Sick of the Merry-Go-Round We want to get off now please

We are basically sick and tired of this merry go round game the builders seem to play. Getting quite dizzy - literally!

Over 3 months and we still do not have finalised pricing. Yes we changed designs but that was mainly due to the inaccruate PC we got and the fact they kept telling us it was correct when it was blatantly obvious it was full of holes. They refused to change anything on it.

They refused to honour prices given at:
- walk through
- on the variations sheets that came back.

We decided to try another design and give that a go but guess what, head office have us back on the merry go round. Great fun! NOT!

So if we were to walk from M Con and go to another builder is there any out there to be recommeded who build in QLD?

It seems these volume builders are all exactly the same so maybe we need to go to a smaller quality builder if such a creature exists!!

We would love to build that dream house and at our age this is probably our last chance to do it while cash flow and careers are going well.

Good Luck Peter, I know what that merry go round is like, we're happy we switched to a smaller builder.

Peter I am with Rachell,
We have built with 2 project builders in the past and this time we have decided to go down the path of a boutique builder with a good name.
I am telling you this as we liked the ability to have flexibility with our build like you seem like you would like also.

Although both builds were great and yes they had some bad points, we at the end of the day came to realise that is why they are project builders and that is how they make their money.

If they allowed you to change the house into what you wanted you would stray to much from their plan and it would mean more work on their behalf which would mean the price of the home you are looking at would start increasing, but they would have to absorb these costs because they have set prices. That is why they charge sooo much for some things to try and stop you from wanting those changes...........

All this being said, which you are probably aware of, this is the reason it may be worth looking into a builder that wants to build your home for your budget.
You know now the style of home you like and what draws you into a particular display home, so you would be able to describe this to a designer and get more of the things you want.

We have been able to give our builder a price we want to spend and list of inclusions we want. It is now up to him to work out how we are going to get there. So far I couldn't recommend this more. It has been a fantastic process and they have been very accomadating to all our wants and needs and they want to work with us and they wantour business.

They also know the importance of word of mouth business as it is the owner of the business that is costing up our house and dealing with us regarding our home, and how quickly we can tell people if they are not worth dealing with.

Project builders also are good don't get me wrong but sometimes your needs require a different approach.
Sorry to ramble but I just thought you might like to think of another avenue in your quest to build your home.
Good luck.........

agree thoughthe issue is finding that desginer / builder. We have no idea what to even think about for that journey.

Sigghhhhh anyone got a tent?

or a caravan!!

How we came to the decision of our builder;
There are quite a few mags specific to your state. The one for us was titled WA's best homes 2008. Simple I know...

When we looked in at these homes all I could think of was.....these homes are beautiful we could never afford some of these(they looked $1 mill plus)
I used the magazine to look up each builder on the net and decide from the profiles, a shortlist. Look at galleries and see what appeals to you. Drive around building estates looking for individual builders you have not really heard of and look them up. The one we ended up choosing said on their website

"Whether you are renovating, extending or planning for the future, we can help you realise your dreams faster and within your budget as one of Perth's Award Winning Builders."

Right someone who is accomadating and spoke about "our" budget.

So I looked up on the MBA and HIA and anywhere I could what others think of the company we chose. Is there any proceedings against them what are there testomonials like and can we go and look at some builds in progress.

Finally we got them out........
They only build 25 homes a year and they are sure they can build what we want within our budget. They are also willing to include or not include whatever we ask. Flexibility. Yay.
You probably are sick of the whole business but I assure you. With all this experience behind you now(some being negative), you will probably be even more in tune to what sounds good and what you are looking for.

The next phase is I promise is very exciting.............

Don't be disheartened, I wish you the best......

PK,
might have to go have a look at some mags etc.
right now energy levels and interest is very low.

Will see how motivated we are at end of the week.

cheers
PEter

Hi Peter Oz

It's hard to pick the right builder if you have not built before. There are lots of tips on this forum which should help you.

Let us know how you go!

Regards

not sure which way we will go yet

we still like the houses that M Con have to ffer and judging by everyone else's expereinces it would suggest that most volume builders are as inept as each other.

So will will now take out time and see what transpires. If we continue to get jerked around and ripped off on changes then we will will walk and M Con if you read this then get your act together - head office not the SC, she is doing her best. Head office are a bunch of incopentant wankers.

Peter, sorry you are getting the run around.

gweluphome has given some good advice. We also went with a small builder and have found them to be very accommodating with all our modifications and changes, and have charged what we think are fairly reasonable prices for them.

