I hear ya Danielle & Shane.
It seems to me it's either headache after headache, or for some it's no probs all the way.
If i had the choice to lose 8k and walk away now i would i recon taking in all the problems we have had.
Any comment on National Builders Group
Page 9 of 11
we continue to face constant delays.
We first signed our contract in July 09. We were told then that the final drawings would be prepared & would take 6-7 weeks. In Oct we were told that we needed to make a change to the plan (remove a window & replace with a wall) so that we meet the 5 star energy rating. Then in Nov we were asked where we wanted the water tank placed in the backyard. Then in Feb after we tried to find out who our new sales rep is & escalating to get the water tank drawn on the plan we had our plans approved (7 months for finals). We couldn't send off the plans to the design panel until after we did our colour selection in March. Once we did that we sent off our plans to the developers for their approval. We were told it would take 14 bus days for a response. I started to chase it up on the 14th bus day & was told that there would be further delays due to Easter. So I called back on the day I was told the decision would be made to be told that our design was rejected as it didn't meet the guidelines of the estate & in future they would only deal with National Builders & not us (the distance between the front of the garage & the front of the house was more than 2m). He also told me that he had forwarded our plans back to Bob at National Builders & to chase it all up with him. So we went back to Nat Builders to be told there is no-one there by the name of Bob & we were put on to another new sales rep (we're now on our 3rd) who chased up the details & gave us some options. So we decided to pay an extra $4000 to extend the front of the house to meet the guidelines. We were told that it would take 2-3 weeks to get those plans drawn up. I sent off an email last Thursday to get an update on the progress of the plans. When I still hadn't received a response by yesterday my partner called up Nat Builders & had to leave a message for her to call back (It has been 2 and a half weeks since the plans were sent off to be redrawn). He made a follow up call today & we were advised that the quote is actually $8000 & we have another 2 options available to us that will cost next to nothing. So we have now made another change & we were told today that it would take another 2-3 days to get the plans redrawn. It appears that nothing had been done the last couple of weeks & once again we are forced to wait.
So now I've demanded that the plans be drawn by the end of the week & then they will send the plans back to the developers & I expect that they will have made their decision by the end of next week.
I really want to make a complaint about this process. We are so ready to cut our losses & walk away from National Builders. We have gone from being excited about building our first home to dreading it. I'm just grateful that I'm planning our wedding now as well so that's a great distraction.
Sorry for the huge rant, & for those of you still reading - thanks for listening
We first signed our contract in July 09. We were told then that the final drawings would be prepared & would take 6-7 weeks. In Oct we were told that we needed to make a change to the plan (remove a window & replace with a wall) so that we meet the 5 star energy rating. Then in Nov we were asked where we wanted the water tank placed in the backyard. Then in Feb after we tried to find out who our new sales rep is & escalating to get the water tank drawn on the plan we had our plans approved (7 months for finals). We couldn't send off the plans to the design panel until after we did our colour selection in March. Once we did that we sent off our plans to the developers for their approval. We were told it would take 14 bus days for a response. I started to chase it up on the 14th bus day & was told that there would be further delays due to Easter. So I called back on the day I was told the decision would be made to be told that our design was rejected as it didn't meet the guidelines of the estate & in future they would only deal with National Builders & not us (the distance between the front of the garage & the front of the house was more than 2m). He also told me that he had forwarded our plans back to Bob at National Builders & to chase it all up with him. So we went back to Nat Builders to be told there is no-one there by the name of Bob & we were put on to another new sales rep (we're now on our 3rd) who chased up the details & gave us some options. So we decided to pay an extra $4000 to extend the front of the house to meet the guidelines. We were told that it would take 2-3 weeks to get those plans drawn up. I sent off an email last Thursday to get an update on the progress of the plans. When I still hadn't received a response by yesterday my partner called up Nat Builders & had to leave a message for her to call back (It has been 2 and a half weeks since the plans were sent off to be redrawn). He made a follow up call today & we were advised that the quote is actually $8000 & we have another 2 options available to us that will cost next to nothing. So we have now made another change & we were told today that it would take another 2-3 days to get the plans redrawn. It appears that nothing had been done the last couple of weeks & once again we are forced to wait.
So now I've demanded that the plans be drawn by the end of the week & then they will send the plans back to the developers & I expect that they will have made their decision by the end of next week.
