Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 15, 2009 12:00 pm Hi everyone!
I have recently asked about Places Homes and I have got a few helpful insights as to who they are. The sales person confirmed that they're formed by the same top managment as Porter Davis and Places Homes is created to target the first home buyers market who needs affordable houses with good quality that PD provides. However, I can only take his word with a pinch of salt. I have good feeling about these guys, but I need to be "sure". Is there anyway I can find out how I can do a background check on Places Homes? I just need to know if they're officially linked to PD or are they created with no ties with PD, etc etc.... My concern is to know whether they have the financial backing or capacity to stand against bankruptcy etc. I am meeting them this Sat. Is there a list of questions you think I should ask them re their company? eg - are you associated w Master Builders Assoc? are you an official subsidiary of PD or a separate legal entity w no legal ties w PD? etc... This, I guess, would help me assess not just PH but also any other smaller builders' credibility and financial backing. Thanks for all your tips in advance guys. PS: Do you think the number of display homes they have in a location they're mktg is a symbol of how strong they are financially? Cheers, Haywire Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 2Jan 15, 2009 1:44 pm you've asked such a pertinent question, i'm surprised no one has replied. Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 3Jan 15, 2009 1:52 pm You might need to do a search through a business information broker to find out for sure.
One thing I have noticed off the ASIC free search is that their registered office is in Hallam, which happens to be where PD's office is. I'm sure if you get a full search you'll find that their registered office is the same address as PD, despite their physical location being Southbank. Stevep79 & Principessa Finished building Wisdom Homes Impression 33mkII in The Ponds, Sydney http://lilypadintheponds.blogspot.com Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 4Jan 16, 2009 11:47 am Yeah... I am a little disappointed that there aren't many responses to this. I would think this is quite an important thing to do, esp on smaller builders or builders who claims to be connected to bigger ones.
Doesn't anyone do this at all before appointing a smaller builder? or no one is as silly as me to appoint a smaller builder at all in this forum? *lol* I only manage to find this that was referred by my colleague. http://dnb.com.au/Credit_Reporting/Buy_ ... index.aspx Hope it helps anyone out there doing the same as I am. But would appreciate more insight by anyone. Thanks! Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 5Jan 16, 2009 12:05 pm By the way, I took the advice of making a quick check on Places and this is what I found...
http://www.search.asic.gov.au/cgi-bin/g ... &srchsrc=1 Haywire Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 6Jan 16, 2009 12:46 pm I dont know your location, perhaps one way to look at the builder commision website and you can download all the registered builders for Vic.
You should be able to find who hold the DB U/M licence for both PD and Places and find out if they are similar. I thin on the pd plans they have the name of the person that hold the licence. I am sure someone here with PD plans can tell you. In Vic the company doesnt have as much empheses as the person. In otherwords it is not the company that holds the building licence it is the individual. Also the builder pays insurance on your behalf just incase they go under. Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 7Jan 16, 2009 12:50 pm I rang up the national (I think it is national?) registry that builders have to register with before we signed up to make sure my builder was registered. Can't remember what it was called though, sorry! Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 8Jan 16, 2009 1:59 pm Hi guys, thanks for the additional input from everyone!
Donuts> Thanks for that. I did a quick search on Google n found National Assoc for Home Builders (http://www.nahb.org). Is this the one you are referring to? By the way, if a builder is not registered with NAHB or HIA or MBA (Master Builders Assoc), do you think it's safe to go with them??? I'm in VIC. Borg> Thanks for that info. May I ask what does "DB U/M licence" stand for? Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 9Jan 16, 2009 2:22 pm Hi there, Places have great floorplans don't they! Anyways, I think the other day I went to a link on a "PLaces" add and it went straight into the Porter Davis website... hmmm, now I see why. They probably are connected, perhaps contact Porter Davis to see what they say.
I'd be really interested to hear how you go checking them out. We want to do more checks on our builder, but don't know how. Good luck Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 10Jan 16, 2009 2:55 pm Interesting find for you
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/3/74b/5a3 Quote: Matt Howard Executive Manager in Building Industry Matt Howard’s Experience Executive Manager Places Homes (Construction industry) January 2008 — Present (1 year 1 month) Gerenral Manager - development Porter Davis Homes (Privately Held; Construction industry) November 1999 — January 2008 (8 years 3 months) Grain of salt though, the MD of my builder would read like that as well. He's ex-Eden Brae and now MD of Wisdom Homes but they are rivals, not in bed with eachother. Stevep79 & Principessa Finished building Wisdom Homes Impression 33mkII in The Ponds, Sydney http://lilypadintheponds.blogspot.com Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 11Jan 16, 2009 6:37 pm The ASIC searches that are available to the general public aren't going to tell you much. And even if you could get full reports, I doubt most people would even understand what they mean. If you've ever read through a full ASIC report on an entity, you'd know how: a) boring; and b) mystifying it can be. It's simply one piece of information that *might* be useful, when added to other data. Or not.
