Hi everyone!
So we paid our council fees and we're officially lodged. I got an update this afternoon, one of the great things about the EHC is that your planner can comment directly on the online application, that said the site inspection has been done, everything looks good for complying development and we are a low fire risk. So there shouldn't be any hold up on getting through and the max CDC takes is 10 days. However, our loans manager is away until the first week of August so it will be another month at least before we can build.
So I have also just had the meeting I've been waiting to have with my builder for a month now! Just not with him. We decided to get a second builder to price our build because while we had pretty much decided our builder, we didn't want to be chumps. A price from a builder means nothing without anything to compare it to. So anyway I met with the second builder today and it was what I'd been trying to get from our original builder.
He asked all the questions about things that I wasn't sure about and took note of everything. He's picking me up tomorrow and we're going to the block to double check the fall over the build site so he can do an accurate estimate of site costs.
The guy we WERE going with has always been kind of cruisey about it. He's got a lot of work and we've never seemed to be a priority. He's also more used to architect's plans and people knowing exactly what they want and doing all the planning I think. This new guy asked me about architraves and tiling height and all of that, that's the stuff I have been waiting to be asked because I don't know what's standard and I don't know what's cheaper and no, I hadn't thought about How we'd do the fall in the bathroom with the tiles we'd selected so it was refreshing to have someone actually ask me those questions.
So we will wait to get both of their tenders and then choose but I have a feeling we're leaning towards the change. Yes, our first builder has put in time and energy to our build but he's been more of a hinderance then a help so far and every time I speak to this new guy I'm reassured that he's organized and ready and he wants our custom.
Lucky we haven't signed any contracts yet so there is nothing officially holding us to anyone. They both have 4 weeks to impress us sufficiently so that we pick them.
