Client Building Journey: Ash & Jarod Building Their First Home

Jaimi: Welcome to Home Building Like a Boss, the podcast dedicated to helping first home buyers in Perth build their dream home with ease and excitement. I'm Jamie, your host and go to building broker. Are you ready to feel empowered, in control and excited about your building journey? I'll help guide you with expert advice, insider tips and tricks and real life stories to help you navigate the confusing world of home building.

Tune in as I take you on the journey to building your home like a boss.

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the podcast. I'm your host, Jamie, as always. And this week I have Ash here with me. Jared and Ash have started building. We start May together. I think the start of the process and they're already in construction. I thought, uh, why not get Ash in today? We're missing Jared.

Get Ash in today to have a chat about their building journey so far and get to know them a little bit. So thank you so much for joining me, Ash. Hey 

Ash: guys, I'm Ash. So I'm originally from WA. And Jared is my fiancé and he is originally from Queensland. So we moved over to Perth about just over a year ago and we were looking to make a change in terms of finally buying or building at the Toss and getting ourselves just set up over here.

Cool. Have you only been here 

Jaimi: for a year? 

Ash: Yeah. Wow. Like 13 months 

Jaimi: now. 13 months. And when you guys got here, did you start thinking straight away about Establish, Build? And how did you kind of go through that process of weighing up the pros and cons between Establish and New Build? So, 

Ash: during the start of We were hearing about our friends looking at buying houses because, you know, people were saying the housing market's really good and stuff like that.

At the time, we hadn't had like any dedicated saving or any goals at that time, but we looked at buying established in Queensland and it just wasn't looking doable. It wasn't affordable. Everything was super expensive and nothing was in the area that we wanted. So that really motivated us. to move to Perth.

So that was the end goal, but honestly, we had no idea it would happen this quickly. When we moved here, as anyone that's ever moved, especially interstate, knows it's super expensive, lots of costs involved, you know, lots of unforeseen expenses. So by the time we got here, you know, sorted out our old rental, got a new rental, got two cars transported over here, drove here even to save cost.

God, yeah, it's a lot. Yeah. Yeah. We didn't have a lot of money, so we were just trying to enjoy our lives for a little bit there because 

Jaimi: we just made 

Ash: this really big change and you know it was really difficult. And then probably around January, You know, something flipped and we were like, what are we doing here?

We could save so much more money. If we combined our finances, we could have a better lifestyle. If we combine our finances, you would save, I would say we would save and we could finally buy a house. So we started by doing a budget in January. And we had a goal in mind just roughly, and that's when we would start looking buying or building a house.

And then fast forward to about April, we got a little bit more excited cause now we'd been saving for a few months. Yup. And we were like, wow, like. We don't feel like we're limiting ourselves that much, but we're saving money. We're getting closer to this goal. And at that point we started looking buying established.

We wanted to buy established because we like cars. We like being outdoors. We like entertaining and I like a character home. I don't mind a home with character and we're really handy. So the idea of renovations didn't scare us. But, there was nothing within our price range that didn't need at least 100, 000 

Jaimi: worth of renovation.

It's wild. The established market is crazy. 

Ash: Absolutely wild. And, you know, the one thing about Perth is there was a lot more suburbs to look in that we would be happy to live in, and there was just nothing. And at the end of the day, you know, we probably spent, so that was, you know, March or April, end of April.

You know, and then we'll sing our other, you know, different friends, like buying and building and, you know, it really fostered like a new conversation with us. What is important? Yeah. Having a house, our own house, really important. What sacrifices are we willing to make to get there? So then we're looking at, you know, when we're looking at buying established, we're like, now it can't be the 800 square meter block we want.

Now it's 600. Yep. Now it's 500. Now it's 400. Do we really need a garage? Can it be a carport? That's a big thing in Perth. Yep. Carport with a garage door. Yeah, all of the things. Yeah. Do we really need two bathrooms? Can we live with one for now? You know, going through that list. And then one night I just turned to Jared and I said, if we're limiting ourselves, to all of these options and we're feeling like we're spending so much money and not getting what we want.

Why don't we just build? Why not? And we were scared of building because Most of the people we know that built on smaller blocks didn't build a house that we wanted. Yeah. So it was hard to see representation of like, what does it look like for someone like us? A lot of our friends that built had kids. We don't have kids.

