The Great Flood

Last week, I can't remember which day, but I was driving home from work and I thought "ow what a great sky, I am sure it is going to look awesome from the portico". So I called my Mum and asked her to grab the camera, as my one in the mobile is broken (see below).

I hit the Oran Park/Gregory Hills intersection on Cowpasture Road and it is raining. I call home and ask about the rain. My Mum says it's pouring and she wants to show me something when I get out of the car.

I get home and OMG:

The sky was lovely.


But because the block out the back sits higher, the rain rushed down to my backyard and down the sides of the house. It also came from the side neighbours backyard as her landscaping isn't complete yet but because of the way Allworth excavated my block, it just...


Pooled around the house. The water tank is on the back wall.


And at worst it was above my ankles. I'm wearing my gumboots, which come up to my knees.


My Mum reported this to a Mirvac SS the next day, and he said he is going to look into it.

18-10-10 Interim Occupation Certificate

In the mail I received the interim occupation certificate. The conditions on it are that landscaping and floor coverings are finished within 60 days, along with some general council conditions around preserving the street trees and ensuring the landscaping involves channelling the flow of water away from dwellings towards the street.

I went to the site in the afternoon to see if the tidy-up had happened as I hadn't had word from the MB if the valuation inspection had been conducted as Allworth had requested. But no cleaner than on the weekend so I am guessing no inspection.

Looking around all the internal taps are installed, a few minor touches such as the drain guards below the outdoor taps have been fitted to the pipes, and I noted for the first time the electricity earthing device which is located below the meter box coming up from the ground. I'm just happy I didn't kill myself as I had no iodea what it was went I bent over to read the tag and if it is anything unsafe it can't stay there as the dog will have a field day chewing on it.

I also noticed someone has kindly donated a microwave to the rubbish pile out front - it really makes me wonder when people do this as I am sure they wouldn't have been pleased had someone done it to them.

Also in an email I recveived a quote for landscaping, which included levelling the block, retaining the front and rear, providing garden soil and turf. No concrete though, no fences, no plants - so have a guess what it was... $12,500.00!!! I nearly fell backwards. So the hard work will be done by the family slaves, otherwise known as my uncle and my cousin's boyfriend, and me. With a 60 day dealine this will be tight, but since I have looked into it last night I'll be having galvanised steel H and C posts with treated pine sleepers as this is a matter of stringing, levels and concrete, and having soils delivered and renting a digger with a rotary attachment and a compacter and tilling it through. This will be preceeded by the concreting and the fences, which wil be done professionally.

From reading an excellent post on HomeOne I know the key to having a great lawn, despite the fact it is only going to be a small area, is firming the soil so as the avoid ditches developing as people walk over it (read earlier posts to familiarise yourself with my hatred of shoddy lawsn Mirvac is laying for the neighbours).

PCI set for Monday 18 October!

The practical completion inspection has been set for Monday lunchtime. The specific time is in flux as my independent inspector arranges a convenient appointment with the SS.

Conversation with BM yesterday revealed that SS was asked to make contact at least once at the end of last week and then again this week, so I hope Allworth does something to establish a better culture of communication amongst its team.

Good news however is that this is the home stretch and pending CBA completing an inspection as soon as is humanly possible, i.e. this week, and the payment goes through on or by Monday, the house keys may be handed over at Monday's inspection. Allworth would remedy any defects in the coming week but this would allow the floors to be laid as soon as possible. Otherwise handover is likely to be Wednesday afternoon.

Flooring issues resolved

I had a lovely long discussion with the Acting General Manager yesterday afternoon, which was an excellent demonstration by senior Allworth mangement to identify customer service problems and focus on moving forward rather than apportioning blame.

It gave me an opportunity to raise a nubmer of issues particularly relating to communication and some poor incidents where the team could have made an effort to be more approachable and resolve matters early. The Acting GM did clearly indicate that he was concerned about word-of-mouth damaging their reputation, for which no one can blame him, and so I greatly appreciate him giving me the time to simply put it to someone who can do something about it, but even if he doesn't I at least felt someone has had the decency to listen to what I have said.

