Finally!!

Gooooood Morning!!!

I love Fridays! Especially when I know they are going to be good!!

How do I know it will be good you ask? 

Well firstly let me tell you that I woke up this morning and it was just like any other morning- I checked my Facebook first thing and there was a status update from my sister and brother in law who are in Paris for the next month. Now usually I would have been jealous (because I have to go to work and they don't) but I wasn't because yesterday I spoke with council and they are lodging the sub division certificate today!! Can I get a whoop whoop!!!? Stocklands should have it by Monday and with any luck they can lodge to the LPI next week! C'mon Stocklands don't let me down!

Anyway I am so super happy that nothing could kill this buzz!

Anyway peeps have a great weekend whatever it may bring!! (I'm working all weekend) but whatever!! Not even that can kill the buzz!! 

Signed- Me!!

When you want something done- do it yourself!

So today has been a fruitful day I must admit- frustrated with the hold ups and lack of information from Stocklands in regards to why the land is not moving forward towards registration, I took matters into my own hands and spoke with council- I must say they were very helpful! 

They told me that there were two issues causing the hold up. The first was the certificate from Endeavour Energy- an issue I was already aware of.

The second issue which I wasn't aware of that's stopping the council from releasing the subdivision certificate so the land can be lodged to the LPI is the basins. According to council the work that has been completed is different to what was proposed in the initial plans and the basins that have been constructed in stage 10 are not adequate in size- council said that this could cause flooding issues later on down the track and they would be the land owners problem.... Ummm no thanks!!

Awesome- thanks Council- so now what? 
Well I was told by council that they are waiting for Stocklands to provide them with written acknowledgment that they are aware of the issue and will fix it. 

Council said they are willing to release the subdivision certificate before the issue is rectified if they have something in writing from Stocklands- I guess this will make them solely responsible for fixing the issue- so it doesn't become a council or community issue later on down the track and we have to foot the bill. Cheers council!

Anyway the lovely fellow at council chased up Stocklands today and then called me back to advise that he has received a verbal commitment from Stocklands stating that they are aware of the issue with the basins and acknowledge that they are responsible for fixing the issue and will indeed fix the issue. 

The council guy said that he now has to send Stocklands a letter (which he said will be done tomorrow).........and after this, council guy will need to wait for Stocklands to reply with their written confirmation! 

He said if Stocklands gets this letter to him as a matter of priority then he can release the subdivision certificate within a week and once Stocklands has that the land can be lodged to the LPI!! (Providing they also have the certificate from Endaevor Energy).

In closing....I will leave with the news that Stocklands is working on getting a update to stage 10-ers that should be received either tonight or tomorrow....won't hold my breath as I might be dead before I see my house completed and that would be ironic....

Ka-Ching $$

Thank god for iPhones I tell ya- without them I may have found out that I have been formally approved for a home loan after my full day of shopping instead of half way through (outrageous I know) but thanks to my trusty device that I treasure like a first born child, I was able to jump on the email that came through from my mortgage broker the second I heard that little ding, advising me that I have gone from conditional approval to formal approval.

What a weight off my shoulders! I don't have to rob a bank now that they are just going to give me the money. They did the right thing!

ING- I am ready to commit to you for the next 30 years but no offence hopefully we are divorced before then!

Shackled to debt!! Yee-ha!!

The Plan.....

So for anyone out there who is interested to know- I am building the Allard 17 with Trevelle. Its a teeny tiny humble home sure to fit on our teeny tiny humble block of land.

I won't lie- initially I was a little stuck on which block to choose, the bigger of the smaller blocks or the smaller of the smaller blocks. When I thought about the smaller block I felt a little negative towards the idea of having such a small block and such a small home because in this day and age we all want bigger and better and of course I was no exception to this. I started in with all the "what if's" and "if only's" until I realised that I am only 25 and not only will this be my first house it will be my brand new first house and I will have achieved it all on my own without the help of anyone....in light of this realisation I chose to stop having the mind set of a spoilt brat and decided to start being thankful for what I would have, instead of what I wouldn't have and chose the smaller block and the smaller house that came with a side of a smaller mortgage.

