Stop it!

Yesterday, supervisor called hubby. To let us know that our issue with the arhitraves is still not resolved. He said that if we are to insist on the architraves, they have to stop on building our house since it get resolves.
What the #@$#$??? Trying to scare us huh? Well, since we ain't gonna be the one who is gonna be fined if the house doesn't get handed over to us by May, hubby told him 'okay, stop if you need to. just call me again if you have already figured out how to solve my architraves.'

duhhh! this builder, i don't know why they can't resolve a simple architrave.

He called hubby and told hubby that he will just put it straight on the wall....again, duhhhh??? Hubby told him, 'ello? nobody does it that way. look, i have sent you a drawing on how to do it, why don't you look at it and let me know what you think.'

So, he called again to ask for a meeting on the site on how he's gonna do it.
We thought that it'll be a struggle with them again, hubby and I are already deciding what are we gonna ask in exchange for the architrave. Haha! Of course, if we had to let it go then we had to have something that will pacify me, right? Anyway, when we got there, defeat was already written in their faces, they just wanted us there to confirm that what they are planning to do is right and acceptable to us. Way to go builder! That's more I like it! Wohhoooo! +2 points for you this time. :p

Frame, Roof and Bricks!

The frame is up. Yup, just after a week when the slab was poured, when we went back to the site, the frame was already up.

Then one more week after, the roof was there! Man, they are fast!

And when we went there yesterday, the bricks are already there ready to be laid up!

But yeah, our problem with the architraves is still not yet resolved. We have already spoken with the supervisor and his manager and still they couldn't come up with a resolution on how to do it. They are refusing to do it. Well, we just have one line to give them.... IT'S IN OUR @$@%#$% CONTRACT!

Oh well, let's see how it goes.

And yeah, I already have plans on what to do with the garden/open space. =)

Initial Meeting with our not so super visor.

We had our initial meeting with our Bisor. It went well except for some minor disagreements. We were left with 3 major things to follow-up.

1. The lighting. We were surprised that they are going to put batt lights when we have a dimmer on the living and dining area. Batt lights and dimmer doesn't go together you see. We were surprised cause it was their sales agent who suggested for us to have dimmer lights, so hubs and i thought that it'll come with downlights. so hubby said,in order to settle that we will just provide the downlights, they just have to put it in the plan and fit it. Bisor said, he can't agree to that because we can't just add something into the plan. So he said that he will just have to remove the dimmer. And I said, 'hep hep, stop it right there.! And I will not agree to that. If you can't add things on the plan, you also can not remove things. My dimmer will stay according to plan.' So he said, he need to ask his electrician if the dimmer can go with the batt lights. Hubby already told him that it doesn't go together. He asked hubby, 'Are you an electrician???' To which hubby replied 'No, I am an Electrical Engineer.' So bisor said, 'Okay, discuss your downlights with the electrician.' =P Dimwit! Trying to be smart!

2. Our beloved architraves. They won't agree in putting up our beloved architraves. As to why, I dunno. They have reasons like the structure was already up, thus it can not accomodate the architrave. I wanted to tell him, 'If you ain't one and half of a nincompoop, why did you put up the structure without giving space for the architraves?' Since it is in our contract, and we have already paid for it, hubby and I are fighting for it. Since he is outnumbered, bisor called in his manager. And arrogant manager told us that they won't be doing it. And so we told him, how can he not do it when it is in our contract. And he was surprised. He looked at the contract. Looked at the price, shook his head in disbelief and asked us why they only charged a small amount for the 4 architraves, I gave him an innocent looking smile and said 'I have no idea.' So he said, he will just refund our money and they won't be doing it. Period. Hubby stood up and told him that that is alright if we agree to that. And as of now, we are not agreeing to it. We want our architraves!!!

So those are the 2 things that we need to settle next time... Hmp!! This builders, they think they can just walk away with everything. Let see how it goes, building just became interesting.

Yey!

Yep, I wanted to see it for myself.
The following day, I went to site just to see the slab with my own two eyes.
And yes it's there...Yey!

What, where, when?

