Which Project Home?

Choosing a project home was not really that difficult in the end. It really come down to finding a 5 bedroom floor plan that would fit our block without going anywhere near our 1 in 100 year flood zone which affects the rear of our block – see Renovation: Episode I.

That constraint alone narrowed our options quite considerably and included the Sandringham 38 by Eden Brae, Trentham and Vaucluse by Metricon and Benham by Rawson Homes. Both Metricon's Trentham and Rawson's Benham would have required modifications to add a 5th bedroom so were less than ideal, but initially, we wanted a few options to get some ballpark costs.

The next step was to visit a Display Home Centre and have some initial conversations with a few sales consultants. Unfortunately none of the project homes we were interested in were on display. Visiting display homes can raise expectations about affordability. They are all professionally 'styled' and usually feature high level finishes and expensive additions eg. open tread staircases, outdoor kitchens, plunge pools etc. This is all part of the sales & marketing process.

The other discovery is that each company has their own approach to promotions and pricing. Eden Brae for example have the somewhat questionable (and amusing) '$1 Upgrade' packages. At the end of day, they were all around about the same price point – without going to a detailed tender with all of them – so for us the choice came down to our preferred layout and whether we were comfortable with the reputation of the builder.

Without a doubt, our preferred layout was the Sandringham 38. It was the best fit for our block and with four daughters, having the kids bedrooms upstairs, with two bathrooms and a living space was just about the perfect second floor layout for our family.

In addition friends of ours had built a home with Eden Brae in 2013 and had a very positive experience. This provided us with a lot of confidence to move forward.

Eden Brae's Sandringham 38 Plan