DW1 kitchen layout.
Not happy with having to move the window. Really stuffed up my layout. But I shouldn't have chosen the current one. Part of the bench will stick out and make the space in the family unusuable. Unless I put a seat or book shelf there.
Thinking about it today I should have done an island bench, like DW2 - I would have had the space.
Facade of DW2
I would have a flat ground floor roof and have a long feature window by the stairs going from ground to first floor.
2400 windows
I would have liked sashless windows.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Mum's say
Call from Dan today to finalise last minute things and give me an update as I hadn't heard from him in a month. (Good thing as A said because it means they know what they're doing and don't need confirmation from me)
- Slab should be finished by Monday - was relieved when I went past this morning and saw that they hadn't laid the concrete yesterday. Steel was lying in the rain - hope it doesn't rust!
- Electrical plan needs to be finalised. I think I'm going to go shin high LED lights on the stairs. Not convinced one ceiling light will give sufficient light. So I've been googling images of LEDs - need to decide on 2 vs 3 for the first flight up.
- Carpet. Needs to be decided in a week. Will have to to go to Carpet Court Ringwood on the weekend.
- Keyed locks. Dan wasn't sure why I wanted a lock internally in the laundry/powder area. I can see where he's coming from. I don't want it. Mum does. She wants to have students, so she wants to have locks on everything... even in the laundry.
- Slab should be finished by Monday - was relieved when I went past this morning and saw that they hadn't laid the concrete yesterday. Steel was lying in the rain - hope it doesn't rust!
- Electrical plan needs to be finalised. I think I'm going to go shin high LED lights on the stairs. Not convinced one ceiling light will give sufficient light. So I've been googling images of LEDs - need to decide on 2 vs 3 for the first flight up.
- Carpet. Needs to be decided in a week. Will have to to go to Carpet Court Ringwood on the weekend.
- Keyed locks. Dan wasn't sure why I wanted a lock internally in the laundry/powder area. I can see where he's coming from. I don't want it. Mum does. She wants to have students, so she wants to have locks on everything... even in the laundry.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
DW1 slab starting..
In the morning yesterday came across these squares of dirt/clay - don't know what it's called!
After work found that they had boxed it in preparation for the concrete.
Didn't get to look at it after work today, but I hope they didn't pour the concrete today - it was bucketing down, lightning and thunder - the wettest day in September! I'll find out tomorrow...
After work found that they had boxed it in preparation for the concrete.
Didn't get to look at it after work today, but I hope they didn't pour the concrete today - it was bucketing down, lightning and thunder - the wettest day in September! I'll find out tomorrow...
Monday, September 26, 2011
DW2 slab laid
And I'm finally up to date - although I have a backlog of unfinished entries.
The slab has been laid for the back house!
Annoyingly I don't have the code for the lock so can only peer from afar.
Hmmm it does look smaller than I anticipated, but I can see where everything is meant to be. I can see the wet area shower - slightly lower than the rest of the slab. Also the pipe for where the island kitchen will be.
The slab has been laid for the back house!
Annoyingly I don't have the code for the lock so can only peer from afar.Hmmm it does look smaller than I anticipated, but I can see where everything is meant to be. I can see the wet area shower - slightly lower than the rest of the slab. Also the pipe for where the island kitchen will be.
Pipes
16 September 2011
After coming back from 2 weeks hols, was hoping that the slab might have been laid. No slab, but there are pipes in the ground.
After coming back from 2 weeks hols, was hoping that the slab might have been laid. No slab, but there are pipes in the ground.
Site scraped
26 August 2011
Ran past house and saw that the site had been scraped? Is that the terminology? Anyway what I saw was the 2 levels of my houses! I could see the driveway going down on the left side. Then the level of the first house, and where the stairs would go leading down to the garage.
Have decided that I’ll source my own splashback. Takes pressure off me having to decide a colour. Also will be nearly $1000 cheaper.
Went to Carpet court in Ringwood. Hard to decide on the colour. I like the darker carpets, but I’m not sure if it will make the room look smaller.
