Your welcome cottonhoney. I wouldn't render the steps - they're in keeping with the brickwork of the house and leave it to the new owners to decide what they want to do there - if your doing some sprucing to sell the place, the idea is to get the maximum amount of money at sale time for minimal outlay and work now. Put your time, money and effort into what's instantly going to catch buyers eyes (and any inspectors that they commission during the sales process such as building and pest) - think about upgrading the outdoor lights (ensure that they're on when you've got open house inspections in wet/overcast days - it'll give a welcome glow) and that your guttering is in good nick. Invest in a couple of nice chairs and a small table on the verandah that you'll be happy to take with you (or if you've got friends you can borrow this stuff from all the better or head down to St Vinnies and see what you can get cheap and do up - and don't overlook colourful outdoor cushions) . Making your home look like its lived in and cared for will do a lot for buyers - first impressions arent going to be about the stairs unless they look/feel unsafe - get them to picture their lives in your home - small pops of colour, a building that's well maintained, good smells coming from the kitchen (bake a cake/bread or brew fresh coffee or boil some water with a few slices of orange and a broken up stick of cinnamon for a few hours before the inspections to start to get smells going through your home will bring you just as much bang for buck as rendering.

couches, angled island, powerpoint on island are good bt having dining table so far away frm kitchen not practical...I can imagine a tiff everytime the table is to be laid...who is going to ferry all the food and cutlery up and down?

I'd be going back to the architect/designer and asking why the vent wasn't on the plans then armed with that info, I'd be asking your Turkey of a Supervisor why if it wasn't on the plans he didn't flag and insist on being given the EXACT code that he's referencing (including the details so that you can review yourself) as last time you checked YOU WERE THE CLIENT - It's a shame you've had this happen - your home looks as though it will be stunning, but others have said it wont be so noticeable when the building is done completely. The placement kind of makes sense since heat rises so you'd want it to be as close to the highest point for maximum effectiveness but you should have been aware. Check on the builders itemized estimate to make sure that you didn't miss it by accident so that if you did accidentally miss that one line item on a list of a million you able to prepare your argument accordingly.

I think it has loads of potential... it has a lovely garden too! if you are considering knock-down rebuild, then what about partially? it seems the back has a lot of additions on additions and the roof line gets lower and lower, a redesigned open living/dining space that opens out to the garden could really add a lot. The kitchen has a lot of potential i think. it's a good size and has some lovely features. that front formal lounge... could it become the master suite? with the front bedroom split into ensuite, robe and office? I think playing around with the zoning will improve it a lot. avoid corridors or it becomes rabbit warren-like and try and keep original rooms with any nice features intact I think.