THE LAND / THE ESTATE:
The Good
- We were lucky and had an excellent experience with Joel from Oliver Hume. Joel was very helpful during the entire process of buying and has even provided excellent after sales follow-up when we've needed some advice. It was Joel who put us on a waiting list for our block and reserved it for us when it came back onto the market, if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have been able to secure the block we did.
- The estate is excellent and we're really happy. We decided to build in Alamanda Estate in Point Cook, http://www.alamandapointcook.com.au.
- We have full access to a recreational facility that can only be used by residents who live in the estate. It includes a fully functional gym, a pool, spa, tennis courts, function room, cafe and childrens play area all for a relatively small body corporate fee.
- The gym has the latest in equipment and it is the top of the line commercial. The treadmill even has a screen built into it with a running track, or mountains or whatever else you want, an ipod dock, tv and radio all connected into the Fibre network. You can also upload your fitness profile from a USB stick to the device so it knows who you are. It's also opened from 5.00am until 10.00pm via swipe card which is very flexible.
- The estate has its own intranet site where residents can chat on a forum and book the recreational facilities, this is useful and creates a sense of community.
- The estate anticipated issues with Broadband so ran fibre into the Estate which we're taking advantage of. The other great thing is that they selected Opticomm as the provider instead of Telstra which means we have flexibility in who we connect with and it is much cheaper to install and ongoing costs are much cheaper also. Fibre To The Home (FTTH) is not very common at the moment and the current Government solution is to only run it to the street so this means we get true broadband speeds up to 100mb.
- The estate has the highest point in Point Cook which looks out over the CBD and the Bay. The slide I think is about 30 metres long and is a great feature along with the wetlands and parks.
- The estate has the largest display village in Victoria and also has various community events including a Christmas party, I never mind free pizza and Nando's.
- The location is great only 20-25 minutes from the CBD. It's about 20km's from the city and also on the right side of the city to get to Torquay quickly on those nice summer days.
- There isn't too much bad about it, the estate ran a little bit over in obtaining titles due to delays in the subdivision but that is expected, no biggy here.
- There's no ADSL capacity in Point Cook due to Telstra not upgrading the exchange. The exchange is an old POTS network and I would say that because Telstra have a monopoly over the area there is no great rush to upgrade anything. This is really hurting everyone in the area and even the Wireless Next G network is basically unusable due to the number of people on it.
- Transport in the area isn't that great, Zone 1 is only a 10 minute drive away at Laverton but due to V-line trains sharing the line I think I'm going to try to drive into the city early after we move.
- We have had some issues getting a drain cover flush with the surface, we were told that after we built it would be at ground level but the back of our block is actually the highest point against the back fence so I don't quite get that, however after about 2 months of going back and forth between their solicitor and our conveyancer I've given up and I'll fix it myself after we start building.
- We have also had some trouble getting a hole filled in at the front of the block, the solicitor for Villawood hasn't even responded to the request even after approximately 2 months of trying so again I give up, I'll contact Joel and see if he can help. The ironic thing is there is a massive pile of dirt only about 5-10 metres from the hole and a heap of heavy movers about 30 metres away so I don't understand how it is that hard.
- The solicitor for Villawood hasn't been very helpful at all, that's essentially the reason this stuff hasn't been fixed.
THE BUILDER / METRICON:
The Good
- The thing that we loved about the Metricon designs were that they had very open plan living and we liked the fact that the kitchen and living areas were also central to the house, the quality of the finishings were also very good and Studio 501 now renamed Studio M was a great experience.
- Unlike Henley Metricon are willing to make changes to the house design and they were willing to cut off our rumpus move walls etc, all for either no charge, a credit or very minimal cost. An advantage compared to stories I've heard about Henley.
- Our sales consultant Nathan was great and really helped us a lot during the buying stage by clearly mapping out what our costs were going to be, even the hidden ones that no one tells you about. His estimates for flooring were actually above what it costs us which was great that he over anticipated as we saved a bit here.
