A different kind of build thread …

[ScottsGT]

2 hours ago, GusMac said:

Looking great Rog.

I take it it's your responsibility to get all the interior painting and decorating done? Over here that's all part of the package although that tends to mean you get everything painted in magnolia! I think that's maybe what Martin was meaning in his earlier post as well.

Ha!  House flippers here in the states paint everything gray.  The joke now is calling it “flipper gray”.  New homes 99% of the time get basic white everything.  

[Martinnfb]

Nice update, you must be getting excited. As Gus mentioned above, I had in mind walls sanded and painted. That is the standard here, the customer gets to choose the color and everything (trims, flames, walls) is painted before the flooring material is installed. 

As an electrician I like the horizontal receptacles , much smarter approach than vertical positioning of the outlets, when one is overlapping the other. It is funny that few of my friends ended up in Australia, but we never compared the notes

Almost there Rog . 🏠

 

[Artful69]

8 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

Interesting how the electrical outlets are horizontal compared to how the US does them vertically.  I bet your toilets flush in the wrong direction too!  
It’s looking great and coming along nicely.  

Lol ... not sure about the toilets ... as long as they flush in the general direction of AWAY, I'm happy!!  

2 hours ago, GusMac said:

Looking great Rog.

I take it it's your responsibility to get all the interior painting and decorating done? Over here that's all part of the package although that tends to mean you get everything painted in magnolia! I think that's maybe what Martin was meaning in his earlier post as well.

Well ... yes and it's by choice ... I'll fill you in with the details on my answer to Martin below 👇

43 minutes ago, ScottsGT said:

Ha!  House flippers here in the states paint everything gray.  The joke now is calling it “flipper gray”.  New homes 99% of the time get basic white everything.  

Choices have been limited here for about 15-20 years now. Doing inspections, I was able to see first hand when investors became the primary market driver here in Australia. Investors are 'coached' that any colours outside of what they term are 'neutral' are a bad idea for resale valuation purposes - as preference becomes an influence.

20 or so years ago you'd be likely to get blue, pink or apricot coloured tiles in the ensuite along with coloured cabinetry and in some more daring cases - coloured porcelain sinks and toilets! Slowly that sort of thing faded to neutral colours ... White, off white, cream, beige, brown and various greys. They still manage to get houses to look decent enough, with a little smudge of character, using things like wood grain finish etc.

The last middle finger at mediocrity that I saw was a run of styles during the era 2010-2015 where people would select a feature colour ... this colour would then be distributed around the house in a variety of ways ... a strip of tiles vertically down the shower well, a glass splash-back in the kitchen, a painted feature wall in a living area or a wall paper with a design featuring that colour as the main contrast. Some of these colours were subtle, some glaringly obvious. It dates the property now - but somehow it also still works when you walk into a property where it's been done.

15 minutes ago, Martinnfb said:

Nice update, you must be getting excited. As Gus mentioned above, I had in mind walls sanded and painted. That is the standard here, the customer gets to choose the color and everything (trims, flames, walls) is painted before the flooring material is installed. 

As an electrician I like the horizontal receptacles , much smarter approach than vertical positioning of the outlets, when one is overlapping the other. It is funny that few of my friends ended up in Australia, but we never compared the notes

Almost there Rog . 🏠

 

The short answer is ... I'm doing the paintwork although the builder could have.

To give you a better answer we have to go back to the beginning of the process ... The first stop in doing the whole house and land purchase/build thing -  is to the broker. Find out how much I can borrow in order to do this - then marry that up with what a house (that I can live with) will cost and find a block of land to build it on. Of course if the income stream will allow for a bigger plan than what I actually want, I can probably just go out and buy any large block of land available ... but when you're on a budget 🤷‍♂️ ...

So I work out what size of building the builders will build and with what inclusions I want to get a handle on pricing ... There's a bit of negotiating involved ... but there a LOT of investors out there with industry connections - so its not beyond the realm of possibility that a builder can just build a shell, ofttimes - with the purchaser hiring trades (on the side) to fill in the blanks, resulting in a much cheaper build.

With me ... I had to work out what jobs will cost if they are included vs not (here the sales rep will more often than not, point you in the right direction if they are are good) Alby told me right from the start, Painting, additional brick paving and landscape works is not something that the builder is 'interested' in doing. Meaning: if you include these you'll get screwed over! ... Compare the painting cost example below to 'additional' tiles I paid for in the wet areas ... Half height tiling cost me about $600 in the ensuite from memory ... certainly better that I could DIY or get an external quote on!