In summary:

• the work by the company is covered by the builders insurance for seven years, if work is completed by the owner before handover this can void the warranty or lead to a dispute about liability, and it is a risk they are not willing to take.
• to change the contract now would involve a variation to contract, which may impact on eligibility for FHOG, and be pointless as it would push out completion needlessly.
• the contractors can not be controlled or policed but they can be asked to refrain from smoking inside and collecting their butts before leaving.
• a schedule is avaliable but not set in stone and the SS should be able to say what is coming up in the near future.
• the company does not have a policy about regular contact between the SS and the client, but SS should be available or return calls and the CM should be prepared to take a message and communicate it to the SS if the client cannot get onto the SS.
• any leftover bricks or damaged bricks do not belong to the client, but the client can negotiate to collect those bricks and put them out of the way as this will also save the company some money on tip fees.
• the build is tracked on a computer system and events are checked off as they are completed, but if an event is not checked off in time a trigger may be activated and generate a notice that does not apply.
• the site should be left clean of rubbish and recently run over by a bobcat - it will not be as perfect as landscaping but should reasonably level out any variation around the site.

He also managed to negotiate a further discount on the floor tiles and carpet with Lockwood, so I appreciate the assistance all round (quote frankly if they've covered part of the bill it wouldn't surprise me but at least either way he has tried to make ammends).

As painting is scheduled to start today a drive out tonight will soothe my frayed nerves, and because the screen doors and blinds guy from Wynstan has a cancellation today he is going to go and see if he can measure up.

See I wasn't being unreasonable at all.

No agreement about the floors

After talking to the CSO this morning he called back and said that because the floors aren't included in the contract that I have to go through Lockwood's privately. I said OK but does this mean they can still be laid before the keys are handed over? and he said yes as they have done this before.

Off I went and made arrangements with Lockwoods for the floors and then called Allworth HO to speak to the Construction Manager. He is on leave so I left a message for the person acting-up to call Lockwoods and organise for the floors to be installed.

Long story short - NO. CSO denies he said anything like that. Acting CM said it's not in the contract and they won't agree to it because there will be no insurance covering it if any damage or vandalism occurs to the floor coverings and if the flooring guy causes any damage there will be an argument over the claim. It strikes me as very bizarre that there is a provision in the special conditions of the contract for works by the owner with the written authority of the builder when in fact it appears they will never give you permission to do anything.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this earlier but I asked about fencing and retaining the rear of the block because the neighbour has a child but I was told by the CM that Allworth wouldn't give approval for that either. This however appears not to be the industry standard as other bloggers, such as one who has built with Eden Brae, have been allowed to install underfloor heating into the concrete after the formwork and pods and everything where positioned but before the concrete was poured, and another was allowed to do ducting for an air-conditioner and the cabling for a smart home being that blue cable you see in some people's pics.

Acting CM was also very belligerent in the conversation because he refused to accept that the reason it is not in the contract is because of their error. Apparently because the facade is outside the usual range this meant the package was not available and the contract reflects that I made the decision to just have the alfresco added. Not bloody likely as it is making it more expensive to have a large entertainment area added whereas a regular rectangle would have been much easier to install an awning into. Right now I wish I could say take the alfresco away and credit me back the difference.

Also been told I should be grateful that I received a $2,000 credit in the first place - despite the fact I received this because of the delay they caused by originally submitting plans that did not comply with Council regulations. What I'll be grateful for is when this nightmare is over. If ever I thought I would have a phrase tattooed on my body I know right now what I would elect to have it say is:

This too shall pass...

The most frustrating aspect of all of this is that no one person takes responsibility for the whole of the process. What happened with the old plans isn't seen to relate to what is happening now. What happens as part of the consultation, contract or construction isn't seen to relate to any other stage. They all say "that has nothing to do with me" or "I can't comment as that's another departments responsibility". But for me it is all part and parcel of the frustration that I am experiencing and to try and compartmentalize it is like a man saying getting a woman pregnant means he has nothing to do with the pain of labour that in fact is the infants responsibility. So I asked Acting CM who can I speak to and he said the CFO or someone equivalent. Now I am waiting to talk to that person.

Therefore, my words of wisdom are:

• to go through your contract with a fine tooth comb and make sure everything you are expecting to receive is listed somewhere,
• the number somewhere near the front should be the base price you are expecting to pay,
• if you need anything done to the block, like retaining walls, fencing, a swimming pool, or you would like to do your own works, such as cabling for a smart home, ask about this before you put your deposit down or do it before the builder commences work if you can, and,
• to confirm a conversation by sending an email immediately after before relying on anyone's representations.

The Acting CM also tried to suggest that what I am asking for is irrelevant as what is the difference whether it happens before or after handover as all it will do is delay handover by a week? Considering all that is left is painting, taps and handles and clean-up, I fail to understand how the three days for flooring could not be accommodated and would push the completion out another week. I also said to him it doesn't matter whether it makes sense to him or not as it makes sense to me.

