Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Sep 17, 2006 11:34 am Has anyone had any experience in dealing with Northridge Homes (division of Henley). We really like their floor plans, however after reading all these horror stories from different ppl, I thought it be best to check whether anyone here has dealt with either them or Henley, and what their experience was like. Re: Northridge Homes 8Nov 20, 2006 12:40 am Hi chidylan,
We placed a deposit on Northridge's final day of trading. Basically, our thought process was to put down a deposit to hold the prices down at that time - we were advised by the sales person at the time that Henley would be raising $$$ as soon as they took over. He was not wrong - the price jumped a good 15k - from 195k to 210k. Not to mention the promo which was held at the time (free Aircon, and a few other extras) so in that regard we are happy. At the moment we are awaiting soil testing to be conducted on our block. So far no real issues, however in saying that we are only in the initial phase of paperwork. Our only concern is the quality of the homes in which Northridge/Henley build. Would love some feedback from anyone who has built through these companies. Would love to hear anyone else who is in the same boat with this (these) companies. Re: Northridge Homes 10Nov 25, 2006 12:59 pm We have not heard anything from our sales rep since we signed up - over 1 month ago. Emails and phone call requests are not being attended to. So far we have only signed up for soil testing to be completed. You'd think that they would be pushing to ensure they get our business.
It has me wondering whether our business is wanted. If this is the service we are receiving now, we can only imagine how we will be handled once contracts are signed. Currently rethinking our options... Re: Northridge Homes 11Nov 25, 2006 10:00 pm Hi Stewie,
Have you got a letter stating who is the customer service administrator for your building? I got the letter 3 weeks after putting initial deposit. Then folowed by color selection appointment 2 weeks later. My experience so far is good, they quickly attend to my call and accomodate requests. We are about to sign the contract this coming Wednesday. Months earlier when we were looking for the builder we actually like one of the Northridge design but the salesperson was unhelpful and not friendly. We ended up getting Henley to build without knowing they are on the same group. But I notice Henley salesperson was really helpful even after I put my initial deposit. My suggestion is try to find out who is your customer service admin, and deal with him/her directly instead of the salesperson. Cheers, Jim Re: Northridge Homes 12Nov 26, 2006 1:59 am Hi Connexion,
We did receive this letter you are referring to. Our customer service admin is the sales person which we signed the initial deposit with. The lack of urgency on their part is strange - perhaps they are reluctant to proceed as the pricing we had signed for was $15k less than current price (under Henley's name)!?!?! Stewie Re: Northridge Homes 13Nov 26, 2006 11:22 am we finally got a call regarding the colour selection and tender appointments, although i think they held off maybe as our land hasnt actually been released. (will be in jan) but we were keen on having some prelim costings to work on before signing the contract anyways, and im sure that to change anything in the tender would be a lengthly process. Re: Northridge Homes 14Nov 29, 2006 11:12 pm Hi Stewie,
Something is wrong here. Is the sales person still doing the sales after Northridge was closed? The process of paperwork is lengthy and involved a lot of clarification between the builder and the buyer so I imagine if the sales person is still doing the sales, he/she will put priority on the prospective buyer. Anyway I signed the contract today. My customer admin sent me the contract last week and I requested to extend the contract appointment for another few days. Nothing extraordinary, it's just a plain English HIA contract and some drawings but I got my solicitor to look at it. I was amazed when I pointed to them a few descrepancy between the color selection and tender document, they already have that descrepancy list for me to clarify and even I got a credit a few hundred dollars due to a cost that they over-estimate. If you're still on the early stage, feel free to add/change/delete variations/colors etc. My tender document was changed 3 times, as I kept changing things. But once you sign the tender, refrain yourself from changing as it will lengthen the contract appointment. Mine took 5 weeks to get to the contract since I signed the tender doc. Now it's impossible to start before Christmas... Re: Northridge Homes 15Nov 30, 2006 6:08 pm Thanks for your comments Connexion...
