Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 41Sep 12, 2014 11:23 pm The package for our block was originally the Winton with Barcelona façade, but luckily we had some flexibility with our block (as it's larger) and were able to pick another house design (although we are concerned the Bayview is still too small). I think there were about 6-7 options with façade. Went past the land today, now I can see where our street will be, Sparrow Street is curved (we have the curve of the street in the front of our block) exciting to see things coming along! Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 42Sep 15, 2014 5:37 pm Looks like stage 2 land registration is set for April 2015 Just heard back from Bellriver. I really thought it would be sooner than that after seeing all that's happening on our block. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 43Sep 15, 2014 10:19 pm I'm sorry to hear that yandm I have a feeling I'll be in the exact same boat though. I have a meeting with Bell River next month to re-select some tiling as the ones I originally chose last year are now not available... So I'll let you know if I get any further news. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 44Sep 16, 2014 1:30 pm Bellriver charged me extra for price increases. They base it off the Consumer Price Index for that quarter. It could be 1.5%, 2% or even 3% on the total build depending on what the CPI is at that time. So it's not like tradies are asking for more money, they're just basing it on CPI. It would be interesting to know if other project home builders do the same?! Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 45Sep 16, 2014 2:03 pm Really? Are you in Greenvale too Buffy? We have not been told of any price increase. That sounds like a big increase and not anything like what we were told during signing the tender. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 46Oct 20, 2014 7:11 pm Hi yandm, Sorry I didn't write back sooner, I didn't know you replied back to me. For your sake I hope they don't do the same as they did to me. Not sure what experience you've had with Bellriver so far, mine has been less than desirable. They've made constant mistakes and never admit fault. Their CSOs are unintelligent (and that's putting it nicely). Will provide more updates as I go along. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 47Oct 28, 2014 4:09 pm They're not that bad of a builder. Sure they have their flaws, but no builder is perfect. This forum is testament to that. I've been very lucky to have quite a bit of control on what's happening with my house from the day I signed the contract. They were flexible in letting me choose my own cost plus items. Sometimes the items came back too high in price, but it wasn't part of their standard so in order to make a decent profit they bumped up the price. Site supervisor is good too. I'm about half way through my build now and a friend who lives close by who has told me that my house is looking good . However, not to toot my own horn, that's because I chose colours that work well together. The tradies that bellriver is using are smaller local mobs which I like. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 49Oct 31, 2014 2:38 pm mcosta2 How much are Bell River paying you to say that Homer, or do you work for them? Lol All jokes aside good for you though, sounds great! HA! I wish mcosta. Like I said, I've had my ups and downs with them. Some weeks I wanted to strangle them. I don't really want to go into the details as yet - I'd like to remain annonymous. Definitly once handover is completed I'll be sure to post negatives and positives in detail plus images. At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding i.e structurual integrity of the build, workmanship etc. How have your experiences been so far? Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 50Oct 31, 2014 10:44 pm Good to hear. Lets just say if the time frames I were originally given from the salesman were correct, I would have already moved in. I guess I was naive. I'm hoping for a better experience from here on in, as it should be. Building a first home should be an exciting and positive experience. I have faith things will get better Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 51Nov 15, 2014 8:14 pm Excited to see the roads are now in and most of the blocks in Lacosi Hill side appear to be pegged. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 52Nov 16, 2014 7:41 am YAY that's excellent bitsnpieces! I'm in the Lacosi Hill estate, I'll be having a look this week. Also looking forward to the newsletters we receive on the progress, they're great! Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 53Nov 17, 2014 9:56 pm Hi mcosta2, we had our colour selection on Friday and were advised then that roads had gone in, I think a newsletter is coming out this week with updates (BTW I think the newsletter is a great idea too!). I usually do my shopping down the road at the new Woolworths at Schofields and on my way home come past to see the weekly progress, if we are this excited now, wait until our houses are being built! Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 54Nov 19, 2014 12:00 am Hi All I have come across this thread and I wanted to speak out on behalf of Bell River, for anyone who comes along searching reviews and gets an unfair idea. Some people on this thread have been very angry about the things we have all been through over the past year - Bell River has copped negative publicity for things that aren't their fault. I put a deposit on land in August 2013 - well before most of the dates mentioned here. I was told I would have a house by June this year. Like many here I have gone through my learning stages, my anger, disappointment, frustrations with communications, ignorance and fear. This is my first home and I am painfully tired of renting. Every month seemed like eternity. Over time, I have learnt that Bell River also has suffered through this loss. The delay was not their fault, it was the original developer who was a dishonest pain. Bell River was left trying to sort out this