Update

by Cory 19:24:00 0 comments

Hi guys, been MIA for a little while getting my life sorted, here's an update of where we are with our build:

• We've had our WOS appointment, everything went smoothly (will post about it shortly)
• We've had our contract signing appointment (some hiccups there, expect a blog post)
• We are in limbo with everything now, waiting for the land settle (~4 weeks, we've been told)
  The bank will not provide unconditional approval until the land settles, but PD are steamrolling ahead (see below), telling us they need to get things in order for our site start.
  We are capped until December, so I've sent a firm email instructing them not to do anything above what was agreed upon (by written post-contract variation of course) because our contract is tightly subject to finance.
• Our BC has left PD and we've been allocated a trainee replacement. Not sure how I feel about this (the blind leading the blind?) but so far, all good
• PD are working with the developers to have the windows on the side wall of the master bedroom removed. It is an estate requirement (damn corner block!) but we are fighting this for a few reasons -
• The exposed wall will be less than 1.5m long (the wall in question will mostly be obscured by the 1.8m fence) We don't believe there is value in having these windows, given one of them will be behind the fence.
  We won't be leaving the exposed section of the wall blank but will instead have some trees planted there in front.
• There will be a footpath right outside our window (the corner is ~1.1m from the boundary) and a walking/bike track opposite the house.We are concerned about privacy, and turning our bedroom into a fishbowl with so many windows across both walls. 
• The placement of the proposed windows, on either side of our bed, will piss me off in the morning as daylight creeps in, haha. It also means we can't have those nice pendant lights above our bedside tables...

Aside from all this, I've been busy finishing uni (2 more units next year until I get my masters!), moving out of my apartment and into J's place and planning a research trip to the USA.
Terrible timing, but I have been granted some travel funds to conduct research in California. Have delayed this as far back as possible, so here's to hoping our build is all over by April.