Arrrggh! These what, where, when thingie just doesn't end.
Hubby went to meet Agent S to discuss our architraves. As the builder said they can't do it. ( That is after they have already quoted us and included it on the price.) What the @#$#@4! They couldn't decide on where to put it. Well, we know where to put it, they just don't know how to put it there. It is so frustrating cause we have already discussed this sooo many times.

Anyway, Agent S said since she couldn't understand what we want she would let us talk to the builder directly. Okay then. See how.

Hubby went to site once more as Agent S said that next week the slab will be poured in. And guess what? Yep! When he went there, slab was already in place.



As to when it was poured, we have no idea... nuninuninu...

So it begins....

Got the first billing from the builder.
10% of the total cost for the slab. Ouch.
Dream is fading, reality is starting to sink in.
I am not a home owner, I am a debtor!
And our 25year loan begins.. timer starts now.

Slabbity do, slabbity da!

After receiving the good news that our land was already settled, Agent M called me and told me that our slab will be poured in next friday. or this friday. er next friday.

I was so excited, I didn't understand her. Ahahaha! So I had to text her to confirm. She texted back and said that it will be next Friday. Wohoooo!

Finally!

Our land has been settled yesterday! Finally!!!
After all the hullabaloos of our beloved conveyancer! Grrrr!

Then our agent(M)(who has been so helpful in following up our case) called and informed us that slab will be poured on next Friday. This is to beat the November 11 deadline for the FHOG. Wohoooooo!

Then after so much rejoicing, got an email from agent(S) and she said that one of our change request couldn't be done as it doesn't look right. It took them months to realize this? When that change was already in our contract for ages and included in the pricing? It was part of our initial change and they charged us extra for that, and now they are saying it can not be done. Only after we told them that we need the detailed drawings to see on how they plan to do it. What the @#$@#%!


Arrrgggg... this building process is making me crazy....

Ekkkks! What is happening.

We went to the site yesterday and guess what we found...fences, fences and lotsa fences!




They have put a fence around the perimeter of our land(And lotsa pipes inside!)

I think that is a good sign as it means they are ready to start building. What is not good about it is up to now our land hasn't been settled yet. Yeah, thanks heaps to our so-called "expert" conveyancer(yeah, that is what they call themselves), we haven't been conveyed on what's happening with it. And another not so good thing about it is our FHOG is about to expire on the 11th of November. Geeessshhhh! Stress! Stress!

I assigned hubby the task in calling the conveyancer.Cause if I talk to her, I know I would definitely blow my top and she will definitely hear a lot from me. She is really getting into my nerves. So to avoid all the unwanted drama, I let hubby do the talking. Ehehehe. (And yes, hubby is the one who takes the blow and hears a lot from me. :P)

As of this writing, hubby said she was able to talk to her and she "promised" that the settlement will happen tomorrow. Let us wait and see....

SMS from hubby that made me happy.

'FHOG is granted. Land will be settled on Thursday(Oct. 22). She will ring me for updates.'


That is what our conveyancer has told him. Hopefully it's true and she's not saying it just to shut me up. After I've sent my "love letter" to that conveyancer, I refused to call them anymore as I know once she gives me another round of her yada-yada-excuses, I will definitely blow my top. So, I gave hubby the gruelling task of calling the conveyancer. :p

So cross fingers!

And yeah, she didn't call us for that update as she has promised last Friday. We were the ones who called her to get an update. That b!tc4 is really driving me crazy, I tell you. Grrrr!

Love Letter

I just wrote our conveyancer a very long "love" letter.
I don't think they know what 'conveyancer' means.

And that is to "CONVEY"!!!!

And still not settled!

Our First Home Owners Grant is about to expire (You have to start building 26weeks after signing the house contract to avail of the FHOG) and our land is still not settled. Uh-oh! That doesn't sound good and doesn't seem right. =(

The bank is waiting for the settlement papers.
The developer is waiting for the funds.
The conveyancer is waiting for the bank approval.

And we are waiting in vain...

What the @$##%! Who's not doing their job????

Sold...to us!

