Wisdom Homes - What's NOT included?

Hello All,

I was wondering if anyone can add to this list of what's NOT included in a wisdom build. I have looked at the Smart & Prestige booklets & have started a list of things that I can think of would add to the price... if anyone has anything to add to the list - I'd really love to know. Also - if you know of how much they are charging - I'd love to know.

I also think this will not only help me - but also other overwhelmed first home builders. So far I have:

* Extra: TV Points, PowerPoint's, Down lights & extra light fittings
* Tiling the alfresco
* Aircon (tho its part of a current promo)
* Landscaping
* Letterbox
* Doorbell
* Clothesline
* Flyscreens to windows and doors
* Driveway (tho the landscape voucher tends to go towards this)
* plan additions/modifications e.g. moving walls, adding window to garage etc.
* sliding wardrobe doors & adding a door to under stairwell if not in standard design

We are at the investigation part of the build process and we are currently comparing builders for a Knockdown/Rebuild. This site has been fantastic for finding real reviews from real people. Currently we are tossing up between Wisdom & Beechwood and our fave seems to change each week

Many thanks in advance
M

Increase ceilings height to 2740mm?

- I'm going to go with Wisdom too

Search for wisdom upgrade costs, there is a thread from earlier this year with heaps of prices listed.

I would've provided a link but not sure how to do it with tapatalk.

I'm getting a tender from wisdom at the moment. The only things I'm looking to upgrade are the bricks, carpet underlay and a few electrical items.

Forgot about high ceilings. Thanks

Thanks found it at viewtopic.php?f=31&t=62519
As per a lot of things on this site - very helpful!!

How about from the perspective of what isn't covered by wisdom & I'd have to organise myself?
E.g is the temporary fencing included? Council submission fees etc

I guess what I'm trying to do is figure out a comprehensive budget of the entire build

M

From memory it is your responsibility for covering the cost of any damage they do to council property eg footpath, roadway and even the pathway crossover.

You also have to pay for all weather access to the site ie crushed rubble/gravel etc across the pathway or drive.

You pay for all of the services (water, power etc) that they use during the build.

With the knockdown rebuild even if they arrange it to be done the contract will still say something like you are responsible for the site being clear and safe for them to build on (and no, they will not take out clauses like that in the contract even if they say that it does not apply).

They also have a clause about securing your money that my bank's loan officer and my solicitor had problems with (worth getting someone to take a critical look at that - it's one of the added Builder's Conditions in the contract). Depending on the bank that could be some sort of added cost.

Do not depend on liquidated damages at all as it amounts to just $15 per day so keep some money aside if you are renting as their build times quoted in various post here on H1 seem to generally over run a little (?). Also, you will have started to draw down on your loan well before the end of the build so will be paying the interest before you move in.

And, unrelated to cost, the one I liked so much was that you may not make any sort of public statement about them without getting their approval (another of the Builder's conditions added in).

You really need to read every single line of the tender and then have a real close look at the contract. Then have someone without an emotional investment in the process go throught them again.

There are so many things not included so get them to quote on everything you want as you can always take it things out of the tender before signing .
We are doing a KDR in Ryde with Wisdom and so far we are about $125000 over the base price of the house. We have the Prestige Living Sale package included in our price. We also got a free Colourbond Roof and basic aircon free as part of a promotion that they had at the time we signed for a tender last November. We have also changed the floorplan dramatically which added to our costs.
We had provisional amounts included in our tender so we had some felixibility to upgrade things such as the kitchen, however they were not enough, and now the cost of any upgrades over the tender amount will have to be paid upfront by us to Wisdom. This is because the bank only gave us approval to borrow the total costs in the tender so anything over we pay for ourselves and Wisdom want this upfront because they know it will not be paid via your construction loan drawdowns. So we wish we had increased the provisional allowances in the tender.
Our upgrades so far:
Kitchen - $10000 (provisional in tender $5000)
Electrics - $5900 (provisional $5000). We are doing all downlights after handover as Wisdom too expensive, and just had bayonets included in lieu of downlights in plan.
Carpets- $3500 ( no provisional) Inclusive range was too scratchy.
Aircon - $4700 (provisional $3500) We added 5 zones and upgraded the model.
Tiles - $400 (no provisional) Inclusive range as part of Prestige Living sale was very good. We are doing timber floors in lieu of floor tiles after handover so will get a credit from Wisdom.
Hydraulics - Wisdom provide a 3000L tank. Our Hydraulics assessment showed we needed 8000L so we are still waiting on the cost from Wisdom for the tanks and installation. The assessment cost $2500. (Provisional $5000)
Facade -$5500
Ducted vacuum -$2000
Slab upgrade -$2900
Driveway - $9000 (no provisional) using the $5500 gift certificate towards this.
Landscaping - Wisdom quoted $24000. We will do it ourselves.
Ceiling heights 2.7mtrs - $3980
Fly screens - $40 per window
Bricks - We didn't upgrade because we were quoted $10000 to upgrade one grade of brick from the inclusive range on a two storey house. Render is also a costly upgrade.
Stairs - $1200
Additional site costs - $6500
Building zone chargec-$8000
Council costs - $600. We also have to pay a security bond to our council of $4200 in case we damage any council property during the build. This is refundable when you get you interim occupation certificate.

Then there are post build items like window coverings, new furniture etc.

Thank you for a very informative post - definately has given me a few things to think about

Hi gregol02,

We are planning to build with WH and are at the tender stage, haven't signed it yet. WH has included 20k for Hydraulics Allowance on top of 10k for BASIX cost. Do you have any idea how much will be the actual cost. Our lot has a slight slope from back to front and I assume there won't be much issue when it comes to storm water mgmt.

Thanks

Hi AAAhome,
Our site slopes slightly from side to side but the slope didn't affect our hydraulics at all. Our biggest problem was that our site coverage (impervious areas + roof space) is a high percentage of the total site and our council (Ryde) makes you store more water as you go higher with site coverage. So you not only need to comply with BASIX requirements but also you local council requirements. We have to retain 6600L in tanks for use in the house and 2000L in underground stormwater detention. We are having two tanks down the side of the house and an underground pit for stormwater in the front yard. Wisdom are still estimating the cost of this system and we are waiting for it to be sent to us. As they provide a 3000L tank which we will not be using because it's dimensions weren't appropriate for our space, they should factor a credit into their cost. Our sales person only advised us to provision $5000 for additional Hydraulics but we have used half of that just on the assessment and report. I will post the amount as soon as I have it.

Everything I like is not included in the standard range, e.g. polished porcelain tiles, mosaic tiles, timber flooring, some nice caesarstone colours...
Anyway, I will spend around 80-90K on top of the base house price.