Your neighbours are waiting to welcome you home

Cornerstone is a welcoming community where neighbours look after one another and new friendships are formed. It's a place that takes you back to 'the good old days'; kids riding bikes with friends down the street, waving hello to neighbours while watering the front garden or catching up with mates for a barbie in the park.

We chatted to Cornerstone residents about what community means to them.

Watch the videos below to find out why they are proud to call Cornerstone home.

“The price was right for us, the area was really nice, and the location of Cornerstone is great.”

Mayerly and partner Gabriel Padilla moved to Australia from Colombia six years ago, and about 18 months ago were granted residency status and secured permanent jobs. That was when they started thinking about achieving the great Aussie dream of home ownership.

A year ago, they signed up with VM Homes for a house and land package at Cornerstone.

“The price of the block the builder found was right for us, the area was really nice, and the location is great,” said Mayerly.

“The builder designed the house to suit us and include all the things we wanted, like a large main bedroom with a big walk-in-robe. And, we have a nice al fresco area outside, which we are so looking forward to using next summer!”

Being closed to the M1 Freeway was a crucial factor in choosing Werribee, and Cornerstone, as the right place to continue building their new life together in Australia.

Mayerly works from midday to 8pm as a Housekeeping Manager in a large Melbourne CBD hotel.

“It is always very busy in the hotel, every day, so getting to work easily and on time is really important for me,” she said.

The off-peak commute from Werribee takes 40 to 45 minutes – although once she has settled into their new home, Mayerly says she will try using the train to get to work.

Gabriel is a truck driver who mainly works around Melbourne but sometimes makes interstate runs, so ready transport access was also an important factor for him too.The couple have a circle of seven close friends who they go out with regularly to find new cafes and restaurants to enjoy together.

“I have been to two places so far around Werribee which were quite good but I want to spend more time exploring what else is available locally.”

While Mayerly is out exploring the local area, she says Gabriel will have something else on his mind.

“Like all Colombian men, he loves football. So, I think he will be sleeping in front of the television for the World Cup, especially with Colombia and Australia playing!”

“The access to transport links is very important. The planned large investments in the new railway station and the major road connecting to the Princes Freeway, are very important and make Cornerstone a very good place for investors,”

When Madhav Pradhan started doing his market research to choose a location to build his first property, he settled quickly on Peet’s Cornerstone at Werribee.

Key factors in his decision were:

• Peet’s reputation in the marketplace for the quality of its estate developments;
• the estate’s “very good” masterplan; and
• proximity and accessibility to planned new major rail and road transport links.

With VM Builders recently completing and handing over of his new property, Madhav is currently waiting on a fencing contractor to finish on site, and then the completion of landscaping provided by Peet as part of the land sale package

Madhav came to Australia 18 years ago and works as a mechanical engineer handling repairs and maintenance for a major elevator company. He lives at Taylors Hill with his wife and two children.

He said the developer at Taylors Hill had done an outstanding job on the estate. One of his contacts with that company had since moved to a position with Peet. So, he followed him due to his confidence in the executive, which was reinforced by Peet’s Australia-wide reputation for its high-quality estates.

“I can’t believe how good the landscaping package is which is provided by Peet. I mean who else provides that level of service anymore?”

Sydney-based bank risk and compliance team manager Michelle Hayes, reckons she’s struck gold by venturing into the Victorian market for the first time with her latest rental property, at Cornerstone in Werribee.

Michelle first visited Cornerstone in November 2016 before the roads were even built and signed up to build a 4 x 2 single storey house on a 458 square metre block. It is the third property in her portfolio had has just been completed by builder Mimosa Homes.

During her nine years with the bank, Michelle said she got to talk with borrowers from all over Australia and picked up a lot of market intelligence. She then did further property investment research online, looking at the Queensland and Melbourne markets.

“After investing in a unit and townhouse in Sydney, I really wanted to get a house. In the Sydney market you would have to spend between $900,000 and $1.25 million for a house on a 350 square metre block, and the quality would probably not be that good. It’s just ridiculous. The rent you could get would not cover the monthly mortgage repayments.

“It is so great to see decent sized blocks still available for affordable prices in the Melbourne market.

“This whole journey with Peet has been such a good experience. There has not been one issue with the land, the planning, approvals, or the build.”

Michelle says the growth potential at Cornerstone is tremendous.

“There are so many great developments underway or being planned, like the new train station and shops,” she said. “My house is virtually straight across the road from the new station. A family renting there will be able to literally walk across the road and catch a train or go shopping, which will just be amazing.”