It's funny, once you push the negatives aside, the positives start to flow in an abundance. Once I put my brattiness aside, not only did I start to get used to the idea of a small home, I started to love the idea of a cosy home, one where Aaron and I wouldn't get lost from each other, one where I wouldn't have to text him from the next room because I couldn't be bothered trekking down the 20m hallway (Because I would totally do that) and one where I wouldn't have to spend my weekends feverishly cleaning. I have to say not tending to the upkeep of a big house or to more land than would be used makes me super happy =)

So below are the plans for the cosy little home that awaits. Some alterations were made to the Allard 17 to include a theatre room. Also the master bedroom was moved out the back with a sliding door out to the deck (I didn't want it looking out on to the road as it was in the initial plans and like so many of the display homes these days which seem to have the main bedroom placed at the front) Anyway these are the rough plans. Changes to the kitchen are still to come! So watch this space!

These tiles will make up one strip of the splash back! Just have to choose how it will be placed. Not all the tile designs will be used- just a few of them.

This is the design thats been chosen for the bathroom....beachy. If I can't live at the beach I will bring the beach to me!

Thats all for now folks!!

Progress!

Today I came home after a long day of work and the house was the furthest thing from my mind....probably because not much has been happening in ways of progress since about December 2013 and in fact the process has just been pushed further and further back each passing month which to be honest has been a bit of a bummer....

Anyway as I was saying (dramatics aside) I came home from work and what was awaiting me!? A letter from the builder with applications and consent forms and agreements to sign and a letter explaining how all this documentation is needed for that all important day when they start to build the house! 

HOORAY!

Just when you start to give up on the notion of progress- it throws you a curve ball and refuses to let you be a little negative nelly. I like that.

I realise that this package is only a small step forward but it's a step none the less and I don't think I've ever been as excited as I am right now to receive all the looming responsibility that has come to me in the post today! 

Momentarily I will be signing more of my life over to a debt made of bricks and water and I can't wait! (Of course when you don't need a pen there's a million around but when you need one they become an endangered species)

With that said- I'm off to find a pen!!

I just bought land! Say what?

It was March 2013 and I decided it was time to leave the nest and give my poor mother some peace and quiet after 2 and a half decades of yours truly.
I spent several exciting months looking at already built homes but after a while the excitement turned to frustration because I couldn't imagine myself calling half the places I looked at home and of course all the ones I could were sadly not within the budget!
UNTIL......
I happened to glance at a realtor one afternoon advertising house and land packages in a new estate called "Brooks Reach". I decided to give Stocklands a call and see what the go was. They told me that they only had a few lots left and they were only small lots. My interest was sparked so I decided to go out and look at the display centres (Aaron in tow). I'll admit I was a bit apprehensive about living in Horsley (being a Fairy girl my whole life) but I have to say as soon as I saw the place I knew I could live there.
It was a rural area with rolling mountains into the distance and great views of the escarpment- but best of all it had a nice vibe (nothing creepy like that stepford wives feel you get with a lot of new housing estates). Anyway with little deliberation I made my decision within the space of about 5 minutes, locked myself in and put a deposit on the land.  Within a couple of days I had exchanged contracts with Stocklands and boom- the land was mostly mine (if you overlooked that it still required registration!)

The weeks following were busy busy busy what with colour appointments to choose floor boards, roof tiles, paint colours, carpets, doors, knobs, benches etc etc- you name it I was choosing it and before long I had a vision in my head of what my little humble home would look like. Of course Aaron came along but he just kinda sat there and nodded a lot...I think all the choices were a bit overwhelming! I guess I won't be able to blame him if the house looks mis matched!

Anyway....It wasn't long ago that I stepped foot onto my land (below) for the first time. Seeing this little parcel and knowing it was where I would begin another chapter of my life was beyond exciting to say the least! I can't wait to start seeing my home go up piece by piece. I'm pretty sure I will be out there everyday to see whats happened- even on days the where that may be nothing!