After weighing up the pros and cons of buying established or building from scratch, we--hubby and I--decided to go down the building road. We decided that the only benefit of buying established was the size of the block. Building is going to allow us to get most of what we wanted in a house....and, with 3 kids, it is a big list:
*4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms (sick of fights over shared rooms and the "I'm going to the toilet first" fisticuffs that go on nearly everyday *sigh*)
*lounge (hubby calls it a theatre *eyeroll*)
*kitchen/meals/family
*games room
*2 studies (or activity & study)
*alfresco (would be a bonus but not essential)
So we found some plans, then scrapped them because they were over budget, then found some more. 3 of them we both really liked and were in our (meagre)budget..... *the hamelin by Content living *concept 228 by Blueprint homes and * the seaton IS278 by Ultimate homes.
I cut that down to two.... "the Hamelin" was going to need to many changes to get what we wanted.
So here they are: First up is "seatonIS278", I have had the plan for a while--meaning a few months--and it is also on the net, but when we went to see Ultimate last week, the plan had changed slightly. 
The first one is the original.... the second one is what is now available.
What we liked about this is that it does have everything without any changes... (well I want to put in some walls and doors, but this particular design cannot be changed. We will do that after the house is built.) Why cant it be changed?...because of the price. If we went for "the entertainer" (the exact same design and paid an extra $17k), we can get changes made internally, and then pay for the changes that are made...... double dipping!! So not really worth it, it will only be a few hundred $ to do it ourselves after the house is complete.
Second is "Concept 228" . Concept as it is cheaper than the Deluxe 228, only difference being Concept only lets use the 2c brick and tin roof, what I would want anyhow. We have made a few changes on this one, you can see on the pictures, when you compare the two, exactly what we have done. 
The fisrt one is the original, the second one is the one I modified for our needs.
Now all these changes are only around the $9k mark, add all the upgrades and the houses are nearly the same price. Then we will need to add a patio which I have no idea on price, but looking at around $3k, if our neighbours carport is anything to go by.
So now its the working out of what I really want in a house (as hubby keeps saying... he only wants a study and a theatre), the rest is for me to do as I will. *evil laugh*
I have made up a list of what I like and don't like and the "Blueprint homes" is looking like a loser in the choice stakes. Although I love the laundry right behind the kitchen there is no space for a benchtop in there, the bedroom closets are too small for my liking (and all the kids crap), same goes for the walk-in robe, and I am not sure of the layout, I could move bed2 and activity back to the original spot, but then it makes the activity room smaller. This is going to be my sewing/computer room and has got to fit in a fair bit. We also haven't actually walked through the 228 yet, this is on the "to do" list. I also don't like their tile selection, there are not many (about 16, including the feature tiles) and are all the beigey/browny colours, This is because their houses are more for investor/ first buyers.
The only thing I don't like about "the seaton" now is the kitchen change, I didn't want a wall oven! They have also made the bench a tad shorter and the kitchen looks smaller with the fridge space where it is. We are going to check out a "seaton" that is complete so I know exactly what it is like. A huge bonus is that it also already has the alfresco (already thinking about building a pizza oven *hehe*), although I have said it is not essential, it is great to have one included.... OHHH and you just gotta LOVE the parents retreat!! :)
We went to see the two companies involved, and have been told that from the size of house that we are looking at, we will need around a 600m2 block, enough for the house a bit of yard for the kids. This, hopefully, will not be a problem...... there are some (not many) around, it is just the price that may not be right, especially as we need to allow for site works. So in the next few weeks, we will be doing some serious property searching, *although I think I have found my piece of paradise*.... just a bit worried though, as it won't be titled until November, and we don't know what the covenants etc for the estate are yet. Will have to make hubby ring up and find everything out....and soon!!
