Masterton Homes - The next thread 4.0

For those of you that have had the kitchen appointment did they include pot drawers and the taller cupboards before you have a 2.7 metre ceiling. I had my appointment yesterday and I am waiting for the quote to come through but it seemed that as I signed up 2 years ago I am not getting pot drawers included and they also want to charge more for the taller cupboards.

I am paying $950 a month for every month this land registration has been delayed and I am up for just under $10,500 so far and it is very frustrating when you get told that you have an old package so you don't get this and you don't get that etc.

I am going to have to go with whatever the air - conditioning is as I don't use is much anyway and am getting up to my limit. Has anyone stuck with the air conditioning provided. I am yet to receive the air con phone call so just wanting to find out info in advance.

Would it work out cheaper if you cancelled your building contract and then resigned after land registers??

The land is due to register next month. I am going to ask again what the difference would have been if I had signed up now. I was told last year that I am better off at the $950 a month but I know they now have the ultimate inclusions so not sure how much my house would have been now. I have already paid my 5% deposits and signed the contracts anyway.

Fair enough. It just seems excessive to be paying $10k for nothing. Esp when its out of your control

Yes I know. I asked my pre construction co-ordinator last week if she can reduce this and her reply was that it wasn't their fault so no. I was annoyed as I think I am paying this amount for nothing. I had $15,500 in for provisions so when I did my tiles etc I already had some money to spend and now it is being eaten up with this late registration fee. The developer doesn't reimburse us and the builder won't so I am out of pocket.

What was the original registration date?

January 2017 and they said that they would give me to March 2017. I did not realise it would register so late.

The original design of our house didn't have high ceilings, but due to the slope of the land and putting a split level into the design, we ended up with 3m ceilings in the living/dining/kitchen area. So we had to pay to have the higher kitchen cupboards.... I think it was $1600, but that also included changing all the upper cabinet doors to the lift up/bifold variety. The original design included two pot drawers, but we changed two sets of cupboards into drawers and that cost $525 each set. If you want to change anything from the "original" kitchen plan, yes it will cost extra.

As for air-con, we were told that the "included" air con was only capable of cooling/heating one zone at a time. So we could do the living/kitchen room, but not the bedrooms, or hubbys office, or home theatre. As we had kids at home, who often spend time in their rooms, it didn't seem feasible to only be able to cool/heat half a house. The upgrade to a samsung inverter was about $4000. The included air con apparently works, but has its limits, and unless you have a vary small house, its unlikely to be able to cool or heat it all at once.

As much as it is annoying that you're stuck with fittings/inclusions that were on offer at the time of your contract, sometimes that can work in your favour. As prices go up, your contract means that you don't get the price increases. But they will only give you whatever offer was current when you signed. When we signed, they were using Baumatic kitchen appliances, but they later changed to Smeg. But as our contract was signed when Baumatic were included, Smeg wasn't an option. (As it turned out, Baumatic was fine! Loved the stove!) . They also changed from tile roofs to colourbond, but our contract was for tiles, so tiles we got. Would have loved colourbond! Like any time you make a purchase (car, tv, lounge, etc) there will always be "better" deals later where we feel like we missed out. Sadly that happens.

The delays with land registration and the costs for you are really bad ...... completely outside of your control, but as far as M are concerned, its not their fault so they will charge for the delay. Same as when plans take ages to get through Council..... still not the customers fault, but M also say that its not their fault. Customers are just stuck in the middle.

.

We had Luna white bench tops .... love it !!

Hi all, if anyone here has gone to fair trading over delays with m can you please contact me privately on here. Thanks.

Hi All!

We are FINALLY having PCI next week! Yay!!
Any advice/pointers on what to look out for? I know the general stuff, but was there anything that you guys missed or didnt think to look at during PCI and caused you issues later?
Really tight with $$ so not hiring an inspector so any help is appreciated.

TIA

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I will put the TV on the wall in the Family room on same wall as Dining Window and then I have 2 couches so one facing TV and then another on the side to seperate family and Dining.

I have a 19 month old at moment so going to put some shelving on the other side of the linen cupboard wall in family room with a small table and chairs for her to play. That is about as far as I have thought so far. I am sure I will change my mind many times till I move in.

Are you building the Harmony as well.[/quote]

Hi sorry for late reply missed this and had no idea😊

That sounds good. We are doing a custom build, hoping to start May, just finalising contract. Has taken several yrs to this point.

For those of you who got a horizontal ravine finish for your cupboards, did they install them so the grain follows the cupboards or did they just stick them randomly anywhere? Did you have a preference?

I remember someone on here had to argue with their ss to get it changed from random grain to a smooth finish. Can anyone remember the poster so I can find the pics?

We have ravine cupboards up top and I wanted to gauge everyone's views and experiences with the placement of the grain.

This is what I mean in polytec pics. One pic shows random placement and the other is a streamlined look.

I know MartinsHarmony had to get them to swap the doors around so that they matched. I am doing the grain going vertical as I am having the taller cupboards. In the bathroom they will be going Horizontal.

I would want the grain to match up ..... it would do my head in if they didn’t!! 😳😳😳

Haha yeah I agree. It's a fight I'll have to have later it seems.

Brian at anewhouse.com.au has put together a very thorough check list exactly for this - see http://anewhouse.com.au/sample-page/pci-guide/. It's $4 so it won't break the bank - I'll be using it myself in a couple of weeks time.
[Edit] sorry just saw the date - how'd your PCI go?

jol0 ...... this was the post from martinsharmony about their kitchen...... hope it helps!

Thank you!

Ah bugger..So it was just dealt with by asking the installer to fix it. I bet if we ask the ss a few weeks down the track during an inspection he will tell us that to call the kitchen people back will cost a variation. Ugh. How hard would it be to change on your own I wonder.