Settlement & Handover Process

Timing – Monthly

Throughout the build, you will have received regular updates on construction progress.

Timing – 3 to 4 months before settlement

You will start to receive specific settlement updates from Mosaic, including anticipated timings, three to four months before building completion.

These updates will continue through the pre-settlement period and be your prompter for any actions you need to take.

Timing – Up to 2 months before settlement (subject to building program)

You will be invited to conduct one personal inspection of your new apartment leading up to settlement. The Prescott’s construction program means that each level will be ready for inspection at different times.

We recommend allowing 45 minutes for your Personal Inspection, which is broken into two parts:

1. An initial viewing of your apartment’s key features; and
2. A quality assurance review to identify potential rectification items.

Timing – One month before settlement

In the lead-up to settlement, our Sales team will call you to ask if you require finance to settle your property.

If you require finance, your bank will need to engage a Valuer to inspect your apartment.  There are strict protocols associated with access to the building.

Importantly, your Valuer cannot access the building without a Mosaic representative present.

We will explain this in further detail when we contact you regarding arranging your property valuation. The valuations will usually take place about a month prior to settlement.

Timing – 1 – 2 months before settlement

Within the two months before settlement, we will reach out to ask you for your move-in timing preferences.

Please keep in mind that moving residents into a new building for the first time is a major exercise. It only occurs once in the lifetime of a building, so it naturally requires a highly coordinated approach to make it as smooth as possible.

Timing – Typically 3 weeks before settlement

You will be advised of your confirmed settlement date via an official “Call for Settlement” notification. This is sent to your solicitor, who will then send it to you.

Timing – 2 – 3 weeks before settlement

We will confirm your move-in timeslot shortly after the official “Call for Settlement” notification.

At this stage you will also be able to arrange for your services to be connected, in line with your settlement date.

Timing – On settlement / handover

We will contact you before your settlement date to arrange an apartment handover appointment.

The handover is typically 30 to 45 minutes, during which we will formally hand over your keys and run you through some key items about your apartment.

Timing – On settlement 

From settlement, residents will start to see members of the Mosaic Caretaking team onsite, assisting in the day-to-day management of The Prescott’s common areas.

In the immediate few months following settlement, Mosaic will retain stewardship of the Body Corporate until a Committee of owners is elected to perform the required functions.

Timing – 3 – 4 weeks post-settlement

We will have additional support staff available for the first few weeks to assist with any questions or issues that arise during your move.

Following move-in, we ask that you provide a list of rectification items as soon as possible. Please refer below for more information on our rectification process.

Mosaic’s Sales team manages the pre-settlement valuation process. It involves communicating with buyers and buyers’ brokers, banks, valuers, and booking agents.

The Sales team will call you in the lead-up to valuations to understand your finance requirements. If you are considering finance, your bank will need to secure a valuation by engaging a valuer to inspect your apartment. 

We will advise when we are ready to begin booking valuation appointments. 

If you do not require finance to purchase your apartment, you will not need to schedule a valuation inspection.

To ensure the best valuation outcome possible is achieved for you, a Mosaic representative must accompany the valuer on-site for the inspection. 

Mosaic’s Sales team will greet the valuer onsite with a comprehensive and professional Valuation Pack and provide a personal tour of your apartment.

To receive the Valuation Pack and gain access to site, the valuer must have both:

• arranged a specific time through the Sales Administration Manager
• be accompanied by a Mosaic representative

Should points 1 and 2 not be followed, access to site WILL NOT BE PERMITTED under any circumstances. We recommend you ensure your finance provider is aware of these instructions.

If you have any questions or would like to book an appointment following notification of the valuation period commencing, please contact Sales Administration Manager Kerry Croaker on the following details:

kcroaker@mosaicproperty.com.au
07 3171 2270

We have received feedback from Mosaic clients that our valuations process is extremely professional and effective and that they appreciated the proactive assistance from the Mosaic Sales team.

You will be contacted by Mosaic’s Customer Experience team to organise your personal inspection in the lead up to settlement.

Subject to the construction program, your apartment may be ready for inspection any time up to 2 months prior to completion of the building. We will be in touch to advise when we are ready for your inspection to be scheduled.