We don't plan on having kids for a while. Yeah. So we wanted a home. It wasn't catered to having five bedrooms, you know, or a play area. 

Jaimi: Yeah. Don't need that. We need a bar area. We don't need 

Ash: that. We don't. Not at this stage in our lives. And that's when I realized that building might be an option for us.

Yeah. And that's when... I started collecting my thoughts and presenting them to Jared. Was Jared more 

Jaimi: against it than what you were? 

Ash: Absolutely, because he doesn't have anyone in his family that's ever built. Yep. Neither did I, really. So, you know, he's worked in trades and he's a bloke. Like, he's got friends in trades and stuff like that.

And you just hear... bad things all the time. Yeah. Bad workmanship, not really giving a fuck. Like, yeah, yeah. And again, he had that same dream of like a nice big, beautiful character. 

Jaimi: Did your presentation to Sharon win? Well, you are building, so I assume you kind of persuaded him, but what, like, what in the end?

initially inspired the both of you to build and how did you end up going with a building broker versus a builder in your research period? So 

Ash: I think the biggest thing was when we sat down and made a very Brief list of the things the minimum required things for what would make us happy in a home We realized a lot of these homes being built would be able to meet those expectations Yes, and we did that by you know, going to display homes and just having a you know, the Facebook groups Yeah, everyone's in them and having a little look around and then we're looking at land prices Yeah, land prices weren't too bad here And I kind of put all of that together and, you know, gave Jarrod my little presentation and he was pretty convinced and actually was like, okay, I see your point.

Like, it's very convincing. I think you're on the right way here. And I'm interested in talking to someone about it. And we went on holiday in that timeframe, probably between having that conversation or all having that conversation because you know, we had some time to talk about it and not be stressed at work.

And when we got back, I said to Jared, let's do this. And. That day, you know, he had a little Google. Jared started to research into this, and he contacted a few mortgage brokers, and they basically confirmed that we weren't ready right to buy an established house. And that's when Jared had a little bit of a Google around building to see if there was

Jaimi: That their job is to help someone build a house. 

Ash: That's so funny. You manifested that. So I, I was like, well babe, you go have a look. Like I'm just, go search for that. Yeah, exactly. And you know, I went about my day working and he let me know that he found someone. I like that 

Jaimi: you did the presentation and then you made him do the 

Ash: rest of the work.

It's 50 50. Yeah. And. He just googled building consultant or building broker and that's when your name popped up and we had to chuckle because we are like known in being called like boss. And then the fact that your place was called Boss Building Brokers, Jarrah was like, Oh, it's a sign, let's book in.

And we booked in and God, like it all like started from there. Yeah, it happened very quickly since then, didn't it? It did. But that's the pace that we run out. Yes. 

Jaimi: Yeah. You both have been very productive and on the money with everything. Like as soon as something needs to be due, you've got it back and we had the discovery call and the next day you are in here and then we had the block on hold three days later and you guys were just like, yeah, let's do this, which that helps speed up the process.

And I don't think people know that, but as a client, you actually have a lot of control in the process yourself as well with the builder. That if you work together as a team, it'll happen quick. And I work at the pace that you work at. So if you want to go slow, I'll go slow. If you want to go fast, 

Ash: we're going fast.

Absolutely. And I think that was the biggest thing as well. Up until that point, I felt like we'd either spoken to a real salesman type person or someone that was just not even in our generation. Yeah. Didn't get it. The biggest thing for, like, Jared especially. And being able to trust you was just feeling like he could be honest.

And we hadn't felt that. And that's how it feels when you're approaching banks, builders, all these people, big dollar signs, big corporate jobs, a lot of the time, and the fact that we could just. It's actually be honest at times and say, we can't afford that. Yeah. That's a bit out of budget and not feel awkward or uncomfortable or, you know, have those, you know, really difficult things to say sometimes and people get themselves into trouble because they're not honest.

Yeah. You know? And that was like, biggest tick for you was after that discovery call, we were like, shit, like, this is sweet. Like, we can just. Tell Jamie how we're feeling and it's gonna be fine and we don't have to put up a front or work out what we're gonna say Yeah, to sound up a story. Yeah, well like sound professional like we don't need to sound professional like casual fun vibes Yeah, yeah, honestly, though 

Jaimi: Yeah, and it makes a world of difference.