I really want to make a complaint about this process. We are so ready to cut our losses & walk away from National Builders. We have gone from being excited about building our first home to dreading it. I'm just grateful that I'm planning our wedding now as well so that's a great distraction.
Sorry for the huge rant, & for those of you still reading - thanks for listening
Oh, Danielle. I empathise with all the frustration of waiting. Good on you for putting pressure on them and keep it up. Normally the noisy wheel gets the oil! Best of luck and lets us know how you go.
Interesting reading from all. Thanks for the updates/info.
We are looking at building in the backyard (dual occupancy) that NBG offers...you pay them 10k, and they do all the planning,etc with council and then if its all approved, then that comes off the total cost (your deposit as such), but we are worried about them adding all sorts of extras on top of the base price knowing that you will not waste the 10k, and time (approx 12mnths planning because its a subdivision)....they also know that you will be making good money from it, once sold...
Has anyone dealt with NBG for dual occ? We are looking at the 3 bedroom for 165k (they only seem to have 4 options for dual occ, 2 single stories, and two doubles, single stories base prices are 155k & 165k)
Any help would be very much appreciated!
We are looking at building in the backyard (dual occupancy) that NBG offers...you pay them 10k, and they do all the planning,etc with council and then if its all approved, then that comes off the total cost (your deposit as such), but we are worried about them adding all sorts of extras on top of the base price knowing that you will not waste the 10k, and time (approx 12mnths planning because its a subdivision)....they also know that you will be making good money from it, once sold...
Has anyone dealt with NBG for dual occ? We are looking at the 3 bedroom for 165k (they only seem to have 4 options for dual occ, 2 single stories, and two doubles, single stories base prices are 155k & 165k)
Any help would be very much appreciated!
Hi
New to this site, but am glad I'm here now.
We are just starting the process. We are currently living in my wife's childhood house in Mulgrave (SE burbs of Melb), which is still owned by her Mother (not living with us). We have negotiated the purchase of the house from her, and have pretty much decided (advised) that a knock down re-build is a far better option to major renos. The existing house is about 50+ years, had an UMR rear extension about 25+ yrs ago adding a 4th bedroom, WIR, Ensuite and Rumpus Room.
Our block's dimensions are (according to my 8m tape measure
Front fence post to front fence post - 15.2m
Left Side Fence - 37.0m
Rear Fence - 24.0m
Right Fence - 38.0m
Total block - 725.0m²
Current house set back from footpath - 8m
Current house frontage fence to fence - 17.2m
The house we think (almost sure) we want is the Portifino 260E:
Has anyone built this house?
We have a problem though, the minimum frontage required is 17.9m, and as stated above the current house frontage fence to fence is 17.2m. I have a rep from NBG coming out on Monday afternoon to have a look at the site and have a chat about what's possible. I am hoping that they will be able to adjust the plans so that it will fit.
Has anyone ever made those amendments to the plans?
As we are going to demolish and rebuild, I will also start a thread in "Building a New House" forum asking about that entire process. I'm sure there are pitfalls a plenty in doing this as well!
Any comments regarding our intentions will be greatly appreciated.
Ta,
Doonks
New to this site, but am glad I'm here now.
We are just starting the process. We are currently living in my wife's childhood house in Mulgrave (SE burbs of Melb), which is still owned by her Mother (not living with us). We have negotiated the purchase of the house from her, and have pretty much decided (advised) that a knock down re-build is a far better option to major renos. The existing house is about 50+ years, had an UMR rear extension about 25+ yrs ago adding a 4th bedroom, WIR, Ensuite and Rumpus Room.
Our block's dimensions are (according to my 8m tape measure
Front fence post to front fence post - 15.2m
Left Side Fence - 37.0m
Rear Fence - 24.0m
Right Fence - 38.0m
Total block - 725.0m²
Current house set back from footpath - 8m
Current house frontage fence to fence - 17.2m
The house we think (almost sure) we want is the Portifino 260E:
Has anyone built this house?
We have a problem though, the minimum frontage required is 17.9m, and as stated above the current house frontage fence to fence is 17.2m. I have a rep from NBG coming out on Monday afternoon to have a look at the site and have a chat about what's possible. I am hoping that they will be able to adjust the plans so that it will fit.
Has anyone ever made those amendments to the plans?
As we are going to demolish and rebuild, I will also start a thread in "Building a New House" forum asking about that entire process. I'm sure there are pitfalls a plenty in doing this as well!
Any comments regarding our intentions will be greatly appreciated.
