Land Sweet Land

Friday 25th June 2010

I drove past my block today after work. I've been told that the site works survey has been completed and I am now waiting for my contracts to be drawn up.

On the one hand, I can't help but get excited and I'm keen to hurry and start the building process.

On the other hand, in light of my career change, I am thinking that it is not a bad idea for the construction to not happen at lightning speed so that I can buy more time to figure out things.

The block one over from mine is beginning to be levelled out!

Watch this space!

Tuesday 25th May 2010

I drove past MY piece of real estate last week. It looks the same but I feel different. I actually own this little piece of land now!

It won't be long until my prestart interview so I figured I'd better start my preparations. I went to Trevors Carpets on Albany Highway, Cannington, to check out the flooring options.

Part of the basic package for the house is that I get tiles for the wet areas - the bathrooms and the laundry. I have to pay extra for flooring for the rest of the house. I want vinyl. No carpet. The reason? Well, partly because I'm asthmatic and also allergic to dustmites. Carpet is the perfect breeding ground for dustmites and it's actually their dander (excrement) that I'm allergic to. I planned to have wooden floors when I finally got my own place, but of course I can't afford wood. Plus, if I am to rent my house out in the future, I would rather not spend too much money on the flooring in fear it gets scuffed, scratched and damaged from the tenants.

I got to the store and was shown to the 'Builders Choice' range - there were about eight different patterns/styles to choose from. There are other ranges but of course the cost goes up. And it means more options. I already had a tough time making a decision with just the eight styles.

I must say, I heard that vinyl has come a long way from the days of just being plain and boring vinyl, and it sure has. You can get vinyl that imitates the look and texture of tiles, slate and wood.

	I think I've decided to go with this one. Sherwood.

I'm uncertain about choosing the flooring. I'm worried that if I make the wrong decision, it's going to throw off the whole look of the house. It's not like it's a wall that can be painted over. It's the flooring for the whole house. I'm a bit worried about choosing a darker colour because I don't want the house to appear too dark. But the storeperson reckons that in a large space the colour will appear lighter. I like the look of the darker browns. I think it looks more natural and will add a touch of class to the house.

After about half an hour of flicking through the same samples, I decided it was best to just take some photos (I hope I managed to catch the colours as closely as I could) and deliberate further.

Next stop was ABC Blinds further down the road. The lady there was friendly and showed me to the 'Builders Choice' range of blinds. I'm going to just get simple vertical blinds.

I'm opting for a very neutral 'Dove'.

and it's Settled.

Tuesday 4th May 2010

My block of land was finally settled yesterday morning. That's one major hurdle and another upcoming challenge with actually building the house.

I've had a hectic month. I was able to relish in the fact that I was able to pay off the balance of my HELP debt and enjoy over a month of being totally debt free. I thought it would be a little consolation before leaping into the biggest loan of my life to date.

I can now go out this weekend and celebrate the next 30 years of mortgage debt.

End in Sight.

Friday 19th March 2010

Before leaving on holidays last week, I received a letter from the developers to inform me that the WA Planning Commission have given final approvals for the strata plan for my block. Individual titles should be released in the next week. I'm back from holidays and haven't heard anything...yet.

I must be getting a bit anxious-slash-excited because last night I dreamt that I drove out to the block of land and everyone had already built their houses except for me. There was a little vacant strip of land where my house was to be. I might have to do a drive by.

and yet we WAIT...

Friday 26th February 2010

Me and Mr Waiting are really good friends now. In fact, such good friends that I've asked him to stay.

As far as I know, all the final clearances for the land titles have been passed. I'm just waiting for the actual titles to be released. Just how hard is it to do this!? My finance broker's been chasing it up with the settlement agency to find out what's going on. He reckons it's unusual for the titles to be delayed this long, especially after the developer's office has sent me written notification to say that the titles were to be released in late December, 2009.

"On the 3/1 Landgate have received an application approved by the shire.

On the 2/2 Landgate referred the application to the WA Planning Commission for approval.

No response has been received from WA Planning Commission yet."

So...it took a month for Landgate to 'refer the application to the WA Planning Commission'. I don't completely understand what's involved in the process, but upon reading the email I was imagining someone sitting behind a desk, throwing my paperwork into an 'IN' tray, then a month later shoving the paperwork into an envelope, licking a stamp and sticking it to the envelope, and then mailing it.

Talk about efficient.

The Beginning of the End

Wednesday 20th January 2010

Well folks, after a tumultuous half a year, I am one step away from being the proud owner of a piece of land upon which to build a home.

I had a call from the finance broker today to inform me that Keystart have officially approved my home loan. So now I just need to wait for all the paper work and settlement will be in twenty-one days.
About time!

I feel like I've just passed through a tunnel to the light on the other side, but only to find another tunnel with another light at the other end that I need to reach. I suppose I should start thinking colour schemes and prepare for my prestart appointment now!

Here we go again...

Sunday 13th December '09

I signed the final building contract today. I'm feeling an inkling of excitement now that I've revisited the display home...I love love love the kitchen that I'm going to have!