terrible experience with my builder

We are building with Burbank for our new house in west area.
I would say Burbank acts entirely differently before you signing contract and after signed the contract.
They say the site supervisor will at least give a call weekly to report how is the process after site start, however, they never keep to their promise. I never receive any phone call from them.

The email is always not promote response, you can wait all day just for one small detail. And being busy or organise contract with clients is their excuse.

The service altitude and professional skills are really really terrible.

Besides, they mislead customers on some figures. For example, they would not tell you that this space is not suitable for a fridge after you made some change.

Their drawing team really sucks, never make things right. They will right your tile ''Ms'' as "Mrs".
You must be very careful on your drawing, once you have signed, you have to be responsible for it even wrong!!!

The most ridiculous policy is they not allow any variations on site even you would like to pay fees, no matter how little change it is, just like change the sink of kitchen. I never heard other builders would do this to customers.

They never allow you to speak to someone else who can solve problems, just give the same feedback every time and don’t feel sorry.

We have applied consumer affair complaints and we will see what will happen.

But that's the point, you have signed that you agree and accept the drawing as issued.

It is your responsibility to ensure what you have signed off is indeed accurate and reflects what you want.

As far as fridge space after you've asked for a change to the plans, then once again you should be checking the plans and asking them "does that leave enough space for my french door fridge ? " . It is not their responsibility to let you know that your change has now made it impossible to get that 1500 litre fridge in to the kitchen, although you would think that whoever did the new drawings would make a comment that your fridge space is now only 600mm wide.

Once you sign off on something, you are agreeing to the changes, and if they are not what you want, then do not sign off on the new plans.

I'm afraid I agree with bpratt. Although the variation thing seems very unfair, but also something you should maybe have asked about before signing up with them.

I hope you manage to come to a satisfactory conclusion.

I have to agree with others. It is your responsibility to make sure changes you made is what you want. No one else can tell you that. ie: no one knows what fridge you will fit in the kitchen. By signing your drawings and contracts, you already agreed what is provided in the drawing is what you want.
But then seeing things for both sides, what are the things that you think are wrong on your drawings?
For variations, not all builders will allow that after things are signed. To be fair, there are already a lot of disputes regarding variations along the way. There are flexible builders out there that allow for changes but that always come with a price either the builder is already charging a premium or variations are simply expensive.

yeah, I agree with all of the above. I am building with Burbank right now. At lock up. So far so good.

while there are some minor things that have annoyed me, it all comes down to what you have agreed to and signed off on.
Given that burbank gets you to sign the drawings and plans about a bazzilion times before they go to council for approval, that is your opportunity to pick up on anything that has changed or you dont agree with. We made about 5 variations prior the final approved plans because they TOLD us almost on a daily basis that any changes after they go to site will not be allowed. Coincidentally, i didnt have to pay for any of the prior variations which was nice.

Their drawings are generic. They amend small things as the requirments are changed through the tender process. they dont create them fresh for every customer. Their drawings are fine and probably the most professional ive seen in a long time. You expectations i think are a little too high because you already have issues with minor things and dont understand the process or youre an amazingh architecht that has skills 1000% bette rthan them. The drawings are adequate for their purpose.

One annoyance for me was that there is no end panel at the end of teh bench and cabinet above the fridge. Was it like that on the plan? Yes. Did i notice? no. Did the consultant during sales try to tell me there was an upgrade? no. Am I annoyed that burbank wont do a variation on site after i realise? Yes. HOWEVER, burbank was willing to give me the information of their cabinet maker so I can do it after hand over, without paying stupid variation fees or builder margin. Its just a matter of perspective.

I have my site supervisors number, and can call him when i need to ask questions or progress. He has even gone so far as to liase with my building inspector to actuall arrange the inspections so i dont have to manage the two of them.

Your complaints about stuff like titles or salutations on documentation is irrelevant. Its not relevant to your build or to the legality of your contracts.

I think youre working yourself up into a rabid rage over stuff that DOESNT ACTUALLY MATTER. if you have a concern with communication, perhaps have a conversation with them, if you dont get anywhere escalat eth eissue to a manager. I know they have a feedback process and are very willing to listen. It seems to me that your prefered course of action is to complain online like so many people without actually trying to resolve your issues with teh builder.

if youve behaved like this with your builder already, then (rightly or wrongly) it wouldnt surprise me if they have les sof an inclination to deal with you on your terms or be overly flexible.

You reap what you sow.

Thanks for your reply, Ponzu, It’s good to hear you are in lock up stage and so far so good.

I am not that person who leave everything to builders, and do little things on my part. Just the opposite, I have tried my best to gain lots of information to how to build a house. Things are always case by case, you are not the one involved in this.

You are very lucky that you were told almost on a daily basis that any changes after they go to site will not be allowed. I do not deny that they have tell me the truth, but not DAILY BASIS.

Based on their drawing team’s work, I would say I AM amazing architect that has skills 1000% better than them. I don’t have to provide the stupid boring modifications email history to prove this point.