I buy all the paint and materials and DIY the job (which I'm relatively good at - just a bit slower than a skilled painter) and it costs me about $1500

I do the above and hire a skilled painter (if I can find one because we're in the middle of a property boom here) $3500-$4000

It's a similar exercise with brick paving.

I get the builder to include it in the build price of the house and it'll be $10-15K (because they'll have to pay premium prices for a painter also and then there's always the builders margin!) ... and you can quickly see that a build contract that has all the 'inclusions' that I want - sans wall painting, full brick paving and landscaping fills a budget that would have been about $50K more otherwise.

I've learned so many neat little tricks to building a home on a budget through this experience!

Rog

 

[CANicoll]

Rog,  Beautiful build and what a nice place.  I understand your last update about DIY vs builder vs hiring a trade on the side. Basically the same here - you always pay a premium when you get the builder to add it.  

Thanks for posting the pictures!  Fun to follow along...

[GusMac]

20 hours ago, Artful69 said:

Lol ... not sure about the toilets ... as long as they flush in the general direction of AWAY, I'm happy!!  

Well ... yes and it's by choice ... I'll fill you in with the details on my answer to Martin below 👇

Choices have been limited here for about 15-20 years now. Doing inspections, I was able to see first hand when investors became the primary market driver here in Australia. Investors are 'coached' that any colours outside of what they term are 'neutral' are a bad idea for resale valuation purposes - as preference becomes an influence.

20 or so years ago you'd be likely to get blue, pink or apricot coloured tiles in the ensuite along with coloured cabinetry and in some more daring cases - coloured porcelain sinks and toilets! Slowly that sort of thing faded to neutral colours ... White, off white, cream, beige, brown and various greys. They still manage to get houses to look decent enough, with a little smudge of character, using things like wood grain finish etc.

The last middle finger at mediocrity that I saw was a run of styles during the era 2010-2015 where people would select a feature colour ... this colour would then be distributed around the house in a variety of ways ... a strip of tiles vertically down the shower well, a glass splash-back in the kitchen, a painted feature wall in a living area or a wall paper with a design featuring that colour as the main contrast. Some of these colours were subtle, some glaringly obvious. It dates the property now - but somehow it also still works when you walk into a property where it's been done.

The short answer is ... I'm doing the paintwork although the builder could have.

To give you a better answer we have to go back to the beginning of the process ... The first stop in doing the whole house and land purchase/build thing -  is to the broker. Find out how much I can borrow in order to do this - then marry that up with what a house (that I can live with) will cost and find a block of land to build it on. Of course if the income stream will allow for a bigger plan than what I actually want, I can probably just go out and buy any large block of land available ... but when you're on a budget 🤷‍♂️ ...

So I work out what size of building the builders will build and with what inclusions I want to get a handle on pricing ... There's a bit of negotiating involved ... but there a LOT of investors out there with industry connections - so its not beyond the realm of possibility that a builder can just build a shell, ofttimes - with the purchaser hiring trades (on the side) to fill in the blanks, resulting in a much cheaper build.

With me ... I had to work out what jobs will cost if they are included vs not (here the sales rep will more often than not, point you in the right direction if they are are good) Alby told me right from the start, Painting, additional brick paving and landscape works is not something that the builder is 'interested' in doing. Meaning: if you include these you'll get screwed over! ... Compare the painting cost example below to 'additional' tiles I paid for in the wet areas ... Half height tiling cost me about $600 in the ensuite from memory ... certainly better that I could DIY or get an external quote on!

I buy all the paint and materials and DIY the job (which I'm relatively good at - just a bit slower than a skilled painter) and it costs me about $1500

I do the above and hire a skilled painter (if I can find one because we're in the middle of a property boom here) $3500-$4000

It's a similar exercise with brick paving.

I get the builder to include it in the build price of the house and it'll be $10-15K (because they'll have to pay premium prices for a painter also and then there's always the builders margin!) ... and you can quickly see that a build contract that has all the 'inclusions' that I want - sans wall painting, full brick paving and landscaping fills a budget that would have been about $50K more otherwise.

I've learned so many neat little tricks to building a home on a budget through this experience!

Rog

 

I totally get that Rog. Painting is one thing I really will only pay someone else to do as a last resort, or if it's too high. As you say, I reckon I can do just as neat a job, just slower.

