Signed, sealed... not yet delivered.

In the last few days so much has happened, but yet so little in the big scheme of things.

We have secured the kitchen finish I want at a price we can afford ($6000 cheaper than what the builder quoted!!) because we are going direct to the supplier plus we have and a few small things amended on our building contract -

• The excavation/site costs have now been removed from the provisonal sums. This should avoid any nasty 'site cost' surprises during construction. 

• We have been given some extra water taps and outdoor power points. 

• We now have the gas point to the alfresco included. 

• Our staircase is being upgraded to a solid timber staircase. 

• We are getting 3 phase power included. 

Contracts signed with the builder today. Things are looking good for a site start in March!!

I visited a tile supplier/importer yesterday and arranged a great deal on some Italian imported tiles. Now things are starting to feel very real...

Watch this space as construction photos will be coming soon-ish (March) !!!

Are we there yet?

URGH!!! Are we there yet? 

Still waiting for the final ok from the bank. Our bank has said it all looks fine and they've sent it to the head office in Sydney for the final assessment/approval.

On a plus side we have sent the requested contract amendments to the builder and should have the contracts amended and ready to sign ASAP. Then it's building permit application time. 

We have been told that we will have action on site within one week of the permit being approved. I don't know how realistic that timeframe is!?

The longest wait...ever.

We finally met with the builder yesterday and he handed to us our building contract and specifications. We were waiting (not so patiently) on this document as the bank needs to review it so they can value the build for finance purposes.

Soooo.... A copy of the contract was express posted to the bank today and we have been told that the approval process will take 2 weeks. Hmmm.... It's been 8hrs since I posted the documents and the thought of another 328hrs until approval makes me want to scream!

The builder is of the opinion that we will have a site start date late February or early March, meaning we should be in by Christmas if the build runs on schedule....

Fingers and toes crossed!