Practical Completion
When it comes to building the term “Practical Completion” is like the holy grail. This is a day new homeowners look forward to as it is the day when ‘practically’ all the work on your new home has been completed.
What Is Practical Completion?
Although is sounds like everything is complete, it is not the day you will get to take possession of your new home. Industry terms, like practical completion, can sound like a full stop to the home building journey but there are actually several steps beyond this.
Here is a quick guide to the final stages of your house build and handover.
Handover Inspection
Between practical completion and handover there is often an inspection by an independent person or company who will look over the entire house and compile a list of defects against Australian standards of finished work.
These defects are then fixed prior to you moving in to help ensure your home is at the highest quality.
There is also likely to be some other formalities, like the final valuation of your home, and of course the final payment. It is generally a two week period from practical completion (PC) to handover.
Handover Day
Handover can take anywhere between 1-3 hours. This is where one of our team will take you around your home and explain everything to you.
Final cleans are done the day of or day before handover so everything is fresh for when you move in.
Just like at the PC stage you will go around your home with your site super. They will point out all the key functions of the house, like how to open and lock the doors and where the garage remote is stored.
After handover is when we step into what we call the defects period. This goes for 6 months, the standard HIA period is 3 months. We doubled it to give you and the home extra time to settle in!
During this period, we rely on the help of the new homeowners to help us note any defects such as leaks that may occur. We will also check in from time to time over the first few weeks and months.
At about the halfway period in the year, we will have a look over the defects that have been recorded and start preparing to go through them.
Home Handover Guide
Everyone also gets a digital handover guide. This book has all kinds of tips and tricks to help you get the most from your new home – like drying out the house, making it green, energy use, window protection, insulation, lighting, and air conditioning.
This guide also includes information about security, electrics, ceilings, bathroom fittings, paintwork care, roofing and your warranty.
Your home comes with a 12-month* maintenance period. Your warranty means that we’ll cover any structural problems that occur with your house. Small maintenance issues are really common and nothing to worry about.
Moving In
Moving can be a stressful time. Here are some helpful reminders to help make the process as low-stress as possible.
First, make sure all the important stuff is safe – things like prescriptions, driver’s license, marriage, birth certificates, and passports.
Secondly, book in the disconnection of the utilities at your old address and the connection of the amenities, internet, and pay-tv at your new address.
Also notify any relevant businesses (incl. Aus Post) of your change of address.
Settling ln
Whether you already know where each picture is going to go, or you’re just beginning your nesting journey, there’s no rush, pace yourself!
There are a number of milestones in every build and Homecorp’s Customer Experience team are here to help you navigate them with ease. If you have any queries about key stages, compliance and certification, just reach out to our team and they’ll guide you through the process.
