack $6,999
Hebel with full render to whole house $4,999
Colourbond Roof FREE

NOTE: Flooring promotion deleted. Laminate flooring and carpet to be done after hand-over.

STRUCTURAL UPGRADES
Alfresco $4,500
Stairs: Feng Shui Traditional Stairs Option 2  $6,594
Grand Master Ensuite $4,665
***includes extended shower, double vanity, enclosed WC, free standing bath, extended WIR
Extended Kitchen and Galley $2,900
Brick Box Provision for Fireplace $2,578
High Wind Zone N3 Additional Bracing Requirements $2,500 
Sarking to colourbond roof $2,330 
Deep Plaster Void to Living/Dining Room Internal Wall $148

GARAGE
Internal Access Door to Garage $408
Timber look sectional panel garage door $1,148
Remote control w/ 2 transmitters $666

DOORS
Main entrance door WIN 4GB 2340mm w/ Translucent Glazing (2 doors) $5,008 
Staining to main entrance door $210
Aluminium square set reveal sliding door to alfresco (2400mm X 2600mm) $1,247
Aluminium square set reveal sliding door to alfresco (2400mm X 3600mm) $2,692
Add 2340mm hinged door to cinema lounge $266
Add 2340mm hinged door to laundry (see credit below) $266
Add sliding cavity door to master ensuite $388
Increase height of powder room, broom and WIP door heights to 2340mm $231
Front entry door lever $176
Privacy lock to powder, master, bathroom, WC1 and 2 $25

WINDOWS
Picture window to dining area (180mm X 2700mm) $1,665
Picture window to kitchen splashback (1500mm X 2700mm) $723
2 Awning windows to Family (2400mm X 1200mm) $872
2 Awning windows to Living (1800mm X 600mm) $784
Awning window to galley splashback (600mm by 1500mm) $444
Increased window size of Bedroom 2 and 3 (1200mm X 2400mm) $86
Aluminium framed flyscreen to all openable windows $719
Add double glazing to master bedroom $615

NOTE: All windows (except picture windows and master bedroom) were upgraded to awning with double glazing as part of 6 star energy requirements. We opted to add double glazing to master bedroom.

KITCHEN
Upgrade range hood to match picture window splashback $1,095
Extend island bench (2690mm X 1220mm) $662
40mm stone edge to island bench $514
Category 3 Stone to Island Bench (Yukon) $1,695
3 sets of pot drawer pot  $1,014
Soft closers to pot drawers $146
Add drawer to island bench back extension $514
Hinged cupboard on top of fridge $546
Laminate shelf to kitchen splashback $649
Silk finish to kitchen cabinets $1,270
Cutlery bank of 4 drawers with soft closers $97
Bin drawer to island bench $608
Upgrade cabinet and drawer handles $239
Double undermount sink to island bench $508
Capped cold water point to fridge $126

GALLEY
Extension to base cabinets $998
Extension to overhead cabinets $127
Shadowline feature to cabinets $272
Category 3 stone to galley bench $2,069
Silk finish to galley cabinets and drawers $536
Upgrade cabinet and drawers handles $141
Single bowl undermount sink to galley $981
Mixer tap to galley sink (Bastow Georgian Sink Mixer) $288

LAUNDRY
Laundry base cabinets with laminate bench and upgraded cabinet handles $1,138
Laundry Trough $26
Mixer Tap to Laundry $15

POWDER ROOM
Vanity basin (Mizu Drift semi-inset) $80
Vanity Sink Mixer (Bastow Georgian) $281
Category 3 stone bench top (Yukon) $368
Cabinet Handles $22
Toilet Roll Holder $108 
Toilet WC $20

MASTER ENSUITE
Niche to shower $213
Square set ceiling to accommodate ceiling height tiles $383
Vanity basin (Mizu Drift semi-inset X2) $156
Vanity Sink Mixer (Bastow Georgian X2) $562
Shower Rose (Nickles Fresh) $332
Shower Wall Mixer (Bastow Georgian) $322
Shower Screen Crystaltec $147
Free standing bath wall mixer $322
Cabinet Handles $43
Robe Hooks X2 $150
Toilet Roll Holder $108
Toilet WC $20

FIRST FLOOR WC AND BATHROOM
Vanity basin (Mizu Drift semi-inset) $78
Vanity Sink Mixer (Bastow Georgian) $281
Shower Rose (Posh Bristol Rail) $41
Shower Wall Mixer (Bastow Georgian) $322
Bath Outlet (Mizu Drift) $113
Mixer Tap to Bath (Bastow Georgian) $322
Cabinet Handles $22
Double Towel Rail $205
Toilet Roll Holder $108
Toilet WC $20