You're stuck with me for 18 months, so you better like me. And you're stuck with your builder for that long too, so you've got to have a good vibe and a team because you are working on a big project and a big financial investment. If you don't vibe, it's probably gonna be a pretty shit 

Ash: time. And it feels like a big 

Jaimi: group project.

Yeah, it is. Collaborating. Yep, there is so many people and moving parts that are involved with, it's not just a one man show, so. 

Ash: Mm hmm. And I think, again, just to add to that, you know, not having to follow you up on stuff, and you being ready to action things as fast as we want them actioned. Yeah. Do you want me to send that email?

Yes, please. Okay, done. Yeah. Like, keeping up. Yeah. That is what we needed as well, to feel like we could trust the person we were working with. Yeah. That's a huge thing. 

Jaimi: What have been some of the highlights and key milestones of your journey so far? 

Ash: So probably the first big milestone for us was settlement.

That was a big one, like it is for everyone, but for us it was just like... Up until that point, we were so worried something would fall through, the other shoe would drop. Especially finance wise. Yeah. Like, that's the hardest thing at the end of the day, like, you can be so confident, but we just didn't want to be caught out with something that we didn't realize, or that we'd accidentally done wrong.

Jaimi: Finance is hard. Everyone, there's always hurdles for everyone, and everyone's situation is so different that it's... And until you have that, it's not that like tick of approval that yes, this is actually happening. I have finance now. Like I can actually do this. And 

Ash: it gave us the confidence. Like, as it should.

Yep. That, okay, cool, we've got this, let's go. 

Jaimi: Yeah. Really? Let's do this. 

Ash: Let's fucking do this, because I think sometimes we underestimated ourselves because of our age and we felt like maybe we didn't really belong in this space. Yep. So, getting settlement was like, we've got the money, we've got all our stuff sorted.

Yeah. Like, we're ready to build this house. Yep. All right. You guys 

Jaimi: are doing amazing for your age and you never looked out of place. You look like you fit in just perfectly. I would think you're way older than what you actually 

Ash: are. Well, I think that's a big thing for us, even throughout this whole process and how fast we've moved.

It's because we knew that there is always going to be delays. And we always wanted to be in ahead of the curve. We always wanted to make sure we'd, you know, dotted our I's, crossed our T's. We've read every single bloody document sent through that probably people will just sign and send 

Jaimi: back. They do, yeah.

And then that's, like, at the end of the day, the builder's gonna say, well, you signed it. So, we've done the right thing by making sure you're... I'm going to be talking about how you can make sure that your client obligations in quotation marks I'm doing right now. If you could see me, your client obligations are met and you guys are doing what you can 

Ash: for sure.

And you know, at the end of the day, like that's the biggest thing. And I see that, you know, a lot of people building first time builders make, you know, little mistakes like that. But it's not even a mistake, because how are you meant to know? Yeah, exactly. 

Jaimi: If you don't know, you don't know. 

Ash: Exactly. And that's the thing, again, having you, it's like, we're, you know, eight o'clock at night, 24 pages into a 60 page document, and we're comfortable enough to go like, hey, we've just read this really strange line, we're not sure, like, what it means.

What the fuck does this mean? Yeah, or like, Is this something we need to be concerned about? And we don't have to write a formal email to a builder and wait two weeks for a response. Yeah, you're just like, Oh yeah, that's standard. That's nothing to worry about. Yeah. 

Jaimi: Cool. Now, what have you found the most challenging over your building journey and how did 

Ash: you handle it?

The most challenging thing so far, I would say, you know, it's a bit of a two part. The first thing would be organizing finance. Yeah. And I think it was just a lot of people have a lot of different opinions and a lot of professionals have different experience in their field. So there is not one right answer.

No. That exists. It's what works for you guys. Exactly. And. The way that we are is we don't take no for an answer. Yeah, absolutely. That's what got us this far. And when we initially kind of got like a soft no, we were like, no. That's a hard no. Yeah. Like we're not taking that. It was a soft no, just like. You know, an opinion and we thought that can't be right.

