Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 21Jun 09, 2012 12:16 am Hi zojo, As far as I know and saw last year...it's not high gloss, it will be extra.... We chose formica which is the glossy look, similar like polyurethane but less expensive. Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 22Jun 09, 2012 6:18 pm It is a hard choice finding a builder. Willcres has become a Wisdom expert so she can offer you lots of guidance. As a general rule of thumb you can expect with the project builders to add on around $100K to the base price. We were originally going to sign with Masterton (loved their Villina design) then Westminster. We ended up with a custom home builder Zen, who has excellent inclusions for project home prices. But there are pros and cons with every builder, just depends on your style of working. The bigger companies have better admin / selection process, security etc. but pile on the upgrades and costs for variations. The other good builder that I have seen on the forum is Hontondo. It is always good to shop around (speaking to 3 builders is a good way to get comparisons so that you can confidently make the right decision). Good luck! SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 23Jun 30, 2012 9:59 am Hi, We are building a Manhatten - love my house but way, way more expensive than was ever estimated during pre tender conversations - even after I had to take out some of my original non negotiables ....the costs just keep coming and coming and coming. The latest one being additional cleaning fee for tiles (almost $1000) - they better be gleaming clean - won't be accepting the "builders clean" excuse at that price! We originally were going to go with EB - they were very upfront & honest about potential costs - W promised to include everything we wanted for similar sizes house for $50K less.....back then I should have heard the alarm bells ring rather than be led like a moth to a flame.....we are spending far more than the original EB estimate.... Beware of the building contract time limit - you will get hit with extension fees or price rise (either way $1000's) if you build start is delayed....many other builders offer 12mth contract.....once signed you have no choice but to walk away or pay the extra & by that stage the thought of redoing colours etc is the last thing you want to do. We began process in Jan 2011...took until end May to have a contract in our hand (very, very slow Admin dept)....had to sign a second contract in November when house start date held up. (DRB asked for plan modifications - then the council after that....every modification has to go Admin -> Design -> Estimating.....minimum 2 - 3 week turn around, not to mention the time in DRB & Council or when the architect gets something wrong & process starts again with Admin......really eats into your 6 month contract.) FYI sales consultant had initially assurred us that our plans met all necessary requirements. I know 3 other people who have/are going custom & getting a far better deal....would never go major project home company again because of excessive builders margin, hidden costs & slow turn around....well worth considering....they are getting excellent inclusions standard and a lot more flexibility. If I had my time over again with this build I would source all tiling & carpets after handover.......The actual $ amount for additional laying charges for tiling were never disclosed to us prior to tender signing & they are ridiculous.......I am sure the poor workers won't even see half of it. Won't even go into the electrical upgrade prices........Maria has that one covered in her response. Read the fine print - check all paperwork multiple times - follow up on everything....many inclusions are basic quality e.g. included carpet. Allow $100K on top of advertised price (being conservative). You have a m2 tile allowance but no credit if tiles chosen are from a cheaper range. Just read on H1 this morning on another post about the maintenance period beginning from PCI - I had missed that one & have literally poured over that contract a million times. Good luck! MHC Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 24Jun 30, 2012 12:17 pm Thanks for the info MHC. some of the issues outlined mentioned may affect us with our builder as well We were very close to signing with W until the very slow admin got to us.Also think there tiles and carpet inclusions (even with the prestige sale) is inferior to 3 other builders standard range and they are not willing to negotiate in price even if you provide them with other tender which are clearly better value. Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 25Jun 30, 2012 12:26 pm Hi MHC, sorry to hear of your issues with W too...........we have also been hit with late costs and delays so we have not even started the build yet. What stage of the process are you, has your house build finished? Or are you part way through the build? Before we signed our contract we got some good feedback regarding W. A work friend was building in a new estate near us (they used M'con) and a few neighbours of theirs were very happy with their build with W. But sounds like they have a lot of work on at the moment, more than they can handle. I know Wisdom are recuiting for a few positions, so hoping they get the staff they need to improve their efficiency and earn back their reputation. We built the Wisdom Majestic 40 - moved in! Our blog - http://ourwisdommajestic40.blogspot.com.au/ Our H1 thread - viewtopic.php?t=54156 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 26Jun 30, 2012 4:06 pm MHC I know 3 other people who have/are going custom & getting a far better deal....would never go major project home company again because of excessive builders margin, hidden costs & slow turn around....well worth considering....they are getting excellent inclusions standard and a lot more flexibility. Sorry to hear about this experience. We actually found a similar thing when we were interrogating our tender with Masterton. We ended up going with a smaller custom builder and I have to say, I completely agree with your statement above. We are at internal stage now and for the most part have been very happy. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 27Jun 30, 2012 4:15 pm Yes, I agree with Onewheel, Wsdm used to have a good reputation, they have good sales person out there. But the admin process is famous for their slowness. I knew that, it was fine for me that time. I read here, once it goes to construction, most people said they were happy with the result. That's why I kept going with them. But unfortunately it doesn't happen for me.... I'm just so frustrated and dissapointed now that I couldn't have a heart to say good things about them nowadays.... Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 28Jun 30, 2012 8:51 pm Im also building with wisdom homes yet to start still going through council hope to start in the next month or so. so far like u have all said the admin part is very very slow, yes the upgrades can becomes $$$$$$ but so far not to bad for us but i guess it all depends on the what u like. Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 29Jun 30, 2012 10:43 pm Inspiration, just one thing, the slowest part for willcres, was getting council approval in november! Pegged mid December, then site start end of February, even with the three week Christmas break taken out, it was nearly four weeks from council approval to pegs and seven working works to site start. There is a wisdom across from us, who got council approval in march and site up cut was this week, so just be a little prepared Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 30Jul 01, 2012 12:20 pm Hi gogo 65 Yes we have been told that council should take about 4 weeks but I'm not going to hold my breath lol. I'm kind of over the build before it has even started I hope thing get better :/ Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 31Jul 01, 2012 5:42 pm Inspiration30 I'm kind of over the build before it has even started I hope thing get better :/ Yep, so am I. ........things will happen eventually (I can only hope). But at least i know it is not just happening to me, but unfortunate for us all. We built the Wisdom Majestic 40 - moved in! Our blog - http://ourwisdommajestic40.blogspot.com.au/ Our H1 thread - viewtopic.php?t=54156 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 32Jul 01, 2012 5:50 pm Are these delays usual time frames or has Wisdom suddenly gotten slow? (maybe as there has been a sudden increase in home builders and they haven't caught up yet?). One of the most difficult things for a company is to grow at the right pace with demand. Increase overheads (like staff) too quickly and you risk going under. Increase too slowly and you get delayed jobs and unhappy customers. All businesses face this challenge, if that is what is happening. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 33Jul 01, 2012 6:21 pm I spoke once with one of their sales team, actually W is not understaff ..in fact they have have too many staff there at head office, that's why they are slow because too many steps/ beaurocracy to pass... Like MHC said above, after Sales team, we have to go to admin then estimating team then production team then construction team before something happen in our land.... Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 34Jul 01, 2012 8:06 pm Will u would think that having more staff that thing would happen faster. Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 35Jul 01, 2012 8:26 pm Inspiration30 Will u would think that having more staff that thing would happen faster. that's what I was thinking. Doesn't quite make sense... Maybe the internal processes are getting out of hand or increased staff means people haven't settled into the processes yet? SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 36Jul 02, 2012 12:00 am I think the bigger the company, the more professional they want to be. Each one has speciality in 1-2 task... Not like in a small company, 1 person handle so many job description....receptionist, sales, account, and maybe customer service too.... Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 37Jul 08, 2012 6:53 am Hi Onewheel, Sorry for late reply - it has been a very busy week. The house is being tiled at the moment - painters in mid next week We are lucky to have a great SS who has kept things moving along. Hoping to be finished by early Aug. There are houses around the conrer from us by other builders that are at the same stage as ours & the land they are built on was not even developed when we started the W process. We signed new contract in Nov 11 - site scraped mid Jan. I suspect the multi layer admin process is how they juggle so many clients at the same time - everyone blames everyone else for delays & each of the people you speak to are so friendly.......all part of the sales/marketing agenda. We are still having similar ongoing issues to everyone else on H1 though......a little worried about the kitchen because there is no protective film on the poly...the pantry doors have been taken off & are leaning against the pantry shelving....any scratches/pain spotches & I will be asking for new ones. The carpenters were using the kitchen bench as a horse.....there is cardboard covering the caesarstone but really - why?????? We have just deleted all wire shelving - we had always planned to take it out after handover & replace. DH was speaking with the guy who installed our kitchen who explained the damage removing these would do to the gyprock........so now we are looking for WIR & linen cupboard fit outs......just another thing to add to the 'to do' list. Wishing I had the linen cupboard shelves upgraded during tender process. C talked me out of it but now I have wire shelving in the house we are renting there is no way I want it in my own home. Just realised that W are paining the handrail on the dtairs...missed that one in the tender process because I wanted it stained in the same colour as the front door....don't know if it is too late to change this or not. We have to source a driveway too as W no longer include driveway (we only found this out when we went to sign the new contract). We were 'given' a $5500 landscaping allowance - of course it didn't even cover half of their driveway quote! Like Willcress we need retaining - W are quoting (still have that $5500 allowance to use). Having serious side neighbour issues. Council made us go to NGL at rear (long, long story). Our side neighbour filled at rear of his house...his plans indicate 450 but reality was higher. He now says we have to pay for all of retaining because we are on the 'down side'. We are responsible for half (to ensure we were at NGL at rear we had to cut in front, despite block having less that 1 m fall!). The retaining wall will need to be between 600- 800 high given the FFL of our neighbour's home & his pergola addition - so we are talking a considerable amount of money. Have surveyor reports etc & have tried to speak with him but he refuses to acknowledge any responsibility.....he offered us $1000, indicating that this was very generous on his part & now scurries inside his house whenever we appear on site. There is never a dull moment when building. MHC Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 38Jul 08, 2012 10:01 am MHC, That is absolutely incorrect, the law states that each neighbor must retain their own cut and fill, within your own boundaries, i would be talking to council about it quick smart, have photos etc. There is no way you are liable for any costs at all. This neighbor obviously has no idea, I would just get the fence up on your NGL and let him deal with it. You have had good progress if you had site cut in Jan and nearly complete, where are you building? Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 39Jul 08, 2012 12:49 pm Hi MHC Nice to hear you have a good SS, I can imagine a not so good one would be extremely frustrating, as some of the other H1 members are experiencing. Not long for you now if you hope to be finished by early Aug, hope the build continues on well. But read in dismay to how the tradies are treating your kitchen cupboards and benches. That is pretty careless, you are right to do a close inpection at PCI. Are you getting an independent inspection? The wire shelving, we will have these in our linen and downstairs store room.........unfortunately we will have to leave them for now as our budget has been eaten up dignificantly due to extra 10K in site costs. We plan to change these down the track after we have completed other essential items once we move, mainly landscaping. I wonder why the kitchen installer said that the gyprock would be damaged once removed, how are they installed? Are they screwed in? Or attached some other method?? We knew the handrail would be painted so we have upgraded this in our tender so it is stained. Have they installed yours yet? Maybe it is not too late?? Sounds like dealing with your neighbour about retaining walls is quite difficult. Good advice from Gogo, better to get in touch with council. It sounds like he is calling your bluff hoping you will accept his feble attempt of paying his share. Good luck in getting it sorted. We built the Wisdom Majestic 40 - moved in! Our blog - http://ourwisdommajestic40.blogspot.com.au/ Our H1 thread - viewtopic.php?t=54156 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 40Jul 09, 2012 1:31 pm Hi MHC, Can i ask the measurments of your driveway? I too am building with W and am worried about the driveway cost. I thought the $5500 gift voucher would cover it as ours is about 50sqm but are yet to have our landscaping meeting. I saw on the upgrades list they charge $110sqm for extra concrete so how could this not cover 55sqms? Just another reason for them to charge extra after you have signed up. Hills111 Can someone please offer some advice? Im DESPERATE. Because I'm completely and utterly exhausted. How long are variations taking with other companies at the moment? We… 0 19730 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 19 75497 Hi Everyone, I am exploring builder in NSW and received a very tempting quote from Wisdom home for their momentum series. I just want to know experience of building… 0 9969 |