Ran past house and saw that the site had been scraped? Is that the terminology? Anyway what I saw was the 2 levels of my houses! I could see the driveway going down on the left side. Then the level of the first house, and where the stairs would go leading down to the garage.
Have decided that I’ll source my own splashback. Takes pressure off me having to decide a colour. Also will be nearly $1000 cheaper.
Went to Carpet court in Ringwood. Hard to decide on the colour. I like the darker carpets, but I’m not sure if it will make the room look smaller.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Design brief
Dec 2009
A design brief is important, and to have it in writing. It lets the architect know what you want. Also, later (as I came to find out) it can be used when the plans come back and they're not what you wanted.
Here is my design brief:
Both houses
• ~24sq
• Living, dining, family areas
• Prefer 4 bedrooms, otherwise 3 bedrooms plus 1 rumpus room – folding doors opening onto landing
• Upstairs kitchenette
• Master bedroom – min 15sqm, WIR or full length wall BIR if more space
• Other bedrooms – min 3mx3m, exc BIR
• Kitchen – galley (island) unless it consumes too much space
• Laundry - preferably with outside access but not essential
• Utilise space under stairs
• 9 foot ceilings – ground floor, can be less upstairs
• Windows – northfacing, total windows approx 30% coverage of house
• Outdoors – decking
• ‘Build for life’ www.buildforlife.com.au
Dwelling 2 (disabled access – limited mobility)
• Entrance – 1 step with potential for ramp, Double doors (or 1 ½), Covered porch
• Stairs – leading off foyer entrance
• Bathroom - Recessed basin, Wet area shower, Shower away from door to prevent water overflow, Australian standards
• Kitchen - space 1500mm
• Master bedroom - double door (or 1 ½)
• Garage - Internal access, preferably to kitchen, +/- step – don’t want flooding issues with house
• Corridors –1050mm, but preferably none
• On one level – master bedroom/ensuite, kitchen, laundry +/- garage
• Downstairs Rumpus room or close off living area (so can open up to make bigger entertaining area)
A design brief is important, and to have it in writing. It lets the architect know what you want. Also, later (as I came to find out) it can be used when the plans come back and they're not what you wanted.
Here is my design brief:
Both houses
• ~24sq
• Living, dining, family areas
• Prefer 4 bedrooms, otherwise 3 bedrooms plus 1 rumpus room – folding doors opening onto landing
• Upstairs kitchenette
• Master bedroom – min 15sqm, WIR or full length wall BIR if more space
• Other bedrooms – min 3mx3m, exc BIR
• Kitchen – galley (island) unless it consumes too much space
• Laundry - preferably with outside access but not essential
• Utilise space under stairs
• 9 foot ceilings – ground floor, can be less upstairs
• Windows – northfacing, total windows approx 30% coverage of house
• Outdoors – decking
• ‘Build for life’ www.buildforlife.com.au
Dwelling 2 (disabled access – limited mobility)
• Entrance – 1 step with potential for ramp, Double doors (or 1 ½), Covered porch
• Stairs – leading off foyer entrance
• Bathroom - Recessed basin, Wet area shower, Shower away from door to prevent water overflow, Australian standards
• Kitchen - space 1500mm
• Master bedroom - double door (or 1 ½)
• Garage - Internal access, preferably to kitchen, +/- step – don’t want flooding issues with house
• Corridors –1050mm, but preferably none
• On one level – master bedroom/ensuite, kitchen, laundry +/- garage
• Downstairs Rumpus room or close off living area (so can open up to make bigger entertaining area)
Hell hath no fury... like a mortgage broker scorned
Aug 2008
My mortgage broker ends up sending me an invoice for $110 + $165 for extraordinary work performed. What??! Firstly, he charges me for the amount he told me I wouldn't need to pay. Secondly, he's charging me for his 'extraordinary work performed'. He ended up creating more work for me. And because of his delays, I couldn't change my loan and ended up fixing more than I wanted. And there was no way I was paying for his poor customer service.
So I refuse to pay. Actually, I follow his style, and just ignored his emails and phone calls.