We went to our lot and this is what we found! Yey!!!!

Went to meet our sales agent today as we received the final quote for our changes and sadly it is still not correct! Arrrggghhh! We received the letter last Oct5 and they want us to sign it and send it back on the 7th. Geeeshhh...they slept on it and now they are rushing us to submit it back. Great!

Anyway, was able to talk to the agent and she said and re-assured me that they will get it right. Mmmm, I am pretty sure they should. :p She also said that the building shall commence soon. Double yey! Or should it be double Nay!

After hearing all these great news, my happy thought was burst by the news of interest rates going up, up and away again. Oh well, what can we do. We are always at the bank's mercy.

By the way, was able to upgrade my range hood and stove without having to pay the $500 late notice fee. Yey again for that!

A birthday gift from our conveyancer.

Guess what arrived in the mail today? An envelope, with a mail inside, what else. :p (Geesh! So lame. What is happening to me. Must be the night shift roster effect.)

Corny jokes aside, a mail from our conveyancer has arrived saying that our land will be for settlement this coming 28th. Wohoooo! Finally. I say finally as it was suppose to have been settled last July and it is already September now, so it's really been quite a wait already.

The first part of the mail got me all so excited. But the second part burst my happy thoughts cause it said -- your bank has been informed. Ahuhuhu. Start of the progress payment. I am so gonna age today!

Colors! Colors! and More Colors!

Finished the color selection yesterday and I am between happy and frustrated.
Happy cause it's all over and done with. Frustrated cause I was unable to choose (or get) the colors that I really wanted. Why? Well, its either I've got an expensive taste or those @#%@ builders are ripping us off! (I bet that would be the 2nd one as I am not high maintenance.Believe me, just don't go around asking my husband.) They've got such a small selection for our range and everything is on the "upgrade" side. I can hear KACHING! KACHING! KACHING!(That is the ound of a cash register just in case you don't get it.:p)in every thing that they want to color. Here's how our color selection went like.

Color Consultant (CC) : Now, choose a color for your carpet.
Emma : Well, I think only this carpet matches my tiles.
CC : KACHING! KACHING! That would be $$$ for the upgrade.

-----
Emma : Is this the only design for your garage door?
CC : KACHING! KACHING! There are other design but that would be $$$ for the upgrade.
-----
Emma : I want this color for the borders.
CC : KACHING! KACHING! That is not possible, but if you want that, it would be $$$ for the upgrade.
------

And this would be the best among the rest.
Emma : I want this color for my house.
CC : KACHING! KACHING! That is $2000 if you really want that color.

I wanted to say..."$2000!!!!! What the @#@$! Give me the 2K and I will color my own house." (Which I do in the Phil, well maybe not the whole house and only my room, but what difference does it make? I don't have a mansion here, it's such a small house! All they've got to do was instead of getting the color in their list, then get the color that I wanted. I can source it for them if they want to! Grrrrr! What a rip off!)
------

Oh well, there's nothing much I can do about it but to accept the fact that in times likes these, MONEY TALKS! And since I don't have much of it, I better learn to keep my mouth shut.

Color Selection - Part 1

We went to our color selection last Thursday and it gave me a bad headache! (Is there a good headache?:P)

We spent two hours already and we aren't even half-way through.

I thought I was already prepared before I went there, because I already have some colors in mind. But geesh! I didn't know you have to select each and every color that will go with the house. They even ask you to select the color of the fascia or whatever is that called. Well, it's that horizontal thingie under the roof, just below the gutter. (I don't even know how to spell it. :P) And yes, you even have to choose a color for the gutter. As far as I can remember, our gutter in Pinas has always been silver. (Natural color of Aluminum/steel that is!) Or maybe I'm just wrong.

Anyway, we finished the colors for the Roof, Fascia (?), Gutter, Garage door, Entry door, Window frames, Carpets, and tiles.

The next appointment(Another gruelling 2 hours!) would be for the kitchen cabinets, wall and ceiling color.