Your personal inspection is an exciting time as it is your first opportunity to view your new apartment. It is also a critical opportunity for you to highlight any items you feel require review ahead of settlement.

Unlike inspections of existing properties, your experience of an off-the-plan build will be very different. Whilst the internals of the apartments are prioritised, ready for your visit, you will notice construction works still underway in all the building’s communal areas, basement levels and streetscape. As such, we are only able to show you through your apartment as part of your inspection. We will provide you with the opportunity to tour the beautiful common area amenity and car park levels on handover.

It will also be important to keep in mind that scaffolding may still be in place in some areas, which could affect the cleanliness of your balcony and obstruct the level of light experienced within your apartment on the day of your inspection.

We recommend you make yourself available to attend your personal inspection during the window of time provided. To ensure the construction program is unaffected, we are not able to arrange an alternate time or provide more than one pre-settlement inspection.

When scheduling your personal inspection, we recommend you allow 30-45 minutes.

If you wish to arrange for a third-party external inspector to attend on your behalf, please note their inspection must be scheduled within the same timeframe as stated on the inspection invitation.

As part of our quality assurance process, we look to ensure our purchasers get the best out of their pre-settlement inspections. Part of this is helping our purchasers engage the correct building inspector.

To ensure your property is inspected correctly and a valid building report is produced, your engaged inspector needs to adhere to the following QBCC (Queensland Building & Construction Commission) guidelines:

• Have a Completed Residential Building Inspection License
• Inspect the apartment in accordance with Australian Standard 4349.1 (residential building pre-purchase inspection standards)
• Be fully insured
• Reports must include detailed photos and descriptions to qualify for submission and review

Please note we are able to offer virtual inspections via video call to those purchasers unable to attend in person.

Any rectification items identified during your inspection will be recorded and provided to Mosaic Construction for review and rectification as appropriate. We’ll endeavour to close out all genuine defects prior to settlement, however if any items require longer to address, we will keep you informed.

Due to construction OH&S protocols, we will ask you to provide us with the names and contact details of all those attending your personal inspection in advance. Fully enclosed shoes must be worn by all visitors, otherwise access to site cannot be granted.

At Mosaic, we conduct rigorous quality assurance processes throughout construction as part of our commitment to delivering you the highest quality.

Our extensive process includes:

1. Early completion of a “benchmark” apartment that is thoroughly inspected by internal and external quality assurance professionals and further reviewed by Mosaic management. This is to ensure the overall standard of finish is aligned with our high expectations and sets the benchmark finish for all apartments in the development.
2. An inspection of individual apartments by our dedicated and highly experienced quality assurance team.
3. Completion of further checks and audits of the apartments to ensure our exacting standards continue to be met throughout the building.
4. The completion of a pre handover checklist for each apartment, which involves a thorough test of numerous items (e.g. ensuring all electrical appliances are functioning correctly), with the intent of identifying any issues that are typically only discovered after occupation.
5. An opportunity for you to inspect your apartment in the lead up to settlement and identify any items you feel should be addressed.

You may already have experience with settlement of an off-the-plan apartment. If you haven’t or would appreciate a reminder of what to expect, following is some context around completion and settlement timeframes.

Buyers will understandably seek certainty around settlement and move in dates as far in advance as possible in order to finalise arrangements. Off-the-plan development is inherently uncertain however, with anticipated settlement continually refined over the preceding months. It is during this period that a very high number of essential activities take place both on and off-site, including obtaining approvals with multiple authorities.

The most important approval milestones are the achievement of plan sealing with Council, followed by Titles Registration. Titles Registration is the administrative process by which the development site (often under a single title) is transformed into individual titles representing each apartment, allowing you to then ‘settle’ on your new property. Both of these approval processes can experience long lead times that are often outside of our control.

Titles Registration must be achieved before we can ‘Call for Settlement’ which is the formal notification of settlement which you will receive from your solicitor. The settlement notice period is a term specified within your sales contract and is typically 21 calendar days for Mosaic projects. In other words, you will receive approximately 3 weeks’ notice of your confirmed settlement date.

During the final weeks and months prior to settlement, it is also worth noting that the development finishing program becomes once again vulnerable to weather, and extended rain could impact our schedule.