Appears however painting starts tomorrow and clean-up should be Friday 15th October with anything else happening between now and then. This means the PCI should happen early the following week with any defects resolved by that Friday and the keys handed over the week of October 25th.

Allworth want an extension

Allworth wrote advising that due to the rain they are entitled to extend the contract by one week. I have emailed back saying this is not accepted as they commenced building two weeks earlier than planned and therefore have 17 weeks to complete instead of the usual 15 weeks, an therefore an extra week is not reasonable.

Also since I go out there so frequently I agree they lost a few days but not 7 days to the rain, and since I am satisfied that progress is proceeding at a normal rate based on what I read from other Bloggers, I disagree with them that they need an extension.

In the email also complained that SS2 is not answering phone during his office hours and not leaving his answering service on so I haven't had contact in a week, and therefore had to let them know in the email that I have organised an independent inspection for progress and PCI checks.

Just to try my luck I also sought permission to lay concrete in the driveway and entertainment area and then retain the backyard after the security fence comes down, but before PCI as the remaining vacant block to the rear is now the only easy access to the yard.

Drove past tonight after TAFE and the long bedroom wall and the rear wall is about 3/4 bricked up, so really can't figure why they need another week. I'm thinking at this speed end of next week the bricks will be finished.

Bricks arrived

The bricks were delivered Monday afternoon but the roof tiling still not finished.

Vacant side neighbour's security fence went up too, so they will be starting soon. Will be seeking Allworth's approval to lay the entertainment area and driveway and then retain the backyard before all access is cut off.

Second payment due and roof tiling started!

Wednesday afternoon I had the delightful call from Allworth to say the frame is finished and the second installment is due. The authority to pay went off in the post today.

My spy on the ground tells me that roof tiling looked like 80% complete at 5pm with just the corner capping to go. Therefore he predicts it should be finished tomorrow!

Going to organise an independent inspection next week for pre-internal linings as I was able to get inside construction the other day and noted a few split pieces where the nail has come through on a bad angle and my knowledge of poor construction is that those nails might be trimmed but the strut not replaced therefore not 100% integrity. Also not likely to spot the irregular bricks and the like so would prefer to get the professional in. Hopefully if the roof is finished this week a brick delivery should be planned for early next week.

The Saga of the Dirt continues

So after some nice tradies got back to my online queries at about 7am this morning I anxiously waited all day to hear back from Allworth after I emailed some pictures and a request for the land to be leveled last night. Well about 2pm I called the Construction Clerk and she said it had been handed on to the Construction Manager and SS and to wait to hear from either of them. After waiting some more it turned 430pm and so I called the SS.

Long story short he says its clay and not worth leveling and Allworth aren't going to level it.

I disputed this as what little I know of laying turf is if you try to smooth it over using the underlay then when you walk on it you'll easily know where all the ruts are as soon as you step in them as you'll likely break an ankle. This is because the underlay is pliable and gives underfoot. So even though clay isn't ideal I can work with this by throwing gypsum around over the next few months to give it time to be worked in and break down the clay, but it will still provide a firm base for the underlay. Ergo I want it leveled out some.

Monday 7am a guy will do it. He's charging $350 for the bobcat and he will level it. Then $350 for every load taken away, approx. 1-2. This fee seems on par for all earthmovers. I found them all on the Fairfax Classifieds online, which was good as you can search for all trades and services advertised in their large NSW publications as well as the local newspapers.

Now I come to think of it I might run around the block with some gypsum this weekend.

Oh the excess dirt needs to be removed!

I've had a call from SS to advise the excess dirt needs to be removed by the end of the week as they start framing next week and need the access. So if he has to organise it Allworth charges a 20% fee on top of cost. He's given me contact but I want to compare it so I know what is a good deal.

Anyone had a good deal for removal and disposal of about 25 tonnes?

Slab Poured 13-07-10

Today the slab was poured just in time for showers to hit SW Sydney. Someone I know who is building on the same block but on Minorca Circuit went past his house today as I let him know that his roof tiles were completed yesterday, and today he let me know the slab was done. He said he is surprised how high it is but is probably as high as I anticipate as there will be 3 steps from the garage into the house.

But just in case I didn't know about the slab it would have been alright because Allworth called to let me know the invoice is in the mail and to ensure the authority to pay is submitted the the lender ASAP. My gosh, I haven't heard from them except for when I called the SS but now because they will need to be paid they are quick on the phone the same day. Mind you my friend's builder had the hide of submitting the invoice a week before his slab went down and he called to say thanks but he wouldn't be paying until they had done the work. The hide of them, seriously.