Next thing I know, he's taken me to VCAT. So petty. What a waste of resources. And it takes months for a VCAT hearing.
The amount is not that much ($275 inc GST), but it is more a matter of principle. I would rather take 1/2 day off work and go to VCAT than pay him without a fight.
May 2009
On the day of the VCAT hearing, he calls me. In hindsight I should have ignored the call, but curiosity gets the better of me and I answer. He's calling to ask if I will be going to the hearing. Seriously? I tell him yes. But that is why I should have ignored the call. Because he might not have turned up if I had not answered.
So I front up to my first 'court' hearing. Excited, but also with slight trepidation. I don't really have anything to lose (except money!).
We're given the option of making a non religious oath or swearing on the Bible, which I take (didn't check which version it was!). He gives his side of the story, I mine. The VCAT member asks some questions, and finally she rules that I have to pay $110.
Not happy about it, but I accept it.
Shortly after my mortgage broker writes me an email:
"After hearing each other speak in the VCAT hearing, I am beginning to feel that we could have resolved this together.
I wanted you to understand that once I had submitted the deal to Westpac, that my role was complete and that the rest of the process would have been handled between you and Westpac. Hence then I did not understand why you would want to stop me from earning the commission when there was no real benefit to you.
Nevertheless, after hearing you at VCAT, I cant help but feel that you have a reasonable mind and I am now just saddened we could not have achieved good for each other last year. I understand that at that point my workload was higher than at any other point I have experienced, and as a result you felt neglected. I see this now. I am sorry if you felt that way, it was not my intention for this to happen.
I would prefer to provide you with an actual loan rather than take $110 from you.
To this end I want to offer to refinance your existing loan at no cost to you. I can place you with a new lender on an interest rate of 4.84%. The entire transaction will be at no cost to you.
I hope you can give me the opportunity to show you how good my work can be. You will benefit from this by saving money on your interest. Plus we can turn this around and create a happier relationship between us and that would make me happier.
Let me know your thoughts."
Dumbfounded. What nerve! Not sure what his intention/motive was. Sincere? Or rub it in as to how much interest rates had dropped? He should have known that the loan was fixed for 3 years and I couldn't break it.
Anyway, I didn't care. He didn't deserve a response from me. And after that email, I was not going to pay the $110. Haven't heard from him since.
To emphasise lesson learnt: Don't go with a mortgage broker - especially him!
My mortgage broker ends up sending me an invoice for $110 + $165 for extraordinary work performed. What??! Firstly, he charges me for the amount he told me I wouldn't need to pay. Secondly, he's charging me for his 'extraordinary work performed'. He ended up creating more work for me. And because of his delays, I couldn't change my loan and ended up fixing more than I wanted. And there was no way I was paying for his poor customer service.
So I refuse to pay. Actually, I follow his style, and just ignored his emails and phone calls.
Next thing I know, he's taken me to VCAT. So petty. What a waste of resources. And it takes months for a VCAT hearing.
The amount is not that much ($275 inc GST), but it is more a matter of principle. I would rather take 1/2 day off work and go to VCAT than pay him without a fight.
May 2009
On the day of the VCAT hearing, he calls me. In hindsight I should have ignored the call, but curiosity gets the better of me and I answer. He's calling to ask if I will be going to the hearing. Seriously? I tell him yes. But that is why I should have ignored the call. Because he might not have turned up if I had not answered.
So I front up to my first 'court' hearing. Excited, but also with slight trepidation. I don't really have anything to lose (except money!).
We're given the option of making a non religious oath or swearing on the Bible, which I take (didn't check which version it was!). He gives his side of the story, I mine. The VCAT member asks some questions, and finally she rules that I have to pay $110.
Not happy about it, but I accept it.
Shortly after my mortgage broker writes me an email:
"After hearing each other speak in the VCAT hearing, I am beginning to feel that we could have resolved this together.
I wanted you to understand that once I had submitted the deal to Westpac, that my role was complete and that the rest of the process would have been handled between you and Westpac. Hence then I did not understand why you would want to stop me from earning the commission when there was no real benefit to you.