The exact circumstances for each project’s completion are always different. After delivering a multitude of projects within a diversity of challenges, we take a careful approach to balancing each project’s inherent uncertainty with providing you with the most reliable information at the right time.

This means we will provide you with estimated timeframes for settlement throughout the process, but exact notification only occurs once all approvals are obtained and settlement is called – as we have outlined above – three weeks in advance.

Moving all residents into a brand-new building for the first time is a unique event.

As you would expect, there is usually incredibly high demand from all residents to move in as soon as possible following settlement, and the initial weeks are very busy until the building is fully occupied. Following the intensity of this period, the level of movement through the building will settle to a more manageable level.

To ensure this initial phase proceeds as smoothly, swiftly and fairly as possible, it is essential that we manage the move-in process tightly along with a schedule for lift usage.

Our coordinated strategy must also be managed within a realm of uncertainty as explained above. About a month prior to settlement, we will have a more accurate assessment of an approximate settlement date and our Customer Experience team will reach out to request your preferred move-in times.

After collating preferences we will prepare a draft move-in schedule for the building. We will send you confirmation of your move-in time slot shortly after the ‘Call for Settlement’ notification that will be issued to your solicitor. This will provide you with at least 2-3 weeks’ notice to finalise your move-in arrangements.

Please keep in mind that there is usually a very high level of demand for moving in immediately following settlement, and our team will do their best to accommodate everyone’s preferences where possible.

In addition to our confirmation of your move in time, you will receive from us a Moving In Instructional Guide that we encourage you to pass on to your removalist. These instructions will include reference to parking location, path of travel, important dimensions, rubbish removal, key contact for any issues, and any other important instructions.

We will have a Mosaic representative onsite throughout the move-in period to assist with coordinating movements and any issues that arise.

It is critical to the rest of the building’s move in schedule that residents ensure their own move takes place within their allocated time slot.

However it is also important to keep in mind that moving in does not always go to plan despite the very best efforts of all involved. In light of this we ask everyone to be understanding and patient during the first few weeks following settlement as everyone furnishes their new apartments.

Transitionary Living Arrangements

We understand many purchasers will be living in rental or temporary accommodation in the lead up to the settlement of their new home.

In view of the uncertain completion timeframe, you may wish to speak with your property manager about the options available to you. It is important to note that you do have the ability to negotiate an extension or flexible lease end date that can be modified with a few weeks’ written notice. Under a leasing agreement, this most likely takes the form of a periodic lease or simply an extension of the General Tenancy Agreement. We suggest also referring to the Residential Tenancies Authority to gain a clear understanding of your options and rights.

Our highly skilled and awarded team at Mosaic Property Management extends an offer to all Mosaic owner-occupiers to discuss the options available and answer any other general leasing queries you may have.

If you are interested in chatting with our team, we encourage you to reach out to Jess via the details below.

Jessica Handy – Business Operations Manager
Phone: 1300 985 852
Email: jhandy@mosaicproperty.com.au

Building address

The registered council address is your apartment number 28 Lissner Street, Toowong QLD 4066.

Electricity

Your building has an embedded electricity network, which means that your building purchases its electricity in bulk. This arrangement reduces network charges by aggregating all electrical meters through one metering point that is directly connected to the main electricity network, thus providing a competitive energy rate to all residents.

Connection instructions will be provided in the lead up to settlement.

Once you have been notified of your settlement date, you will be able to confirm the start date for your electricity connection and activate your account in advance.

Activation of your energy account is necessary from settlement day, regardless of occupation date. If an account is not registered, a placeholder Occupant Account will be created for which you will incur back charges, possibly at a higher rate.

You will retain your own individual meter which is read monthly, recorded and issued to you directly.

Please note that under an embedded electricity network, you are required to sign up with the building’s provider however, the supply rates are lower than what you would obtain under a retail arrangement.

Please note that under an embedded electricity network, you are required to sign up with the building’s provider however, the supply rates are lower than what you would obtain under a retail arrangement.

Water

Each apartment has separate hot and cold-water meters and will be individually charged for usage.