- HOT TIP: When we were looking around to buy in August 2008 the house and weren't expected to take title until January 2009. Nathan from Metricon convinced us that we were best to put the deposit on the house then to lock in the price even though it is only valid for 150 days. We did this and the house price has basically gone up $10,000-$15,000 for our facade and we've only paid $3,000 in fines that so that was a great gamble that paid of. My tip to anyone would be to lock in the house as early as you can and be prepared to pay the 1.5% penalty. Read the bad for the gotcha though!
- The staff at Studio M were great. We had Kelly who was terrific and very patient. It actually took us two attempt to finish everything because we got stuck on the kitchen colours. We ended up spending the most on the kitchen because we need to look at it every day. You'll have to wait to find out what we went for but I think it will look great. The carpets and floorboards were easy to pick and the staff were very helpful. The victory blinds were expensive. The cutouts in the walls were $1,800 and $3,000 per blind, so $5,000 there alone. I think we'll be able to get this a little cheaper elsewhere. The driveway lady was a little direct and probably not very helpful, just wanted to get her job done and move us on. Questions weren't really welcomed..within reason. We were happy with what we come up with though.
- Metricon have been flexible with the delays we've had with finance and council and Teresa our co-ordinator understands thte issues we're having. For a while there we ran into some issues, but you can read about that in the Ugly!!!
- The tile selections at Beaumont tiles were fun and relatively simple we picked a another bathroom we wanted to copy whcih made it easier. They were helpful and it was painless.
- Metricon have a great client site that you can log in to and track your progress.
- All of the approvals and surveyor reports have occured seamlessly in the background, they take care of the lot.
The Bad
- The fixtures and fittings although a lot of them, the default ones are somewhat average. The upgrades are expensive but you would expect that anywhere.
- Our electrical appointment was good but we didn't really get much "expert" advise it was more just someone plugging in pictures of where you wanted to put stuff. The electricals are very expensive but theres not much you can do about it. Definitely leave out light fittings and external lights if you can avoid it. We put in the downlights and paid a fortune for it, but it would have been painful and almost as expensive afterwards. As a guide a normal downlight is $15 per light plus approx $45 for installation. We paid $45 per downlight plus $50 for installation per light. You can see that would add up pretty quickly across 50 downlights.
- It is disappointing that we can't have simple things like an Alarm installed, or Ducted Vacumming during build which would save us a lot of money because Metricon won't allow sub contractors onsite that aren't their own. They will sell their own product and you can only have this installed if you use them, but beware, they buy it wholesale and sell it for more than retail. You would actually be better off doing all of this stuff afterwards. I was quoted $1,400 for a basic 4 point alarm system and they just slapped in sensors whereever they wanted.
I had a quote through someone I was recommended to and they quoted me $800 for the same alarm for for $1,400 - $1,800 a full 8 point system with setup, window points, etc..basically the bees knees. - When we purchased the house and had 150 days Metricon charged us 2 months in fees even though we signed our contract only 1 month afterwards. This is because you pay the fees up until the contract is unconditional 30 days after you sign the contract. Keep this in mind.
- One of our tiles was discontinued, there isn't anything we can do about it but we had to book another selection appointment, it only took 15 minutes but it is a bit of a pain, nothing seems to be going smoothly.
- As part of the fibre being installed to the Estate we needed to get an Opticomm subcontractor through Techlife onto site during the build process. Metricon are the only builder that DO NOT allow subcontractors onto site. This is ridiculous and although I know why they do this in this instance I couldn't actually install a phone line or my tv until the house was done and it would have cost me a fortune to have the fibre put in. All other builders don't have an issue with this from what I know it is only Metricon.
The thing is it is only a policy issue, legally they have to let you onto site. I called the Building Advice and Reconcilation line which advised me that Metricon would be fined if they didn't allow me to install the phone. After I raised this Metricon tried to tell me it was unsafe and after speaking to their National OH&S Manager he agreed it was no different to letting Telstra on site and the company had insurance anyway. After another 2 weeks Metricon finally made the decision to allow me to use Techlife to install my data cabling, tv and telephone but only after a lot of pain and many nasty phone calls. Part of the problem started after my customer service co-ordinator didn't understand my requirements in October when I told her about it, she gave me a flat out no you can't do that without even understanding my requirements. This was by far the worst part of the process and it was very stressful.