I was out with a friend for lunch today and because of the rain there was no point trying to get out to SF by dark, so tomorrow I'm going to take pics and post them later.

Underground Plumbing Connections 08-07-10

Despite some mid-morning drizzle the plumbing connections appear to have gone ahead on schedule.

There has also been the appearance of the some formwork, the security fence and the beloved trademen's friend, the port-a-loo! The middle picture below is looking across the front window of the main lounge towards the portico. In the third picture can you see the pile of dirt? I can't believe we had one like that hauled away already and now there is the same again. A friend of a friend building nearby said that because the dirt wasn't carted away immediately neighbouring lots dumped their excess on his pile, and then he was quoted $17,000 to cart it away. He argued with the builder and the developer and not sure of the details of the arrangement reached but it was agreed that as it was the result of dumping he wouldn't be charged above the excess. Apparently the lesson to observe from this is if the builder hasn't agreed to remove it immediately go and take some pictures of the size and shape, or if it is not covered in the contract arrange to have it taken away ASAP and again take pictures.

I start a new job on the 19th so my random late afternoon trips will stop but hopefully by then the frame will be going up, then the guttering, and the bricking or roofing commenced thereafter, so the new visual changes will be less frequent and weekend trips should suffice. The slab will be laid on Monday/Tuesday coming, then some more plumbing and then usually the frame goes up about the end of the following week.

The picture below and left is of the garage looking towards the main lounge and back. Once it is done the builder provides 3 steps from the garage into the house. I still have no real sense of what the final height will be, but it makes me confident that at least the same will be needed in the front yard up to the portico.

The second picture is looking from the right hand side across the backyard. It is 4m deep to the back fence, but that narrowing is caused by the rainwater tank. The shed will also be positioned on the rear wall as it has no windows looking out, ad otherwise Camden Council guidelines are that sheds must be positioned 900m off the boundary, so really encroaching too much. It's only going to be a narrow under eaves version with a sliding door just big enough to make sure the mower and the like don't have to be stored in the garage. But as you can see they have excavated so much at what appears to be about 1m from the rear fenceline so I am inclined to retain it at this point and garden behind it. The entertainment area is around the corner to the left, and because the house is set 2m from the Peach Palace I am guessing that the dog will have a grass patch to do her business around there somewhere near the garage, adjacent to the car washing bay Camden Council requires you to have in the front yard.

13 days of 20 and CUT & FILL

Tonight I went to a friends house for dinner who lives in Harrington Park, and being only 5 minutes around the corner to Spring Farm I thought I'd have a drive by. I know deciding to do that at 9.30pm in Camden when the night before got down to -3 degrees might not have been the smartest idea when really all I thought I was going to have a look at was the neighbour who is nearing completion, a friend building nearby, and another SF-blogger-I'm-watching's progress.

But woo-hoo! When I got there, I thought "ooh the lady in the Peach Palace will move in this weekend" as her front yard landscaping appears finished. The next thought was "some bastards dumped his dirt on my land" followed by a few more expletives and how could I convince Camden Council to foot the bill on the basis that whoever dumped it pays rates, and to make me pay to remove dirt twice would be unfair. But then, there in the misty darkness, with my rubbish night-vision, my mind said "what's that?" and it dawned on me that there was evidence of overall earthmoving on the block! So I swung the car around, mounted the kerb with my headlights pointed at the block, and yes people... WE HAVE BEEN CUT AND FILLED!!!

So tomorrow morning with new gumboots and trusty camera in hand I shall return to take photo evidence of this historical moment, and then call bloody Allworth and play dumb and ask them if anything is happening to see what the response is. Because ladies and gents, I may be naive, but as far as I understand it today is day 1 of 105, otherwise known as the 15 week build period.

The other purpose of contacting Allworth will be to establish what is to be done with the dirt, because if they would like to cart it away for free they can knock themselves out. Otherwise I specifically instructed them previously it was to be dumped in the front yard as I anticipate in order to have it level it will need to be retained, and I am not paying for more dirt to fill the yard when I have perfectly good stuff there right now.

Stay tuned - this could start to become very interesting!

