Strike one...strike two...

A friend of mine put me onto a small estate on the crest of a small hill in Bacchus Marsh. I looked into it before it was even advertised. I already had a builder in mind but not a specific house. I had never looked for a block of land before. I didn't have the knowledge I needed, or infact any knowledge. I chose a block based entirely on it's dimensions and took the agents word that the slope was 'nothing too great'. The builder's sales agent(who I won't name but deserves recognition) asked for the engineers plans and immediately contacted me by home and mobile phone and by email. Turns out the slope was over three metres. I backed out during the cooling off period thanks to the very helpful sales guy at Burbank homes.

I tried again at a new estate in Bacchus Marsh, or just outside of it. I made another mistake, it was separated from Bacchus Marsh by a small industrial park. A second industrial park was perhaps going to be built the other side making it an isolated residential community with no facilities. The other mistake I made was the settlement date, well outside when the grants were supposed to finish not counting any inevitable delays. This last thing saved me, it meant I couldn't provide proof of finance which was a provision of the sale. I backed out again.

I figure I had pissed off enough real estate people by now. The next land purchase would be where I would build. Strangely enough it was the original estate I had backed out of. I chose a better block this time. 1.5m site fall which is excellent for Bacchus Marsh(all hills). I also had a deal with the developer that they would make the site cut and soil removal. I made the deal. After a small delay in the settlement everything went through and I was a land owner by the end of August 2009. People warned me the developer could back out of the site cut but to their credit they were prompt and they look to have done it right. I'll see what Burbank says in the next few days. The block is 16m*34.5m = 555sqm and faces west

This is the block before the site cut

This is the block afterThe crossover(driveway) is in the wrong place, along the northern edge of the block so my driveway will have to curve out to allow space between the fence on the north and the living areas on that side of the house. The block faces west so the north side is the bottom of the next image.

The block on my north side is a little lower than mine so unless it's a two storey(unlikely considering the estate) it won't block the winter sun entering the open plan living area on the north side of the house.