Builder and House Plan Selected

We originally started looking around at double storey homes and went to the normal project builders i.e Clarendon, Eden Brae etc. We had to go with a double storey home as the original block that we had was only 450sq, meaning that if we built a single storey home we would have next to nothing as a back yard - and with 2 young boys under 6 that really wasnt ideal for us.

After many weekends and return vists from display villages we had had enought. The kids were cranky, it was humid and just about to start raining. We decided to go back to the car and get the kids home. On the way back to the car we saw a builder that we had never heard of before - McDonald Jones. The design was a single storey but still decided to go in and have a look.

We walked in an were impressed straight away. We knew that display homes included alot of non-standard upgrades but the design and layout of the home was the best we had seen. The design was the Havana at Oran Park Town. McDonald Jones are a central coast builder and most of their display homes are up north.

The next weekend we packed the car and took the drive up the coast to look at their designs. It was a great idea is it re-affirmed our thoughts on the builder and we loved their layouts and houses.

We left the deposit with McDonald Jones of $3000 to secure the current pricing and got the Impressions Package included for free and $200 credit for travel costs for us to go up the coast to look at their homes.

Our Block

Well its all happening now. Here is where we are up to.

We listed our home for sale in November 2010 and originally had a block of land secured in Waterside Estate, which is in Penrith near the Lakes Scheme. The block at Waterside was originally planned to register in October 2011 giving us time to sell our home and save some more money.

We then came across the Glenmore Ridge release with is an extension to Glenmore Park Estate. The block is 571sq which is alot larger than the 450sq block that we had at Waterside.

Our new block of land is due for registration in March 2011, contracts have already been exchanged. We now just need to sell our home and find somewhere to rent whilst our home is being built.

Seeing I work for a bank I secured the block at Glenmore Ridge without finance approval and without selling my home - the type of thing I advise against to clients all the time!! But anyway fingers are crossed for a favourable result. I have since obtained approval to purchase the land without having to sell my home so the stress levels have decreased.

We are lot 1007. We are really happy with the block width and depth as it opened up the options to select the home we could build. Our block is 16.5m wide and 34.6m deep. The land is pretty flat and only has 1m of diagonal fall from back left to front right. We are in a cul-de-sac with only bushland/reserve across the road.