Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 81Apr 22, 2012 8:21 pm Hi Elguapo, We are almost at contract signing with Main Vue Homes at SWC. As soon as you walk through the door of MV you notice the difference of their homes compared to any of the other volume builders. MV offers raised vaulted ceilings, designer windows, 2340 high doors, tiled skirting just to name a few things compared to the other volume big boys around. The transparency of the whole process from the first day we met the consultant was the best we have recieved after building for our fourth time. The consultant completes your tender and you even get to choose your colors on site, instead of picking your colors in the centre of Melbourne which is really difficult when your not in the home. Which home are you looking at? We looked at all the big volume builders and found that the MV home is not as expensive as what you first think when you first walk through...We are dealing with XP and we recommend, he is really helpful and upfront, however you will need to make an appointment as every time we have been he has someone siting at his desk, but we can see why, he is great! Good Luck with your desicision... Brighteyes Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 82Apr 22, 2012 8:39 pm Hi All, We are also building with MV and are having our tender appointment this week. Very pleased with the process so far, no surprises and everything running smooth, so far, so good! It would be great to hear who else is building the Ivory, we are in love with the home, my husband and I have purchased a block at Warralily in Geelong, land titles end of September and we will have our contract signed by end of May, then we can sit back and wait for our land to title. I can't believe how well priced those big windows are, I was expecting $2k each, but they are under $500 each....hello...bargain! Come on Ivory people, let me know your thoughts!? Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 83Apr 22, 2012 9:08 pm Good to see some of those prices my fiancée and I are looking at MainVue we liked those big windows but thought they would be too expensive. It is little while off before we start to build but everything is pointing to MainVue for us right now. Anyone have them price up double glazing? Really wish we could start this year but the wedding comes first I've been told. Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 84Apr 22, 2012 9:18 pm Brighteyes Which home are you looking at? Hi Brighteyes, At this stage we are interested in the Emporio Rise MD432. Unfortunately it isn't on display anywhere but my wife and I both want the master bedroom down stairs and away from the kids bedrooms. We've been looking long enough to be able to tell from a plan if a home design will meet our needs. My only personal concern with the MD432 is that they widen the house on the ground floor to ensure the master bedroom is of sufficient size and the first floor is also a few meters shorter, length wise meaning I suspect you don't get a full brick wall at the rear or part of the sides like you do on the ER432. I take point on what you mention sets them apart. I'm just not sure if my question to the lady there this afternoon, what differentiates them from Henley Homes, was fully understood and must have caught her off guard. I guess my question could equally be applied in comparing to any of the other volume builders. I'm surprised that all these points of difference aren't made clear in both brochures or the web site. XP looked flat out when we were there so I will try and catch him for a walk through over the next few weeks when I have some spare time. We've been looking for a good 3 years now so a few weeks isn't going to kill us. We are doing a knock down rebuild so we aren't under any pressure as the house we are knocking down has served us well for 9 years so far. One thing I did notice they include that a lot of the others don't......toilet roll holders. Cheers Elguapo Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 85Apr 22, 2012 9:50 pm Zerosignal Good to see some of those prices my fiancée and I are looking at MainVue we liked those big windows but thought they would be too expensive. It is little while off before we start to build but everything is pointing to MainVue for us right now. Anyone have them price up double glazing? Really wish we could start this year but the wedding comes first I've been told. Hey ZSignal, We looked into double glazing, however MV provide a 6 star home anyway, so it's really not worth doing, it's almost to European standards which once again is ahead of the other volume builders. I can really see MV taking off, the name is growing fast, we have noticed a number of homes under construction in SWC, Alamanda & Highlands. We found the Saltwater Coast, Point Cook office to be really efficient and helpful, especially XP. When do you get married, we are getting married in August! So much happening, a new house and a wedding! Wow! Good Luck Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 87May 06, 2012 11:38 pm Hi All, It is so refreshing to see this blog about MainVue as I had never heard about them before today. My family and I have been looking for quite some time and were sent out to Point Cook to look at one last style home for Simonds before deciding which one we were going to build. Unfortunately this was quickly interrupted by the Amalfi632 which we fell in love with at first sight. I must say, we were lucky enough to tag along with another couple during their walkthru and we very impressed by XP. What a fantastic sales consultant! He has however put a spanner in the works because we called Simonds and told them that we were no longer interested in their houses although the guy we've been dealing with, has been totally upfront with us along our 12 month journey in looking for a new home. He's even offered to allow us to use him for any other property to ensure we are not getting ripped off. I feel bad though and may not take him up on that offer. Okay down to the serious stuff. We were told that we could look at no