Like I refuse to believe that this is it. Like we've put in so much time and effort so far and we did everything we could to get that sorted and we got it sorted. So. 

Jaimi: That no was a yes. It was. And that pays off to do your research and ask multiple people or multiple opinions because yeah if you do get a no and then you're just like okay fine.

That's what I mean. What if we wouldn't be here. Yeah. You 

Ash: know. Yeah. Like the advice that we received was obviously to wait and We decided against that and we did a whole lot of research ourselves, you know, we took control of our own situation I think that's the biggest thing and did a whole bunch of little things that people were saying it might work if you do this It might work if you do that.

Yeah, we did all of them. Yeah, and it worked. Yeah So, that's huge. The other thing is, I guess, somewhat of the pre start process was a little bit difficult and I think that comes down to not being in the room after you make your decisions. So those conversations are a lot more difficult over email sometimes.

Yeah. The back and forth. 

Jaimi: The back and forth. 

Ash: And if that's the worst thing. It's not that bad. It's not that bad. And I felt confident in the builder and I knew that I wasn't being staffed down. Yeah. And I knew that it was just admin staff being missed. And that's why, again, we took that into our own hands and we're reading and And going through these variations very thoroughly, pen and paper, and asking every question, even if we thought it was silly.

Because a lot of the time we weren't silly. No. And it 

Jaimi: pays to ask. A hundred percent. And there's no silly questions, especially if you don't know building lingo and what's going on. It's always best to just ask whoever, build our consultant, broker. 

Ash: Absolutely. And again, that's where you come in where I can say again, is this normal?

What the fuck is going on here? Yeah, and you're like, that's totally normal. Yeah. Disregard, don't need to be stressed. Yeah. Let's 

Jaimi: discuss some of your design and customization choices. that you made for your home. Can you share some of your thought process behind your design and 

Ash: selections? So one of the biggest things that we noticed in most of the ready made like plants were that the master bedroom was at the front of the home.

Yeah. We live currently in a rental. with the master bedroom at the front of the home. I don't feel safe. So I think that was one of the first things we decided on. We wanted a home design without the master at the front. So, instead of that, we actually put the study there. Because I work from home, and the front of the home will get great light during the day.

Yeah. So that was a win win. Yeah, 

Jaimi: and you don't have a bedroom at the front 

Ash: too. Exactly, but technically down the line it could be a bedroom. Technically, yes. True. Another big thing we did was, like I mentioned, we're quite handy, play with cars, lots of tools. My partner has all the tools in the whole fucking world.

So, given that we compromised on block size and blah blah, like we made the garage as big as we possibly could. Yeah. To accommodate for at least two cars. So at least two cars could fit in the garage. Plus we're hoping to do a full fit out with a workbench and storage on that back wall, on that back wall.

Yup. So we made it as wide as we could and we made it a little bit longer to accommodate. A full size bench. One of my favorite customizations is our main cabinetry color throughout the kitchen. Oh yes. Like I mentioned, we're really in love with character homes and I didn't want a white home. I love white homes.

But I wanted to do something different but also something that I felt was still timeless. Yeah. So I was ready to pay for a nice cabinetry color. I want a really nice themed kitchen. Yeah. So. And 

Jaimi: you guys are big on entertaining too, and that kitchen looks at the back of your whole entertaining and living area.

Exactly. 

Ash: It's the heart of your home. And I want a warm home. Yeah. So that was important to me. And Jarrod just let me. Yeah. Go with that. He's like, you do you. He loves the color too. So we chose Lamin x Otway. Yep. And that's so, so beautiful. Super happy with that. That was one of the things I was ready to pay for.

Yeah. And I think it really like themes. Like the home. Yes. Yeah. It sets the tone. Yeah, 

Jaimi: I think it does too. Yeah. It would be really cool to see it once it's all in. 

Ash: Mm hmm. And then, one of the last, like, bigger things we did in terms of customizing the block and the home was pushing the home forward on the block.

Yeah. Especially since we didn't have the master at the front, there was no stress about that anymore. And it meant that we could have a really large outdoor area for the block size. Really large. Yeah. It looks really big and that's the whole point. And that's 

Jaimi: all about, even though you have a small, in quotation marks again, block, if you design it properly, pull it to the front, maximize like the side space, you can still have a really decent size backyard that is for what you want, entertaining, lifestyle, maybe a pool.