Actually, we already started with my kitchen cabinets. But the sales consultant was so shocked with my request that she suggested that I go home first and continue with our color selection next time when my eyes are fresh and my mind is clear. Ahahaha!
Her exact words were "I am surprised. And shocked. I've never come across such a request. Are you sure with that?" I told her, yeah I'm sure with it. It's a make or break decision and I just hope I make it. If in case I break it, I said it won't matter as people (polite as they are,or in some lingo plastic as they are. hehehe) won't tell it to my face that I made a freaking decision on my cabinet colors. Worst thing that they could tell is that it looks different. And the worst thing that could happen if I don't like the result is that I wouldn't cook as much as I do now, so my DH will be forced to go into a diet and that is not totally a bad thing at all. So, yes I am going with my crazy color scheme.

And now for the walls... really haven't decided yet. We are still in the process of trying to imagine the colors that will blend with my kitchen cabinets! Mwehehehe.

Eureka! Eureka!

We visited our land at Manor Lakes and this is what we found!
Yey! They already have erected the street names. Wohoooo!




And this little boy is the official endorser of Kinglake Drive. Mwehehehehe.

Postponed again!

Jeeesh! Need to postpone my color selection again.
Just checked our sched calendar and I just realized DH is not available tomorrow.
StupidMe.

And now I don't know when I'd schedule it. Nuninuninuninu....

Conveyancer Issue #1

I received a call yesterday from our conveyancer. She said that our finance approval was due last Friday.

Since I know that we already have the unconditional approval, told her that it's alright cause my broker has already taken care of it. And also because, I thought she said it was due this Friday.

When we spoke again to confirm that all is fine, I asked her again when it was due actually. And she said LAST Friday. Oh boy was she lucky! Lucky because I was at my desk in the office and I couldn't drill her on why she is just calling me now when the due was last Friday. Lucky because our loan has already been approved. I could have been fined for that if it was not! And if I was fined for that or if there had been any issue (and I say ANY issue) she will get a mouthful from me.

This is conveyancer issue #1 and I am keeping count! HMP!!!!

Cancelled!

Due to some unforeseen event, I have to cancel and move my color selection appointment.

As to when, I have no idea. For another two weeks maybe.

Well, that has got to wait for now. At least it gives me more time to think for my colors.

Color Selection Appointment

Just blogged about colors the other day and today we received a call from our agent setting us for an appointment for the color selection. Geeesh! I ain't prepared yet!! Panic! Panic!

Some might think that I am way over reacting. But really this is no mean task.
Ok just to give a better picture. An example is the kitchen, we need to choose colors for the kitchen. And kitchen means choosing colors for the following :

Bench Top -
Cupboard Doors -
Cabinets and drawers-
Hardware / Taps -
Handles -
Feature Lighting -
Lighting -
Splashback -
Tiles for flooring -

And that is just for the kitchen alone. We still have to choose colors for the toilet, the carpet, the doors, the roof, the floorings and the list goes on.

For now I am leaning against olive green or nautical blue. Mini...mini...miniMo!

They make a rainbow, nips! nips!

Aaaarrrghhh!

I am a scrapper and choosing colors should come easy to me. But nope, this color selection is driving me nuts!

I already have a theme on mind, but since I have two boys to take into consideration, I had to shove, push and jostle that theme at the back of my mind. Yep, that far! I don't want my boys to be known as 'the-boys-who-lived-in-the-charming-pink-house.' Geeesh! The things you have to sacrifice when you're a mother.

We initially chose to have olive green as our base and work around that color. But after choosing it, suddenly I began seeing lots of green. Good if it was money green! But no, it's houses after houses that is colored green. I have no issues if there is somebody that has the same color scheme as ours, but seeing so much green for the past few months made me grew tired of it I guess.

Oh well, I still have more months to think about it. If worse comes to worst, I will settle for all white. Who can go wrong with that! (2 kids + white walls = Yeah right!)

--As for the title,while thinking about colors I suddenly remembered this jingle from Nips! Maybe it's a sign. To make my house like a rainbow! So that everybody will be happy and merry and bright. hehehe --


You wanna see what happens in a bag of nips?
What goes on before they touch my lips?
They make a rainbow…(chocolate Nips)
A choco rainbow…(chocolate Nips)
And then they color all the flowers and they paint the trees
They’re sweet and delicious, look at all those bees
When I want fun, I get a bag of nips
And make a rainbow!! Nips! Nips!

We'll get it right.

We had an appointment with our Sales consultant yesterday. She showed us the rectified drawings for the kitchen. So far, so good. I am smiling. She kept on re-assuring me that they will get it right.I was thinking, maybe she've seen my blog and read my frustration. Ehehehe. :p

Then she asked us if we already have our loans approved. I said yes, received it on the mail today but I have no idea on what to do with it! I was so excited that the only word I understood from it was 'Approved!' Ahahaha.

Then she asked us when our land settlement is, I told her 'err, I dunno. Aren't you the one suppose to tell me?'

Mwehehe... well, excuse me for my ignorance but it's my first house!

I'd get it right as well...I know I will. :p

You've got mail!

Guess what came in the mail today?
Our formal bank approval! Weeee!

I know it will come today.
I've checked the mail 3x cause I kinda felt that today will be the day.
My neighbors might be thinking I'm weird to be checking the mail by the hour.

But who cares? Care bears. :p

We're building a house. We're building a house. Yipppiiii!

Bring on the projects baby! =)

Patience is a virtue.

The contract for the changes that we requested for the house has arrived in the mail today. It is still wrong and I am beginning to lose my patience.

The original layout is like this. - Under the stove there is the oven and under the kitchentop is a space for the microwave.

My request is very simple.
A. Build a tower for the oven and the microwave
B. 3 Pot drawers in lieu of the oven space.
C. 1 Pot drawer in lieu of the microwave.

First time that the contract came, they put it as.
A. Tower for the oven and the microwave.
B. 3 Pot drawers in lieu of the microwave.

Even though I am not a CAD designer, just by the size of the microwave I know that I couldn't make a 3-Pot drawer in lieu of that space.

So I sent it back for correction. When the contract came, it came out as this.
A. Tower for the oven and the microwave.
B. 3 Pot drawers in lieu of the microwave space.

Duhhhh!!!!

So, I sent it back again. The agent called me to discuss my changes. And she sounded irritated as I refuse to sign the contract. She repeated the changes that I wanted and told me that she would put it in the contract, so I thought we have clearly understood each other.

When the contract came, it came out like this.
A. Tower for the oven and the microwave.
B. Remove 3 Pot drawers in lieu of the microwave/oven.

What the???? What is wrong with these people? What is so complicated with my request? And to think, it was them who suggested that tower thingie!

Arrrgghh, and this is just the beginning. Oh dear... Goodluck to me and my blood pressure!

Floor Plan

Bedroom 1 will be our room. This is where love will flourish.
Bedroom 2 is the boy's room. This is where love will grow.
Bedroom 3 is the guest toom. This is where love will invite friends
like peace and harmony to stop-over and visit.
Bedroom 4 is the scraproom. This is where love will do craft and make use of the creativeness that God has bestowed.
Living room will be the theater/game room. This is where love will relax and play.
Kitchen/Meals is where love will be nourished.
Family room is where love will entertain and welcome friends.

As I've said before, Love will live here. =)

**WC - This is where love will flush away her worries and sorrows. :p**

Having Emma.

In every house that is built, there is always a story of how and why they chose that house. It may be because of the house price or the lot plan or simply just because of the location.

As for our case, we didn't choose Emma. It was as if she was chosen for us.

Given that we are currently living in a single income, it wasn't really our plan to buy a house. But then there is this agent who persuaded us to just try and have a look because as she said with the 26K gov't grant, there is really not much to cough up. And so I looked. Yes, it was only me who looked cause DH(dear hubby) really wasn't keen on the idea. And it was our agreement that he would be my back up shield just in case the agent wouldn't give up in sweet talking me into buying one. :p

The agent (lets call her Agent X) offered us a 3bedroom house on a 250sqm lot. And comparing with our current rent, the amortization was almost the same. So eventhough it was small, I thought it was still better than renting. So, I tried to convince my ever reluctant hubby. With the help of some nudging from friends, he finally caved in.

