Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 12, 2009 9:46 am Has anyone had dealings with Lumley Insurance Brokers? These are the guys we are insured with and am wondering how long it takes from the time you put in a claim to when the new builder can start. We can either owner build or get quotes for a new builder, but the latter may take a couple of months to go through, we can start straight away if we owner build, but there are a few headaches with that as well, having time to supervise being one of them. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 2Feb 12, 2009 9:49 am Good luck Sue….I’ve been thinking of you! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 3Feb 12, 2009 9:58 am Thanks Michelle, we rang all the tradies that were working onsite and they are happy to give us quotes to complete the work. There are a couple of leaks, one in the roof and one in a wall which I think a qualified builder would know how to handle better than DH or myself. DH really doesn't have the time, nor do I. So if we can get a good price from a builder to finish it off, I would sleep better, but they will use their own tradesmen and we did want to help out the guys who didn't get paid for their work, but if we can't...we can't Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 4Feb 12, 2009 10:02 am SuH - wondered how you went with your insurance company the other day. It is tough isn't it - on one hand you want to help the poor tradies but on the other you need your home completed and done now.
If you went the owner builder way would that mean that either you or your DH would have to do the owner-builder course to become accredited? Maybe phone around to a couple of the good private builders - like Macquarie Homes, Winspace etc. Do you personally know any retired builders? That would be the perfect way to go as they could oversee the tradies. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 5Feb 12, 2009 10:16 am I know a builder up that way!
This is my ex....he has builders up in Newcastle as well. http://www.neilrilesconstructions.com.au/press.html Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 6Feb 12, 2009 11:24 am Hi Suh
We are with Lumley. You need to put in a claim detailing what exactly you are going to claim. At this stage you should have a report done on the house to identify any defects plus you need to claim for incomplete works. If you don't have someone check for defects then it may be missed when the assessor comes out and will require another claim when your builder starts. Best to cover as much as you can upfront. Once they receive your claim they will send out an assessor. The assessor will then do a report which you can use to get quotes for the work. Once you get the quotes you can send this to the insurance company. They will then make a decision based on the quotes. Sometimes the insurance company may look for a builder to do the work so you won't really know until you put the claim in. They can take up to 90 days to accept the claim, they did for us. Once you sign the release they then send you a cheque. You can't do any work on the house until they have sent the assessor out and accepted the claim. Any emergency work you think needs to be done you have to have pre-approved by the insurer. You can owner build if you choose to, Laldous did that and I am sure she would be able to provide you with invaluable information. We didn't due to the amount of defects which required a large amount of work from a qualified builder. Owner building would have been just too much for us, plus we were only at lock up (plus plaster). Hope this is of some help. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 7Feb 12, 2009 4:20 pm Thanks photogirl.
I thought it was the assessor that came out yesterday...he told us we could owner build or get quotes from a builder of our choice. He took photos of the leaking wall as well. He told us the amount it would probably take to finish the house and is sending a claim form in case we don't go the owner builder path. We had a builder friend look at it on the weekend, he didn't find any defects apart from what we could see ourselves, and we have had calls from two other builders in town who we have dealt with in the past. I am keen to go the builder way, nothing against DH but I think there needs to be someone there to supervise, but we do need to keep it within what funds we have left also....and time is another factor with this house we are renting being on the market. Another couple who were building with the same mob had already had their claim approved and are looking for their builder. Hopefully, it won't take as long as 90 days. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 8Feb 12, 2009 4:40 pm Can your builder friend finish it for you SuH?
At least it sounds as if everything is moving along nicely - instead of becoming bogged down in nightmare-ish paperwork. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 10Feb 12, 2009 4:44 pm kyton Can your builder friend finish it for you SuH? At least it sounds as if everything is moving along nicely - instead of becoming bogged down in nightmare-ish paperwork. He didn't offer kyton, we were about to ask and we heard from a mutual friend he hasn't been very well and isn't interested in taking on anything else at the moment so we didn't want to put him on the spot, I would have liked him to do it, he is very thorough. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 11Feb 12, 2009 5:00 pm Oh what a darn shame would have been perfect for you. How about the other builders you have been speaking to - were either of them any good? Some things are worth waiting for. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 12Feb 12, 2009 5:23 pm Hi Suh
Hopefully it won't take anywhere near as long as ours. I think it had a lot to do with the number of houses they had to inspect, plus I think they were trying to set up one builder to take over the work (which didn't happen) and that held things up. We also had a lot of defects so ours became quite complicated, of course. And still seems to be for some reason. It's just an inconvenience to have to go through, especially when you are renting because you never know where you stand with a rental property. It will be two years this April since we first demolished and I really would like this whole thing to be over soon. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 13Feb 12, 2009 5:45 pm TWO YEARS! I feel for you photogirl, that's just too long, best of luck.
kyton....the other builder is Gr1ff1ths Builders, use to be owned by K Gr1ff1ths, don't know if you know of him, he had a very good reputation in Newcastle. The new owner was the supervisor for D1xon Homes 12 years ago, who built the house we are in now, which we sold and are renting back he is a very decent, competent, thorough man and I would have every confidence in him ... if his price is right. The other we were thinking about was Designbilt. Someone also recommended Macquarie Homes. So there are a few to choose from. The leak in the rumpus wall is my main worry, it was waterproofed but water seaps through in heavy rain, not good Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 14Feb 12, 2009 6:02 pm K Griffiths has an awesome reputation in Newcastle (they had some stuff in at the tender centre for sale the other week I bid on) plus we used to love love love Dixon Homes when they were in Newcastle (the in-laws live in a Dixon subdivision but built with Mirvac) - so either of them would be perfect to finish off your house.
And you are right to be concerned about the leak - this drizzle doesn't seem to be letting up Some things are worth waiting for. Re: For those whose builder went bust..insurance ? 15Feb 17, 2009 9:02 pm Sue,
Hi there.. how are you? have you made any progress with this as yet?? What else needs to be finished off the house?? You say there is a leak on the roof? Is the roof tin/tiled? You also say there is a leak in a wall?? is this some type of retaining wall connected to a bedroom/living room of some sort? I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105582 Hi All, I just wanted to close this topic out with an update. So we ended up agreeing to a number with the insurance company, and after an extensive amount of hand… 8 23404 |