That one's for Jarrad. 

Ash: Yeah. But it just means like options are endless now. Yeah. And we spend so much time outside. So now we have that full open plan living, another customization of the plan that extends into the backyard. Yeah. I'm so excited. So good. It 

Jaimi: looks so nice. And the back are so big. 

Ash: They're huge!

Like, we still say that every time we visit the block. Jared's trying to reach up and he can, I think, just reach the height of them. Yeah, they're beautiful. And we wanted as many windows 

Jaimi: as possible. Yeah. So, it's lucky that we upgraded those window height sizes, didn't we? It looks so good. So good. Because the ceiling height is 31 course in the living area, rather than keeping the windows at the standard 25 course, you can increase them up to 28 course.

So the height is higher and it matches your higher ceilings as well. Otherwise you're going to have your windows with a bigger gap essentially and you can bring in more light. It's usually only a couple hundred bucks per window, so I think that's definitely a good up, well worth it. Make sure you do it in your contract though, not a pre start because it's structural.

Don't try and do 

Ash: it at pre start because we did one at pre start. Yeah, but I don't regret it And no as soon as we saw it when the bricks went off Yeah. We both looked at e transit. I'm so glad we spent that hundred dollars to upgrade this to a non standard window. Yeah. Because it is so stunning. 

Jaimi: Yeah. So nice.

And the window in the scullery that you left it at full height to bring in all that natural light rather than making it a splash back to put overhead cupboards on it, that brings in so much light into the 

Ash: scullery. Absolutely. And I think the hundred dollars it cost us to upgrade outweighs. It's the cost of a bulkhead and upper cabinetry.

And it's our first home. Yeah, exactly. You can't have everything. I want 10 foot ceilings, but I can't do that. 

Jaimi: Can't wait to see the next house with the 10 foot ceilings. But yeah, I think people forget. I mean, we all get caught up in it, but it's like, it is the first home and it's to get into the market and the stepping stone.

And I think you and Jared have done a really good way of working out what's important to you and remembering that it is. the first home, not the forever home and working out what's important to us now. And what's, yeah, cost too much and is a dream house that will be the next 

Ash: house. And what are we happy with for the next five or ten years?

Yes, 

Jaimi: yeah, for sure. What is something that you have learned over your building journey? 

Ash: I think from all the research that I've done throughout this process, it's given me like the words and like the ideas behind things. So, yeah, I always knew I wanted open plan living, light and airy. And now I understand, and I wanted a house, I always wanted light and airy and big open windows.

And now I understand that's actually like solar passive design. Yes. And there's actually theory that goes into that and research and ways to do that. It's not just like hit or miss. Yeah, you know what I mean? See what happens. Yeah, see what happens and either it isn't and you don't know until you're in the house.

Yeah, like I understand that that's an actual thing now. Yeah, and you can design your house to be that way and that's something that we took into account You know, the direction of the block, the house and how it sits on the block. Yeah, where a lot of the windows are and where that is to living areas, the windows to the master bedroom.

All of those things. Yep. That's something I found really interesting, building. And you know, with solar passive design as well, thinking about things like making your home more sustainable also obviously ties into that. Using less AC, using less heating. Yep. Being able to open windows and getting a nice breeze through the house.

Huge things for us. Cool it 

Jaimi: down that way instead of always turning the AC on. Exactly. 

Ash: And like the direction of our home. It'll be really great for solar panels. You know, thinking about those things down the line. Yeah, cool. Really great. I like that. Yeah. And I think I would have never known that unless I had built a house.

Yeah. Because I don't think I would have even thought about that if I bought a house. No, you 

Jaimi: don't. You don't actually go to an established house and you're like, Oh, which way is this and which way is that? But you do it when you're designing and building. You do. 

Ash: Because you've got the opportunity right there and then and you know, that's why our house plan is the way it is.

And that's why we went through so many different customizations with you because we're like, we want a lot of sun in the living. Yeah. We want it to be bright there. But, you know, these rooms can be here because they don't need a lot of light. Yeah. Really important. 