And all was set. Or so I think.

On the day that we were about to sign the reservation papers, just before we went to Agent X' place, I suddenly thought of going back to the display house that she showed me. (I still don't know why she used another developers unit to show me as her display house.) Just to see it one more time, to think it over and decide if we are really sure on what we are doing. We arrived at the display house just a minute before closing time. And here, when they say that shop closes at 5PM, they really do close at 5! No ifs, no buts! They were already locking up the place when we got there. The lady(while locking the door) asked if we wanted to look at the house, I sheepishly ask if we still can because it was almost 5 already. I was expecting that she would tell us to come back the following day, but lo and behold, she agreed and immediately opened the doors for us.

As we were inside, I told hubby that the display house that we are looking at, is almost the same as what we are going to sign for, only smaller. He just shrugged and said ok. As we were about to leave the display homes office, hubby asked the agent (let's call this other agent, Agent S.) how much was the house that we just looked at. And I was like, 'what the?!. why did he have to ask?' As if we could afford it! As I've guessed, it was way over the budget. BUT... she offered us another house. It was also a 3bedroom house on a bigger plot of land. And the price was lower as what Agent X has offered. So, bigger land + lower price, what do you think happened next? Yep, you've guessed it right. We cancelled the appointment with Agent X. Who wouldn't right? Anyway, I cancelled in a nice way. I didn't tell her any colorful story. I told her what exactly happened, and that is we were offered a place bigger on a lower price. Since she couldn't top the offer, she just said it was OK and that she would have done the same thing if it happened to her. (Though she said that only after she asked her manager to call me, who then tried to pursuade me by showing me 3bigger houses and bigger lots! But all of it was equated with bigger prices, so in reality they actually gave me no other choice but to back out from the deal. :P)

So we are already all set in getting this Cambridge house. Only problem was it only has a one car garage. Well at the moment, it ain't yet a problem. But I am positively hoping (and praying) to get my license soon and when I do, I will definitely get a car for myself. Cause really, a 3hour-commute is not what you will call fun at all! Thus the need for a two car garage. We asked how much it'll cost to extend the garage. It's a whoooping $5K! Geeeshhh, if I get that garage, I wouldn't have much money left for my car. We told agent S that we'll go home first, sleep over it and decide the next day. (In short, we will think about it. :P)

So off to home we went. As hubby was studying the floor plan, I was researching on the place that we are looking at. Was researching about the ammenities, crime rates, etc. Then I saw this lot and area package. It has the same lot area, same price as what we have been offered BUT with 4bedrooms, 2 living rooms and 2 car port garage!!!I was like, is this for real? Or are my eyes going bonkers due to excessive time facing the computer.

The following day, when we met up with Agent S, I asked her about my precious find. Asked her if it was still available. As I've expected, it wasn't available anymore. Sniff! Sniff! BUT... (she said BUT! Mind racing, heart thumping moment!) She said, "BUT I can offer you the same house, on a different lot. Price is slightly higher but it's in a move-in condition when its finished. Site costs, garage pavement, landscaping, fencing, blinds, etc. All included. You just have to move in. Would you consider?" I wanted to answer, "so when do we sign?" Any more offer better than this, and I will already be fainting I tell you!

And that is the story on how we got the Oxford.

God really knows the desires of your heart. When we were in the process of choosing where and what to buy, I didn't pray for us to get the house that we wanted. I prayed for Him to give us the house that we will be safe and be happy as a family. And he has given us the perfect house. There's a space for DH to have his game room, there's a lot of space for my two little boys to just run and jump without worrying about the neighbors, there's a space for me to let out my creative side AND there's a space for my future car! What else could we ask for?

God is really great!

Meet Emma.

Join us in building our very first home - Emma Oxford.
She will rise in Kinglake Drive at the Manor Lakes.

This is where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
This is where my two little boys will grow to be who they want to be.
This is where friends and laughter will always be welcomed.
Meet Emma. Our home.
Love will live here.