April 11, 2023
It’s with a great deal of happiness that I can tell you that I’m writing this post while sitting in the lounge room of my new home. After frustratingly slow progress after the Xmas holiday period, Henley moved quickly after I prompted them with the following email:
Following that email I received a flurry of messages from Henley, firstly telling me that my Occupancy Permit was still days away. An hour later the Occupancy Permit was emailed to me, followed by another 3 or 4 messages, the most important of which contained a fixed date for the handover of my home.
Once the date was agreed there was plenty of work for me to do in the background such as organizing the bank to release the final payment, a van for us to move our stuff and purchasing a new fridge and washing machine.
Handover does not mean complete.
In a whirlwind couple of days, we managed to get most items organized, though we had a few anxious moments waiting for the final payment to clear into Henley’s bank account. That went through at 9am on Tuesday April 4th. The handover meeting/final inspection was at 10am the same day…
Taking possession of the keys did not mean my home is finished. During the final inspection there was a page and a half of items which will need rectification. In addition to that, appliances which are included in the build cost also need to be installed by Henley. Many of these are installed after handover to prevent theft, which apparently, happens all too often.
On the first day post-handover, our oven, cooktop, dishwasher and hot water system were installed. The following day saw the ducted heating get connected as well as the delivery of our new fridge and washing machine. Sadly, our sofa is still a week away so we’re sitting on camp chairs.
Today is exactly one week since the handover and there is still much to do. A mix-up at Henley’s end has delayed the installation of the aircon unit and there hasn’t been a word from anyone about any rectification works. Based on past experience, that could take a while.