Quick update

We received a second valuation from another company and thankfully it came in higher than the previous one. Even though it would have been better to get the full construction amount we are much better off now.

I am leaving for a business trip tomorrow and won't be back till December. We're predicting that the slab will not be poured until then but have already organized an Independent Inspector in case we get to slab stage during my absence.

As of today this is what's pending:

• Developer Design Approval
• Final loan approval (construction)
• Land Title and Settlement 
• 2nd Soil test after Title
• Building permits
• Final construction drawings
• Post Contract Variation document

Unfortunately all the above will happen throughout November so my Fiance will be quite busy on her own.

Old vs New plans .PDF overlay

Even though my BC probably thinks I'm crazy, I decided to overlay the electrical .PDFs to ensure the only changes that had been made were the ones we requested.

This was done using a tool called 'Bluebeam Revu'. It allows you to overlay two .PDFs colouring the old one in red and the new one in green. Wherever it matches the colour turns to black so you know there is no change in that area. Here's an example.

This comes in very handy when doing post contract variations and when signing off the final construction drawings.

This tool can be seen here: http://bluebeam.com/us/products/revu/  unfortunately it's not free :(

Some updates

The last few days have been pretty busy regarding our build. Here are some updates we received.

Bank:

• Second valuation to be ordered from a different company
• Rejected the stage payment schedule PD have requested

Builder (BC):

• Updated electrical layout as follows:
• Added Switch Plate at Front Door for internal lights
• Added 2x 2 way switching cost to lights in hallway
• Reconfigured switching as per client request
• Moved switch in laundry to beside door/linen cupboard
• Amended our colour selections to reflect architraves/skirting/internal door colour as 'White'
• Accepted bank's request to go back to the standard HIA progress payment schedule

We have our fingers crossed that the next valuation comes in higher than before otherwise we will have to pay some LMI. 

Bank valuation woes

Seems like I was right to be nervous. The bank valuation has come in MUCH lower than our contract price. This is really disappointing since it was the only major hurdle left to ensure we can go ahead with the build.

The bank will contact me tomorrow to discuss figures but I'm fairly sure I know the exact amount we need to make up the difference. Hopefully we have other options other than having to pay LMI.

October 2014 - Construction Update

The developer has just posted a construction update for October 2014.

Quick summary:

• Titles for Stage 1 & 2 issued
• Landscaping commenced Stage 1 neighbourhood park
• Stage 3 civil works are complete <-- This is the most exciting bit!
• Stage 4 works tracking well
• Stage 5 works to commence end of October

http://www.merrifieldmelbourne.com.au/living/constructionupdate

1,000 Views reached... Thank you!

To all that are regularly checking and reading our blog. Today we hit 1,000 views.

We would like to thank you for all your support and advice.

Looking forward to sharing the rest of our journey with you all.

Imagine Estate - PD Dunedin 29 display home

Today was the grand opening day for the new Imagine Estate in Stathfieldsaye (Near Bendigo). One of the brand new displays is a Porter Davis Dunedin 29.

We were up here visiting our parents so we decided to go have a look. Here are heaps of photos from the new PD display home.

Enjoy!

Rough landscape sketch

Did a rough sketch of what we want our front landscaping to look like as per the Developer's request.

Valuation & Developer approval request

We received two calls regarding our build today:

1. Bank =  We were informed that the valuation request has been submitted.
2. Builder = Sent drawings to developer for design approval.

A little nervous about the valuation as I have heard of many forum member receiving a valuation lower by 10-20%. We currently don't need to worry about LMI but that is if the valuation comes right at the contract price. Fingers crossed...

Our BC requested that we make a landscaping plan as they needed to have it submitted to the developer for approval. Didn't know we needed to do this until now. Looks like that will be tonight's mini project!

Independent inspector appointed...

Finally decided which company to use for our inspections. My top two choices were:

1. Darbecca
2. Building Expert

I decided to go with Darbecca as they seemed much more helpful over the phone and spent some time answering all of my questions.

After hearing all the defects other forum members had been finding with PD (and many other builders) throughout their builds, I thought it would be best to have someone that can monitor and check all the work being completed that is completely independent to Porter Davis.

Looking for some lighting options

We're doing our own lighting both outdoors and indoors. 

We were at bunnings yesterday and decided to have a look at some outdoor lighting and some pendants for the kitchen island and dining table.

Merrifield Melbourne Estate - Camera

The Merrifield Estate developer has installed an 'aerial' camera. This takes a photo of the Stage 1 (Display Homes), Stage 2 & 3 areas every 30 minutes.

It's great to be able to watch the area progress, especially now that homes are starting to be built. We can just make out our block in the far left corner of the pictures. 

http://merrifield.cloud9.com.au/PhotoGallery.aspx?installationID=638&homeID=571 

So close!

Went out to the block again today. Cross-over and pathway concrete has been poured. Looks like the block has been scrapped too. No too long till we get titles....