And just because somebody has paid the nominal fee to register a company doesn't mean a thing in terms of solvency, reliability or legitimacy. All that aside, asking a few pertinent questions is always wise, but the apparent level of suspicion here around what is actually a perfectly normal business setup seems a bit over the top. I work in a government agency that has a law enforcement role where financial stuff is always inder the microscope. I see some VERY * goings-on, and I didn't go to this much trouble when picking my builder. There's a lot to be said for gut feeling. Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 12Jan 16, 2009 11:05 pm kek, this is growing into a volunteer research project. I can see the necessity though. Consumers need to know how reputable a builder is before they commit to parting with their money. Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 13Jan 17, 2009 12:22 am We knew of a few houses in our area built by the firm we were keen on. With one, we walked past while the owners were in the front yard.....it must have been obvious we were paying a bit of attention to the house. Anyway, they were proud of it and very happy to chat and even invite us to look through. We're copying their external colors and they are happy about this.....they have even dropped in to look at our build (several suburbs away) and offer advice on the way through.
Another one, we left a note in their letterbox inviting them to phone us if they were willing to tell us about their experience and give some feedback on the builder. Another time was similar to the first......if people notice you staring at their house, they tend to say gooday and have a chat. In each and every case the feedback on the builder was very positive and I don't think there is any better recommendation than that. If they had've been places the builder sent us to or owners the builder introduced us to, I would've been less impressed. Cheers zeke PS Most people who have built recently understand the dilemma of trying to decide on a builder and are only too happy to share their experiences as soon as they realise you are genuine. Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 14Jan 17, 2009 5:47 am Haywire Hi guys, thanks for the additional input from everyone! Donuts> Thanks for that. I did a quick search on Google n found National Assoc for Home Builders (http://www.nahb.org). Is this the one you are referring to? By the way, if a builder is not registered with NAHB or HIA or MBA (Master Builders Assoc), do you think it's safe to go with them??? I'm in VIC. Hi Haywire. All those names sound familiar to me, I am sure it was one of them I called. Whoever it was, they were very helpful. Why not give them all a call! Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 15Jan 19, 2009 8:37 am Hi All!!
Just met up with the sales consultant there at Places display homes at Tarneit yesterday. He was helpful enough to actually sit down with us for a good 1.5hrs to talk through the actual process of building as well as took a walk through on their 2 display homes and showed us exactly what upgrades we'll be getting in their current promo. They've also mentioned to us that they have a 20wks completion gaurantee (from site start). In the event if they delay the completion, they will pay $300/wk until completion. On the other hand, if we were the ones delaying the project due to us not wanting to proceed thru the next stages, or asking the lender not to release the finance to them upon completion of a stage, then WE have to pay THEM $300/wk for the delay. They work at a maximum of 5 houses per month. He will email me the details of the ABN and DB Lic nos by mid week this week. So I will check them out from there. Zeke> Thanks for your info! It's good to know that the actual home owners who have built with them are actually satisfied with their homes and their experience with Places. I shd actually get a list of houses built by them and drop by to see their quality huh....? hmmm.... Thanks!! Haywire Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 16Jan 19, 2009 11:06 am Haywire Zeke> Thanks for your info! It's good to know that the actual home owners who have built with them are actually satisfied with their homes and their experience with Places. I shd actually get a list of houses built by them and drop by to see their quality huh....? hmmm.... Thanks!! Haywire Haywire I'm not sure if there's a misunderstanding or not, but the checks we did were with our current builder in SA....not Places etc. I was just suggesting that a discussion with people who have built recently is a good way to do a background check on a builder, especially if it's not restricted to owners the builder refers you to. I also note that your original query was more focussed on the financial viability of the builder. I reckon this is a very difficult one to assess, but the clearest indication I've been able to get of this is the promptness with which the tradies are paid. More than one of the recent-build owners commented that tradies had told them they preferred to build with "our builder" as they were sure of getting paid. The attitude and commitment of the SS also seems to be an indication as it's hard to be enthusiastic if you think you might be on a "sinking ship". But, in the end, I think you"pays yer money and takes yer chances" Cheers zeke Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 17Jan 26, 2009 8:06 am Hi Haywire,
We found that our bank was well informed on which builders are good to deal with as they see delays delays and disagreements over work (ie not paying progress payments 'till work is completed to standard) regards sean Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 18Jan 30, 2009 11:23 pm This thread just became all the more relevant after the news about Wincrest. Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 19Jan 30, 2009 11:47 pm click on
www.buildingcommission.com.au ...you should find all you need, even after getting the info from them, go to the site anyway and double check against the register, just for peace of mind if nothing else. Re: Builder Background Check - How to do??? 20Aug 14, 2015 5:13 pm The Answer at last ... an australian service AlwaysCheckYourBuilder.com.au is now doing full builder background checks. Prior dispute history, credit, director, licence and shareholders + previous companies, full social media (like here) and other stuff. I do a fair bit of research for them so I am biased i would suggest nothing is unreasonable for PCI. we did all sorts, including checking the hot water, checking all the GPO's had power, testing that the showers were… 9 98548 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20188 |