Sales Stage

We initially met our sales consultant from PD at the display home who conducted a walk through of the entire house.  We cannot emphasise enough how important it is to question what is included in the base price and what is not.  Never assume that it is included as it is most likely not. Our sales consultant was very thorough and yet, a couple of things were missed but was thankfully picked up at Tender Stage. 

Once you have walked through and advised what you want to be included in your home, the sales consultant will provide you with an indicative quote.  We stressed to our sales consultant to provide us with a very conservative price estimate to ensure we did not encounter any surprises down the track.  We found this method useful for budgeting purposes as by Contract stage, we were pretty much right on the mark in terms of pricing. 

A couple of weeks later, we met him again to sign the Sales Contract and pay our deposit of $2,000.00 inc GST.  This is non-refundable as it goes directly to soil testing and survey costs. 

Sales Stage Key Tips:

• Go to the display home as many times as possible.
• Ask questions as to what is included - never assume that anything is standard....even the look/facade is an 'extra'. 
• Get a conservative quote to avoid disappointments down the track. 
• Don't get bogged down with the aesthetics of the house - this will come later.  Focus on the "big ticket" and structural aspects. 
• Do not be afraid to alter the plan of the house. e.g. changing/extending the size of the room - you will be surprised how accommodating PD can be with modification to their design (to an extent).
• Ensure site costs are not undercooked. 
• Be aware of PD's 'Out of Zone' charges.  If you are not building in an estate, there will most likely be an additional fixed charge. 
• Ensure most things are in the Sales Contract as this will be incorporated into the Tender Document which will become part of the Building Contract.

As a final point, should you change your mind after you paid your initial amount, do not stress as there is plenty of time for you to change the structural aspects of your build and more time to change the aesthetics.