Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 19, 2009 10:34 am When people ask who I'm building with and I tell them PD, a really common response from people is.. "Arn't they expensive?"
I don't really see them as expensive, but i guess if you upgrade everything and make a lot of changes.. i could see that maybe they might be. What does everything else think? Is this a common perception about PD? I'm starting to wonder if maybe people look at me and my partner.. and think maybe its just expensive for us, because we are young.. Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 2Feb 19, 2009 10:45 am erinleigh When people ask who I'm building with and I tell them PD, a really common response from people is.. "Arn't they expensive?" They certainly won't be the ones you go to if want to stick to a budget that's for sure... well maybe their Prestige group isn't... I would think their Access and Smart Living range would be more comparable to budget homes like AVJ or Burbank. Which ones are you looking at? Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 3Feb 19, 2009 10:47 am I'm in the S.E of Melb and building with PD soon, what estate are you building in?
Whenever I tell someone we are building with PD I get "oh, very nice they do great homes". If someone said they are expensive I would take that as a compliment anyway lol. As it would imply that we are not building with a cheap and nasty builder IYKWIM. Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 4Feb 19, 2009 10:49 am I just wanted to add that as with any builder, they can be expensive if you do lots of extras and upgardes. But from our experience, all builders are pretty much alike, there's not really a lot in it. Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 6Feb 19, 2009 11:01 am joeygbh erinleigh When people ask who I'm building with and I tell them PD, a really common response from people is.. "Arn't they expensive?" They certainly won't be the ones you go to if want to stick to a budget that's for sure... well maybe their Prestige group isn't... I would think their Access and Smart Living range would be more comparable to budget homes like AVJ or Burbank. Which ones are you looking at? We are building with Access.. and when comparing to ther builders found them comparable. In the end it came down to the deisgn we liked that we could afford which just so happen to be PD. Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 7Feb 19, 2009 11:08 am On the day off I didnt have yesterday ( ) I went to a few display homes I had wanted to look at to get some colour / garden Ideas. I have to say that I was not impressed with 3 of the 5 builders when it came to their finish and attention to detail in their display homes. Some of these homes are barely 3 months old, and have issues so bad I would NOT open the houses to the public. The only 2 that were immaculately finished, clean, well fitted and decorated was PD and Metreecom. The Big M one had a broken cupboard which had been caused by a largish person sitting where they should not have, and that was yesterday.
Whenw e looked at building, our choices came down tothe Big M and PD, we went with M due to a promo at the time, I dont know how a company can sell homes when their Displays are average in appearance. Adrian B Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 8Feb 19, 2009 11:11 am I thought PD were alright, we didnt really look at too many builders... actually I think we only looked at 3 homes before deciding Who would they be comparing with? Who would be considered the cheapest (quality aside)? Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 9Feb 19, 2009 11:15 am PD seems to have a great reputation for building quality homes and therefore people figure that means they're expensive. However most of that reputation was earned well before they became one of the big high volume builders. These days they really aren't much different from any other high volume builder however their PR machine still manages to keep people thinking they are a quality builder. Eventually I think that reputation will be brought back down to where it ought to be.
I priced homes from other big builders and they are all very similar when you compare apples with apples. Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 10Feb 19, 2009 11:23 am Adrian B On the day off I didnt have yesterday ( ) I went to a few display homes I had wanted to look at to get some colour / garden Ideas. I have to say that I was not impressed with 3 of the 5 builders when it came to their finish and attention to detail in their display homes. Some of these homes are barely 3 months old, and have issues so bad I would NOT open the houses to the public. The only 2 that were immaculately finished, clean, well fitted and decorated was PD and Metreecom. The Big M one had a broken cupboard which had been caused by a largish person sitting where they should not have, and that was yesterday. Whenw e looked at building, our choices came down tothe Big M and PD, we went with M due to a promo at the time, I dont know how a company can sell homes when their Displays are average in appearance. ^^^^ Ditto, the only other companies that present as well are a little pricier. I think M3tricon and PD walk all over the other majors. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 11Feb 19, 2009 11:30 am In term so display homes, yes PD and M do a great job, all thanks to heaps and heaps of extras!!!
