question answered

Hi Anyone had any dealings with XXXX on the Gold Coast?

We are 99% set on our current plan with a large builder but spoke with these guys about what we are getting (number of rooms etc) in our current plan, including & upgrades & other inclusions & reckon they can do something similar with one of their existing plans for at least $20k less - will make it very tempting.

However, I have never heard of these guys - only found them because they have one display at Coomera that we wandered into while looking at colours!

Cheers

hey omg never heard of them but check out this thread

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&start=0 (thanks billdsl )

with the "something similar" you have to be very careful to start from scratch with your new plan - according to this thread you can't give them your current plan to modify, you have to say we want 4 beds, double lock up, games room, alfresco, u shaped kitchen 2 baths, huge walk in robe and see what they come up with.

I also did the same thing in that i spoke to another builder after i went to tender with coral to make sure i was doing the right thing.

I got a quote on the same size home with all the same inclusions - 3 bed, 2 bath, full render, under roof alfresco, caesarstone benchtops, 1200 wide front door, tiles and carpet, similar kitchen design, and m class slab - i was shocked to find that what coral was giving me for $188,000.00 they wanted $225,000.00 for

so i definitely think you should explore all your options, but make sure that they include quoted everything that you are currently getting including site costs - if you are seriously considering changing it may even pay to give the other builder an initial deposit to see what their soil tests and contour survey come back like

Sounds like a sales pitch to me.

Thanks guys - made me consider my wording a bit better & I have edited my original post to more accurately reflect what actually occured.

It was more like we said we are getting C0ral to build a 4 bed study etc blah blah with blah blah inclusions for $x & this is when they came up with the 'we can do it for ' $y speil. He showed us one of their plans which is similar & he is going to modify that for us to see if it works.

Yeah I agree with you you both that it sounds ??.
I am supposed to get an email later this week with a plan & costings. They asked what slope we had when we said less than 750mm he reckons they dont charge to do soil tests & contours as it only costs them around $2500 in slab differences?? More likely they quote for worst case slab to cover themselves.

I am quite happy to go with our original C0ral - especially after we have put so much time into making the plan work for us (without even getting to the tender stage yet) so am reluctant to give up just yet. I am also a bit concerned about building with a 'one man band' as opposed to an established builder with a good reputation.

Guess I am answering my own doubts here too arent it - the thought of saving some $ was tempting but as to if it will be worth it????

Cheers

Pffft yes it was a sales pitch - just got the quote - $40k more than our original choice of builder & a plan nothing like what we are looking for!

Guess they didnt listen when we said what we wanted & how much it was going to cost us with our other choice of builder!

Oh well nothing lost by sussing out the competition I guess.

Cheers

I think original quotes (which are in many cases 'cost estimates') are notoriously low to hook you into handing over $1000 to get a real quote. After you've given them some cash you're less likely to switch.

We had a convenient 10 square meters "mis measurement" for our timber flooring. But other people had worse experiences so I'm not complaining too much