Hot water at The Prescott is delivered via a centralised gas hot water system, providing the development with a cheaper rate of hot water supply through this bulk arrangement. This system also supplies hot water continuously; unlike a typical heating system for a house, you will not run out of hot water.

No additional service connection will need to be arranged for hot water as this will be billed as part of the electricity account.

Gas cooktops are not metered and are charged at a very low daily rate by the energy provider.

Your cold-water usage will be calculated and charged to you by Queensland Urban Utilities They will bill you directly with the details provided to them at settlement. You do not need to arrange connection or contact anyone to establish an account. As a general note it is common for the first bill to be sent several months following settlement.

Internet

The Prescott will provide residents with an exceptional building-wide wireless internet experience via Lightning Broadband.

Boasting one of Australia’s most reliable and fastest internet connections, using an innovative mix of optic fibre and cutting-edge fixed wireless technology, Lightning Broadband are offering speeds of up to 1,000Mbps.

With the router already installed and configured, living in a Lightning-enabled home provides:

• Instant activation

• Unlimited data

• Symmetrical upload + download speeds

• Flexible plans – upgrade or downgrade your plan

• No “new development” or activation fees

Once settlement is called, you will be provided with onboarding information on how to pre-activate your account and access 2 months of free internet, an exclusive offer for Mosaic residents.

Once your settlement date has been confirmed, you will receive an email from the Mosaic Customer Experience team to arrange your handover appointment.

We recommend allowing 30-45 minutes for your appointment, during which you will receive your keys, manuals and an overview of some key items within your apartment.

You will also be shown through the common area amenity and car park, as these areas will not have been accessible during your personal inspection.

On the day of your appointment, if you haven’t received notification from your solicitors that settlement has taken place, you will need to get in touch with us before you depart for your appointment. We are unable to release your keys or provide access to your apartment until we have confirmation from our solicitors that settlement has occurred.

Whilst the keys & manuals for your apartment are presented at your handover appointment, if you would prefer these to be delivered to your solicitor or another representative at settlement, this can be arranged upon request.

Should you be unable to be present for handover until a later date, for instance, if you are travelling or moving from another state, we are happy to hold onto your keys until your arrival. As a general note, apartments will require periodic maintenance from settlement onwards, which will be your responsibility to arrange even if you are unable to pick up your keys for several months following settlement.

For more information on how to maintain different finishes and fixtures within your apartment, please refer to the manuals and warranties supplied on settlement.

There are a number of warranties covering issues that may arise in the future. These include:

• A 12-month defect liability period offered by Mosaic, which covers your property and the building’s common areas. It covers items that experience a fault, such as an electrical issue or leaking pipe, but does not include wear & tear or damage caused by someone living on the premises.
• Some appliances and finishes within your apartment will have individual warranties applicable to them beyond the 12-month defect liability period you have with Mosaic. Those additional warranties are included in the Manuals and Warranties information we provide to you electronically at handover.
• You have a 6.5-year structural building warranty.

As part of the apartment handover, you will receive from us an Owners Handbook and access to the Residents’ Online Guide.

These guides summarise the critical information you’ll need to refer to after taking up residence at The Prescott, from the day-to-day workings of your apartment, maintenance guide and key contacts to a building management overview and rectification guide.

All of your individual manuals and warranties will be saved to the Residents’ Online Guide.

Mosaic Construction engages many different trades as subcontractors to complete their works within your apartment, i.e. electricians, joiners, plumbers, painters etc. Once they have completed their scope of works within the building, they will proceed to their next contract or job.

Under their contract with Mosaic Construction, they are obligated to return and fix any identified defects or rectification items, and we manage those relationships to have items rectified as promptly and efficiently as possible.

The most streamlined and least disruptive approach to managing rectifications across the building is to have trades attend to non-urgent items in a bulk rectification day or series of days.

If you identify any rectification items, we ask that you collate and submit a compiled report as soon as possible, within 7 days of settlement.

All rectification items are to be submitted through the Mosaic DLP Rectification Submission Form.

A link to the platform will be provided at settlement.  

As part of your submission, please ensure clear photos are provided for each item. They should demonstrate the following:

• Photo 1 – Item close-up, in detail and in focus
• Photo 2 – Item in context, showing us where the item is located within your apartment

These actions will greatly help with expediting the process of review and rectification.