Ta,
Doonks
Hi
New to this site, but am glad I'm here now.
We are just starting the process. We are currently living in my wife's childhood house in Mulgrave (SE burbs of Melb), which is still owned by her Mother (not living with us). We have negotiated the purchase of the house from her, and have pretty much decided (advised) that a knock down re-build is a far better option to major renos. The existing house is about 50+ years, had an UMR rear extension about 25+ yrs ago adding a 4th bedroom, WIR, Ensuite and Rumpus Room.
Our block's dimensions are (according to my 8m tape measure
Front fence post to front fence post - 15.2m
Left Side Fence - 37.0m
Rear Fence - 24.0m
Right Fence - 38.0m
Total block - 725.0m²
Current house set back from footpath - 8m
Current house frontage fence to fence - 17.2m
The house we think (almost sure) we want is the Portifino 260E:
Has anyone built this house?
We have a problem though, the minimum frontage required is 17.9m, and as stated above the current house frontage fence to fence is 17.2m. I have a rep from NBG coming out on Monday afternoon to have a look at the site and have a chat about what's possible. I am hoping that they will be able to adjust the plans so that it will fit.
Has anyone ever made those amendments to the plans?
As we are going to demolish and rebuild, I will also start a thread in "Building a New House" forum asking about that entire process. I'm sure there are pitfalls a plenty in doing this as well!
Any comments regarding our intentions will be greatly appreciated.
Ta,
Doonks
New to this site, but am glad I'm here now.
We are just starting the process. We are currently living in my wife's childhood house in Mulgrave (SE burbs of Melb), which is still owned by her Mother (not living with us). We have negotiated the purchase of the house from her, and have pretty much decided (advised) that a knock down re-build is a far better option to major renos. The existing house is about 50+ years, had an UMR rear extension about 25+ yrs ago adding a 4th bedroom, WIR, Ensuite and Rumpus Room.
Our block's dimensions are (according to my 8m tape measure
Front fence post to front fence post - 15.2m
Left Side Fence - 37.0m
Rear Fence - 24.0m
Right Fence - 38.0m
Total block - 725.0m²
Current house set back from footpath - 8m
Current house frontage fence to fence - 17.2m
The house we think (almost sure) we want is the Portifino 260E:
Has anyone built this house?
We have a problem though, the minimum frontage required is 17.9m, and as stated above the current house frontage fence to fence is 17.2m. I have a rep from NBG coming out on Monday afternoon to have a look at the site and have a chat about what's possible. I am hoping that they will be able to adjust the plans so that it will fit.
Has anyone ever made those amendments to the plans?
As we are going to demolish and rebuild, I will also start a thread in "Building a New House" forum asking about that entire process. I'm sure there are pitfalls a plenty in doing this as well!
Any comments regarding our intentions will be greatly appreciated.
Ta,
Doonks
All the best,
Dee
Hi guys, Hope every one is going well with their build
Any one heard any thing about R L Charles Homes?
Any one heard any thing about R L Charles Homes?
Hey all,
i too have just signed off on my quotation estimates, i was told it be envirotec homes building my house, tried to do research on them but to no avail. they are apparently in mornington which is quite far from cranbourne... anyway, if anyone knows much about them let me know... thanks.
i too have just signed off on my quotation estimates, i was told it be envirotec homes building my house, tried to do research on them but to no avail. they are apparently in mornington which is quite far from cranbourne... anyway, if anyone knows much about them let me know... thanks.
Welcome to the NBG clan johnlong!
Welcome Johnlong,
Hopefully you have a plesant building experience with them .... Ill be watching your 'build thread'
Regards
Hopefully you have a plesant building experience with them .... Ill be watching your 'build thread'
Regards
we used national builders for the last house we built and would have gone with them again in a heartbeat, but the designs and the place we live now made the cost per square for what we wanted too expensive...we loved nbg,,,,we built a maquarie23 with alterations.I wanted to build it again...this time we are building with simonds,,and they have been fantastic too,,,,the usual communication issues, but overall nbg andf simonds have been great,,jg king on the other hand.....who built our very very first home were TERRIBLE and I wouldnt reccomend the, to anyone! hope your build goes smoothly,,,and youhave a house you will love for a long time,,if i could have picked up our house and taken it with me when we moved away I would have!
