We find ourselves in an unbelievable situation

The kind of home we are going to build will be determined by the following

1. Can Bellmarch (remember them? they were the first builder we looked at) pull one out of the hat and we buy the corner designed house we saw yesterday, off-the-plan?
2. Can Metricon fit the Liberty house on our land?
3. While the Jandson home is still an impressive house and likely to pass the DA process because the Design Panel okayed it, it does not complement the size of our land as well as the Bellmarch design or Metricon Liberty offering good outdoor/indoor flow.


What is our deciding criteria?

It is up to whether Bellmarch can draft and price up their new 42sq corner house so we can sign a contract BEFORE 30th September?


Why did we revisit Bellmarch?

Way back in June, the representative we spoke to at Bellmarch mentioned he was also buying a corner lot at The Ponds. His lot was a standard rectangle size. However, at the time he was only just starting to design a house that would comply with the Design Guidelines and Bellmarch could use as a display home.

It was only when I called him yesterday about whether it was possible to modify the Manhattan plan we saw earlier, that he mentioned he had now finished his design and had given it to his drawers to draft. I drove in yesterday and saw these plans, and liked it.

As a builder/designer he shared our frustrations in trying to find a display home that would both fit and comply with the restrictions when building on the corner at The Ponds.

Some big pluses about his Bellmarch design:

1. Their standard base price is $70K less than Metricon. Of course, still to be confirmed.

This is significant given that our valuation based on a Estimate of the Metricon tender given to our lender came in very low. This meant we would have to fund many of the features ourselves. Bellmarch seems to be offering the opportunity to install a number of upgrades and enhancements while managing our cashflow.

2. This house design was drawn from a builder who would also be a resident of one of the corner lots at The Ponds. He already had direct discussions with the Design Panel and his design was ready to proceed for DA approval.

NOTE: If you drive around The Ponds, there is only one double-storey home currently being built on a corner lot. The corner houses in the Newbury area look okay but they also look very pricey and similar in design. They seemed to be designed for standard lots and simply have a corner facade tacked on so it looks 'interesting' on both sides. The Bellmarch house design has corner balconies, patios and living areas to go round the land.

While the Bellmarch designer had the option to build a single or double-storey home, he believes a double-storey house will add greater resale value down the track.

We do not have that choice according to our land contract. Our lot is also not a standard rectangle shape. The road tree bays on both corners of our lot forces the issue that any design would have to have the garage built for access near the boundary of Stream Place. This is my concern with the Metricon Liberty. They said they could only confirm this after a contour site plan. This was only possible if we paid $1K for the tender process. So we did.

Trying to find a display home or completed house design that could be built within these limitations has been exhausting and stressful.

Another plus with the Bellmarch, is that it is a unique design. If all goes well, only this house will be built first on the designers lot and then our own. No doubt as more land is released and more corner lots registered, people will go through the same process as ourselves as to what to build on their corner.

I will add a floor plan of this Bellmarch design as well as a site plan as soon as I'm able to scan these in.

Here are a few more exciting Bellmarch features

a. The Master Bedroom while similar to Metricon in facing Levy Crescent, has a long corner balcony extending from Levy to Stream. This will suit our corner because we have nature corridors on both sides.

b. Below this balcony is a corner shaped verandah patio which can be accessed from sliding doors of the downstairs Lounge area.

b. The ensuite of the Master Bedroom is superior to Metricon. Yes, there is a Presidential Spa in it also.

c. Bedrooms 2, 3 and 4 are larger than the Metricon

d. The main bathroom in the Bellmarch is larger and more superior than the Metricon.

e. Bedroom 4 (facing Stream Place) shares another separate balcony on Level 1 with the upstairs sitting room.

f. The garage is on the far right of Stream Place so no more tree bay hassles. The Jandson design had this also, and

g. we still have a large outdoor living area for a paved alfresco look extending from the Dining Room on the back left of the Ground Floor to the Family Room in the middle and the Study on the far right. Yes, with the house located closer to the setback on Stream Place we will get our backyard again.


The main thing in all of this is that we have secured an unconditional extension loan for a certain amount to cover the build.

All 3 houses when built will exceed this extension amount but the Bellmarch one is the only one offering true value for money.