After saying I wouldn't sign the contract though at the end of Feb unless I had a resolution common sense finally prevailed. For this I can be thankful but if you're going to build with Metricon BEWARE, they will give you grief about sub contractors because they use sub contractors not their own employees and as a result I guess they just don't trust anyone and they also want more money through mark-up not to mention no delays to building so they get paid.
FINANCE
The Good
- We got a 0.7% discount by going for an offset with credit cards etc for a $350 annual fee. This still worked out cheaper than going for a no fee loan over the longer term due to the interest rate discount. If and when we have children we can also take a honeymoon period from repayments with no fees. ANZ for example have a longer waiting period and charge you an application fee, got to love additional fees, even though they had a lower annual rate.
- We used a broker, which meant all our paperwork was filled in for us, but I wouldn't use a broker again. It wasn't a simple established purchase, I also re-financed a propery and they got our phone numbers wrong in the system so Westpac couldn't call us when our papers arrived for signing.
- We put in our paperwork a little bit late, approximately 4 weeks before title settlement however we ended up running over settlement and were almost penalised it was only due to our great conveyancer that saved us. The broker and Westpac were very painful to deal with only because as far as Westpac are concerned we are using a broker so we have to go through them, however the broker escalates and nothing happens. We also found it hard to get regular updates and had to call the broker a bit. If you go direct to the bank you bypass this issue. for the most part brokers can be good but for us it created pain.
The Ugly
- Westpac gave us pre-approval in Feburary and it is now the middle of April and we are still waiting for final approval a month and a half after providing all of the paperwork. Despite escalating the loan it is going nowhere. We are going to be fined by Metricon again and even though we have given Westpac and the Broker dates weeks out from our deadlines nothing has progressed.
- Westpac valued the land $20,000 more than what we bought it 16 months ago, however valued the house $20,000 lower due to the mortgage crisis. The LMI they are charging us however is based on what we paid for the house not what it is valued at which means more money for them. The swing is about 15% in LVR and about $6,000 - $7000 extra in their pockets. The are bloody rip off merchants and there is nothing we can do about it. Dodgy bastards.
- Westpac calculated our LMI incorrectly on our landloan, infact they basically charged us more than double....BEWARE! My broker is still yet to resolve this one.
- Westpac are trying to charge us about another $600 - $700 in stamp duty charges without telling us what they are for. They expect payment in 30 days and my broker is following up but I haven't heard a thing.
COUNCIL
The Good
- The process for the rescode approval was relatively easy and the council was friendly.
- I have called up to ask a few questions about water tanks and front yards etc, the council were very helpful and friendly.
- It normally takes 1 week to process a rescode application, 14 days to wait for neighbour approval and 1 week to finalise for a total of four weeks. It has taken 3 weeks to process the application, 14 days to wait for neighbour approval and we're still waiting. This may take 8 weeks which is delaying the start of construction. Then we're going to have to wait the same time for building approval. This sucks!
- There is no way you can push the council, you just wait, and wait and wait..........thsi is hurting our start times, luckily finance is taking ages so this one doesn't seem as bad. Finance is more critical though.
There are many questions to be answered before you can arrive at a reasonable moving cost estimate. Here are some considerations: Perhaps to be raised with companies which you invite to submit a quote for your move.
ReplyDelete1) There is no such thing as a standard or average sized house...and no such thing as an average householder... How many children do you have? Are you a 'collector' or a 'hoarder'... Are you minimalist? What's in the garden? Is there an attic, cellar, garage, or outhouse?
2) If you pack yourself, you should not expect insurance cover from breakages. You may also have to incur increased transport costs since the moving company cannot know how efficiently you will pack, or if you will leave many items unpacked which cannot then be stacked tidily on the van...requiring more space.
3) The preparation of your house's contents can be a large cost. It is a question of the required degree of protection: Polished furniture, mattresses, sofas, pictures, mirrors all require preparation. Valuable items require more time and packaging, maybe even crating. All breakables require individual wrapping, and so a kitchen with lots of glass crockery and equipment can take a long time to prepare.
http://www.wolfehousebuildingmovers.com/
Hi Ben and Casey,
ReplyDeleteWe are building in Alamanda (stage 12a) titles are due in November/December.