YAY - Letter of Commencement 10-06-10

Well after waiting most of yesterday I was about to head off to Westfields at 3pm when the Mortgage Broker called to say I could collect my letter and the letter for Allworth and deliver the letter to Allworth rather than wait for it to arrive in the mail, which may have meant the price increase would have applied.
So I am very pleased to announce that at 4pm I left the Allworth Head Office building at Parramatta having passed the letter onto the Customer Service Officer.
20 days people! They have 20 business days to commence and then 15 weeks to complete (God willing), so we should have movement on the patch of dirt by 8 July 2010.

Still waiting on the Commencement Letter 3

I received a phone call from Allworth yesterday asking where we are at getting the letter of commencement when usually it should have been available within a few days. Read earlier posts if you do not know the answer to this. The problem however is that a price rise is scheduled for 15 June, being next Tuesday, which will affect the price by approx $2,000. Don't you love it! They've mucked us around a number of times to date, but when things happen outside our control we get penalized.

I let the Mortgage Broker know that the letter needs to be issued this week as Monday is a public holiday and then Tuesday is the first day for the price rise. He called me last night to let me know that CBA has prioritised my file for today and that the letter should be issued by close of business. He also asked would I be able to collect the letter from the HO in Parramatta and take it to the HO of Allworth, which is also in Parramatta, as the builder's copy will probably go in the mail and will probably not be actioned until Tuesday. So I've agreed to do this and currently I am waiting for a phone call to head off, but I am guessing it might not be until tomorrow.

Still waiting on the Commencement Letter 2

I was advised by the Mortgage Broker late last week that the JP who witnessed some documents used a middle initial in his signature, but failed to refer to the middle name in his printed name - WTF! This is apparently holding up the commencement letter from being issued. I mean seriously, refer to the other documents where he has signed and you would be able to compare the signatures and I know that somewhere along the way he did print his complete name. So word to the wise - dot you i's and cross your t's.

The dog has also been very antsy due to the continuous wet weather as she loves to have a good run around and play fetch, but her big paws churn the earth up when it is this wet. So to abate her boredom I took her for a drive out the Spring Farm and had a look at what progress has been made in the last fortnight. Our peach neighbour appears to have internal linings up and her doors are either hung or waiting to be. Two other houses have been started in the street, one either direction and both of these have been framed and windows installed. My friend's ex-husband who is building around the corner has been framed with the windows delivered but waiting to be installed. Today, despite being cold, experienced no rain, so I am guessing more work might happen later in the week, but really I am as jealous as hell and wanting to start.

Also becoming very conscious that it has been a while since we first signed off on contracts and the basis for which the FHOG was issued, so with the 12 month deadline coming closer they really need to start. I think I will call Allworth tomorrow and put them on notice of this fact.

Still waiting on the Commencement Letter

I've been sick and sleep late, so it was unexpected that this morning I was woken by a call from the Customer Service lady. She advised that there's been some phone-tag between herself and the Mortgage Broker regarding the fact that the Lender doesn't have a copy of the contract signed off by both parties, and so could I call our Solicitor as we were having held there for safe keeping.
Long story short is, usually contracts are exchanged by the purchaser having a copy of the page with the vendors signature, and vice versa. So my Solicitor was happy with that, had given the Mortgage Broker access to our copy and thought that Allworth should simply come to the table by providing a copy of their page, i.e. our signatures. But no, they wanted us to just sign our copy and be done with it.
Well I don't know who was right or if anyone was right, so I thought just to keep things rolling I'd go and collect our copy, sign off on it, and drop it into the Mortgage Broker. It makes me a bit cranky more so because I was happy for it to stay in safe keeping (that is a fire-proof safe where law firms generally keep original documents of wills, contracts and the like, either indefinitely or for an agreed period of time, which for us was as long as the builder's warranty was in play). Also I'm a little bit peeved that the builder doesn't just think of us as first-timers and give us explicit instructions along the way instead of assuming we would figure it out.
However, all done now, the contract and it's annexures are with the Mortgage Broker. He'll get it off to the Lender tonight/tomorrow morning, and we should have the Commencement Letter issued Monday!

Mid-May and where are we at?

Well we are approaching the final hurdles before building commences. Right now I feel like Homer Simpson climbing Mt Springfield, I reach a peak and cheer, but then I look down and look up and realise how much further there is to go - D'oh!
So what are the final hurdles. Today I spoke to our Customer Service chick, who isn't much chop I realise as last week she said she would find out why the engineer's report hadn't been received and let me know when it was expected and when it was anticipated to go to Council and then the Construction Certificate be prepared. Well, she didn't. So I rang her this morning, and yes the CC is being prepared and we will be called in once it is available to come into Allworth Parramatta office to sign off on the fixed price contract. And no, weekend appointments are not available, appointments are Monday to Friday at 9.30am, 11am or 2.30pm.
I think if I haven't heard from her by Thursday morning I'll call her up because as I realised last week, the ER should have been due mid-week and the CC one week later, so by my calculations, on Wednesday the CC should be in their hot little hands.