Please note rectification items will not be accepted by phone or by word of mouth and please do not raise items directly with trades, caretaking or other Mosaic representatives. Items must be submitted via this process or we cannot ensure your concerns are appropriately remedied.

Once we have received your list, we will review and confirm the agreed rectifications within 2 weeks.

 Please keep in mind that your pre-settlement inspection is your main opportunity to advise of any cosmetic concerns. Once you have taken possession and moved in, any scratches or marks on walls/floors/other surfaces are very unlikely to be considered a rectification item.

Rectification of maintenance items does not fall under the responsibility of Mosaic. You will be liable for a call out charge if items raised are determined to be caused by lack of maintenance, most commonly blocked drains. We recommend you take time to acquaint yourself with the Maintenance Section in the Owners Guides provided on Settlement as soon as possible.

As a general note, design elements within your apartment that you like or dislike are not considered a rectification item (also known within the industry as ‘defects’).  Rectifications relate to damage or a blemish in the finish, except where it is due to natural variation within an organic product like timber or natural stone. Functionality issues (for instance a faulty appliance) are also considered a rectification item. There are Australian Standards and other building codes/tolerances that are applicable when assessing items raised.

Agreed rectification items across the building will be compiled and we will coordinate the relevant trades to return.

Typically we will request access for the full day/s and a member of our team can provide supervised access of any works should you not be in attendance and are happy for them to do so.

We endeavour to close out your items within 60 days of agreement of your rectification list. This timeframe is on the basis that you have supplied your list of items within a week of settlement.

Items raised after this period may take longer to resolve, especially where multiple trades need to be coordinated. Should we anticipate any items taking longer than this timeframe (for instance due to supply delays or significant labour shortages), we will keep you updated.

Items that are urgent or affect the liveability of your apartment will be escalated for attention, with the timeframes determined and communicated on a case-by-case basis.

If you experience an urgent issue such as being locked out, a dangerous electrical fault, blocked drain causing damage, hot water issue, significant leak or any other concern that is likely to cause injury or damage to property, please get in touch with the emergency contacts that will be provided to you on handover.

Please note you may be liable for a call out charge if it relates to an issue you have caused, such as being locked out or a drain blockage due to lack of maintenance.

Within the 12-month defect liability period, please also email rectifications@mosaicproperty.com.au at your earliest opportunity to advise of the situation.

For appliance and air-conditioning issues, there is a slightly different protocol for arranging rectification.

For the first six weeks following your move-in, please report any operational issues via the Mosaic DLP Rectification Submission Form.

Beyond this period, we have supplied the details for the respective suppliers/installers for you to contact directly. As there is usually some specialist troubleshooting required, your concerns will be most efficiently addressed if you report the issue directly with the relevant company.

Please feel free to keep Mosaic Rectifications copied into any correspondence, as that will allow us to have some oversight of any issues that arise.

Following your 12-month defect liability period with Mosaic, you will need to raise any issues with the individual supplier or contractor under their warranty process (if applicable) or coordinate repair with another tradesperson as a general wear and tear item.

To assist, we include the original supplier and installer details in The Prescott Owner’s Handbook, which is provided at handover. Additionally, you are welcome to reach out to the other suggested trade contacts we will provide.

Should you have further questions or issues in relation to your apartment, or the building common areas generally, you will need to contact the body corporate strata manager. They will be able to provide their feedback and/or advise next steps accordingly.

Following settlement, you may wish to make minor changes to your apartment in order to personalise your new home.

As you may not be familiar with the area, we will provide you with some local trade contacts who may be able to assist you following settlement (e.g. hanging art, installing additional power points, making any modifications to your cupboards if desired). We will provide you with these suggested contacts at handover.

Please keep in mind that some changes may need to be approved by the Body Corporate, especially if they change the external appearance of your lot or relate to your car park.

One of Mosaic Property Group’s most important points of difference is the retention of management rights for each building we deliver.

While many developers will sell a development’s management rights for significant revenue, our model prioritises an enduring relationship with all of our projects, with a 25-year horizon.