Jaimi: So, a lot of people don't fully understand the role of a building broker.

Could you explain how I helped you through the journey and what you found most valuable about having a building broker, from your perspective? I 

Ash: think for Jared and I, the most valuable thing was having a dependable person on our team that knows what they're talking about. Yeah. Honestly. Because you can 

Jaimi: run, but Jamie's 

Ash: telling you what direction to run in.

I like that. It's true, like. 

Jaimi: And sometimes you might just end up running in 

Ash: circles. Which way am I going? Yeah, and I think we don't know everything. We don't even know a lot compared to a professional, you know, in building. So having someone that their job is to know things, or at least they see. So much all the time from multiple clients and knowing different builders that they're able to help you.

Cause I think, you know, one of the biggest things like I've mentioned is knowing what's standard, what's normal, what's different about this. Yeah. And it's how are you meant to know that? Yeah. I'm not a professional. You're the professional. And that peace of mind, like I said. Being able to ask you everything that we need.

Yeah, I would like describe you as The best type of like third party You know, involved in this whole process, you have the relationship with the builder. We're just like strangers, you know, the builder and I, and you sit there and you know, who to talk to, you know, how to go about, you know, what options that you can give us.

You just run in laps around everyone. I like that 

Jaimi: analogy. 

Ash: It's great, honestly. No, but I think that's the biggest thing, is having someone on your side that you can ask the questions for. And you know, if we asked for something ridiculous, you would probably tell us it was ridiculous. Yeah. And you, and we wouldn't waste the time of the builder.

Yeah. Right? Like asking for something that was just like, no, sorry, like we don't do that. But as well, you know, with a few different things in our build, you know, providing us options. So maybe, you know, what you want is out of budget, but here is option A, B and C that you can do that gives you a similar effect.

Yeah. How were we meant to know that? No, yeah, you're not. You're the professional. 

Jaimi: Yeah. Especially as a first time buyer and first time builder. Yeah. If you don't know, you don't know. And some builders take 

Ash: advantage of that. Take you for a ride. And I had full trust, which obviously shows something. I had full trust in you and I had full trust in Lovita with you.

Yeah. Because I knew that nothing silly 

Jaimi: was going on. Yeah. And everything 

Ash: was genuine. No funny business. Yeah, honestly though. And that is like worth its weight in gold. Yeah. Feeling like you're not being taken for a ride. Feeling like you're being taken seriously. When you ask for something, maybe they can't do it, but here's some more options.

Yeah, and here's what we can do. And that respect is huge. Yeah. 

Jaimi: Yeah. When you envision your life in your new home, what are some of the special moments and memories that you look forward to?

Ash: Just being in a house. I think the special moments will come like When we've done a little bit of, you know, the afterhand overwork, the post handover work, and we really make it us. Yeah, turning your house into a home. I think that is one of the most exciting things. Yeah. Because we've rented for so long, and we've never been able to say, hey, let's...

It's like, put a nail in the wall there. 

Jaimi: It's the small things that matter. Honestly. Can I hang a picture there? No, you cannot. That's 

Ash: honestly one of the biggest things we're most excited about is being able to fully customize our home once we're in it again. Yeah. And then I think we love having people over.

So, hosting again, and feeling like it's our own space, and having all our friends over as soon as possible. Yeah. Music going, food, drinks. Yeah. Yeah. The good stuff. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And then, you know, maybe down the line, it is technically big enough to happen. Yes. So maybe down the line. Future memories.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I think that's what we're most looking forward to, is just making... That's the best part. Relaxing into it. Yeah, you know, and that's something you don't get to do when you rent. No. 

Jaimi: All right, and our last one for today I think if you were to give one piece of advice to another first home buyer considering building What would it be and why?

Ash: I think that you should start the process Before you think you're ready. Yeah, we did that. We didn't think we were ready. We were ready. You were ready. We were. And specifically for us, the only thing outstanding for us was that final deposit. So speaking with Jamie, we learned that we could actually start this process now, especially because we knew when we'd have the deposit.

And we could tick off all these different things while saving, while saving that last little bit to get to the deposit. So start before you think you need to. That will get you on a really great timeline to be able to finish pre construction in a decent time frame. Yep. You guys did it 

Jaimi: in record time.