My Uncle and Aunt were also over on the weekend and we were talking about all of this and in particular if we could turn back time would we go with Allworth again, and really, maybe yes. For our price range, being in total $215k for the house (4 bed + study), landscaping and some internal dressing, there were very few options. Allworth is in fact including a pretty good extras package, have one of the quickest build times both according to their promise and what we have heard, and I found the website user friendly - I really loathe having to download a plan to view it. Huxley homes might have got a look in if the website had have been easier because their staff we really great to talk to at Kellyville, but Allworth's main appeal was the promise of speed.
That's why this really has been a let-down. So what I think is important is about having a good sense of how much time things will take and having confidence that the builder has built in the area and has a good understanding of the Council's requirements.

Really, Camden Council had a fantastic turnover time, which you can monitor by typing your suburb in and looking at similar applications in your area, so for example I knew that Spring Farm single stories were taking no more than three weeks. But had Allworth complied with Council guidelines we probably would have had DA back in January. But instead we were arguing whether to put in an application for non-compliance or to change the design and start from scratch, so we went through the original process twice in fact. If we hadn't, yeah I think I might be sitting in my new family room right now as Allworth has built a similar design in Spring Farm over in the Cornish side and those people have moved in about three weeks ago now (yes it pays to ask to get addresses to see your design being built - they won't give you an address after the people have moved in though).

So fingers crossed for a dry Winter now, as I still have my sights set on signing off early next week at which time 20 days starts to count down. Should be a June start then. But I guess the good news is I will be establishing a garden come Spring.

Back on track

Despite a few obstacles we are back on track. Almost 2 weeks ago now my MB advised that CBA had withdrawn the loan for building the house, which left us with a block of land, lands on foot, a contract requiring us to have moved in by late September and NO MONEY.
So after feeling like the earth had fallen out from beneath me I collected all the paperwork and shot of an email to the MB with what I thought were good reasons to suggest that CBA were being unconscionable. Once I calmed down I realised that my over-reaction may ultimately lead me to cutting my nose of to spite my face and sent another one simply asking for the reasons and retracting my demand that an appeal be lodged immediately.
Well the good news is that one week later the MB emailed to say he had spoken with CBA and it was all worked out, so the loan was back on track and a new application was no longer necessary. But the CBA continues to have some concerns about the delay in commencement and want what documents are available now to be lodged as a sign of good faith from Allworth.

I called Allworth and spoke to our CSO and asked if she would be able to comply with this. She explained that typically the stamped plans, copies of insurances, construction certificate and fixed price contract are not provided to the mortgagor until the contract was signed and all documents provided as one lot. I suggested that because this was a bit to a back to front effort in any event that maybe something could be worked out to satisfy CBA. She is going to look into it.
Whilst I was on the phone I asked where everything was up to as the geo-tech report was provided 2 weeks ago and previously she had told me the engineer's report took 2 weeks, and the construction certificate then takes 1 week. She advised that the engineer's report has not yet been received but she would follow this up.
Since I had this conversation yesterday and I didnt hear back from her today, I will call tomorrow to get an update. But fingers crossed we will be in next Saturday week to sign off which will start the 20 day countdown and hopefully have a start date no later than the week of 7 June 2010.

Timeline update from CA to Commencement

Yesterday afternoon my solicitor called to say that had the report that Mirvac said we would need and have faxed it to Allworth.

This afternoon I called my CSO and yes, Allworth has received it, it is the right document and now it is with Drafting before it goes to the Engineering contractor.

OK I say, then what?

She hesitates, but finally responds. That will take a week or so, unless there are further requests, which may then clock up another 4 weeks.

Then once everything is back with the Service Department we go in for final sign-off.

It will then take up to 14 working days to get the letter of commencement from the Bank.

Thereafter Allworth have 20 days to commence building.

So we received approval on 30 March, and now it is almost a month later and we still have about a month before we break ground, then a 15 week minimum build time.

As I count it they won't start until at least 4 June and no later than 2 July, so finishing will be anywhere between 17 September to 1 October. Awesome, 1 year after we bought the land we might have a house, I just hope it's by 29 September, otherwise we will be in breach of our land contract - great.