Soon after Michael and Belinda Baker found their ‘dream block’ in Pelican Waters, they met with Steve Booth and Melissa Brinsdon, who had recently opened the
David Reid Homes Kawana Sunshine Coast Southern franchise. “As it turned out, our ‘dream block’ wasn’t the one we ultimately built on,” tells Belinda, an ex-pat Kiwi who has only recently unpacked the last of the removalists’ boxes.
“Steve introduced us to their Building Designer, Tim Christopher, who straight away asked us to jump in the car and show him the block we were about to make an offer on. We spent a fair bit of time walking around the block, he asked us about things like where we thought we’d site the house, and how that would affect things like light and wind, and got us thinking about what might happen to our privacy once the people on the block next door built there.
“Tim’s observations really made us think twice about the block we had our eye on. We ended up looking at 5 different blocks of land with him before we settled on the one where we eventually built the house. We’re so glad we had him involved at that stage of the process – it saved us a lot of heartache” said Belinda.
Coinciding with the Baker’s decision to build at Pelican Waters was Steve and Melissa’s need to build a Showhome for their newly-opened franchise. “It worked out perfectly,” tells Belinda. “We still had to sell our old place, so we knew we had a bit of time up our sleeve. Because our home was actually going to be their Showhome for a while, I think the whole team at DRH were just as excited as we were about it. I spent a lot of time with Melissa and her Interior Designer, Tracy and we had a ball working over the plans, picking out colours and tiles and adding things that I really wanted to see in our home. And while all of this was going on, we knew we could sit back and relax because we had the security of the lease-back until we were ready to move in. It was brilliant” says Belinda. With four bedrooms, two separate lounge rooms, an expansive living/dining area and a large covered outdoor verandah, there’s plenty of room to move at the Bakers. With school-age kids and busy working lives, the entire house is smart-wired for internet access, and internal speakers pipe music to all areas of the home – including the spectacular outdoor entertaining areas. A saltwater pool makes the most of the view across Bells Creek to the Pelican Waters Golf Course and provides the perfect setting for entertaining friends and family.
“I think the most satisfying thing about the whole process was that everybody was so open and straightforward with us. We always knew what was happening – Graham Molineux the Project Manager was fantastic. They were working to a very well-planed schedule and Graham made sure that everything went according to plan. Belinda adds: “The whole thing was actually very stress-free, which was such a nice change. We’d already built 3 or 4 homes before this one, and I had project-managed all of those, so I know what can go wrong” tells Belinda. “But it was amazing seeing the guys from DRH in action. They’re just so well organised and nothing was ever a problem for them”.
“When we first signed the Building Contract, Steve and Melissa gave us a manual that contained all of the documents you’d expect, like plans and contracts, but they also included lots of other really handy things we hadn’t thought of. All of the appliances, all of the taps and fittings in the bathrooms, the garage door – basically everything that went into the house, they had bundled up all of the original brochures and manufacturer’s warranties and things like that – and it’s all kept together in one place in the Home Owners Manual. The Manual also contained information on what we needed to do at various stages, and had a full breakdown of any variations that we’d asked for. They’re just so thorough” added Belinda.
Belinda tells that when it came time for the hand-over, “Steve and Melissa came around with a big bottle of champagne and a photo album for us that showed all the different stages of the build, so we could look back at the progress of the home as it all came together. It’s just one of the nice little touches that you actually come to expect from David Reid Homes. We don’t need to build again for a long time now, but if we ever did, I wouldn't even think of calling anyone else.”
19-Nov-2007