When we got our house built my father and I did all the landscaping in the garden and all the splashback tiling in the bathrooms and en suite. There's definitely a satisfaction in knowing you've done things yourself.

[Artful69]

Time for an Update ... ... PART 1

No pics in this edition though, as there's no real eye candy that you haven't seen already.

They say moving house is stressful ... So I must have survived a multiple of it!!

I met Jane in 2019 through mutual friends in the Philippines ... after a month over there with her and we were starting rudimentary plans for a future in Australia. Jane took on 2 jobs to start packing away cash for the visa app ... and the debacle that was COVID the Claytons Pandemic started up (Inside Aussie joke there!). I came close to getting into a house of my own ... then the Government threw a stack of money at the industry - and I missed out again.

I took the risk of quitting my job of 12 years and jumped into the FIFO lifestyle to get an income stream that would yield a property and a house ... It did so and not a moment too soon as interest rates started to climb - the obvious result of forcefully shutting down the country's economy for over a year and then releasing all that pent up demand with no supply (I mean, what did they think would happen??). Suffice to say that largely due to my conservative nature when it comes to committing to long term debt arrangements, there was enough of a buffer to handle any payment increases.

Meanwhile Jane and I first consulted - and then hired a migration legal specialist. Besides packing away a great deal of money to compile and then submit a visa, The Home Office tends to be less critical of legally backed submissions ... not that you don't have to fulfil select criteria - just that they tend to be less critical of the information submitted.

When the builder moved from administration to construction and started building the house in May this year, the target for completion was 10-11 months ... handover in March or April 2025. 75% of Subclass 300 (Prospective Marriage visas are processed between 9 and 18 months. Jane and I submitted ours a few days out before the end of the financial year ... and at the exit interview the legal team advised us that someone would probably take a look at it in about 5 months time and make a request for further documentation at that time - meanwhile we should organise to meet again and we should keep a regular financial connection ...

Jane and I switched to planning time together in the Phils (easiest option and best bang for buck yield). Next thing we know, 2 weeks out before I fly there (Sept 30th) were getting a request for further documentation from Home Office ... This is whack! - That's 2 and a half months after lodging!! Meanwhile the builder is also trying to set a new world record to finish the house. This would all be quite exciting normally ... except the company I was working for was making my life extremely increasingly unpleasant over a 6 - 12 month period.

After another request for documentation from Home office in November, Janes visa was approved ... at the same time, the builder sent me a notice advising that the PCI (practical completion inspection was due) ... which is the last thing done before final payment and Handover!

A week after starting my swing at the mine site, 2 days after Janes visa was approved, I was fired ...

To be continued ... in Part 2!

Mwah-ha-ha!!

Rog

 

[ScottsGT]

Well that’s a “Well $#it” moment.  Sorry to hear of this.  

[Artful69]

1 hour ago, ScottsGT said:

Well that’s a “Well $#it” moment.  Sorry to hear of this.  

It was indeed ...

Rog

[BlrwestSiR]

Wow, that's a cliffhanger. Like Scott said, sorry to hear that. 

Hoping part 2 ends on a happier note. 

[Artful69]

Part 2 ...

I have to tell the story in parts because there's a bit to tell ... and also I've been busy!!

... Previously, on "A different kind of build thread" .... 🤣

Always wanted to do that ... but suffice to say that with being packed up and sent home halfway through the fortnightly swing and everything coming ready to go all at once, the pressure was on!!

-----

In a flashback scene here to the exit interview with the Visa legal team (end of June this year), we were advised that the visa application was strong, but in order to make it undeniable we should do two things ... strengthen the financial commitment and spend some more time together. Since I had made financial plans that gave me a nice "buffer" heading into the new home once complete - and the house had entered the construction phase, these suggestions were a little annoying ... and uncomfortable as they were obviously going to eat into said buffer. The financial one was a little easier ... less money sent more often - no problem.

Nevertheless Jane and I got into planning a 19 day trip to the Philippines ... Everything was finalised and I'm getting ready on Wednesday morning to fly out to work for my last two weeks before leave, when an email arrives from the legal team outlining a request for further information from the Home Office. Drama ensues for the next couple of weeks while I'm away at work ... but I fly home, have a few days in Perth and then fly out to the Phils ... It was the best time I've had in a few years ... relaxing, happy and well needed!