In doing so, our highly experienced Mosaic Caretaking team ensures your building’s common areas are maintained to its best possible standard, in accordance with the budget and scope of duties defined within the Caretaking and Letting Agreement that is contracted with the Body Corporate.

Mosaic Caretaking is one of our company’s largest growing departments, with over a dozen full-time onsite caretakers across South East Queensland. They are further supported by a team of dedicated cleaning, landscaping, and pool contractors.

The Body Corporate is the legal entity by which the common areas of your building are managed and maintained on behalf of all owners.

It determines and enforces its own rules for the building, called By-Laws. These regulations cover matters such as parking, noise, use of the common areas, changes to the external appearance of the building etc. During the development process, Mosaic puts together the by-laws incorporating learnings from previous buildings into standard practice clauses.

The by-laws for The Prescott will be available at handover.

A committee of representatives will be elected to discharge the day-to-day decision-making duties of the body corporate on behalf of all owners. This election takes place at the first Annual General Meeting, which is usually held a few months following settlement.

Until a committee can be established, Mosaic Property Group acts as the body corporate temporarily and will work with the new committee to ensure a smooth transition.

Stratacare are the appointed Strata managers for The Prescott’s Body Corporate. The role of strata management is to facilitate the administration of the body corporate.

Duties include assisting the Committee, organising meetings and issuing minutes, managing the administration and sinking funds to ensure compliance, and responding to breaches of the by-laws, among other duties noted in the strata management agreement.

Until a Committee is established, Mosaic Property Group acts as the custodian for the Body Corporate and can grant pre-approval for certain applications. Pre-approval is a great way to ensure one less task to consider during the busy time of settlement.

Submission details will be provided closer to settlement or upon request.

In the meantime, please refer to the typical application processes outlined below.

Car Park Storage

The installation and type of storage unit are subject to Body Corporate approval.

1. Storage solutions, such as over-bonnet storage, are to be supplied by either the Mosaic Property Group-approved supplier or a similar product via your chosen alternative supplier.
2. You will need to obtain a written quote from your preferred supplier.
3. Post-settlement, an onsite inspection of your space will need to be conducted by your supplier to confirm storage units will not interfere with any building or fire services that may be located in or nearby the space. Such services can sometimes affect the style and size of storage units that can be installed. If your supplier foresees any challenges, they may be able to propose an alternative custom solution.
4. Submit a Lot Alternation/Improvement Application Form via your Strata Manager, including the quote from your supplier.

Pet Applications

An application to the body corporate is necessary, before move-in, to advise that a Resident wishes to keep a pet on the premises and provides an opportunity for pet owners to present relevant and specific information relating to their animals.

1. Prior to lodging your application, familiarise yourself with the relevant Body Corporate By-Laws so that you can ensure your companion meets all requirements.
2. Submit a Pet Application Form via your Strata Manager including a photograph, council registration/microchip details and proof of vaccination by copies of veterinary records.
3. Until a Committee can be established, Mosaic Property Group temporarily acts as the Body Corporate and can grant pre-approval for your pet application. Please note, your application will require consideration by the Body Corporate Committee at the first AGM meeting, even if you have been granted pre-approval.
4. Applications are non-transferable and are valid for the listed animal only.

To assist with directing your building and common area queries to the correct contact/s, we have prepared the following guidelines.

Building Strata Manager

Contact details to be advised closer to settlement.

• Queries relating to the Body Corporate, By-Laws and levies.
• Requesting approval for changes to your apartment’s external appearance, any installation of storage or other changes to your car park.
• To note your interest in participating on the Body Corporate Committee.
• To request the consideration of any matters by the Body Corporate Committee or as an agenda item at a future meeting.
• To alert the Body Corporate to any incidents that may affect the building security or insurance.

Mosaic Caretaking
caretaking@mosaicproperty.com.au

• Ordering additional keys, fob access swipes and garage remotes.
• To raise any queries or issues relating to the maintenance of the common areas. Please do not raise directly with onsite caretaking staff or contractors.
• To alert of any faults in building services, for instance, lift or garage door breakdown. For emergencies, please refer to the Reporting Urgent Items section above.

For all other queries that do not relate to the building or common areas, please reach out to the Customer Experience team or Mosaic office on 07 3171 2270.