Browse Forums Building A New House Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 5Apr 29, 2009 8:52 pm "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 12Apr 30, 2009 6:16 am "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 15May 01, 2009 10:28 am buzz Does anyone (Ok, anyone besides Hanson61 or Robbuilding) have anything good to say about these guys??? It seems all bad, or unbelievably good. None of this seems like the real deal. We are going with them, but if it all goes pear shaped I'm going to feel like a complete idiot! There are only a couple of comments that seem legit. If they are the 3rd largest builder in NSW there are surely more of you out there reading this who are willing to share your experiences. Yours, in confusion, buzz I have one going up next door to me plus quite a few popping up like mushrooms around me. The quality and finish looks good and I have spoken to a few of the tradies working next door and they say they are good to work for. The only thing I have noticed is they seem to get the slab, frame, bricks and roof up quickly but then they sit with nothing happening for weeks at a time. They certainly seem a popular choice in Newcastle. Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 16May 01, 2009 12:24 pm Hey guys, I was originally looking at building the Monte Carlo from Macdonald Jones and gave up because they didn't want to be helpfull seeing as how i wasn't buying in their estate(I already had land at toronto NSW). While looking at land I was told by countless real estate agents that they dont really want to help you if you dont build at fern bay in the estate there. Their house prices you see when you look through the display homes are including nothing. no cupboard doors or floor coverings light fittings. As long as you are aware of the huge list of things that aren't included they seem to build a fantastic looking house. I can't comment on the build times or anything though. If you want me to elaborate on my experience trying to get them to build my house just say so I went to other worse builders though before finishing where i am. Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 17May 01, 2009 1:42 pm mrsnrub buzz Does anyone (Ok, anyone besides Hanson61 or Robbuilding) have anything good to say about these guys??? It seems all bad, or unbelievably good. None of this seems like the real deal. We are going with them, but if it all goes pear shaped I'm going to feel like a complete idiot! There are only a couple of comments that seem legit. If they are the 3rd largest builder in NSW there are surely more of you out there reading this who are willing to share your experiences. Yours, in confusion, buzz The only thing I have noticed is they seem to get the slab, frame, bricks and roof up quickly but then they sit with nothing happening for weeks at a time. ....heard the same D&SG As long as you are aware of the huge list of things that aren't included .....also this Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 18May 01, 2009 2:01 pm We seriously considered going through them. Picked their largest (and most expensive !!) home that they have. Seriously they couldn't organise anything. They came to look at the site, measured it then asked us for AHD levels. Okay so we went and had them done. One weekend we for curiosity sake went and tried to measure out the block - the house would never had fit where they had situated it. So that along with their lack of enthusiasm steered us right away. We know another person who built a house with them - the main thing he couldn't get over was they almost completed the home before they asked for any progress payments. Now this is great for the customer but seriously problematic for any business I would think. Serious oversight on their behalf. The houses seems gorgeous and my sister didn't have any issues with the house they built with them. But a customer I had when I was a lending manager was soooo close to taking them to Fair Trading about numerous issues was something always in the back of my mind. Like any builder I suppose tread carefully and read everything 10 times before signing. Always go into the contract with a cynical mind and don't take anything on face value. Get everything in writing. And always expect some disappointment. Then you won't be shocked when it does eventually happen. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 19May 01, 2009 8:15 pm I would have to agree with kyton. Read the contract as there estmitations and allowances have not been enough on several ocassions and we have received variations for more money all the time. Just make sure you check everything and save any written communication. They were very quick to provide a tender and the sales service was great. Admin seems to be average and definetely not professional in some areas. Great products and designs but i seem to have a brick work quality issue at the moment. I won't list the issues as I have to give them a chance to fix them. With the price i'm paying I have a higher expectations as opposed to cheaper competing major builder companies so I will see when it's finished. Re: anyone building the Somerset Grange from Macdonald Jones 20May 02, 2009 11:00 pm Thanks to all for your comments. Hopefully it will go smoothly for us. At the moment I don't want to pull out, but hoping I don't regret it... I am aware that there are lots of things not included, but they are things we can take care of ourselves..... will have to check about cupboard doors though, silly me- I just assumed we'd get some. Just hoping at the end of it all, that my hubby still talks to me and doesn't hate me for talking him in to building a house. I told him it would be "exciting". Thanks, buzz Hi AKG, We had a base tender of $592 for 31 squares from MC Donald Jones. It looks relatively cheaper than other builders. But I assume there are many hidden things that… 1 17551 Wish you all the best. Once you signed the contract, they will find millions excuses to charge you. 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