You may be excited about a move in date, but this is where you must be the most careful. Your builder may want to be paid in full before you take possession. That sounds great, but you may have outstanding lending conditions such as a Code Compliance Certificate or ‘CCC’ (issued by the local council) and a Valuer's Completion Certificate (issued by the registered valuer) before the bank will release final funds to the builder.

You do not want to be in a position where the moving truck is parked outside and your builder won’t hand over the keys to your brand new home because your bank won’t make the final payment.

Make sure your builder understands that you have obligations to your lender and make sure you work with both your lender and your builder to reach a solution.

NewBuild still recommends that you do not consider taking possession unless the builder has provided you a clear council inspection showing your home has passed, or that the items outstanding are of a minor nature. In today’s environment, a CCC is like gold, so do not compromise anything to ensure you receive this certificate. If you don’t get one, your home's value could fall dramatically.

It may take upwards of three weeks from the time your home passes inspection until you get your Code of Compliance Certificate, so the process needs to be manged well. Get in touch with NewBuild to ensure smooth sailing for your building project.