They are also flexible with getting some of our own stuff done - I think I read you wanted to supply your own downlights at one stage my builder would not have a problem with this. They are also letting us bring our own stone mason in to do stone benchtops.

Hang in there if you can, do a bit of research on some smaller builders in your area, you might find one you really like and all the excitement of building will all come flooding back believe me

good luck

Hey, we feel your pain but just because they are a smaller builder doesn't mean they are more reliable, we are building a private house with a small builder and we only just got our frame after 20 months so just hang in their.
If building was easy everyone would be doing it, I found that If i demand answers and i know exactly what i'm talking about they don't argue back and just do it.
Good luck mate.

Hey Peter, I can feel your pain coming through your posts.

I have been lurking for a while and I must say that posts like yours are moving me away from a volume builder, in our case PD.
While I love the floorplan I am not sure it is worth the angst of trying to get information and the merry go round of calls etc. I have a life, I would like to be able to live whilst we are building.

Example, I do not like the tiles in the builders range. I like some others in the showroom (best of a bad lot) and I get told they have to check if they can sell that to me because they cannot sell all their tiles to PD customers. Excuse me? I want to give you money and you can't/won't take it?
I am still waiting for the CSC to call and introduce themselves.
Result: I am looking at another builder who is building in the area and checking out the actual sites he is building and the people he is building for. We will wait and see if the price is ballpark, but I am now thinking " you want the wine you want to pay for or the wine you want to drink"
I agree it might be time to look at someone who wants to work with you.

Good luck

Joanne

thanks guys, the file has now been escalated to State Sales Manager for his personal attention. they are having a telcon meeting this afteroon so hope to have some answers tomorrow.

Given the flat lining new housing approvals at the moment I am surprised that any builder would play games. Sure they may have lots of work right now but that pipeline will be rapidly dwindling and if they kill potential contracts like that are doing right now then that pipiline of work is going to run out even faster.

hi Joanne,
welcome to what we have discovered. though at least we can choose any tile we want if we are willing to pay for it. M simply make an allowance based on the floors you choose to tile etc and give acost based on standard range. Now if you want to upgrade it is that price plus whatever the delta is on the cost.

anyway fingers crossed for us all.

cheers
Peter

I got a phone call from the SC this evening. Was told we should get our issues resovled tomorrow or next day at latest.


If this does get sorted and we sign then I will buy our SC a nice bottle of wine as she is wonderful.

Fingers crossed.

Where are you building Peter?

mango hill

Hey Peter, my wife and I got off the MCon merry go round awhile ago. We were experiencing the same thing you were, all talk no action. I'm still astounded that we as a couple were going to be spending in the vicinity of $280k and we couldn't get a simple answer out them.

So what do we do? Research research and research. We finally found a builder that does small projects, they are not fast builders, but they listen and help us all the time with our concerns, which is excellent . The drawings have taken 6months just to get right and we are extremely happy, the builder lets us put in anything into the house that we want, and they just minus the price of the contract, ie they are flexible .

Dont get to discouraged with the process, its hard and bloody frustrating. All the best.

thanks for that.

Well it is now thursday, we were promised that this would be all resolved by Tuesday at the latest. Still no word.

The problem now is that we are supposed to have FC signed by 3 Oct and we are not even to PC yet.

No doubt with the litany of errors so far I can anticipate that the PC will be full of errors and will take 2 - 3 weeks to sort out on the merry go round, then once it does get to FC I can gurantee that that will also be wrong or have clauses etc that need to be negotiated.

There is no way that a FC will be getting signed by 3 Oct so they had better prepare to move that date to the right by at least 2 months as we are not going to be pressured into signature by that date.

If they refuse to move it we will walk. $1500 is small potatoes in the scheme of things and as we will own the soil and contour survey we will lose nothing.

Up to them to get their act together if they want this sale to happen.

Your doing the right thing, dont sign anything till your 100% happy. Can you actually tell them a date? and if they cant stick to it, then I'm going to walk away? At the end of the day your the customer.

can tell them anything, we are the customer and if terms do not suit us then we are fully entitled not to sign.

They have frigged us about now for months so I am not going to be boxed in with a "must sign by date" That date can keep sliding to the right and pricing same as when we signed the initial deposit.

Same as they are entitled to say No in which case we walk.

Have heard nothing today, again. Pretty much resigned to the fact that this deal is not going to happen now.

surprised any houses get built what with the rigmarole buyers have to go through.