Nevertheless, after hearing you at VCAT, I cant help but feel that you have a reasonable mind and I am now just saddened we could not have achieved good for each other last year. I understand that at that point my workload was higher than at any other point I have experienced, and as a result you felt neglected. I see this now. I am sorry if you felt that way, it was not my intention for this to happen.
I would prefer to provide you with an actual loan rather than take $110 from you.
To this end I want to offer to refinance your existing loan at no cost to you. I can place you with a new lender on an interest rate of 4.84%. The entire transaction will be at no cost to you.
I hope you can give me the opportunity to show you how good my work can be. You will benefit from this by saving money on your interest. Plus we can turn this around and create a happier relationship between us and that would make me happier.
Let me know your thoughts."
Dumbfounded. What nerve! Not sure what his intention/motive was. Sincere? Or rub it in as to how much interest rates had dropped? He should have known that the loan was fixed for 3 years and I couldn't break it.
Anyway, I didn't care. He didn't deserve a response from me. And after that email, I was not going to pay the $110. Haven't heard from him since.
To emphasise lesson learnt: Don't go with a mortgage broker - especially him!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
What Will You Do?
June 2008 - December 2008
Good question. What will I do?
Pretend that I'm an ostrich and stick my head in the sand.
I continued to live life pretending I didn't have this house, wasting time and ignoring my holding costs.
From time to time I would think about my house, or more specifically, my loan which I had fixed at the peak of 7.25, and watch as the interest rates dropped, and dropped, and dropped. GFC. Dropped 3 points in 6 months and by April 2009 the cash rate was at 3. Break costs for the fixed loan was about the same price as the difference in interest, so I left it.
Lesson learnt. Costly lesson learnt.
After 6 months and with nagging from my siblings, I decided I better do something with this land.
December 2008 - March 2009
Initially I was going to build 2 townhouses.
Then I changed my mind.
Mum wanted to build a house which could be rented out to students. So I looked at the volume builders, went to their display homes, looked at heaps of house plans, collected lots of brochures, and eventually decided on a Simonds home which I could modify. I met with the Customer Service rep and talked about the changes I wanted to make. It was a good design where I could extend it, and close it off internally so that students could stay separately. It was single storey, and long. (I'm not sure why I didn't look at double storey houses.) Then I decided that was a dumb idea. Firstly, I didn't want students. Secondly, having a long house on a sloping block would mean high site costs. Thirdly, for resale value having a double storey house would make more sense.
So then I decided that I would do 2 houses. A positive of volume builders is that they are significantly cheaper. So I then thought about building one house first, and then building the second house later. It would also mean that I could avoid going through town planning. Again, I looked at the volume builders and more house plans before deciding on one by National Builders Group that I could modify. I met with the Customer Service rep, talked about changes that I wanted to make, and even went so far as paying a $1000 deposit. This was despite the private open space being about 15cm too short. I changed my mind and decided this was another dumb idea. Firstly, 15cm too short may as well have been 150cm too short - council would view it as very significant. Secondly, I had no idea what the back house would be like and how it would fit. Thirdly, town council could potentially deal even harder with my project as it would be obvious to them what I had done. Fourthly, volume builders are shoddy.
So after 3 months, I was back to square one. Buidling 2 custom townhouses.
Good question. What will I do?
Pretend that I'm an ostrich and stick my head in the sand.
I continued to live life pretending I didn't have this house, wasting time and ignoring my holding costs.
From time to time I would think about my house, or more specifically, my loan which I had fixed at the peak of 7.25, and watch as the interest rates dropped, and dropped, and dropped. GFC. Dropped 3 points in 6 months and by April 2009 the cash rate was at 3. Break costs for the fixed loan was about the same price as the difference in interest, so I left it.
Lesson learnt. Costly lesson learnt.
After 6 months and with nagging from my siblings, I decided I better do something with this land.
December 2008 - March 2009
Where do I start? What do I do?
Initially I was going to build 2 townhouses.
