Week 14 - Let the Sunshine In!

My weekly update, from my Client Liaison Coordinator, was the following:

"Brett has advised that this week we have the top coat of the render to be completed.  The House Clean is due to happen over the weekend.  The flyscreens and the internal caulking are scheduled for next week."

This is all wrapping up very quickly.  As we arrived today, I noticed a dump of soil on where our driveway will be.  I'm assuming that's next.

Soil for Driveway

One thing I noticed (and I'm so happy about) is that there is sunshine everywhere!

Sunshine From Two Directions!

Sun Coming From Everywhere!

Foxtel and Powerpoint at 150cm For TV

There are a few things we noticed that still need to be done.  There may be more, considering this is only what I see from the outside.  I will let them know right away, so our signing off of the home, at our New Home Presentation, isn't delayed.

Left Door Edge Needs Paint

Porch Ceiling and Cornice Need Paint

Recycled Water in the Back Needs Tap

From what I can piece together, once they are done with the house, the Regional Construction Manager completes a quality inspection. The builders (HBC) then book a New Home Presentation, which is when we do a walk through with the Site Supervisor.  If we have any items which we would like followed up, Brett (our Site Supervisor) will have 7 days to complete them, and then we need to reinspect.

Once we sign off that we're happy with the house, Jasmine (our Client Liaison Coordinator) chases up our compliance certificates and applies for our Occupancy permit.  Their accounts department can then raise our final invoice.  As soon as that is raised, Jasmine will email us both the Compliance Certificate and Occupancy Permit to pass onto our lender.  The bank will then contact Brett (the site supervisor) to complete the valuation of the property before release the funds.  We will also need to prove that we have insured the home, as of the date the final payment is being made.  That payment can take up to 10 days to clear.  Once that has happened, Homebuyers Centre (the builders) arrange a time for us to go to their office in the Docklands to collect our keys!

Since we're so close to the end, we took care of one of the most important things - we've arranged our NBN this weekend!  This is a new kind of internet broadband that is mandatory to each home in our new estate.  The download speeds are incredible, so I'm happy with that.  We've bundled that with our landline and both of our mobile phones as well as our Foxtel cable in both the lounge room and master bedroom.

Way back before our land titled, Telstra organised an  NBN information session for all of the people building in our estate.  They made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so I've ported my mobile over from Vodafone to them as well.  That was always bound to happen.  Phizer's still waiting for a few messages I texted him last month.

For those of you reading from overseas, this is Wikipedia's definition of Telstra:

Telstra Corporation Limited is Australia's largest telecommunications and media company which builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other entertainment products and services.

NBN Video

As we won't be taking our old sofa, we booked a hard rubbish pick up for tomorrow.  Unfortunately, they only take 2m cubed.  I realised there is so much more I can get rid of, so I'm planning on having them pick up another load in about 2 weeks, but I've made a big enough dent that I've basically got a whole room to put my boxes in.

I am now shopping very seriously for a surveillance system for the home.  New estates are infamous for being burgled.  Usually, they're after the oven, stove, and the hot-water system.  Unfortunately, I am told that most of the time it's tradesmen who installed them who steal them.  For this reason, these items are now not installed until we take possession of the house, which means it's my problem if they're stolen.  So now I'm looking for a few exterior cameras as well as a nice system for inside.  Wireless would be best.  They are now quite advanced and I can watch my house on my iPhone.  Hopefully, the worse I'll see is the dog chewing my beautiful new cushion.

This time next week, I'm hoping I have really great news to report about the status about our build.  It will be great to see the driveway and landscaping done!

"A good laugh is sunshine in the house."

- William Makepeace Thackeray