Unfortunately for the company we are still that - "prospective" buyers. Aside from the initial deposit of $550 to perform soil test for site costings, we are not obliged to enter into contract with them. We would have thought their service during this period would have been over and above to ensure we committed ourselves. Sadly not. It's been 3 weeks since we gave the go-ahead for our soil test to be completed. This is yet to occur. We've decided to not persist with this, as we've already reminded them twice already. As far as we're concerned, if they can't arrange for a simple soil test to be completed in over 3 weeks then arranging subcontractors to build a HOME will probably just cause us more headaches than its worth. By the way, after calling and asking to change sales person, we were advised that the soil test company apparently arrived to perform testing on our block last week however the fencing around the block did not allow them access onto our site. Frustrating thing is that I advised our sales person about the fencing by email (and a follow up phone call to ensure email was received as I'd heard nothing), all 3 weeks ago. Last we've heard was that the soil test was to be arranged by 28/11, and that our sales person would contact me to confirm this occurred on 29/11. It is now 30/11 and neither occurred. I think this is a sign... Re: Northridge Homes 16Dec 01, 2006 11:49 am we went to visit our land yesterday and saw 4 small holes on our block, i assume this was for the soil tests. i dont think you should give up so soon... they are probably busy at the moment being in a transitional period to clear up all the old northridge jobs and transfer them to henley. all i can say is that if the design you have chosen with them is what you really really want, then be persistent, but if its not worth holding onto then move to another builder which you think may do a better job.
we are only being patient with this builder as after months and months of searching for a home, this is the design that we truely like (and within our price range). by the way who is the sales person, we had a female one who was quite helpful. Northridge Homes 17Mar 11, 2007 4:53 pm We have also decided to build through Northridge and got in just before they changed to henley so saved big $.
I can honestly say that Northridge have been absolutely terrific with us so far. We initially found the sales person a bit slow to responding to calls etc but once we got in contact with the person who would look after us through the Tender and final building contract siging we have nothing but positive things to say. We too were waiting on the land developer to release the title in Jan so are now just a few weeks from commencing construction. Will let everyone know how we go... Re: Northridge Homes 18Oct 23, 2007 11:27 am Hey guys. You guys sound just like us, we signed up for the Meriddian on the last week as well to avoid the price jump.
The house is at its final stages now. We are just waiting on our final quality inspection, and then we proceed to our final inspection. Its a little frustrating, as they have not done a whole lot on the house for the past 2 months, but im sure it will be worth the wait. Its probably does not help that our construction supervisor resigned from the company at the final stages of construction. We have generally had a good experience with Northridge/ Henly(this is our first house), and the transition did not cause us any issues aside from the "Mud on road prevention" charge of $550!!!!! It is apparently a Henly thing, and it appeared on our second or third tender. Basically the put down a sad amount of gravel on the front of the construction site as an attempt to make a walk path etc for the workers. However, such a small amount was put down, that after the first rain, it was all gone, and only soft mud was left. We also had an issue with the guttering of our house being hard up against the neighbouring garage. The gutter had been physically crushed in order to make it fit between the garages. This is even more annoying seeing we paid the extra money to have the site boundaries re pegged. They moved some of the bricks back by 30mm and assured me the issue will be fixed, but it is still touching. Also, we had about 3 cubic meters of sand left over from the brick work. The sad was spread out across the property by the Henly bobcat driver. I have argued that this is unused construction material, and that it should be removed from the site as stated in the contract (it will cost me money to remove it otherwise). They have agreed to doe it, and have told me it has been done…. But still isn’t done! I have seen quite a few completed Henly houses with sand covered front yards, should not be the case. Aside form a few other little things that took a few Very Persistent phone calls, it seems to be going to plan, and im very happy with the quality of what is being done. Re: Northridge Homes 19Nov 06, 2007 9:32 pm My house is now completed. Guess what, it's a Meridian
One thing generally with Northridge/henley is the timeframe to building the actual house. in my case, took 9 months, quite similar to many of my friends that build with Northridge Home. My house is good. Northridge Homes uses ArchiCenter to check the house so it's very good. It's check 3 times before the actual inspection by you. In my case, they are not installing the appliances until I say so because they are worried that someone may break into a new house and take stuff away. Not a bad thought. Northridge Homes will persists as Northridge Homes until your house is fully complete. Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74701 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105551 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 23482 |