FINAL LEG OF ADMIN!

It has been awhile (so it seems!) since my last build update. So much has happened since then...
Warning: long post ahead!

January 2019 is the month all our financial paperwork and construction paperwork needed to be completed. We are currently at the last leg of admin work. We changed banks just before Christmas 2018. It was an extremely stressful time, so many little issues that we decided to throw in the towel and change banks. Pretty bold move considering the deadline for Tender Expiry was fast approaching. Without going into too much detail (and risk boring you), the decision to change banks in the last minute ended up being a blessing in disguise. The main reason we changed banks was because our banker went on holidays for 6 weeks and we absolutely could not wait for her to return, just so she can finalise and submit our application. It would have caused us too many problems in the end had we waited for her as our Tender Expiry date would have been during her Annual Leave. Waiting would have caused too many delays - we just couldn't risk it.

As fate would have it, we found a new broker. I believe in miracles, and meeting our broker was nothing short of it. I can not rave enough about his service and professionalism. If you need a contact, feel free to comment below and i would be more than happy to pass on his details. Everything was going well and at a great pace. There were no issues with the actual loan - it was until we got to the Technical side of things where we faced a major hurdle: Progress Payments.

What are Progress Payments? A construction progress payment is a payment made by the bank or lender on completion of a building stage according to the agreed schedule. Banks and Builders have a policy in place where their Progress Payment Schedule must be met. There is no law that governs the percentages and you may find that your builder and your bank may not agree on the percentages. When or if you face this dilemma, a broker will prove to be your best friend. Wisdom Homes Progress Payment schedule is outlined in the Home Building Agreement Contract, the justification is based on works/materials required to achieve the claims. Unfortunately, their schedule is not in line with our banks schedule and is outside their normal lending standards.

Our broker did all the negotiations, spoke on our behalf with Wisdom and with our bank. It was the longest week. A week long of back and forth negotiations between all parties. I have to say, in the end, he came through for us. As for Wisdom, i had many conversations with the Customer Service Manager and i could not have asked for anything more from her. She escalated our case to Wisdom's CFO and even reached their General Manager. I can not fault her and the effort she put into helping us. At the end of the day, they have a business to run so i totally understood their reasoning of why things were the way they were. As for our bank, we could only ask for a little bit of flexibility. In the end, even though both parties did not agree to the exact same Progress Payment Schedule, they both at least did their best to meet halfway and that's all we could really ask for.

To make an extremely long story short - the process was stressful and really tested my anxiety levels. Lots of soul searching during this time too. We had other options to choose other banks. But the one we chose, we really wanted to work with. At this point, i was over bank admin paperwork. I didn't want to go through the whole process again. I just wanted it over with. My patience was really wearing thin too. We were almost there but not quiet - really plays on your mind!

I could not have done it without Eldric's support too. He was my rock (and vice versa!) during what we call an "ordeal". The last month has been an emotional rollercoaster, despite all this, what got me through was faith, hope and prayers. 

Shoutout to our broker too (insert HUGE smiley face and a high five!). His main priority and driving force was to get us over the line. You can never underestimate the work of a broker. They know the ins and outs, and ours genuinely cared about us. In the short time we have known him, we developed a great working relationship. It definitely was fate.

The day we received that phone call from our broker giving us the good news, was probably one of the happiest days of our lives - our bank gave us Formal Approval based on the agreed Progress Payment Schedule! Finally! Our dream of building our dream home was finally coming true! It was such a beautiful day. We finally saw the light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.

We received the Formal Approval letter via email and even then, i kept asking Eldric to pinch me. Was this really happening? Did i dream that phone call? I know, it sounds dramatic. But honestly, after the hurdles we went through, it really put everything into perspective.

I sent the Formal Approval letter to Wisdom, they were so quick in getting our Construction Plans and Draft End Panel processed. We signed off on the Construction Plans just yesterday, using the weekend to go through them meticulously (in typical me fashion, i made some changes - nothing structural!).

A few days after receiving the Formal Approval, our broker called us and arranged a time the following week to meet so we can sign the Mortgage and Bank Contract documents. We took him to lunch and gave him a little present to show him how much we appreciate him going "above and beyond" and not giving up on us when we were starting to lose our sanity! Most people will think that mortgage brokers work on commission. That may be half true - but in all honesty, our broker really did have our backs. He kept us informed and up to date every single day and every step of the process. We know that after this transaction is over, we have found a friend in him too!

What's the next step? We wait for our Final End Panel, which is the very final document to sign off on which has the final build price. More on that to come when we receive it! Right now, we are relishing on the fact that we are on the home stretch!