Hi all. We are looking at the Blaxland 220E with National Builders for our block in Mitchells Run. Any feedback on experiences building in Mitchells and/or with NBG would be greatly appreciated. Judging from other posts they seem to take a long time from plan to handover compared with other builders.

Cheers

Hi All,

I have been reading the posts re. NBG and I building the Buckingham36 in eastern suburb of Melb.

I have not had as pleasant an experience as some. Before proceeding into a contract with NBG I spent a lot of time talking to many of their clients and reading these posts. I am a very fastidious person and pay very close attention to all the fine print and details. Fortutantely me for me I can understand building plans and legal contracts. I must say I have been extremely disappointed.

I first started the process with NBG in early 2009. Each change requested to the standard plans took about 2 months and would not be done correctly. I had to constantly check for errors, even after I signed off on changes, in later revisions prior changes would disappear and it was up to me to discover this and request they be done again. It was up to me to ensure that any changes were possible and no advise was provided on how to change the floor plan to meet my needs. Mind you my changes were only minor to the standard design. I have seen many Buckinghams with changes much more dramatic than my own.

I demolished my house in Aug 2009 as requested. I arranged this and it was completed in a very short period of time as NBG insisted it be done before quotation stage. They made me rush through my part and all my decisions but they took an extremely long time on their part and with many errors. My block of land looks very flat but my site costs turned out to be about $21k, mostly due to the fact that my house was demolished. The demolished house resulted in a "P" slab, but in this absence would be an "M" slab.

My contract was signed Dec 2009 but the final drawings were not completed until April 2010.
During this process I received a lot of incorrect information from NBG. The permit was received in Aug 2010.
When I met with my builder I went over the points of the plans with him. I pointed out one of the items and he said it was not possible to build it that way even though that is how it was shown on the council approved plans and specifically listed in the contract. I then had to come up with a solution to their error because his suggestions we more than unsatisfactory.

I was advised that construction commenced Oct 2010 but my slab still hasn't started. I have made dozens of calls and e-mails to NBG and my builder but keep getting excuses.

Needless to say my house was demolished Aug 2009 and now it is Feb 2011 and the slab hasn't even started!
I am more than frustrated at my experience. I have written many long letters of complaint to my builder and NBG detailing the issues and they don’t seem to care. I have spent a lot time checking their work and explaining to them things they should be explaining to me. I did in fact speak to a NBG member who admitted to the problems they have with their drafts people and the errors occurring.

I would be please to provide further information to anyone who may need it. I have come across many people who are upset with their builder but in fact it is because they have not understood the fine print or information provided. I can confidently say I am not one of those people. The problems I have experienced thus far I feel are due to the lack of expertise, knowledge, communication and care from NBG and my builder.

I will keep you updated with my progress (or lack thereof).

Wow, sounds like you're having a bit of drama. We are planning some changes (W.I pantry and linen, wider entry, bigger kitchen) and are surprised by how long it takes to get calls returned etc. Since NBG use contract builders it seems to depend who you get as to how the job goes. We are trying to find out who our builder will be before we sign anything so we can do some research. Who was your builder?

Hi,

I too am planning to build the Blaxland but the smaller one (200E).
Like you I have made changes to the plan. I reduced the size of the living/dining room (will only every use it for living anyway) to create a WIP and WIL.
I also modified the laundry slightly to replace the window with a door so I could get directly from the laundry to the clothes line.

I found out the name of my assigned builders at the contract signing appointment.

You do have to check the plans thoroughly as power points and some things can be missed.

Good luck with your build.

I am hoping my build will be starting early April (still waiting for land to title).

Michelle

Providing you stick to the guidelines you should have no dramas with developers approval. I think we were stage 10 or there abouts, been in our house now 7 1/2 months. Fences are being redone as the easement in the block behind us wasn't compacted properly. Our fence was sinking into our neighbour's yard. Aside from that, no issues really

Thanks for your replies.

Michelle, we think the same way, we are making the same changes, plus opening out the rear study. How have you found NBG through the quoting, contracts etc?