-----

And this is relevant because??? ... The trip ate away at my financial buffer ... my recently 'previous' employer found a way to drop me like a hot potato without any notice ... so all I got from them was outstanding days worked and any annual leave accumulated. To be honest, I'm really relieved that I'm not working for that company anymore ... It was the worst place I've worked at in 30-odd years. But it does leave me with a problem at that point ... After handover the building loan from the bank turns over into principal and interest (while up until that time it has been interest only on whatever the balance has been) - which means the payment amount goes north by a margin. Ergo - I have no time to waste ... Jane is wondering when her flight should be booked for and I'm wondering if I'll have a house for her to live in!! ... So for Jane, I'm waiting on two things - a job to pay the bills ... and the house being handed over!

Meanwhile I contacted my former employer to borrow a ladder so I could complete the inspection of the new house (Roof cavity) while scrambling around looking for employment.

More to come later ...

Rog

[CANicoll]

Rog.  DAMN.  Amazed at what you are having to deal with but also at your great attitude and clear vision for your future, inclusive of Jane.  That positive attitude is fantastic.   Certainly you have down days, but I hope things keep coming together for you.  Good luck on the jobs front, of course!

[KevinM]

Damn Rog you have a much cooler head than me good to you for that and May God Bless you for that!It is said when door closes another will open and with your attitude I am sure it will happen.

[Artful69]

 Sorry for the cliffhangers fellas ...

I can only type for so long before I have to get on with some chores ... Time for Part 3

So ... I conducted my PCI (Practical Completion Inspection) pretty much a week after I returned home. Meanwhile Jane is asking me about when to book her flight - My answer is that: I can only arrange a date with her once I have a job and the house has been handed over so she'll have a roof over her head when she arrives. Meanwhile I'm looking to try to get into some more FIFO work ... 

See - my budget says that to live reasonably stress free, while paying off the mortgage etc ... I will need $90Kpa as an absolute minimum (pre tax income). Janes asking me - why I can't just go back to work for my last employer (I was doing ok there for 12 years) ... to which I said that the problem is that even with a decent amount of overtime, I'm only pulling about $80-$85Kpa ...

A week later I'm still getting nowhere on the job front and the builder is pushing for Handover meeting prior to Christmas. At this point I'm praying and asking what I'm supposed to do. It's during another chat with Jane that she mentions transferring over to work for her employer here when she arrives. She works as a remote customer service agent (she handles web orders and email enquiries that the bots can't) for an Australian company. We are in the middle of discussing what her renumeration package should be when the light bulb moment happens!!

Jane will be earning money here too ... Probably somewhere between $50 and $60kpa ... so my annual doesn't need to be so high! I decided to give it a few more days and then gave my old manager a call ... Straight away I'm onboard!! ... I start the following Monday and have 1 week before Christmas break. The builder then calls and schedules handover for the Thursday evening. Jane meanwhile books a flight for 29th December so she can get here and start earning Aussie currency before my savings are entirely gone. Handover happens on the Thursday ... I have a removalist booked for Sunday 22nd of December ...

Suddenly everything looks rosy again ... except it isn't ... because Murphy has a couple of additional laws in motion!!

Rog

[BlrwestSiR]

Rog, that's some great news there. I know what that level of panic can feel like when you're suddenly without work and have all sorts of commitments. It was lucky that it worked out for me (twice!) and it looks to be the same for you. Hope the last couple stumbling blocks aren't that big. 

Carl

[ScottsGT]

“I have a removalist booked for Sunday 22nd of December ...”

Removalist?  Is that like an exorcism to remove those pesky Aussi haints before you move in?  
I kid!  I’m assuming a “mover” to move your belongings.  

[Artful69]

Part 4 ...

So the week starts nicely on the 16th December ... and continues to roll on through to handover - for which, my manager has blocked out the time on calendar for me to head into West Perth for a meeting with the builder ... It all goes off without a hitch.

I get an text from the removalist on Friday asking to confirm the job ... during which I remind them to bring a step ramp so their moving trolley does not damage the wall render at the door base at the destination. They text back that they have no door ramp, to which I reply that they will not be allowed to use a trolley without the render being adequately protected. ... and that was it.

Sunday morning 22nd December arrives ... and I'm up early to prep the final bits and pieces at my Mums place ... The Itinerary is: Collect items at my mothers abode ... head down to my storage units 30-45 mins travel ... spend 2-3 hours emptying those out ... head down to my house 1-1.5 hours travel ... Unload everything ... Voila!!