For how will the end panel of the bench and above the fridge show on the final plan. Shouldn’t it be a basic obligation that builder explain or clarify in details to customer that what they have selected? Also, for the information of their cabinet maker that Burbank will provide me, I would say it is their job to tell you this, you have the rights to know this. Builder is more like a service to customers, it will be nice that the advice they give to customers is in completer agreement with customers’ willing, if not the same, I assume they give priority to what customers are really concerning.

Yes, I have my site supervisor’s number, and also I can call him when i need to ask questions or progress. Yes, I do appreciate that he has even gone so far as to liase with my building. I also agree with his professional skills and appreciate that he does well job. I just want to know Burbank say he will contact me weekly, does this still count? Actually, I don’t both too much that little details such as who must contact who for what at what times, as long as everything goes smoothly, it is all good for us.
What I can’t stand is each time Burbank delay contract or any process, they let me to be patient, and understand that Builders are always busy to organize things, however, when problems show up, they would say, oh, you have signed it, you have to be fully responsible for it, take risk for it.

If the builder and owner is not equal on both sides, or there is double standard between both parties, I think I might all realize everything had happened.

Yes, my complaints about stuff like titles or salutations on documentation is irrelevant. Its not relevant to my build or to the legality of my contracts. It is relevant to user Experience, and confidence about Burbank.

Thanks for feedback system, I do feedback online, and I am willing to listen and communicate with them as well to settle problems.
I was a little regret that I choose Burbank that they assume my normal feedback as “RABID RAGE“, I never know they can be so “Sensitive”.

It is right” You reap what you sow”, there is another saying “Respect is two-way”.
Wish you work well with Burbank.

The no variations allowed by client after signing contract thing is an amendment Burbank make to the standard contract. This is why you need to read your contract, understand it, and have it changed if you don't agree to the terms. Don't sign it until you are happy with the terms. You'll note their terms give them the right to issue variations but not you. It's a basic right that you are signing away.

I had their amendment struck out and could make variations after contract if I so chose, albeit attracting a "variation fee". As it turned out, I never had need of it, but it was there for my protection and use if I so chose.

Issues like this are easily avoided when you take the time to understand what you're signing and understanding your rights. Get legal assistance before signing if you're unsure.

Unfortunately you shouldn't ever sign contracts or plans without fully understanding them.

The builder won't walk you through every single detail of your plans ie end panels of cabintery, the plans are the builders illustration of what they are going to do so if you sign off on them you have agreed to them.

Sorry that you are not happy with your drawings but im sure we have all found mistakes on our plans as is the case with most volume builders.

Hope you have a good quality build as that is all that matters at the end of the day

Thanks for your nice reminding.

You should have gone with premium custom builders that you need to pay for the premium and care from the start. They will walk everything with you hand by hand. They will allow you with all variations you want as long as you pay for the premium variation fees.
Don't forget that you are going with a volume builder! Burbank is already one of the good volume builder out there. At least they do take care of details during their build, but they won't take care of things from your mind. As others said, it is your responsibility to read thru the drawings and contracts before signing anything. It is you that give that up. Also, from builder's point of view, there is nothing wrong with the plan or contract so what can you expect them to tell you before hand?! They can build the changes you want, so that's not a problem for them as that is what you want. You didn't think about the consequences of the changes you want to make?!
This is a good lesson for others as well, read before signing anything. I did read thru mine, every bits and pieces to make sure that is what I want. When I found anything that doesn't make sense, I ask my builder and work that out. Good luck!
PS: I do pay for premium from a custom builder.

Hi yoihoi, sorry to hear ur story... My little opinion is if it's not about build quality, and they are building it as the plan that you have signed, then u will have to take it and let it go. Stick to what you have signed and agreed. A lot of changes you can so it after handover, same quality but spend less

About they call u weekly for updates, I really suggest u do not get bothered by it. I found what they tell u through the phone is very out of date mostly, remember SS tell the girl in their office then pass the info to you! it's your house, try to being curious and visit ur site once a week, walk around a lot, what u see is what you got, very updated. if you see anything make you concerned, take a photo n send it to them, so far they never ignore my emails and fix the problems seen. Don't flood them with emails, visit your site you will know all the latest works done and obvious problems. Good luck, calm down and carry on

Actually I sympathise to an extent. We are building a fairly expensive custom home and still struggle to get regular updates.
Lets be honest - we are all making one of the biggest investments of our lives, paying a lot of money- usually everyone building is paying as much as they can possibly afford relative to their income, and we all get treated like cattle. How hard is it to get staff to respond promptly to emails. If they are sending things to us for signing etc we are expected to respond quickly. It is their job, and we are all dealing with it in our spare time.
From what I read on this forum, most builders need training in customer service. Whilst I agree we all need to be aware of our rights and responsibilities and not sign contracts and plans without consideration, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect some kind of assistance or warning if things on the plan don't make sense - they are the experts and most of of us would be doing this for the first and possibly only time. Most builders seem to take any enjoyment right out of the experience. They know they have us contractually and seem to have no pride in good workmanship and getting the job done on time.