more than $290k for the as displayed stuff we see excluding the fireplace and bi-fold doors. XP explained the difference of refridgerated vs evapourated cooling, the firedoor, building standards for lighting etc and everything just made sense. The only thing I'm not sure of is the other costs I need to consider. I'd love to hear from others that have already started the process to see get an idea of what other costs I should be aware of and if the money that XP is asking for to cover each stage in the process is part of the house payment or addition to covering the colour appointments, contract signing etc. I no nothing about building or buying houses other than what I read here and it's quite overwhelming to say the least. I'm hesitant to pay $850 when Simonds were happy enough to do draft the price of our house with inclusions etc without any money down. I just want to know firstly, what to look out for in the fine print and then what costs to expect on top of the house price. I'm also interested in finding out how those people go on with the non-standard stuff in the contract and if it was removed or if they did something else. Thanks again for the posts. Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 88May 07, 2012 7:24 am Don't stress, the $850 is fully refundable if you're not happy with the draft. goodluck. Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 89May 07, 2012 11:24 pm lee_pou Hi All, It is so refreshing to see this blog about MainVue as I had never heard about them before today. My family and I have been looking for quite some time and were sent out to Point Cook to look at one last style home for Simonds before deciding which one we were going to build. Unfortunately this was quickly interrupted by the Amalfi632 which we fell in love with at first sight. I must say, we were lucky enough to tag along with another couple during their walkthru and we very impressed by XP. What a fantastic sales consultant! He has however put a spanner in the works because we called Simonds and told them that we were no longer interested in their houses although the guy we've been dealing with, has been totally upfront with us along our 12 month journey in looking for a new home. He's even offered to allow us to use him for any other property to ensure we are not getting ripped off. I feel bad though and may not take him up on that offer. Okay down to the serious stuff. We were told that we could look at no more than $290k for the as displayed stuff we see excluding the fireplace and bi-fold doors. XP explained the difference of refridgerated vs evapourated cooling, the firedoor, building standards for lighting etc and everything just made sense. The only thing I'm not sure of is the other costs I need to consider. I'd love to hear from others that have already started the process to see get an idea of what other costs I should be aware of and if the money that XP is asking for to cover each stage in the process is part of the house payment or addition to covering the colour appointments, contract signing etc. I no nothing about building or buying houses other than what I read here and it's quite overwhelming to say the least. I'm hesitant to pay $850 when Simonds were happy enough to do draft the price of our house with inclusions etc without any money down. I just want to know firstly, what to look out for in the fine print and then what costs to expect on top of the house price. I'm also interested in finding out how those people go on with the non-standard stuff in the contract and if it was removed or if they did something else. Thanks again for the posts. Hi Lee P, We understand what you have been through, we walked away from paying $4k with another builder starting with M...Especially when we stumbled across the Amalfi at Point Cook. The $850 will only get you on the cheaper "deal" while you are comparing, considering we have noticed that the house price went up $2k, so we can now see the benefit, so we have already made a saving! We are also building the Amalfi 632 in Berwick Waters estate, dealing with XP as well, he has been really helpful, we found weekdays are the best to catch up with him as we have seen what it is like out there on a weekend, understandable due to their designs, but also really impressed with XP which probably made the decision much easier for us, as we have never done this before. We are first home owners, and are signing our final contract next week! So excited, it's been a very smooth ride, we have everything in our final contract at approx $295 but it's about selecting the right upgrades, you don't need it all. I must admit at first we thought this home would be way over budget, but as turns out its MV's inclusions that save you... Other builders charge you for what they have standard! One builder was going to charge us $9k for square set cornice! Anyone else experience this??? Any way good luck Lee, you will be fine, great choice, but I must say comparing to Simmonds is like chalk and cheese, when it comes to MV! Inital Deposit - 01/03/12 Colour App - 07/03/12 Tender App - 04/04/12 Contract App - 14/05/12 Site Start - June 2012 Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 90May 07, 2012 11:55 pm We are in SA and have fallen in love with the Emporium (the Emporio in Vic). We are hoping it will be do-able on our budget as it would suit our family perfectly (family of 5 living in a 2 bed unit at the moment!). OurDreamHome which upgrades did you go with? Our *must haves* are refrigerated air con and the ceaserstone island bench. Can anyone tell me if any flooring (exc bathrooms) is included in the base price or if it is all extra? Anyone care to share rough prices if you have them? Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 91May 08, 2012 8:31 am OurDreamHome When do you get married, we are getting married in August! So much happening, a new house and a wedding! Wow! Good Luck August is coming up soon! These things all tend to happen at once it seems. We are getting married in March next year, most of the big things are organised already just lots of the little items left to organise. How did your tender go with Mainvue? Any tips for everyone on what you thought was particularly good value? Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 92May 15, 2012 9:36 pm OurDreamHome I must admit at first we thought this home would be way over budget, but as turns out its MV's inclusions that save you... Other builders charge you for what they have standard! One builder was going to charge us $9k for square set cornice! Anyone else experience this??? Any way good luck Lee, you will be fine, great choice, but I must say comparing to Simmonds is like chalk and cheese, when it comes to MV! Hi OurDreamHome, I'd have to say I agree with you 110% that MV's inclusions are much greater than most other builders out there! My partner and I have been looking for our perfect home for about two months now and once seeing the AM632, we really didn't need to look any further. Our first impression was a really positive one. We were actually acknowledged by their team as we entered their sales office and then were provided with all the information that we needed. The sales consultant walked us through the home and gave us a better understanding at what we would be receiving with the base price which was extremely helpful! Within a few hours, we received a quotation which helped us determine roughly what our end figure would be after choosing the things we wanted in our home. Although there wasn't much that needed to be added as their luxury inclusions at no cost already supplied a lot. As for your chalk and cheese comment - I'm loving it!! Couldn't have put it better myself! I think all these big 'top' builders need to get out there, refresh their minds, floorplans and inclusions and see how they're doing it because you literally can't compare once you've walk through an MV home. Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 93May 16, 2012 2:38 am Hi OurDreamHome, we are building the Amalfi532 eventually, can't help but see your final price was around $295,000, our final price will be around $380,000, what on earth did you guys leave out to get the price so low??? Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 94May 16, 2012 7:16 am Grunter perhaps the real question should be what did you put in? Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 95May 16, 2012 8:43 am marksi Very interesting... We also weren't keen on the sales person in Point Cook that's why we went with the lady in Epping. I guess whatever works for you individually.... I'd be interested on the feedback of your administrator, I am certainly not too impressed.... With You marksi...not impressed Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 96May 16, 2012 2:28 pm Zerosignal Grunter perhaps the real question should be what did you put in? Ok l'll start with what we've included: Avenue facade, colorbond roof, higher ceilings, timber windows, square set, translucent doors throughout, workshop added to garage, the kithchen that is on display at PC, basin and tap upgrades, upgrade to solid timber flooring, upgrade to refrigerated cooling, upgrades to carpet and tiling, BAL was $4000, thats the major stuff anyway. Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 97May 16, 2012 5:17 pm Grunter, wow, i dont think you've left out anything from the display home! here's my 2c bit for reducing that final number. roof, raised ceiling, cornices, can't be done after, so forget those get clear doors and get the translucent glaze tape from a hardware shop, will save you 100's. Timber Flooring is a huge markup @ MV...we are getting best EU oak flooring except for the bedrooms and that's still around 5k cheaper than MV's most expensive flooring. Refrigerated cooling, personally not a big fan, but again its a massive markup @ MV, could easily save 4k there. MV's Kitchen pantry is not worth 6k. We got a quote to do up the pantry with cupboard doors and more shelves (like the one at display in the double storey) for half that price. btw, we got the kitchen as displayed too. just a better sink than the one displayed. We got the cat 3 carpets from MV, (~5.5k)but now i know i can get them atleast 1.5 cheaper. I'd be keen to know what was the quote on the workshop in the garage, we are got the garage extended by about 2.5mts for ~5k Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 98May 16, 2012 7:55 pm comfortablywacky, we were quoted $5000 for the work shop to the garage. We also are getting just shelves in the kitchen pantry, l think the butlers pantry is overkill. We have asked if Mainvue will hand over house without timber flooring done as they want $16000 for engineered flooring, l think it's a bit of a rip, as solid floorboards will cost no much more than the $16000 quoted for engineered floors. Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 99May 16, 2012 8:59 pm grunter072 comfortablywacky, we were quoted $5000 for the work shop to the garage. We also are getting just shelves in the kitchen pantry, l think the butlers pantry is overkill. We have asked if Mainvue will hand over house without timber flooring done as they want $16000 for engineered flooring, l think it's a bit of a rip, as solid floorboards will cost no much more than the $16000 quoted for engineered floors. That is a lot for the floors - I'd organise it yourself. Re: Anyone building with MainVue Homes 100May 16, 2012 11:21 pm yep 16k is a lot, but are you getting timber through the whole house? we are getting engineered floors as well from this place in Richmond called www.tectonicfloors.com.au, they also stock some salvaged wood which is also very good. Wish you all the best. Once you signed the contract, they will find millions excuses to charge you. And have seen their sites unfinished for a long time. 4 25757 I haven’t. But have a Lowe Design home. Not only did I find Matt Lowe patronising and a bully, but the home is NOT TO CODE. I have water coming through the bricks… 1 15581 Hi we are looking to talk to people who have built with them recently. We have signed mid range built contract but identified that a lot of things are not included.… 0 1683 |