Then I changed my mind.
Mum wanted to build a house which could be rented out to students. So I looked at the volume builders, went to their display homes, looked at heaps of house plans, collected lots of brochures, and eventually decided on a Simonds home which I could modify. I met with the Customer Service rep and talked about the changes I wanted to make. It was a good design where I could extend it, and close it off internally so that students could stay separately. It was single storey, and long. (I'm not sure why I didn't look at double storey houses.) Then I decided that was a dumb idea. Firstly, I didn't want students. Secondly, having a long house on a sloping block would mean high site costs. Thirdly, for resale value having a double storey house would make more sense.
So then I decided that I would do 2 houses. A positive of volume builders is that they are significantly cheaper. So I then thought about building one house first, and then building the second house later. It would also mean that I could avoid going through town planning. Again, I looked at the volume builders and more house plans before deciding on one by National Builders Group that I could modify. I met with the Customer Service rep, talked about changes that I wanted to make, and even went so far as paying a $1000 deposit. This was despite the private open space being about 15cm too short. I changed my mind and decided this was another dumb idea. Firstly, 15cm too short may as well have been 150cm too short - council would view it as very significant. Secondly, I had no idea what the back house would be like and how it would fit. Thirdly, town council could potentially deal even harder with my project as it would be obvious to them what I had done. Fourthly, volume builders are shoddy.
So after 3 months, I was back to square one. Buidling 2 custom townhouses.
Getting a loan
April- June 2008
This was my first loan. I had 2 months from auction until settlement.
Before this, I did not know what the RBA was. What they did on the first Tuesday of each month never influenced my life. I was in my own happy little bubble.
That all changed.
P had already been researching home loans and finding out which bank was offering the best rate and discount. He was able to get the best discount from Westpac of 0.83% off the SVR (standard variable rate - yes another term I learnt) with the package. Package? Where you pay an annual fee ($395 for Westpac) which entitles you to the discount, as well as other benefits like a fee free banking account and credit cards etc. Although he had done the research I also went to Mortgage Choice to get another opinion, just in case they could find a better deal, or if there was some discount I could get in relation to my profession. Turned out it was still the same so I was going to go directly with Westpac.
Until.
My accountant got in touch with me. Bad mistake on 2 points
- He advised me to prepay my loan. So what is prepay? As it was close to the end of financial year it meant that I paid the whole amount of interest for that year. Good point is that I get to claim back for the upcoming EOFY. Bad point - it was 3 years fixed.
- He knew a mortgage broker. The whole long story deserves another blog post. I'll write the start.
So I spoke to this mortgage broker and told him I wanted to go with Westpac. It was pretty easy for him as I already knew what I wanted. I didn't really understand the role of the mortgage broker at that time. I asked him the difference between going with the bank vs the broker and he said he would organise everything for me with settlement. I now know that brokers get a very nice commission. Also once you go with a broker, it's harder to deal directly with the bank.
I foolishly decided to go with him. On applying for the loan, he asked me to sign a form where I would need to pay $110. It did not make sense for me to pay extra as I knew which bank I wanted to go with but when I asked him what it was for, he said it was for credit card checks etc, and wouldn't even be that whole amount, so I signed it.
During this time, I was still learning about loans, the difference between fixed and variable, offset and prepayment. I didn't realise that you couldn't offset a fixed loan. Also prepaying a loan meant that you had to fix the loan.
After signing the loan, it was extremely difficult getting in contact with him.
I would be trying to phone or email him. As I couldn't get in contact with him, I was on the phone nearly every day to the Westpac Mortgage Centre.
He finally emails me to say he will be submitting my loan (without my authorisation of the type of loan/amount), asks me to provide the name of the Westpac person that had offerend the discount, and that it would be a Variable loan with an offset account. At one stage he also gave me the incorrect interest rates.
Coincidentally on the day he emails me, the lady from Westpac called me. She is much more helpful and informs me that you cannot prepay a loan with a Variable loan. It would have to be a 1-3 year fixed loan, and this can't be offset.