ALFRESCO
Add capped gas point for BBQ $189

TILING:  $8,002
***upgraded all tiling to porcelain tiles/increased tiling height in kitchen, galley, powder room and master ensuite
 NT16-2100FL ELITE TRAVERTINE BEIGE 

***Floor Tiles to Laundry, Powder Room, Bathroom, WC and Master Ensuite

***Wall Tiles to Showers

SPAWP-1025 MASIA BLANCO

***Splashback to laundry, galley and kitchen

**Wall Tiles to Kitchen, Galley, Powder Room, Bathroom and Ensuite

NOTE: Tiling to porch flooring and pillar and alfresco floor to be done after hand-over.

ELECTRICAL: $7,655

***LED Lights throughout the ground floor ( 40X small, 3X big)
***Additional GPO all throughout the house
***Dimmer switch to cinema lounge and dining
***3 way switch to main entry lights
 ***provision for pendant light to powder room 
***provision for pendant light to living room
***provision for alfresco fan
***provision for external floor lights
***provision for external wall lights to alfresco

NOTE: All first floor electrical will be done after hand-over.

OTHER ELECTRICAL/WIRING/SECURITY
Pre-wiring pack for TV Wall (cinema lounge and family) $799
Pre-Wiring for surround sound in cinema lounge $521
Pre-wiring for CCTV $598
Security Alarm $1,329

EVAPORATIVE COOLING
Evaporative Cooling (Brivis) $6,979
Upgrade Brivis unit to medium efficiency $1,257
Provide 2 Zone Controls to Brivis unit $1,191
Network controller to Brivis unit, in lieu of manual controller $494


CREDITS (DEDUCTIONS)
Ceiling Height 2590mm and double vanity unit  -$4,191
***included in Indoor Promotion
Overhead Cabinets  -$893
***included in Indoor Promotion
Vanity Mirrors - $175
***Deleted as we will install our own after hand-over
Laundry sliding door relocated and changed to hinged door -$124
Feature tiles to porch pillar in liue of render -$477 
Sales Incentive Credit -$1,000

FINAL CONTRACT COST : $410, 527

What we intentionally left out in the contract to save on cost or install better ones after hand-over:

• Laminate Flooring
• Carpet
• LED lights to first floor
• Pendant Lights
• External Flood and Wall Lights
• Alfresco Fan
• Vanity Mirrors
• Tiling to porch floor and pillar and alfresco floor
• Window covers

What we are happy about the final outcome:

• We will end up with a very modern, energy efficient house with our colourbond roof with whirly bird, hebel and render finish , double glazed windows, sarking and insulation, zoned heating and cooling system and LED lights all throughout the house . We're so happy to have been able to include all these features in our house at very reasonable upgrade cost.
• The house will look very modern and funky outside with the Ludstone facade, colourbond roof and render finish, but will have a very calming classic feel and look inside.
• It's just the right size for my husband and the 2 kids to live comfortably and have space of our own when we need one. It's not that huge so it is more manageable to maintain and keep clean. There's a lot of left over space in the yard for me keep a nice garden. 
• It will  be light filled and airy with its high ceiling, lots of additional windows and huge alfresco sliding doors.
• We were able to upgrade our tiling to the beautiful porcelain tiles that we chose.
• We'll have a free standing bath in our master ensuite!
• Our kitchen is more that what I've dreamed of! Huge island bench with beautiful stone top, butler's pantry, picture window to splashback, bin drawer, some pot drawers, under mount sink, silk finish to cabinets and drawers with shadowline and soft closers. 
• As a bonus, we saved a couple of grand when our bushfire attack level was lifted in June which was supposed our site start because Porter Davis was very delayed with the contract. 

What I wish add if I still can without incurring cost:

• Pre-wiring for projector in cinema lounge
• Extended tiles to bathroom shower
• Add WIR set-up to master bedroom 
• Extend garage to at least 200mm to 500mm if the siting will permit just for garden tools. Our sales manager already told us that this was not possible because of the shape of our block, but I thought I'll try during tender to confirm this. We were too overwhelmed with unexpected cost during our tender that we did not even bother to ask.