We're looking at building the Santorini 29 by Metricon we have been quoted $3,500 for the fibre connection to the house (still waiting on a breakdown on what exactly is included).
Did Metricon offer this to you when you moved in? Or did you have to go through Techlife? What is included in the Techlife pack?
Sorry for the 20 questions but it is hard to find anything out about this.
Cheers,
Chris
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the message, and it's nice to meet someone else building in Alamanda. The fibre costs they quoted you sounds about right, however that will be to connect up to Telstra Virtual Communities.
Metricon did offer me the opportunity to go through Telstra, in fact they tried to force me to use them. I ended up going with Techlife (Opticomm) after much debate with Metricon.
I ended up going with the following:
- 5 Telephone Points
- 7 Data Points
- 4 Subscriber/Free to Air TV Points
All up it cost me around $2000 through Techlife which includes the installation of the fibre to your ONU (on the side of your house), installation of your Hills Hub and all internal patching and testing.
As you can see it is almost half the cost of what it would cost to put in Telstra, and the other benefit is you get an option of different ISP's and as a result competing rates. If you choose Telstra you can only use Telstra which essentially means no competition and high prices.
There is an article on the Alamanda Intranet site: http://www.alamandaonline.com.au which has this topic. I have included some more information on there.
They key thing is not to let Metricon tell you that you can't get onto site, I managed to get around this by contacting Building and Conscilliation Advice Victoria their number is: 1300 557 559.
After reviewing the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 they pointed me to two sections related to Metricon having to let you onsite:
Section 17:
Restrictions on builders' control of building sites
A domestic building contract does not give a builder a greater right to occupy a building site than that of a contractual licensee.
Section 19:
Access to building site
(1) A builder must permit the building owner (or a person authorised by the building owner) to have reasonable access to the building site and to view any part of the building works.
Penalty: 20 penalty units.
(2) A person who is exercising a right of access granted under subsection (1) must not interfere with the carrying out of the building works.
(3) A builder is not liable for any costs or delays—
(a) that result from any failure by a person to comply with subsection (2); and
(b) that the builder notifies the building owner of in writing within 5 business days of the failure to comply occurring.
After speaking to BCAV they have advised me that in their view this would be a reasonable request and that if Metricon was unable to resolve this issue then they would recommend that I lodge a complaint.
I sent an email summarising the above to my Customer Service Co-Ordinator who intially told me too bad, and after I asked them to escalate I managed to get an exception. The only thing you have to watch is that now I'm fully responsible for ensuring Techlife get onsite at the right time, I'm sure Metricon won't make it easy for me.
In terms of where I'm at now, I'm obviously just starting the base stage, I contacted the guy on the ground installing the fibre last week from Techlife and he confirmed he just has to get in after they do the electrical work and before they do the plasterboard, a window of 3-7 days. After that's done he waits until I get handover when the house is finished and on the day I get the keys he comes in and finishes the rest off.
I hope this helps you out a little. Be sure to ask any more questions if you have any.
Best of luck.
Cheers,
Ben
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeleteI just bought a place in Alamanda. I want to get a Foxtel dish installed rather than go with the Optic cable mainly due to the cost to set it up. Although we do have the fibre installed to our ONU. Telstra tell me they wont install the dish until they have written approval from the Body Corporate as the majority of the estate are hooked up via Optic Cable.
Also our internet is way too slow, would this be because we are just going through Telstra via ADSL2 and not through Optic? Hope you can answer my questions. Regards Tom
Hi Ben,
ReplyDeletecould please share your experience with the charge by Metricon due to delayed land settlement?
My wife and I put the deposit in Dec 2010 and signed the contract in April 2011. However, the land wasn't settled until end of Sep 2011 (we had been advised by the developer Hallmarc for Waterhaven site that the land should be title around May 2011, which didn't happen!). According to the contract with M, they would charge us 0.5% of house price monthly. We haven't got any notice yet how much exactly the charge will be.
Is there anyway to get it waived? Did they charge you according to the contract or was the charge negotiable? Do you have some tips how to come out of this problem?
Thank you so much in advanced.
Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.
Cheers,
Chris