There are a couple of minor issues we're dealing with tonight!
1) Finance. We've been approved for a Line of Credit to pay for half the house build; which we're still waiting on the final documents to sign. I'm wondering how long it'll take Heritage to turn around everything, as we need to provide proof of financing within 14 days of contract signing (ie by Oct 27th)? But in earlier communication, our CSC said all we had to do was provide a copy of loan preapproval at contract signing, with full approval due within 30 days of contract signing.
2) Demolition. We've booked it in for November 9-13, and the HIA contract states it needs to be done within 30 days of contract signing. I'm thinking it's cutting things a little fine here, just in case things don't go according to plan!
And in addition to all of this, M states that "the contract must be unconditional within 150 days of deposit", 150 days being November 24. What I imagine is that the HIA contract isn't unconditional until all finance is approved etc, which I imagine means we need to sign up by end of October?
Confusing! Anyone got any advice re financing, deadlines etc, please comment!
Anyway, my plan tomorrow is to;
1) Call Heritage regarding loan paperwork
2) Call Telstra regarding a telephone line that's still obviously physically connected to our house, despite an operator telling me last week that it had been disconnected
3) Call the demo contractor to check on dates (and in particular when will it be finished) and maybe try to book them in a bit earlier
And here's some pics for you, as we know pictures tell a thousand words! Here's the glass/stainless steel rangehood we changed to:
Here's a pic of the ceiling mounted rainfall showerhead that we've put in the ensuite shower, in addition to the rail showerhead. Expensive, but they're worth every penny to relax after a long day at work!
Phew!
T&T
Guys thanks for sharing the Metricon experience.
ReplyDeleteCan I ask how you got a line of credit to build half the house as opposed to a construction loan?
Also how was the demolition cost determined and what are should you budget for?
Thx
Andy
Hi Andy,
ReplyDeleteIf you have a lot of equity in your land, you can apply for a LOC for up to 80% of your equity for any purpose. I wouldn't recommend it unless you can pay down the LOC very quickly, as it's more expensive than a usual construction loan. However it has huge flexibility in how you use the funds, so we're prepared to pay a little more for it. Probably best you ask your lender/broker for more advice.
As for demolition, it's currently under $10k with a full asbestos garage removal included, and a 3 bedroom weatherboard house, plus 3-4 large trees. I won't mention the demo contractor yet in case the job is no good, but my uncle who is a custom builder has used them several times without problems.
T&T
Hi Tim and Tina,
ReplyDeleteJust a quick note to say that my wife and I are enjoying your blog. We have pretty much decided that Metricon comes closest in terms of cost and design to what we want when compared to everyone else. We're based in Sydney and they don't have a large presence here at the moment. I guess that's the only thing holding us back...