Getting Started
building your Rivergum home
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Initial consultation
An experienced New Homes Consultant works with you to identify the home designs that best suit your lifestyle, personal preferences and budget.
We encourage you to take the time to think through what you want. We suggest visiting as many of our display homes as you can to gather ideas and inspiration.
Create a list of ‘must haves’; such as the number of bedrooms required, a play area for the children, a private study area, the number of car parking spaces you need and so on. Think about how you live and what the ‘nice to haves’ might be, like an outdoor entertaining area, a walk-in pantry, a balcony, large laundry or a parent’s retreat.
Designing your home
At this exciting stage, your New Homes Consultant takes the home design that best meets your needs and works with you to tailor it to your block of land, design, lifestyle needs and budget. They will also take into account local Council regulatory requirements and building codes. At this point your New Homes Consultant will visit your site to help identify any potential issues to be included in your quotation.
Pricing and quotation
With your home design finalised, your New Homes Consultant will prepare an estimated pricing schedule to build your home. This can include the cost of structural changes, bushfire protection measures, agreed energy efficiency features, encumbrance, Council and building regulations associated costs, a summary of all items requested by you (known as ‘extras’), a list of standard inclusions and allowances for site related issues.
On your agreement with the design and pricing schedule, you proceed to the next stage of the building process by paying an initial deposit fee.
Site inspection
No two blocks of land are exactly the same, and that’s why Rivergum Homes will assess your building site before starting the design process.
Our site inspections are completed by our engineering company and include a contour survey along with a soil test. This helps to uncover potential issues that are not immediately obvious, such as the need for rock excavation, or the presence of unstable soil types.
Remember, if you are having trouble finding the right block, our experienced team can help. Rivergum Homes also has fixed price home and land packages available in locations across South Australia.
Preliminary pack
Your New Homes Consultant works with our estimating and drafting team to prepare preliminary plans and a fixed price tender where appropriate.
Once complete, authorisation to proceed by way of a signed tender is required. The signed tender confirms completion of the design phases. Rivergum Homes can then prepare the construction plans, final pricing and civil engineering.
We also give you an exterior selections book. You will need to select exterior features such as Colorbond colours, cladding, bricks, garage doors, paint and the like.
Contract documentation
Now is the time to sign-off on all your final contract documentation. This includes your fixed price contract, final contract plans, energy assessment report, CFS assessment report (if required), and final engineering report.
Your exterior selections are also due back at this stage. You will need to send the details of your exterior selections to us before you start on your interior selections and before your scheduled selections appointment.
With contracts signed and returned, a second deposit is required. Once this is received we book a selections appointment for you.
Selections appointment
We understand that you build a house but live in a home, and our friendly selections team is there to work with you to bring your dream home to life.
At the selections appointment, we confirm the selections you have already made for the exterior of your home, and help you with your internal selections. We’ll also run through any questions or concerns you have.
We understand the volume of decision-making can sometimes be overwhelming. We’re there to provide an experienced hand to help you choose the colours, finishes and features that meet the vision you have.
The selection process takes time – we recommend allowing a full day at our head office to complete it.
Council approval
Once your selections are complete, we submit your plans to Council and apply for all the necessary statutory approvals on your behalf.
Our team ensures you receive a copy of your final ‘Development Approval’ from Council, along with a copy of your Insurance Certificate.
Rivergum Homes will require proof of land ownership and proof of your unconditional finance approval from you.
Then the scheduling of construction of your new home can begin.
Construction
At this stage, your project is handed over to our experienced construction team.
You are assigned a Construction Supervisor who will manage the construction of your new home from start to finish. All our Construction Supervisors are highly qualified and work with a select team of experienced and skilled tradesmen.
Your Construction Supervisor will keep you regularly updated as construction progresses. If you have any questions, or would like to visit the site, your Construction Supervisor will assist you.
Handover
Once the construction of your home is complete, your Construction Supervisor will advise you of a handover date – the day you will be given the keys to take possession of your home.
On handover, your Construction Supervisor will welcome you to your new home and ensure you settle in comfortably. We’ll also explain your three month maintenance period and the warranties and structural guarantees that come with your new home.
After sales service
Your new home is covered by a three month maintenance guarantee. If you find anything you are not completely happy with, fill in the form provided and send it back to our office before the end of the three month period. A Rivergum Homes after sales service team representative will visit you onsite and rectify the problems.
From the day you first make contact with us to the moment we hand over the keys to your new home and beyond, we undertake to provide you with the best possible customer service.
We value your comments and feedback and thank you for choosing Rivergum Homes.