Having had enough of dealing with my mortgage broker I end up going in to see her that day and she manages to get me a discount of 0.85%. The next morning, a Saturday, I email my mortgage broker to say I would no longer require his services. After a week of not being able to call me, he calls me 2 hours after I email him. He is very rude. Later that afternoon he emails me again offering me $500. I refuse based on his lack of customer service and product knowledge.
Unfortunately due to these delays I am unable to change the amount of money split between fixed (which I can prepay) and variable (which I can offset), so I end up fixing the majority of my money.
Lessons learnt:
- Don't go with a mortgage broker
- You can get 2 loans for the one mortgage - so it can be a combination of fixed and variable.
- You can't offset a fixed loan.
- You can't prepay a variable loan.
This was my first loan. I had 2 months from auction until settlement.
Before this, I did not know what the RBA was. What they did on the first Tuesday of each month never influenced my life. I was in my own happy little bubble.
That all changed.
P had already been researching home loans and finding out which bank was offering the best rate and discount. He was able to get the best discount from Westpac of 0.83% off the SVR (standard variable rate - yes another term I learnt) with the package. Package? Where you pay an annual fee ($395 for Westpac) which entitles you to the discount, as well as other benefits like a fee free banking account and credit cards etc. Although he had done the research I also went to Mortgage Choice to get another opinion, just in case they could find a better deal, or if there was some discount I could get in relation to my profession. Turned out it was still the same so I was going to go directly with Westpac.
Until.
My accountant got in touch with me. Bad mistake on 2 points
- He advised me to prepay my loan. So what is prepay? As it was close to the end of financial year it meant that I paid the whole amount of interest for that year. Good point is that I get to claim back for the upcoming EOFY. Bad point - it was 3 years fixed.
- He knew a mortgage broker. The whole long story deserves another blog post. I'll write the start.
So I spoke to this mortgage broker and told him I wanted to go with Westpac. It was pretty easy for him as I already knew what I wanted. I didn't really understand the role of the mortgage broker at that time. I asked him the difference between going with the bank vs the broker and he said he would organise everything for me with settlement. I now know that brokers get a very nice commission. Also once you go with a broker, it's harder to deal directly with the bank.
I foolishly decided to go with him. On applying for the loan, he asked me to sign a form where I would need to pay $110. It did not make sense for me to pay extra as I knew which bank I wanted to go with but when I asked him what it was for, he said it was for credit card checks etc, and wouldn't even be that whole amount, so I signed it.
During this time, I was still learning about loans, the difference between fixed and variable, offset and prepayment. I didn't realise that you couldn't offset a fixed loan. Also prepaying a loan meant that you had to fix the loan.
After signing the loan, it was extremely difficult getting in contact with him.
I would be trying to phone or email him. As I couldn't get in contact with him, I was on the phone nearly every day to the Westpac Mortgage Centre.
He finally emails me to say he will be submitting my loan (without my authorisation of the type of loan/amount), asks me to provide the name of the Westpac person that had offerend the discount, and that it would be a Variable loan with an offset account. At one stage he also gave me the incorrect interest rates.
Coincidentally on the day he emails me, the lady from Westpac called me. She is much more helpful and informs me that you cannot prepay a loan with a Variable loan. It would have to be a 1-3 year fixed loan, and this can't be offset.
Having had enough of dealing with my mortgage broker I end up going in to see her that day and she manages to get me a discount of 0.85%. The next morning, a Saturday, I email my mortgage broker to say I would no longer require his services. After a week of not being able to call me, he calls me 2 hours after I email him. He is very rude. Later that afternoon he emails me again offering me $500. I refuse based on his lack of customer service and product knowledge.
Unfortunately due to these delays I am unable to change the amount of money split between fixed (which I can prepay) and variable (which I can offset), so I end up fixing the majority of my money.
Lessons learnt:
- Don't go with a mortgage broker
- You can get 2 loans for the one mortgage - so it can be a combination of fixed and variable.
- You can't offset a fixed loan.
- You can't prepay a variable loan.
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