Hey again,
i found a business that was the same as my allocated builder on some website and rang the guy up and it was the builder that had been doing the initial things for my house. So it was a good 10 min chat and seem like a fairly nice guy. He game some address where he had built in the same estate as where i am building so it was good that he knows the area. Now to get through all the NBG stuff so i can deal with the builder directly. I did ask if i could do some stuff but he wasn't hesiatant (spelling?) and rather things get done through the correct channels... ie the telstra smart community wiring... would have been nice to do it myself but we'll see... also i thought about some sort of sound insulation for the theatre and and my room again, hopefully he'll allow that to be done...
i found a business that was the same as my allocated builder on some website and rang the guy up and it was the builder that had been doing the initial things for my house. So it was a good 10 min chat and seem like a fairly nice guy. He game some address where he had built in the same estate as where i am building so it was good that he knows the area. Now to get through all the NBG stuff so i can deal with the builder directly. I did ask if i could do some stuff but he wasn't hesiatant (spelling?) and rather things get done through the correct channels... ie the telstra smart community wiring... would have been nice to do it myself but we'll see... also i thought about some sort of sound insulation for the theatre and and my room again, hopefully he'll allow that to be done...
Hi all,
just a quick question for anybody who is/has built with NBG... does the builder pay for the building permit, or do you? i always thought it was the builder, but my contract notes "planning permit by owner"... not sure what that really means. thanks
John
just a quick question for anybody who is/has built with NBG... does the builder pay for the building permit, or do you? i always thought it was the builder, but my contract notes "planning permit by owner"... not sure what that really means. thanks
John
Planning permit is different to building permit John. Our building permit was specified to be by the builder, planning permit by us if required (which it wasn't)
ahhh... i c, so planning is more for people who are building in built areas, i.e. knock down new build... where as most new estates will only require building permit... is that right? perhaps that clause was there just in case... I'm building in a new estate so hopefully that won't be the case...
Hey all,
i too have just signed off on my quotation estimates, i was told it be envirotec homes building my house, tried to do research on them but to no avail. they are apparently in mornington which is quite far from cranbourne... anyway, if anyone knows much about them let me know... thanks.
i too have just signed off on my quotation estimates, i was told it be envirotec homes building my house, tried to do research on them but to no avail. they are apparently in mornington which is quite far from cranbourne... anyway, if anyone knows much about them let me know... thanks.
that was the house we built last time,,I would have given my anything to rebuild it this time,,but it was going to cost 100000 more..yep 100000 more in 5 years!
we made the ensuite a small one with wir,,,turned the original bathroom into a 5th bedroom and had the hostess kitchen added when we built we alos added a carport to the side of the garage....I LOVED this house so much,,,when we moved away from where we lived It nearly killed me to leave that house!......hope you love it just as much as we did!
Hi all,
just a quick question for anybody who is/has built with NBG... does the builder pay for the building permit, or do you? i always thought it was the builder, but my contract notes "planning permit by owner"... not sure what that really means. thanks
John
just a quick question for anybody who is/has built with NBG... does the builder pay for the building permit, or do you? i always thought it was the builder, but my contract notes "planning permit by owner"... not sure what that really means. thanks
John
I will look at my old contract,,,suprisingly they were one of only about 5 things that survived our house fire,,,,more contract than photo's!!! but I will look and see if it is listed in ours! we were in sw vic and jim clifford built ours he was from werribee....
Johnlong,
We are building with Envirotec Homes as well. Building permit came through about 6 or 7 weeks ago. Excavation and plumbing done, slab should be done this week. So far so good, I have found them very helpful and reliable although its still early days. But unless my judgement is way out I think they will give us a lot better experience than some others on this site who are unfortunately struggling with NBG and their builder. Good luck.
We are building with Envirotec Homes as well. Building permit came through about 6 or 7 weeks ago. Excavation and plumbing done, slab should be done this week. So far so good, I have found them very helpful and reliable although its still early days. But unless my judgement is way out I think they will give us a lot better experience than some others on this site who are unfortunately struggling with NBG and their builder. Good luck.
I would never build with them again.
After we signed the contract all the extra variations popped up.
And as cherry on the cake just before they started to build they told me that my garage wasn't going to be waterproof, I had to pay extra for that too. Why didn't they tell me that before...
They put in a smaller airconditioning, in the contract was 8 kw and I got a 6 kw but it was an inverter, but what can I do with a smaller unit. It has to work longer now to get the same results.
My sub contractor was ok, he fixed a lot for me, but this was not thanks to National Builders.
They promise a lot and then everything is an extra.