Erin, we have checked out your photos previously. Very nice and we'll be kind of neighbours. We're in Stage 2a, backing onto the lake opposite Laurimar. Some extra guidelines there, but good to hear about the approval. Still trying to get our heads around colorbond vs tile roof, brick color etc. Lots to do.

Sarah and Stew

Hey guys,

the difference for us between Colorbond and Tiles was about $8,000. So we went with Tiles, as they were cheaper. We couldn't justify such a large sum of money for something that we only see when we drive up to the house, or away from the house

Just signed our tender estimate. Not too bad. Going with colourbond roof as it's in their promotion. Contract signing in a few weeks. Now it's all about brick and roof colours!

Excellent deal with the roof!

Great choice of house. We built with NBG in The Ridge.
Your build will hopefully be quicker than ours - 21 months from first deposit to handover.
Looking forward to following your progress

We also built with NBG in rural Victoria. We started the process in August 2009 and moved in Xmas Eve 2010- 16 months.

We are currently building The Windsor with NBG (we did build in the Laurimar estate when it first began as owner builders - gosh how the area has expanded now!). We did the sea change thing some years back and are building on the Bellarine peninsula. This is our first build with nbg.
To date it has been a bit frustrating and l o n g. We signed our contract in Aug 2010. Our slab just went down last week but was supposed to be down before xmas. We never imagined we would get to April and only have a slab to show for it but hopefully it will be all systems go from here on end. We have had a complex site though which has caused a few problems and once all that was sorted bad weather held us up.
Some parts of the process have been great and all in all we found the customer service and willingness of our nbg consultant to help as excellent. I am a little critical of their lack of knowledge/expertise in some areas and I believe this has cost us time and money. I think we will be very happy with the end result though so are just trying to put the negatives behind us. Their inclusions are hard to beat and the way they customise plans is fabulous. We did heaps of changes to ours.

I started a thread, although it's pretty lame at the moment. I will add some new pics plus our upgrades, plan changes & colourworld selections soon.
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=45130&p=685050&hilit=nbg+windsor#p685050

We wanted to be in before Xmas as our daughter will be starting kinder next year, hopefully at Laurimar. This looks doubtful now. Hoping for Feb which would be 12 months from first deposit. Maybe we're dreaming looking at the other times.

It depends on the cause of the delays and also where you are building.

The steps involved with deposit, estimation, contract etc can take longer if you are building in a rural area (they give themselves more time).
It also depends on the cause of the delays.
In my case the initial deposit was paid at the end of April 10, Estimation acceptance July 10, Contract signing August 10, Colorworld November 10.

However, this really hasn't caused me any delays so far as the estate development was delayed and settlement on my block was only last week.
I am hoping that things will be finished and I will be in the house by Christmas.

Contract signed Waiting for final plans then developer approval and building permit. Just hope our builder is a good one! Anyone heard of Complete Construction?

Congratulations on getting the contract signed.
Hope things progress quickly for you.

Michelle

Well here we are almost one year to the day of contract being signed. Finally at fixing stage. May be in end of May. The ordeal continues as the island bench and upstand need to be changed, floor tiles are not the colour we chose, laundry cabinets too small. Overall the builder and ss have been very good, house will be amazing. NBG have dropped us totally. Called yesterday to ask for a picture of the island bench, told to talk to builder. Said as we are disagreeing with the builder we want their opinion on who's right. Told to talk to the builder. Had no contact since Colorworld in Aug, no inspections, no nothing. No wonder they were taken over, although customer service is still abysmal. That's enough ranting tho, as the place will be fab when finally done (16 months after first deposit).

Sbh-glad to hear that you will be happy once you are in the house.

I just need to remind you that NBG don't do inspections etc because your contract is with your builder. NBG are a "co-op" situation where the builder pays a percentage to them which allows the builder to be part of a group with greater buying power.

Once you have completed your selections and your contracts are signed then your contact etc is with your builder. If there are issues with sizes etc refer to your plans.

All the best.