The removalist is a no-show at 7am ... I call at 7.10am to find out where they are ... find out at 7.15am that they have cancelled the job. About 2-3hrs of frantic ringing around ensues - trying to find someone who will do the job. Finally the original removalist calls back with many apologies and tells me that a truck will arrive at 1pm to start ... in 43 degree heat (I mean I'm used to heat in WA summers - but it is boiling out there!!). There's a couple of small innocuous incidents during the day, now ... but the best one is that we are at the new place ... they are unloading the truck ... about halfway through - the electric/hydraulic tail gate ramp stops working. I go for a drive for about 30+ mins hunting for a fuse - in my car ... every service station for Km's around has none ... until the 5th one has just 1 packet!! ...

I head back ... Job finishes ... company tries to overcharge me ... then they try to negotiate ... Then they settle for the originally budgeted amount which was overs anyway ...

... Well at least I'm moved in now, right?

Rog

[CANicoll]

Damn, but you are HOME!!!!  You and Jane, Congrats!!!

[BlrwestSiR]

What a bunch of jokers your removers sound like. Glad you held firm and got through it. 

Enjoy your new home and bring able to share it with Jane!

 

[GusMac]

Good grief Rog, if you'd written this as a script, people would have said it was unbelievable. Kudos for getting through it and in the door. Hope you and Jane can settle in peacefully now. 

[KevinM]

Rog I bet you will be glad when all is settled...whew!!

[Artful69]

Part 5.

I've been a bit busy this weekend so far ... so not much time to update.

As of the 22nd at about 9.30pm ... I'm hungry, the move is completed ... the removalists truck is now working so they are winding up ... I've paid what I agreed to pay ... and that's it ... I jump in my car and head off to McDonalds to get something to fill me a little.

The 23rd dawns and aside from a couple of chores I need to get on with at the new house the conversation between Jane and I turns to her move to Australia and her change of employment status with her current employer ... there's a few things to work through there and since the meat supply industry really ramps up over the Christmas period - that conversation is put off until after Christmas.

I had to head back up to main suburbia on Christmas eve ... primarily to spend time with mum on Christmas day ... but also to pick up paint and supplies on Christmas Eve to commence painting the new place.

Drama then ensues on the 26th December when Janes Cousin ... living with her Australian Husband over east advises her that she needs to attend a guidance and counselling program (GCP) seminar run by the CFO (Commission to Filipinos Overseas) and attain a certificate before immigration will allow her to leave the Philippines. This is particularly annoying since our own legal team had never heard of this and we had a less than 50% strike rate on Google looking for it. It is legitimate though! Jane immediately called the nearest branch of the CFO (in another city) and was advised that there was a seminar actually running that day (26th is not a holiday in the Philippines) - but it was too late for Jane to enrol - let alone travel there. The earliest she could book was for when the seminar was next scheduled - the 2nd of January.

The seminar itself is free ... but Jane had to pay return bus fare from General Santos City to Davao and eat there - while taking a day off work. Meanwhile I had to send off a pile of documentation and a certificate that I had to pay $140 for and retrieve in person - from the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry. The there was the rescheduled air fare which cost us the same amount again on top of the original amount that we paid!

Jane arrives here on the 8th in the late afternoon. 

Meanwhile I have installed 1 of the 2 side gates ...

... the other being too large for the opening 😒 - my measurements were off somewhere?!?! ... A few more working parts to consider though with a blanking panel needed to ensure clearance between the gate and either the tap or the meter box.

So now Jane and I will have to wait until we can afford a replacement (as this is the only workaround available) ... meanwhile I will see if the leftover panel can find a use (I think it can!!)

Cheers

Rog

 

[Artful69]

On 1/4/2025 at 1:10 AM, GusMac said:

Good grief Rog, if you'd written this as a script, people would have said it was unbelievable. Kudos for getting through it and in the door. Hope you and Jane can settle in peacefully now. 

That's why I wrote it all out! ... I couldn't believe it! ... Even if you wanted to write a thriller or something and put all this in there ... you'd be rethinking the storyline because no-one would be able to suspend belief to get into the story ...

Weird ... but we should be all good now ... I hope!

Rog

[KevinM]

10 hours ago, Artful69 said:

the other being too large for the opening 😒 - my measurements were off somewhere?!?!

At work we have this term when things get out of hand let's say..."Too Much" nice way of saying to much frigg'in BS one's mind gets distracted.