They display laminated shelves, but what you get is painted shelves, or you have to pay extra.
They display a beautiful painted house, but actually you only get two thin layers of paint.
I can't sit on my toilet, it is too small. I paid $70000 extra on top of the original quote
Still ... my house is ok but won't build it again with NBG. No customer service at all and they promise a lot but at the end everything is extra, at least it was when I signed up.
And it took 6 months before they started to build. After the start up it was ok, but again that was thanks to my builder and not thanks to NBG.
Then as cherry on the cake, if you put a bad review on the internet they sue you for defamation. Such a joke, they think they can do anything and get away with it too by threatning you with the defamation law.
So when things go wrong you can't even warn others because then you are doing the wrong thing.
Then only thing is ... I am telling the truth, so that is what they call justification.
After we signed the contract all the extra variations popped up.
And as cherry on the cake just before they started to build they told me that my garage wasn't going to be waterproof, I had to pay extra for that too. Why didn't they tell me that before...
They put in a smaller airconditioning, in the contract was 8 kw and I got a 6 kw but it was an inverter, but what can I do with a smaller unit. It has to work longer now to get the same results.
My sub contractor was ok, he fixed a lot for me, but this was not thanks to National Builders.
They promise a lot and then everything is an extra.
They display laminated shelves, but what you get is painted shelves, or you have to pay extra.
They display a beautiful painted house, but actually you only get two thin layers of paint.
I can't sit on my toilet, it is too small. I paid $70000 extra on top of the original quote
Still ... my house is ok but won't build it again with NBG. No customer service at all and they promise a lot but at the end everything is extra, at least it was when I signed up.
And it took 6 months before they started to build. After the start up it was ok, but again that was thanks to my builder and not thanks to NBG.
Then as cherry on the cake, if you put a bad review on the internet they sue you for defamation. Such a joke, they think they can do anything and get away with it too by threatning you with the defamation law.
So when things go wrong you can't even warn others because then you are doing the wrong thing.
Then only thing is ... I am telling the truth, so that is what they call justification.
^^^^ Arrow, we have laminated shelves throughout, paint is 3 coats ( sealer plus 2 paint), if your builder has not supplied what THEY were contracted to, then that is who is to blame. What do you mean about your garage not being waterproof?????
NBG is like a co-op, the builders pay a % of the contacted price to be involved and are responsible for the build quality- as is defined in all of the paperwork. It is your responsibility to be sure of the products you are receiving in your contract- at ColourWorld NBG display the specified products and any substitution needs to be documented.
From some of the detail you have supplied I believe that you should be contacting the relevant Housing Association in your State- about your builder!
NBG is like a co-op, the builders pay a % of the contacted price to be involved and are responsible for the build quality- as is defined in all of the paperwork. It is your responsibility to be sure of the products you are receiving in your contract- at ColourWorld NBG display the specified products and any substitution needs to be documented.
From some of the detail you have supplied I believe that you should be contacting the relevant Housing Association in your State- about your builder!
We are now about to begin our process. Hopefully pay our $500 deposit today and gets things started.
I'm putting a list together of things within the "standard" house that are upgradeable. What I want is to know what things do we have the option of upgrading, the range of choices, and the cost of each. I'm talking from the door hinges to the bricks to the colours to the roof.
We drove from Mulgrave to Bairnsdale to have another look at the Porofino (because the Berwick display house was sold late last year). We had a good overview given to us by Paul, the sales guy out there. I'm hoping ppl here can give me some good ideas as to really practical things that will benefit us in the future, such as: All double power points, or make sure we get a certain pressure rated tapware in the kitchen, etc.
It's a bit scary to actually get started, but the sooner the better if we want to be in by Xmas 2011 (we also have to demolish and remove the current house)
I'm putting a list together of things within the "standard" house that are upgradeable. What I want is to know what things do we have the option of upgrading, the range of choices, and the cost of each. I'm talking from the door hinges to the bricks to the colours to the roof.
We drove from Mulgrave to Bairnsdale to have another look at the Porofino (because the Berwick display house was sold late last year). We had a good overview given to us by Paul, the sales guy out there. I'm hoping ppl here can give me some good ideas as to really practical things that will benefit us in the future, such as: All double power points, or make sure we get a certain pressure rated tapware in the kitchen, etc.
It's a bit scary to actually get started, but the sooner the better if we want to be in by Xmas 2011 (we also have to demolish and remove the current house)
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