I think PD is quite pricey if you go for the Prestige range. Not so much if you are happy to have most things standards, but i find that PD really do mark up their extras! Idiots are fun, that's why there is one in every village! - Dr. House - Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 13Feb 19, 2009 11:38 am wonderland In term so display homes, yes PD and M do a great job, all thanks to heaps and heaps of extras!!! I think PD is quite pricey if you go for the Prestige range. Not so much if you are happy to have most things standards, but i find that PD really do mark up their extras! Depends on what you add. We built with Prestige, and some things were pricey, but others were quite reasonable, given the structural changes, greater work load, quality, etc. involved. Of course the extras are marked up - that's where they make their profit, and every builder has to do that to survive! But they are 'Options' - you don't have to have them if you feel they are over priced, or out of your budget. Solidarity, not solidity.......The Lexicon of Life Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 14Feb 19, 2009 11:41 am petal wonderland Of course the extras are marked up - that's where they make their profit, and every builder has to do that to survive! But they are 'Options' - you don't have to have them if you feel they are over priced, or out of your budget. I know that upgrades are optional and that they try and make profit from their upgrades, but I find that PD tends to add a little too much profits with upgrades. That's all I'm saying, I have nothing against PD or any volume builders. Idiots are fun, that's why there is one in every village! - Dr. House - Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 15Feb 19, 2009 11:49 am iTalk I will be building with PD because I like their Bardot floorplan. That's why I'm building the Regent 21, cos I like the floor plan I'm also making a conscious effort to not do many upgrades, ignoring electricals - I added 3 doors, im upgrading the front door lock to a deadlock, im getting frosted bathroom windows, over head cupboards in the kitchen and upgrading insulation 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 16Feb 19, 2009 11:59 am lisanne iTalk I will be building with PD because I like their Bardot floorplan. That's why I'm building the Regent 21, cos I like the floor plan I'm also making a conscious effort to not do many upgrades, ignoring electricals - I added 3 doors, im upgrading the front door lock to a deadlock, im getting frosted bathroom windows, over head cupboards in the kitchen and upgrading insulation I wish I could say the same. I'm adding almost $40K on the top of the Bardot and all of these variations seem to be essential Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 17Feb 19, 2009 12:02 pm That's what I find with upgrades, they seem to be essentials, which means we cant possibly take it out!
Or so i tell myself! Idiots are fun, that's why there is one in every village! - Dr. House - Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 18Feb 19, 2009 12:06 pm wonderland TMore land delays, now settlement is due Jun/Jul!! It better settle before I miss out on the FHOG aarrgghh!! I'm very confused with your signature wonderland! My land is meant to settle in May, and I will be signing up the contract with PD next month. Does that mean if my land is not settled by then, the FHOG will be gone ? Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 19Feb 19, 2009 12:09 pm iTalk wonderland TMore land delays, now settlement is due Jun/Jul!! It better settle before I miss out on the FHOG aarrgghh!! I'm very confused with your signature wonderland! My land is meant to settle in May, and I will be signing up the contract with PD next month. Does that mean if my land is not settled by then, the FHOG will be gone ? If you are do fixed site costs, you don't need the land to settle before signing your building contract - the FHOG is based on when you have signed your building contract and not land settlement. It's just that if you are not doing fixed costs, some builders need the land to have settled before completing their building contracts 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Do you think PD is expensive? 20Feb 19, 2009 12:11 pm The best way to do it is to set a budget for upgrades, then get a list of costs.
Work out which ones are best to do not based on: How much cheaper it is to do during construction then later (walls, doors, cabling etc. come in big here). When will you use it (for instance, were building but only 2 of us for now, so window coverings in the other bedrooms mean very little) For me, Im putting extra networking, extra power, outdoor power, moving a wall, bigger pantry, etc. at the top of the list. I want to build a media room, so we will move the walls to accommodate, but probably later buy the projector and such to make it. If you dont set a budget you will quickly spend more then you want, but if you force yourself to choose then suddenly you start being more rational about it. EG, do you really need to spend 6k on Y extra thats just nice? No. It's not original. Circa early to mid 90s would be my guess and maybe even as late as early 2000s 1 6625 Looking to start the journey of becoming an owner builder in SA. Feeling pretty (overly) confident on the building and construction details, but really struggling to find… 0 8397 A question. Im in Queensland and building a new home. We managed to reach practical completion 6 weeks ago but we haven't heard any date for handover yet. Who should we… 0 5800 |