mess, and they have agreed to carry the financial loss. While we all screamed at them they did their best to try and sort it all out. These days I am thankful. I'm paying off my deposit and we have made an amazing investment. I can't wait to build our house and it's so incredibly exciting to finally see things happening and to imagine where our house will be. I've gone there every week for over a year - screamed and cried at times, but now full of dreams and hope. With the journey now progressing, all I can do is say thank you to Bell River. They have accepted every change I have requested, made every plan redraft - and I'm sure I must have driven them crazy with my changes. They have given me prices that I know have been absolute gifts because I have compared with other builders plus valued cost of materials in retail. I wondered if this would be possible, at times I feared so much, but now all I can do is say thank you and I can hardly wait to see my home become a reality. I know this is a long post for a forum, and I apologise. But it has long troubled me the anger that has been thrown undeservedly - though I understand as I had my moments early in the year. I had to say how happy I am and how grateful. I made the best decision to build with Bell River and I hope we have a happy neighbourhood and community. Looking forward to meeting people and I hope everyone has a trouble free and exciting journey over the next twelve months until all our dreams have become realities Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 55Nov 22, 2014 10:45 pm Has anyone gone for the Category C brick upgrade? There are a couple in this category that I like, but I can't remember how much more this range is (obviously depends on the size of the house) just looking for a rough figure. Is everyone happy with the confirmed street names for Locosi Hill Estate? We are in Sparrow Street. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 56Nov 23, 2014 5:52 am No sorry, don't know about the Cat C brick upgrade. Yeah I don't mind them, mines changed from the proposed Whistler St to Locosi St now. Doesn't really bother me. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 57Nov 23, 2014 7:47 am Hi Bitsnpieces I haven't heard of category c upgrade, so my info is not to be taken as too reliable. However, to give you a rough guide, I have a two storey house and have chosen a brick several hundred dollars more per thousand than anything on the list. My upgrade fee was awesomely good. I'm guessing that if you are single storey and looking at the most expensive brick on the list it would probably cost you $2000-3000 max. I hope this helps even though it's a really approximate guess. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 58Nov 23, 2014 8:34 am Thanks mcosta2 and Vjh, We did our colours just recently and the only brick colour in the standard range that would suit was PGH Gravel, but we used this colour when we built our last home in 2011, so were hoping to go for something a little darker. I was hoping that any upgrade to the Category C brick (or third upgrade) would only be a few thousand maximum and yes we are building a single storey home. But I have read some other threads talking about brick upgrades being $11K to $21K, how could there possibly be that much difference in bricks! We upgraded to Gravel on our last build (which was double storey) but this was only $600, so nothing major, but the basic Eden Brae colours at that time, nothing was suitable. We are happy to hear that our street is staying as Sparrow Street, given that Schofield Farm Road basically runs into our street, I really thought they would change us to Schofield Farm Road also. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 59Nov 23, 2014 9:23 am Hi We went to PGh display to choose bricks. I didn't like any of the standards - they go well with the modern style but I'm really Classic in taste and nothing worked for me. If you hadn't already chosen I would say it's worth going to look - ask the CSO if you can still change if you aren't sure on what you selected. I'm not sure where they are at with orders at this stage. I don't have the paperwork anymore, so my info is really rough estimate. But from memory, there was only a couple hundred dollars difference per thousand between the standard and highest upgrade list. What I chose was $500 dearer than the top option. I have been thrilled with the variations I have received from Bell River - I could hardly believe what I received. It was like getting a birthday present, the best one since I was a kid. I calculated I would have a variation cost on bricks of $5,500 on a two storey house. The variation actually cost me much less than I expected. I don't know the specifics of your situation. Comparing my site, I also have a lot of windows. However, roughly guessing, I would honestly expect you would have a variation within well your comfort range. Certainly nowhere near 11k! Btw I like the name Sparrow Street too. I'm a bird lover and those cheeky little characters are delightful. But it's a charming name, anyway, and an apt memorial to the sad sacrifice of trees in the area. Have a great day. Re: Who is building with Bell River Homes in Schofields NSW? 60Nov 23, 2014 11:21 am (For those who read my post above before I edited it, I realised that I had some incorrect grammar. It appeared as if I had given a cost on ceiling height variation. That was not the case. I meant I expected to pay $5,500 on bricks upgrade. I was really delighted with the variation Bell River offered me. I guess it helps to expect something realistic because then if you are given something better it's a gift ) We bought land in Tallawong Schofields NSW size 30m X 12.5m and planning to get double story house build around 350 sqm. We are thinking about having premium inclusions… 0 4716 No idea about the driveway question, but your price for a house that size including landscaping seems very good! 1 6588 Hi all, We are considering Enigma 46 from Mojo Homes in Gables, NSW. Has anyone built with Mojo and any pointers and feedback. Also, if anyone has built similar design… 0 13614 |