Over-all, we've been very happy with what we were able to include in our building contract and the cost, considering that we did a lot of upgrades. We were able to tick all our boxes except for a few wish list which we can live without. 

Our previous BC made this experience horrible because of her mistakes, slow response and lack of communication, poor attention to details which caused delay in our site start. Our new BC has been so much better and was able to fix all the errors and delays, took her 2 months though, mind you! The only complain I have about our new BC was right after she finished the variations and drawings corrections last Tuesday, she pursued us relentlessly for our financial approval. daily emails and calls to follow up!  I sent her an email to tell her that its not our fault that our contract has been delayed and we got very tight schedule to get good valuation and bank approval.  I sent her copies of my email to my previous BC pushing for contract appointment to make sure we meet the site start, I told her that a customer who tried as hard as I did to meet the site start should not be stressed like she stressed me this week!

Anyway, all is finished now and hopefully, we'll move to the site and start our construction very soon! Here's to praying and hoping for a very good site supervisor! 

We're Moving On to Construction!

Finally, after almost 2 months since we've signed our building contract with Porter Davis we have finished all the paper work and we are now moving on to construction!

We have always been told to make sure that we happy with the contents of the contract as we couldn't change anything after signing, but turns out that you can if your BC did not bother to prepare your contract properly and you're forced to sign during the contract appointment just to get things moving.

If you're wondering what other paper work could be involved after contract signing, in our case they are Post Contract Variation 1, Building Variation 1, Building Variation 2, Building Variation 3, Building Variation 4 and Building Variation 5.

All these variations were free of charge because we did initiate them. They were all done to capture all the changes the we have requested during our Tender appointment which were not included in our contract and a few errors in our drawing that PD needed to correct such as:

• Delete timber laminate flooring
• Delete all external lights, pendant lights and alfresco fan and add provisions for them only
• Delete porch and alfresco floor and porch pillar tiles
• Add Bastow Georgian Mixer to bath in bathroom 
• Correct the size of window in master bedroom
• Change the window in master ensuite to awning window in lieu of sliding window
• Change the window in bedroom 2 and 3 to awning window in lieu of sliding window 
• Change the step down in garage, alfresco and porch
• Delete Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) requirements
• Update site costs and site plan (no actual change in cost)
• Upgrade the shower in our ensuite to Crystaltec Shower Screen
• Correct price of our Kitchen Culture plan 
• Change the roof pitch of garage and alfreco to 22.5 degrees as part of developer's requirements 
• Add pre-wired surround sound in cinema lounge (our additional request)
• Add double glazed window to master bedroom (our additional request)
• Add back all the bathroom accessories that we deleted at tender (our additional request)
• Add sarking to colourbond roof as BAL requirement was lifted (our additional request)
• Add aluminium flyscreen to all openable windows as BAL requirement was lifted (our additional request)
• Give us $1000 credit as sales incentive
• Give us $893 credit for overhead cabinets  

We tried to add pre-wiring for projector in cinema lounge and to increase the tile height in the first floor bathroom up to ceiling, but our new BC refused already and we did not push anymore to avoid further delays. As the electrical and especially, the tiling usually take longest to correct.

You'll find that once PD has finished the paper work, they are very efficient making sure that your bank approval and financials are all ready.  My new BC has been calling me and sending me daily emails since we finished all the paper work this Tuesday! She said that she needs the formal approval for our finance by Friday!

It was such a relief that Loan Studio and Vikram, our broker, has been very supportive and efficient in getting our loan approval from Westpac on time to get our BC off our back. We highly recommend Loan Studio to anyone who is looking for a good broker. Westpac, on the other hand, has given us the best valuation with very competitive interest rate.

Moving on, I  just sent my BC an email asking for the next steps and the timeline. Fingers crossed, hoping for better experience from here and a very good site supervisor too!

Post Contract Variations and Land Settlement Updates

After we've signed our contract with Porter Davis and our land settled, you'd think that things will go easy and quick, but no. Our progress has been very slow and painful,  the target June site start didn't happen. It's mid-July now, and I still don't see how we can start building this month.

A major change though has happened, I refused to continue working with building coordinator (BC). Our BC had done something which I consider very offensive and racist that I considered terminating our contract with Porter Davis.  I wrote a product review about this issue, but I gave PD a chance to resolve with me as I think my BC's action was an isolated case and does not reflect my whole PD experience. I've been happy with the response and so, you won't be reading about that complaint at Product Review website. I, instead, filed a formal complaint against her as advised by their customer care and this formal complaint has been escalated to senior management.