@judydg, I sharfe your thoughts too. I am also building a reasonably pricey home and it has taken me 3 years to progress to the point we are at. I am extremely detailed and I cross check everything. It is a little disheartening that you get taken for a ride on every single little thing and if you do not question then you just pay more. I always ask, why is it that i am being charged more than retail and then they come back with price drops. ggrrrr

If you want good design experience get a good architect.
If you want good build experience go with a custom builder

Both are expensive but in the end quality is a function of price and you get what you pay for.

If you are going with a volume builder you are going cheap (you get what you pay for) with assembly line type of production and very basic contract administration, you won't get quality personalised service as per above.

However you should get courtesy and if they promise to do something they should honour it however don't expect to be babied and educated.

I agree with AussieMark.. My experience is that it really takes time to ask questions during planning stage. I took more than a year to work out just the plan for planning permit. I am cross checking everything as the house will be my own house after all. This way I did show my builder that I am serious about everything and they respect that and answer any questions I throw at them and give me suggestions or solutions. If that is something we can't communicate thru wording, we use drawings etc..
So coming back to experience of house building, as an owner, you need to know what you are after and what you expect and communicate that with builder. Also, builders are not mind readers and most will not really bother why you want to make certain changes and they do assumptions as well that you already figured out the change will work with your needs. At least this is how I see most volume builders are no matter cheap or expensive. Custom builders on the other hand might tell you if they sense something goes wrong, but still not every one of them act this way.

By the way, this is a place for everyone to share their experience on their build.. but definitely not ranting. If you read the other threads, although others also have problems and issues during different stages. They are mostly thinking positively and try to resolve or ask for advise from others. For your case, it really is not a big deal compare to anyone else who got real issues like cracks in slab, builder disappeared, wrong slab height etc... so relax and try to enjoy working with your builder. and as others suggested, going to your site and look at the progress yourself is way better than a phone call everyday.

Wow building-expert I would have assumed you of all people would know that those generalisations you just made are just that - generalisations. A good architect can prove a terrible experience for a customer, many custom builders end up in litigation with their clients, go broke, disappear, take forever, and some volume builders provide an excellent experience and great value.

Sometimes, the customer is NOT always right, despite how the saying goes. Some clients can be an absolute nightmare.

One architectural firm I worked in for three years, I had a client that required the most incredible amount of hand holding. I met with him every week. His house plans started out manually drawn, and he wanted so many changes every time I saw him, through every stage of the process, that they had to be redrawn because there is only so much scraping off lines with a razor blade that a working drawing can take. Two years it took before he was prepared to put it out to tender. And then, when I got all the prices back, he went and bought another block of land and decided he wanted it there instead and two storey instead of one.

One week he'd buy a pair of statues and want walls redesigned to accommodate them. The next he'd see a show on tv and wanted an arched hallway with concealed uplights. He'd reposition power points from one week to the next.

Eventually I redrew it on CAD when we brought that in, and I wrote blocks of text about what an incredible pain in the A$$ he was, shrink it to the size of a dot and place it on top of a wall line. You'd never know it was there but it was satisfying.

I left after three and a half years and he still hadn't started building. He was wealthy and the whole process was clearly a hobby for him, and as he was prepared to keep paying, the firm was happy to have me keep working for him. I pity whichever architect ended up inheriting him from me.

Sorry but some of the complaints here just scream out unreasonable and poorly prepared client.

Yoihoi, please update us with your consumer affairs adventure when that pans out.

P's. This thread needs more dragons.

Well in order to communicate what I wanted (mine is mostly by email as I am overseas and building in Australia) I studied the R Codes, learnt a 2D/3D program and provided a drawing of everything along with measurements for everything I wanted. It drags out the process but I also know the scale and size is consistent throughout the house and it is the way I want.

I have tried to clarify anything I do not understand as I am not a builder but I am very interested in the entire process. I tend to gravitate toward complexity and have learnt a lot for many of the people on this forum (another reason my build is taking so long).

What erks me is that the estimators and admin err on the side of caution and do not appreciate that some customers will cross check. If companies were trying to provide a top quality service then the first thing that is needed is the right attitude.

You would not get operated on by a doctor that did not explain fully what was going to happen. Yet for some reason customers are expected to simply trust the builder.

Builders should expect challenge on their pricing or EVERYTHING and realise that builders margin is fine but be fair about it...... With the power of the internet it is pretty easy to determine whether variation prices are reasonable.

That said I really hope my house starts to be built soon.....

Yes Bluesuede they are generalisations and of course there are exceptions however the immutable law of economics it that you won't get the best build at the cheapest price, so if you are lucky you will get what you pay for.

"A good architect can prove a terrible experience for a customer" how can that be a good architect?
It's the wholeness of service that defines whether its good or a bad architect.

Yes many custom builders have disputes with their clients but many more do not and yes volume builders have built their fortunes in delivering value for money

Value of course is entirely different concept to quality, disputes can occur when customers sign up for value and then expect higher quality beyond that.

Part of architects and builders job is to manage client's expectations.

great minds! If I'm getting the run around when doing a drawing, I put my own personal text on a layer and then set it to hidden and do not plot.

I usually call the layer something like 'additional comments'. Other drafters opening up the drawing always seems to get a laugh from it and empathise as well

Back on topic...