Manchester 22 vs Flagstaff 23

Initially we really liked the Manchester 22 which includes a butlers pantry in the kitchen. The one thing that bothered us was the living area space at the back of the house. The area is quite narrow and doesn't allow much choice in placement of the lounge/TV.

I started looking at other designs in the same Smart Living category and came across the Flagstaff 23 which is a larger house. Almost 2sq larger...

After visiting the display home in Freemans Ridge and asking a few questions to the lady in the office there, we decided on the Flagstaff. The design is more traditional but there are less flaws for our liking. Living room space is much larger and another important thing is the bathroom and WC have windows for ventilation. They're not enclosed like the Manchester.

The only issue with the Flagstaff is the width but we are happy with reducing the width of the house which just means that our entry area won't be as wide.

Initial House Deposit with Eden Brae Homes

We have decided to go with Eden Brae based on the following:

• Overall good reviews on product review
• Great forum thread for support and information on HomeOne forums
• Good reputation
• More house for the buck
• Discount on smart living series home
• $2.5k alfresco offer

The Wisdom home came in as runner up. It had better inclusions and house design wasn't bad either. The finishings may possibly have been better. But for similar price we would have gotten a smaller house. I think that and the first three points above were the deal breaker.

Home World visits & trying to pick a builder

We've been to a number of the Home World sites around North Western, Western and South West Sydney the last few weekends. There are so many builders and so many different house designs. It's pretty daunting...

I've been trying to base my decision mostly off customer reviews on the HomeOne forum and product review. We spoke with Rawson, Metricon, Wisdom, Eden Brae, Casaview, Allworth, Beechwood and a few other small builders. Allworth and Beechwood had free tender so we took up that offer. The tender from Allworth has come back quite competitive. However, there are a lot of 'provisional' items in the tender. Especially around site costs. Therefore we weren't too sure.

Partner and I would like peace of mind with our selection. We don't need anything too fancy and content with simple single storey house. Choice is narrowing down between Eden Brae and Wisdom Homes. Both have relatively good reviews.

Edmondson Park Design Guidelines & Master Plan

Posting up the Design Guidelines for reference.
There is also a Developement Control Plan which outlines further details for development.

Also the Edmondson Park Master Plan which shows the future plans for the new suburb.

Initial Land Deposit

Today I took the morning off from work and made the reservation for Lot 1449 on Brallos St. 

This was our second reservation to Landcom. The initial one was in late 2012 which we had put on Lot 1456. Being new to the whole thing and not having our finances sorted out at that time, we were a little hesitant and had decided to take some more time to make up our mind. 

It turned out to be a good decision since Lot 1449 is facing East and all of the rear areas will be north facing. This should allow us to get some good sunlight in the living areas/alfresco. It's also closer and in line of sight to the local park. 

Stage 1 Release 1 sales plan: