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!