Some updates since our Contract Appointment and Land Settlement:

• We now have a new BC. She's still not perfect, she's still missing things and I'm still finding errors with her documents, but I'm Ok with that as long as she doesn't do what my previous BC did. 

• We have signed our Post Contract Variation 1 (PCV1) which deletes the timber laminate flooring in the ground floor, includes the surround sound pre-wiring pack and the $1000 sales incentive that we negotiated. The following items were missed and I was told will just be included in Building Variation 1:
• Electrical Variation. They have already updated the electrical cost and plan, but missed to include them in the PCV1 which will delete all external flood lights, alfresco fan and pendant in powder room and just include provisions for them  
• Bath Mixer in Bathroom. This was missed out in the contract and we have requested to have this included in the PCV1.
• Double glazed window to the master bedroom. We requested to have this added as part of PCV1 as the windows in the master bedroom were the only windows which were not double glazed as part of our 6 star energy requirements.  With this, all the windows throughout the house are now double glazed except the picture windows in the kitchen and dining area.
• Bathroom Accessories. We chose these Bastow Georgian toilet roll holder (powder, first floor WC and ensuite WC) double towel rail (first floor bathroom) and robe hooks (master ensuite) during our colour selection and then requested them to be deleted at Tender Appointment when the cost became too much. When we deleted the flooring, we want to have these added so we don't need to worry about installing them and ruining the wall and tiles in the process.    
• Tiling. They still need to delete the flooring tiles in the porch and alfresco, the wall tiles in the porch pillar and the galley splashback.
• Facade render correction. The facade render which we requested to be corrected during tender has not been corrected.  

• We are now in the process of signing of Building Variation 1 which covers what were missed out in PCV1 as listed above. There will be a BuildingVariation 2 for the following:
• Tiling: Tiling was not included yet as I found errors in the new plan that they gave me. The tiling variation will be included in Building Variation 2  as I was told. 
• Bath Mixer in Bathroom. They also made an error with the bath mixer in the bathroom so I am waiting for my BC to correct this or just include in Building Variation2.
• Projector pre-wire and extension of bathroom shower tiles to ceiling. While, she's working on Building Variation 2, I thought I will try and see if she can still include the following in our plan: projector pre-wire for the cinema lounge and extension of bathroom shower tiling to the ceiling. I'm still waiting for her reply.

•   Our render colour was not corrected.  

This is how we want our render and facade colours to be: 

This is what PD submitted to our DRP for approval:

We tried to have them to correct this drawing numerous times, but because of our useless BC, it was not corrected and we were not informed about this issue until we saw the drawing after the contract has been signed. We could have made it difficult for PD and ask them to correct this as we want it, but we just went back to WOS to ask for reassurance that despite the change in render allocation the facade looks OK. 

• They found an error in our master bedroom window. My new BC sent me an email to say that there was an error in our window as their supplier doesn't supply 1200mm high X 3780mm wide windows. We will instead have a 1200mm high X 3600mm wide windows with increased butt joint.

• Some update about our land: Our missing peg has been confirmed missing and has since been replaced for free by Woodlea. Thank God we found and reported this before land settlement! 

• Our block has been removed from the bushfire zone as shown on bushfire zoning map, but Woodlea advised that we still need to build our home following bushfire restriction as are block is directly in front of reserve area and it's a clause in our land title.

• Our broker advised that our land and building valuations were coming back as undervalued from several lenders. We tried to go to big banks and apply for loan directly. When I told my broker about this, he requested that we give him more time to look for other banks. He said that his director is helping him in getting good valuation for us. Eventually, he came back with 2 big banks with very good assessment and loan terms while the bank that we went to told us that they will still use the valuation that they gave my broker which was way under. And so, we will still do our financing thru our broker. We are finalising the loan application at the moment.   

• The base price of Forsyth 35 has now gone up to $270, 900 effective 1 July. It was $238, 900 when we signed up in August last year, but when the price increased to $246, 900  in October, we opted to switch to it so we can avail of the full render promotion.

• Woodlea just released Stage 31A and blocks our size is now worth $330K. We got our land for $242K. We've so lucky to get our block last year!

• Lastly, it's July now and we haven't started our building yet. I'm happy with this as we are not paying any late start penalty as the delays were not due to us at this stage. This delay is giving us more time to save money for the things that we need to cash out after the building.

My next update should be more exciting with building commencement, hopefully, fingers-crossed!