Get the lowdown on how buying a home in North Harbour works!

October 4, 2016

Welcome to the latest edition of the North Harbour Blog. This week we’re discussing how the process of buying at North Harbour works, an idea of the timeline to expect and some things to bear in mind, particularly if this your first home or your first new build.

Let’s open with a quick recap: North Harbour is a brand new development located about 10 minutes north of North Lakes on the Bruce Highway offering prime Moreton Bay Real Estate in a fantastic new location. This new community is introducing a new destination into the Moreton Bay Region, one which will take shape over the next 15 years as part of the significant growth projected for the local area. The plan includes heaps of open space, parks, excellent amenities and a strong community focus. Also in the plan is a marina (for which we’re currently awaiting approval), shops, cafes, restaurants and sports fields. North Harbour will create access to 9km of Caboolture River frontage and 1000 acres of adjoining parkland.

So, you’ve looked around for houses for sale at Moreton Bay and you’re interested in homes for sale at North Harbour. What happens next?

The ideal timeline is as follows:

Step 1: Visit the North Harbour Sales Office and Display Village and look at available land for purchase. Once you have chosen your block (on its own or as part of a house & land package) we will hold it for 48 hours without deposit. After 2 days you will need to confirm by telephone that you wish to proceed.  If proceeding, we will get contract details (full names of parties and your solicitor) to enable us to prepare the contract.  An appointment is made to sign the contract to purchase in the following week when all parties are available. After the buyer/s have completed the offer to purchase, it is then signed by the Developer (us) and sent to our solicitor.  At this point the $5,000 deposit is payable.

Things to note in Step 1: North Harbour as the developer sells the land (block). Once you have chosen your block you then need to choose the style of house you would like to put on there. You can choose to build with one of our Display Village builders or another builder. BUT any home you choose must adhere to the North Harbour design guidelines and must be suitable for your block which you can find here. Please double-check what you can and can’t have on the block you choose before signing the contract.

You might also choose your house prior to choosing your block – the steps for buying the land will remain the same.

Step 2: The purchaser has 28 days to secure finance. You will need to speak to a mortgage advisor or your chosen bank to secure finance. If finance is declined, the $5,000 deposit is fully refundable. $5,000 is held in Trust with our solicitor until settlement – which will occur 28 days after registration of the survey plan.

Step 3: Registration normally takes place 4 – 6 months after the release of a new stage Registration can be delayed due to inclement weather affecting the civil works and is also subject to council approval timelines.  Once it is through council, it can then go to titles office to register. Once registered, we will call the buyer to inform them of registration and they will also receive notification from their solicitor and a settlement date. It is good to use this time to finalise the design and finishes for your new home.

Things to note in step 3: Some parts of this step are outside the control of the developer as they are subject to council approval timelines. Step 3 can be subject to delays – we do our best to mitigate any delays but it is not always possible.

Step 4: Once settled, your builder can start building your new home!

We asked new residents Kelly and Kiera to share their respective experiences with their new builds.

Kelly:

“We chose a new build as both Justin and I are very particular with our tastes and we had certain items on our wish-list that could not be met by established homes within in our price range.
We had never heard of North Harbour until we walked into the North Lakes display homes. Someone from Stylemaster Homes told us about North Harbour and it was like an oasis in a desert of overpriced blocks! North Harbour was affordable and with amazing potential for growth. A planned community.

Rather than choose a block first we had a builder in mind and chose our block based on the size requirement for our particular home, within our budget. We initially fell in love with a display home we’d seen at North Lakes, however the budget blew out exponentially and we had to keep cutting back. Then a friend told me about MANCORP. Within 5 minutes we knew that they were the builder for us. Everything we wanted, allowed us to go completely off plan for no extra cost. Nothing was ever too hard. Our home took 14 Weeks from Slab to Hand Over and it is exactly as planned.

My advice would be if you decide to build – Go for it. You’ll get what you want. However, be on top of your builder, if you have gone off plan, we found that tradies can be so used to building particular styles they will go into auto pilot and go with the norm. We had a few minor issues with that, but we got onto our build project manager and got those issues corrected. “

Keira:

“We decided to build as we discussed both and wanted to build as first home buyers to get the $15,000 bonus (*now $20,000). North harbour is a very inviting estate and has a lot of appeal with the (proposed) marina. We believed it would be a good investment for the long run due to the proposed community that could be built here. We chose the block and then we picked a builder. We looked at the available land in our price range and then chose from there. We got a 640m2 block.

When it came to choosing the house we visited many different display homes and found a house by Aston Milan that suited us perfectly. We also found being a smaller builder it was easy to communicate with them and they didn’t make us feel like we were just another figure. We had a delay with our registration but our house itself couldn’t be any better. We are so impressed with Aston Milan. They were wonderful.

My advice would be to make sure you read the contract properly and ensure that you are happy with it. Some things arose during the process which became stressful and expensive to fix.”

North Harbour sells house and land packages from our sales office located at the entrance to the development on the corner of Moreton Bay Boulevard and Buckley Road. With 35 stunning homes on display in the Display Village, we recommend you make a few visits to have a look what’s on offer.  Aidan our Sales Consultant can discuss your land requirements, review your options with you, show you through the plans and take you on site to view your chosen block. The North Harbour Sales office and Display Village are open 10am-5pm, seven days a week. Please contact us for more information or to arrange an appointment. (If you haven’t already, we recommend you sign up for our enewsletter and regular SMS updates.)

If you already have a builder in mind we will work with you to help you create your perfect home on your perfect block. We can also advise on which builder to choose if you have a certain block in mind and create the perfect house and land packages for you. Aidan and the team at the office are around 10am-5pm every day, except public holidays. We have a great kids room at the sales office to keep the littlest members of the family entertained while you browse and the park is just across the road from the Display Village so they can run around while you talk things through. They might even make some local friends ready for your move.

North Harbour Sales Office & Display Village is open seven days a week, 10am-5pm (excluding public holidays). For more information regarding available Moreton Bay Real Estate or to make an appointment call Aidan on 5433 1111, email .

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*Any product pricing and availability referenced in this or other North Harbour articles are accurate at the date of initial publication and are subject to change at any time without notice.  Please contact the North Harbour sales team for further information.