Custom Home Builders in Sydney – Has anyone used one?

Casa2 · May 12, 2008 1:12 pm

Shady,

You have some good knowledge there. Are you in the industry?

I found that Binet homes, although they say they are a custom builder, keep pushing you back to a standard designs. I found this frustrating so dropped them.

And yes, quite a few builders are moving up-market, which is not where I'm placed. Finding a good quality, reliable, with good service, custom builder (or any builder for that matter) is difficult. It's such a big emotional and financial investment that it's scary.

Cheers,
Casa

michaelharvey1982 · May 12, 2008 1:29 pm

From memory it looks like about 12 homes will be going in the Bella Vista Waters display village.

I know there is a Meadowbank Home, Roselea Home and a Home Team. I don't think I saw signs up for the others, or maybe my memory is bad!

I agree with Shady and would look at Alkira. Their homes on display at Kellyville are very nice. If you want to view some of their homes being built, they have just started buidling two homes next to each other in Candilla Street, Kellyville Ridge.

Southies · May 12, 2008 1:50 pm

I would take a look at Wisdom Homes. A couple of members ( don't remember who) are building with them & seemed quite happy. Alos, it's a small company which seems to have pretty good customer service.

http://wisdomhomes.com.au/homesoverview.html

stonecutter1309 · May 12, 2008 2:22 pm

Us and bobbuilder are using them.

We took a project home and changed it substantially - but they were going to build us a custom home at one point.

Casa2 · May 12, 2008 2:25 pm

Does anyone know the address (or street) of the Bella Vista Waters display village? I've done a web search and found nothing. I'm thinking of driving past the village location to see if any information is on display.

michaelharvey1982 · May 12, 2008 3:18 pm

The future Bella Vista Waters display village will be located in Craigend Place, Bella Vista.

Its very close to the sales centre, which is at the corner of Edgewater Drive and Brighton Drive.

It looks like a construction zone still, so I don't know if much information is available. It might be best to give them a call to see if they have any details.

dreamer13 · May 12, 2008 11:02 pm

Hi Shady,
Thanks for the info on custom builders.... you certainly have a good knowledge of them. As a matter of interest, would you be able to elaborate on gremmo being 'dropping the ball a bit' ? .... Thanks.

Cheers,
dreamer

gpierce · May 19, 2008 10:16 pm

Casa2

Shady,

You have some good knowledge there. Are you in the industry?

I found that Binet homes, although they say they are a custom builder, keep pushing you back to a standard designs. I found this frustrating so dropped them.

Really? We have not found that at all. They are building us a house exactly the way we want it. We are not a huge fan of their large eaves on their own designs, and we came in with what we wanted from the start. No pushback at all.

They just submitted to council, we're in the "advertising" period. Just need to wait another 4 months for the rest:)

Talk to Brett Geary, we like him.

Greg

aya99 · Jul 07, 2009 1:57 am

Hi Groovy chick,
Which builder was that if I may know? Are you happy with their quality ? How long did it take ? Was that a single storey or double?
Thanks.

Groovy_chix

Hi Casa, we finally go with our custom design. The approx. cost is $1100/m2. That's already include the basix, stencilled driveway, turf for the garden, flooring (timber for bedrooms and living, tiled for the rest and alfresco), silestone kitchen benchtop, electrolux appliances. We even get the cupboard (top and bottom) for the laundry, ducted kitchen exhaust and many other small inclusions which other builder charge extra - we already got them in the inclusion. Their inclusions in not bad at all and we are happy with it. The building is brick veneer.

Muffins · Jul 10, 2009 10:33 pm

Hi I came across this forum doing some research about a Charleston home that we really like - I have an address in Harrington Park if your interested - maybe you can ask them how they found the building process with them? I would be keen to know their response. We knocked on the door but unfortunately the owners were not home (I know it's a Charleston home because I rang Camden Council).

I'm not sure where you intend on building but I have heard all extremely positive responses to Hilton Homes in Camden - however I do believe that he only builds in the Camden area.

jodge · Aug 25, 2010 12:19 pm

I can vouch for Hilton Homes. . . we built with them and are really pleased with the result. No nightmarish dramas like you hear about with some of the bigger project builders, and we got a one-off custom designed house. . . great!

Razer · Oct 26, 2010 8:22 am

Would love to revive this thread.

Any forum member currently building in Sydney with one of the smaller builders? Doesn't necessarily have to be a 100% custom home. I am just after feedback on different (custom) builders.

J&K · Oct 29, 2010 7:31 pm

We are getting closer to starting (new year) and GJ Gardener are one of our shortlist.

Razer · Nov 11, 2010 5:16 pm

Who are the others? What is your $/sqm budget? Does your land require site work above and beyond the usual?

GnM_clearwing · Feb 11, 2014 11:46 pm

Has anyone here built or know of someone who has built with hilton homes. My partner and I are getting a house plan drafted at the moment and were planning on building with them. They showed us a contract for a home they are building at the moment. 223k for a 21 square home with sound acoustics. Does that seem reasonable, all inclusive(site costs, turf, basix, driveway).

maximus · Feb 12, 2014 12:53 am

This seems doable.

There is a depreciation calculator on the BMT website that can work out a ballpark construction cost:

http://www.bmtqs.com.au/tax-depreciation-calculator#result-section-bookmark

This is the result I got for medium quality finish of a 21sq home:

$230,640

BuildingNewHome · Jul 09, 2014 1:51 pm

Dear Casa and all

We are struggling to find a custom builder in Sydney who will build between $1800-$2000/m2 (total costs including site, BASIX, etc).

May I ask who you ended up building with. Was it a builder from your initial list:

Binet Homes
Chateau Homes
Fairlight Developments
Felton Homes
Grande Homes
Gremmo Homes
The Home Team
Kauley Homes
Meadowbank Homes
The Shore Group
Tareena Homes
Young Homes

Some key questions would be:

1) did you have any issues during the build?
2) would you build with them again?

Thanks

Casa2 · Jul 09, 2014 3:13 pm

Hi BuildingNewHome,

I used Merit Homes, which were not on my original list.

The house was finished 3.5 years ago and I am very happy with the result.

I can certainly recommend Merit Homes and I woudl think they can meet your budget.

Cheers,
Casa

BuildingNewHome · Jul 09, 2014 7:09 pm

Thanks Casa,

Our initial thought about Merit Homes is they are on the upper end of the market. We will have a second look. Thanks for your response.

Can anyone recommend other builders?

jazz_d · Apr 24, 2015 9:18 am

Hi, has anyone built recently with Cavalier Homes using their Macarthur franchise? And what was your experience? I'm looking for recommendations for small builders for the Harrington Park area, cheers.