After another two weeks, we have navigated our way back from no-mans land towards the golden beacon of hope - the construction list. This past fortnight has been made bearable with wine and a deliberately full work schedule. I recall reading on another blog that 'weekend dread' sets in at various points throughout the building process and I can honestly say I've
never looked forward to Mondays until now. Weekends have been a black hole of nothingness given that banks, valuers and McDonald Jones are closed. We have made it through and now have sent our 4% payment AND our bank manager is writing up the authority to commence construction letter on Monday. I will be so happy to know that the planning is done, the bank is sorted and that it is time for action. To mark the end of the pre-building phase I thought I would share some experiences and thoughts for others embarking on the same journey.
The Good
Display Homes
Those first steps into the display home are magical and for us it really was a matter of walking through the front door and knowing that we had found our house. Display homes are a wonderful tool for inspiration, exploring how different colours and styles work with a design and deciding what changes you might need to make a plan suit your lifestyle. We visited the display of our home a half dozen times throughout planning, it was especially helpful in deciding where to put lights and switches.
My Choice Colour Studio
Colour selections are a huge undertaking and it is hard to get a grasp on the world of upgrade options. Enter the colour studio, the wonderland of colour swatches, fixtures, fireplaces, tile and brick samples. Everything you can imagine for your new home from the type of brick to the colour of the grout between your tiles is in the studio. The selection process is well organized with McDonald Jones and we felt that we had enough time and resources to put together a well finished home. The staff are helpful and lead you through the options. The only downfalls are the inordinate amounts of money you can spend and that some items are a bit overpriced.
Council (Yes I actually said council)
Right through the planning I was having nightmares about council and obsessing about their requirements for residential dwellings. I heard horror stories about friends and colleagues waiting months, having to make radical changes and paying lots of extra money to meet requirements. In our case council took three weeks from the day they logged the DA and we tracked every step on the council website. Three weeks felt like a long time but in the scheme of things, it was actually quite good!
The Bad
Building: An Insider Experience
As first time builders we chose McDonald Jones, not only for the great quality of their homes but also on the assumption that they would have established processes to lead clients through the building experience. Boy did we think wrong! We have a two page brochure which lists the steps in the process - great, kind of exciting to tick the boxes however there is very little explanation of how long steps take or of all of the building terminology along the way. We didnt really have anyone sit us down and explain what would happen or what we should be doing. Having been through the process now, I would be much more relaxed in doing it again. Our saving grace was the building forum and blogs, where others kindly shared their own experiences along with very handy tips.
Customer Services and Communication
It's no secret that there have been a few issues throughout the paperwork stages. It started out great but sadly that didn't last... Now I admit that I am an absolute perfectionist and think communication and professionalism are incredibly important in maintaining good relationships with my own clients. Throughout the process we have seen a number of mistakes, delays due to error and a bit of excuse making when deadlines were not being met. We have watched other people fly ahead of us in the process and sometimes wondered why we were not getting the same service others were describing. We aren't the sort of people who complain about every little thing and we know plenty of people who have had great experiences with MDJ. The lesson we learnt was to speak up, review documents carefully, do what YOU think is right and strive for perfection even when others do not. After all, a house is the biggest investment you will ever make and will be the backdrop to so many life experiences. It is important to get it right!
Distance and Appointment Times
At the start of the process we paid our deposit at Port Macquarie and assumed we would attend appointments at their studio. It wasn't until we received a letter in the mail with an appointment time that we realized we would be driving a 5 hour round trip to Newcastle for each appointment. There wasn't really consideration for people who work full time, appointments are allocated on week days and often at short notice. We had to take 4 days off work across a 2 month period and often had to cancel our own appointments to facilitate this. A little more notice to plan ahead might have made it all a bit easier (and our boss a lot happier).
The Ugly
Bank Valuations
Ah home loans, what a traumatizing process. In our case, buying our land was a confusing, horrific ordeal involving the Commonwealth Bank running us in circles. At the time a friend gave us the name of a credit union manager who came with nothing but praise. Coastline sorted us out and we kept in touch throughout the entire planning process with no problems at all. We thought we were in the clear until the time for bank valuations arrived. Our first valuation came in $45,000 under target and we (including the bank manager) were flawed. Nothing is selling our area and the median market price is incredibly low, which ultimately impacted our valuation. It then became apparent that we might not be able to get our loan with such a low valuation. After a very anxious fortnight we got a second valuation that is a bit higher and we are back on track (not without more costs though). We had no idea how loans or valuations work and it has been a steep learning curve! Funnily the second valuer said we over capitalized on our electrical and 'over lit' the house, yet here I was thinking that I was being fairly restrained! Good lighting is so important for the ambience of a home and there is nothing worse than a dark, dull house. We have joked with the family in Newcastle that if they someday notice a faint glow on the northern horizon, that will be me in the new house with my LEDs on ;)
Overall the process has been full of highs and lows, but now we are so excited to see our home take shape.