Four months from mating me to slab down. 

Ash: Pretty much. Yeah, and I think the biggest thing for that was us staying on top of things. Yeah. So not letting things slide, not putting things off. When we're getting an email from you, all the build up, we're addressing it straight away, asking all the questions.

Not lingering. You were 

Jaimi: very proactive. 

Ash: Yeah, proactive and prompt in As well, like, you know, things will go wrong. You'll have questions and getting those questions out there So you have a response as soon as you can and we just made it a priority To make sure that the builder wasn't waiting on us We wanted to make sure that it was always the reverse.

Yeah That's a good hand. 

Jaimi: Selfishly. Yeah 

Ash: But I think that benefits us. We knew like if we're getting things done as quick as possible The builder will see that and will also get things done as quick as possible So make sure that you're asking the questions as soon as you have them. Don't sit Don't dwell on them.

Get them out there, get the answer And then make a decision on things. Try and be decisive. And if you're feeling a little bit hesitant after you've made a decision, like, was that the right thing, address it straight away. Yeah. Don't let it sit. There's not really many things that we let, you know, that we think about now and go, should we have asked that?

Yeah. You just always ask. We just asked. And that made us feel confident in the decisions that we were making, even though we were making them really quickly. We felt informed. Even if we're presented two options, it's like, how much is that one gonna cost versus that one? Cool, got it, moving on. Yep. Yep. So, make sure that you're on top of your shit, so that you can just look at the border and go, you're on top of your shit.

Haha, I like that. 

Jaimi: I'm on top of my shit, you're on top of your shit. 

Ash: Yeah, basically. The only thing we regret not asking is actually for a recessed ceiling in our master, but you know that was probably for good measure, it's probably out of budget. It does cost a lot. You're looking at a couple of grand.

Jaimi: That's what I mean, so it's 

Ash: probably a good thing that we didn't ask because we couldn't Hahaha. I mean, honestly though, yeah, we think about that. All 

Jaimi: right. And to quickly wrap up, let's touch on your timeline of your journey so far, pre construction and construction. So 

Ash: that initial call was on the 11th of May.

And we paid the deposit on the 23rd to the builder. Yep. By that time, you'd already locked in our land. Yep. It was already sorted. So that was amazing. Our pre start meeting was on the 11th of July. Yep, not long. Which, yep. Just after contracts. I think that was... Longest delay, which is barely a delay. Yeah. It was literally a week because Jared was away.

Jared was away. From the 19th of July to the 28th of July is when we got formal approval. So that was a big one because then it was just a waiting game for settlement, which was on the 18th of August and our construction sign and the official end of pre construction, I believe was on the 24th of August.

Yeah, wow, so quick, so quick, and it's crazy to think we're officially week 8 of construction, and we have slabbed down, yeah, all sorted. We had bricks delivered, our bricks went up in 3 days. Three days. We didn't even have time to do the laying a brick. Yeah, because it was too quick. Because it was too quick.

Yeah. How many 

Jaimi: brickies were on the team? 

Ash: I can't remember. So, apparently, another job cancelled. So there was two teams for this one company, and they were both available. So they both did it on the same day. That halves a one 

Jaimi: week job into three days. 

Ash: Exactly. And next week is the beginning of the starting of a roof.

That is insane. So our goal is roof cover Christmas. Oh yeah, I think 

Jaimi: you'll be, I think 

Ash: you'll be all right with that. I think so, but I think that speaks to La Vida. Yeah. 

Jaimi: And you guys did your part in pre construction and now they're doing their 

Ash: part. It's literally flying. Like, I can't believe it. Every week there's something new.

It's always being worked on and that's the biggest thing. Whatever can be done is being done. Yeah. And that stops all the delays. Yeah. 

Jaimi: Amazing. Well, thank you so much for joining me today and sharing everything about your journey so far. And it's been amazing helping you and. Jared, and I can't wait to hand over the keys with you, probably not long soon.

Sometime next year. 

Ash: Sometime. I'm in. We'll be in by this time next year. A hundred percent. I'll be coming around for drinks. I am so ready for that. Yeah, me too. But thank you. 

Jaimi: No worries. Thank you so much.

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