Building Your Home: What Happens in the Pre-Site Phase

by Carlisle Homes

Here’s what happens in the pre-site phase of building your home

So you’ve chosen your perfect home design and it’s all systems go. But what exactly happens next? Here, we explain the ins and outs of the pre-site phase

Building your dream home is a huge achievement and is sure to be one of the most exciting times of your life. But a lot happens between the moment you select your perfect home design and when you open your front door for the very first time. In the first of a two-part series, we outline exactly what happens in the pre-site phase of your home build. Look out for our next post on the construction phase coming soon.

How long does the pre-site phase last? 

You expect it to take several months. During this time, you’ll select your perfect home design and choose the colours and finishes for the interior and exterior. We will then prepare your tender to build, based on your sales quote and colour selections, and prepare the paperwork and drawings for the construction of your home to start.

Here is each stage in more detail. 

1. New Home Selection

Congratulations! This is the start of your journey with Carlisle Homes. 

During this stage you will:

• Have a meeting with one of our Sales Consultants to complete a walk-through of your new home, review the inclusions and have them demonstrated. 
• Look at the best site options and start thinking about styling your home. 
• Complete a preliminary siting and quote. 
• You will need to provide us with your Contract of Sale of land, including a clear copy of your Plan of Subdivision, as well as proof of land ownership and funding details for construction. 
• One of our in-house construction finance specialists will also contact you for a verbal finance assessment before you submit your deposit. 
• You will need to pay an initial deposit of $2,000, which secures the base price of your house, site start allocation and any promotional offers. This initial deposit is non-refundable and paperwork must be completed within 14 days.

2. Paperwork Appointment 

In this stage: 

• Your Client Liaison Executive will contact you to book a tour of our Spectra Showroomat our Head Office. 
• You will meet with your Sales Consultant one more time to review your paperwork and finalise your facade selections, any optional upgrades to your floor plan and to discuss any other requirements you may have.
• Your sales paperwork is submitted to Carlisle Homes Head Office. 
• We will arrange a soil test, site survey and order property information for titled land. 
• We’ll ask you to complete a Customer Experience and Satisfaction survey. 

Important note: No further structural changes can be accepted after this stage and your facade must be nominated.

3. Colour Selections

Now the fun part – choosing the colours and finishes for the interior and exterior of your new home! During this stage, you can expect to: 

• Have a Colour Browse appointment at our Spectra Showroom, where you can research interior and exterior colours and finishes, and electrical layout options. Allow about 1.5 hours for this appointment. 
• Once your paperwork is received by Head Office, your Client Liaison Executive will contact you to book in Colour Selection and Tender appointments. 
• During the Colour Selections appointment, a professional design consultant will help you choose the final products, colours, finishes, lighting and electricals for your new home. Allow a full day for this appointment. 

Important notes: 

• All Colour Selection appointments start at 8.30am sharp and are conducted Monday to Friday. 
• If you will be installing a pool in your backyard, you will need to provide your Client Liaison Executive with the pool company details, full pool dimensions, plumbing locations, engineering plans, a site plan with location of the pool pump, filtration equipment, and gas or electricity supply requirements. You will also need to provide a Build Safe certified pool platform covering the entire pool, which will need to be inspected and approved by Carlisle Homes prior to site start. 

4. Tender

This is when we prepare your tender to build, based on your sales quote, soil survey and preliminary engineering (where applicable). It's important to note that no further changes will be accepted after this point. During this stage: 

• We will prepare your Tender document.
• You will need to complete a Tender appointment with final alterations. Allow several hours for this appointment. 
• We’ll ask you to provide the contact details for your financial institution (bank, branch, contact details and lenders pre-approval, if applicable).
• You will need to pay a further deposit of $3,000. 
• If you are a knockdown-rebuild customer, you will need to pay a further deposit of $3,000 at the Tender stage.

Important notes: 

• All Tender appointments begin at 8.30am sharp and are conducted Monday to Friday. 
• No further changes will be accepted after this point.  

5. Contract

This is where your new home comes to life! You can expect the following to happen: 

• We will prepare the contract and drawings for your new home, order the six-star energy assessment and provide you with an HIA plain English contract to review and sign at an appointment with your Client Liaison Executive. Please allow three to five hours for this appointment. 
• You will be asked to complete a Customer Experience and Satisfaction survey. 
• You will be required to pay 5% of the contract value (unless you are self-funding your build, in which case you can go straight to the next stage – Site Start Preparation).

6. Site Start Preparation

Now that your contract has been signed off, there are a few steps to complete before construction of your new home begins. This includes any permits (if applicable), loan approval and final construction drawings. Our team will take you through these steps and explain what’s required, but as an overview you’ll need to: 

• Follow up with your financial institution on the progress of your loan and update your Client Liaison Executive. 
• Provide confirmation of your unconditional loan approval and loan documentation. 
• Apply for an Asset Protection Permit and Community Infrastructure Levy, and provide them to us (council specific, only if applicable). 
• You will need to provide your Client Liaison Executive with funding details of your financial institution (if applicable) and proof of land ownership. If you are funding your own build, we will require the final progress payment 10% to be paid two weeks prior to the site start, which will be held in a trust. 

And during this stage we will: 

• Prepare files for construction.
• Complete construction drawings and finalise supplier orders. 
• Receive your building permit and send it to your financial institution. 
• Send construction drawings to you for final sign-off via Docusign, which you will need to sign and return within 48 hours.