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June 10, 2013 - 8:40 am

Hi Tankimh,

Later this week I'm going to put up a "How to do a feasibility" post up. This will answer most if not all of your questions. Seems to be a demand for this type of knowledge lately.

Oscar

June 10, 2013 - 8:38 am

http://house.ksou.cn/  is a good one too.

Cheers

Oscar

June 10, 2013 - 8:36 am

Well the bricks have been acid washed so they look nice and clean now. The stormwater is taking much longer than usual due to the boulders! I haven't seen so much come out of the ground before. It would usually take a day but Wednesday will be Day 3. Should be all finished though.

The tilers are in tiling the laundry and bathrooms. I'll put some pics of the bathrooms when finished later in the week before the painter gets in there.

Also the kitchens are in – less the stone. This is installed after the painter is finished.

Cheers Oscar

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg8" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10388&d=1370852982&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="kitchen.jpg;
1547 x 1160 (@43%)” width=”662″ />

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg9" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10389&d=1370853032&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="bricks cleaned.jpg;
872 x 654 (@76%)” width=”662″ />

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg10" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10390&d=1370853062&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="boulders – stormwater.jpg;
720 x 540 (@92%)” width=”662″ />

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg12" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10392&d=1370853114&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="stormwater 2.jpg;
772 x 579 (@86%)” width=”662″ />

June 10, 2013 - 8:34 am

AC, land is about 495m2. Not large at all!

Cheers

Oscar

June 6, 2013 - 12:42 pm

Cheers AC. Should be finished in 4 weeks or so. Weather is a pain lately. I'll put some more pics up tomorrow. Finally finishing off the stormwater….massive rocks everywhere!

Oscar

May 29, 2013 - 9:56 pm

HI Mikko

I used to teach the Cert 4 in Building and Construction. It's not a prerequisite, BUT, it is favorably looked upon and you will learn other aspects of building – such as how to prepare a contract, understanding the law governing the industry and how to prepare the required documentation to the building board. In Victoria they have been ruthless on anybody that made a mistake on their submitted dummy building contract to the point where they made the applicant re sit that section of the course (usually at Master Builders Australia).

Having a carpentry background helps you. Call the board in your state and go from there.

Cheers

Oscar

May 29, 2013 - 9:46 pm

3 weeks since the last update and a lot has happened. I've uploaded more photo's than usual.

Monday was a great day. I turned up to the site and saw the electricity crew installing the second electrical pit (power needed for units 2 & 3).  The estimated installation date was mid July so this came about 7 weeks early. I can really push along fast now whereas there was no real urgency as the units would have been finished without any power.

The plasterwork has finished, except around the kitchen area. This will be completed once the kitchens go in tomorrow. The brickwork is now finished which meant i could get the site all clean again (nice feeling )

Internally the chippies have nearly finished the fix – hanging up all doors, skirts and archs. Next week the tiler is in to do the waterproofing in the bathrooms and then start on the tiling in the bathroom, laundry and kitchen splash back areas.

Externally, yesterday i had the big excavator come with the hammer to dig the trenches for Telstra and for the electrical conduits. Massive rocks continued to come out. At one stage the poor guy was hammering away in the one spot for at least 20 minutes – the thing just would not break!

Monday the plumbers are back to do the stormwater work outside and put the three pits in. Tuesday the bricks get acid washed which makes the units looking all nice

Cheers

Oscar

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg3" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10348&d=1369862800&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="external bricks.jpg;
964 x 723 (@69%)” width=”662″ />

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg4" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10349&d=1369862836&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="internal fix.jpg;
1584 x 1188 (@42%)” width=”662″ />

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg5" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10350&d=1369862855&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="plaster.jpg;
1580 x 1185 (@42%)” width=”662″ /><img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg6" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10351&d=1369862876&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="electrical pit install.jpg;
883 x 662 (@75%)” width=”662″ />

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg7" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10352&d=1369862901&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="electrical and telstra conduits.jpg;
828 x 621 (@80%)” width=”662″ />

May 29, 2013 - 9:42 pm

Hi Wilko

They are all 2 bedroom units. I'll probably keep one for myself as a rental.

Cheers

Oscar

May 24, 2013 - 11:15 pm

If vendor finance is they way you proceed Paul will be your man to contact. He's been doing it in a business like manner for a number of years.

Oscar

May 24, 2013 - 11:12 pm

Hey Joe,

It is actually 5%. Each council then decides what they want to charge. Eg. Brimbank 2%, Darebin 3%, Latrobe 5%. When you develop in a new subdivision (3+ dwellings) no contributions are payable as the council cannot double dip. The original land developer has already paid this.

The beauty of a 2 lot subdivision is the fact the no contributions are payable. Works well in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Cheers

Oscar

May 24, 2013 - 11:08 pm

Hi Bella K,

Being a property forum where we assist one another have you considered offering this piece of information with no money involved? Good karma.

Oscar

May 22, 2013 - 2:54 am

Too good to refuse. I've just fixed my loan for my block of units that i don't intend to sell.

Cheers

Oscar

May 22, 2013 - 2:51 am

A couple of options:

* As the guys have said take some time off work, but preplan this so you can hit the ground running

* Ask some of the local agents who they use for this type of work. You might find that some agents use registered builders for their handyman/small reno work. See what you can negotiate. They could be your eyes and ears while you are away.

Also if you are going to rent or sell the property it might be a good idea to engage the services of the real estate agent/property manager now (sign the paperwork and lock it in) so you can make the odd phone call to them when you aren't on site.

Cheers

Oscar

May 17, 2013 - 11:19 am

Once you provide all information required to your builder there shouldn't be any variations. What you should establish from the outset is how your builder will treat any variations YOU CHOOSE to do during the build.

Also, some builders deliberately keep the initial price low so that they can win your business but then slug you with variation after variation. I'd recommend taking someone with you that understands the process when the time comes to sign the contracts.

Oscar

May 11, 2013 - 11:08 pm

Nothing wrong with that. Have a list of questions to ask based on what you want in a broker and go from there.

Good luck

Oscar

May 11, 2013 - 3:03 am

Catts, what's made you choosing them over others?

Oscar

May 11, 2013 - 3:01 am

I've uploaded a few photo's from the morning. The last week has seen the electrician do his rough in and electrical meters put in place. The plumbers have also done there rough ins. The internal walls have been straightened and the cavity sliders placed into position too. The boys today have wrapped the house and installed the wall and ceiling batts. One small drama today though. A couple of the pipes have been stapled so the plumbers are coming out next week to make sure there are no water leaks. No biggie – easily fixed.

Plasterers start next week along with the bricklayers. Things will really start taking shape then.

Cheers

Oscar

<img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg0" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10223&d=1368240614&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="external wall wrap 1.jpg;
1002 x 752 (@66%)” width=”661″ /><img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg1" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10224&d=1368240643&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="external wall wrap 2.jpg;
980 x 735 (@68%)” width=”662″ /><img alt="" border="0" height="496" id="lightboximg2" src="http://somersoft.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10225&d=1368240701&quot; style="border:solid 4px black;border-bottom-width:0px;" title="internal wall batts.jpg;
985 x 739 (@68%)” width=”662″ />

May 11, 2013 - 1:54 am

Thanks Jamie. I enjoy looking at the stats.

Cheers

Oscar

May 11, 2013 - 1:49 am

We need to the know zonings. So the name of the relevant council will help here.

Oscar

May 11, 2013 - 1:47 am

Yep. Their 3 year fixed rate looks attractive now – 4.99%

Cheers

Oscar