Nikkis2000 Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Following on from a couple of other threads that are out there at the moment, I thought I would start a thread for any queries we have relating to building houses. Whether it's to do with pools, finance, contractors etc etc feel free to post away here and hopefully we can draw on the knowledge that I know is out there. My current burning question is: At what point do you start paying rates? Is it only once you have moved in and are effectively using the services or do they sting you earlier in the build process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Good question, looking forward to the answer, we have figured out that we will be paying for electricity & water during the build, not looking forward to the water bill, heard it can be quite high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted May 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 If you need to tank it in for anything PM me. We may be able to help depending on where you are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 If you need to tank it in for anything PM me. We may be able to help depending on where you are We building in Burns Beach, still in civilisation so we connected to water mains, thanks anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 We have had our block since November and not being charged anything by the council, though we are paying water rates (only the rental thing fee). Not sure if we pay a fee for the gas and electric, though once the build starts we will pay for any elec the builders use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Yes you have to pay rates on your block as soon as it is settled although only as vacant land so a little cheaper. It takes some councils a while to catch up but normally the plans approval tips them off. You might want to call them VS or you'll get a backdated bill which may be a bit if a shock ! The water bill for our build was about $100 (usage and rates) and the electric about $80. Gas nil as it's not put on until the last few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Cheers Chardy. I will wait till the wife gets back from the UK at the weekend and call them - she may already have it sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Yes you have to pay rates on your block as soon as it is settled although only as vacant land so a little cheaper. It takes some councils a while to catch up but normally the plans approval tips them off. You might want to call them VS or you'll get a backdated bill which may be a bit if a shock !The water bill for our build was about $100 (usage and rates) and the electric about $80. Gas nil as it's not put on until the last few weeks. I would have thought the water bill would have been quite high, I had a look on some building forums and a lot of people complain about the water bill, if you think about it the builders use a shed load of water while building your house, especially during the brickie and plastering phase, was your $100 bill a monthly or quarterly bill or a total bill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Has anyone thought about smart wiring their house, I went to Intelligent homes in Osbourne park and have just had a quote for basic data, TV & Foxtel, our build is on a fibre optic wired estate, so we could have all the services come in out of the ground, but the quote is mind boggling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Would love to Druid but we're stretching a pretty tight budget as it is. Plus I'm not sure we'll have all the services out in woop woop (not really - only Chittering but it might as well be as far as technology is concerned!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 If you can't smart wire during the build - we couldn't afford it either, then get a lot of electrical cables in a conduit. This isn't too much extra and allows it to be added later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give me a break! Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 I think I remember that the council tax for the land was paid for by our settlement agent upfront on completion of our mortgage. It was all a bit confusing at the time what with payments here there and everywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 I would have thought the water bill would have been quite high, I had a look on some building forums and a lot of people complain about the water bill, if you think about it the builders use a shed load of water while building your house, especially during the brickie and plastering phase, was your $100 bill a monthly or quarterly bill or a total bill? Nope that's total for a 7 month build, maybe they used next doors !? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Has anyone thought about smart wiring their house, I went to Intelligent homes in Osbourne park and have just had a quote for basic data, TV & Foxtel, our build is on a fibre optic wired estate, so we could have all the services come in out of the ground, but the quote is mind boggling Yes but I'll DIY when I have time (I'm a registered cabler). Agree with VS, have conduits put in (on internal walls) so it can be pulled in later for less. External walls have the cavity to run the cables in. Builders doing smart cabling is a complete money maker for them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Yes but I'll DIY when I have time (I'm a registered cabler).Agree with VS, have conduits put in (on internal walls) so it can be pulled in later for less. External walls have the cavity to run the cables in. Builders doing smart cabling is a complete money maker for them! This sounds like the way to go, think I will go with the basic install to get the infrastructure, and have the builder put a load of extra conduits & wall plates in for future expansion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 We had all our power outlets moved onto internal walls too so our friendly sparky can add ones on the external walls with no wall chasing later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 How much extra roughly is it to get the extra conduits? Or is it more of a case of wait until they're there then slide em a carton of stubbies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 How much extra roughly is it to get the extra conduits? Or is it more of a case of wait until they're there then slide em a carton of stubbies? I got quoted $219 to put a conduit in to be able to have a wall mounted TV in the future, so that's only from the normal 300 mm up to 1900mm, not even a whole wall height Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 Ours were $30 a piece - wish I'd got more in ! Our builders seem a lot cheaper for extras than some others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 They do seem to sting you for the strangest things and yet others are relatively cheap. We've only had ballpark figures so far as we're not that far into the process so we'll have to ask all these questions when we get to that point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 We also paid about $30 each for conduits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 28, 2014 Report Share Posted May 28, 2014 They do seem to sting you for the strangest things and yet others are relatively cheap. We've only had ballpark figures so far as we're not that far into the process so we'll have to ask all these questions when we get to that point! How much it goes above the base price will depend on the builder and the deal you get. We went with Home Group WA because they were offering a fully inclusive deal that we felt was good value for money and a lot of things that we had been expecting to upgrade were included. As a result, we didn't have much to upgrade. I think it was just a front door handle - we are having an extra wide door and the standard handle would look odd. A upgraded tap to the kitchen and we were only allowed one colour of laminate for the kitchen, but we wanted two. Things that can blow budgets quick are stone bench tops. Ours was included to the kitchen but when we asked about it for the on-suite, it was going to be over $1000. Tiling can also be VERY expensive. We have a pretty good package on it, so didn't need any extra, but if we had then it can be very easy to be in the 4 figures very quickly. If air con is included, then check how many ducts and it is enough and how many zones. Expensive to add more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 I'm having to pay $12k for ducted zoned reverse cycle aircon, the builder won't do evap, I thought about leaving it and having evap fitted after the build, but then discovered on a building forum that the type of construction used in my house makes it impossible to do later, the only other option would be to have split systems, I gave up and went with the aircon. I also learned that if you make all the changes to the house BEFORE you sign up with the builder you get them at better prices & some are included just as a sweetener to get you to sign, but once you sign and pay that deposit, all the changes go to pre-start and now you pay full whack, I'm keeping notes for next time round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7cdb Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 I'm having to pay $12k for ducted zoned reverse cycle aircon, the builder won't do evap, I thought about leaving it and having evap fitted after the build, but then discovered on a building forum that the type of construction used in my house makes it impossible to do later, the only other option would be to have split systems, I gave up and went with the aircon. I also learned that if you make all the changes to the house BEFORE you sign up with the builder you get them at better prices & some are included just as a sweetener to get you to sign, but once you sign and pay that deposit, all the changes go to pre-start and now you pay full whack, I'm keeping notes for next time round To to be fair mate,$12k for a house to have ducted A/C is a good price compared to UK prices. As long as the units are good quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 29, 2014 Report Share Posted May 29, 2014 RC is far better for Perth conditions than evap anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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