Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 24, 2009 11:30 am HI,
I am reasonably new to this forum. And love reading through all the info in here. I have been scanning the forum for anything about M3tricon and NBG. I have had a look at some of the blogs of people building with M3tricon but there are only a couple who are building with NBG. Are there any more of you out there? We are looking at floorplans by both builders and I am interested to hear what others have to say about the NBG. I really want to make sure that we don't sign up with anyone until I know more about final costs. My major concerns are 1) How much extra I need to allow on top of base price for things like carpets, blinds, driveways, fences, and minimal upgrades. (I am thinking around $50k on top of the base price of $230k) the blocks we 2) I'm not too concerned about the build time taking a long time but I do want to be happy with the final product. Anyway- would love to hear from anyone with any opinions. Cheers Michelle Re: Anyone built with National Builders Group 2Feb 24, 2009 11:46 am Hi,
We are more than happy with the build quality. Cost wise, I would say that we spent an additional $40-50k in extras (not including site costs). Extras included tiles, carpets, larger showers, spa, more cupboards, larger pantry, addition of bedroom, decking in alfresco, additional lights and power points, vacpan etc. Other things like stone benchtops, downlights, appliances, ducted vac, cooling etc were already included as part of their promotion at the time. I think their current promotion is even better than the one we got so I think that you might get away with less than the $40k. Given that our decking was 10k and flooring (carpet and tile) was another 16k, we really only did about 25k in all of the other extras. I also think that no matter who you end up going with, you will end up paying similar $$ for houses with similar specs. What you get in the way of promotions, you will pay more for extras or site costs. My advice is make sure you like the plan and that it suits your needs. Make changes that you can afford and need. Do not go for a house that appears cheaper up front (if you prefer the design of the more expensive one) because you will end up paying a similar amount for it in the long run. Good luck with your decision. Re: Anyone built with National Builders Group 3Feb 24, 2009 12:31 pm Hi Shell,
We have currently put down our $1000 deposit with NBG, but as you can see from my last blog entry (see sig) we are possibly going to go with another company. We love NBG's value for money, but their customer service has alot to be said for and their time frames for where I live are excruciating, they are just sooooo SLOW! We are still undecided as to what to do... Good-Luck with whatever you decide. Building Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=13002 Site start: 8th July 2009 Handover: 11/12/2009! 5 months total build time. 40 sqs of luxuary...Bliss! Re: Anyone built with National Builders Group 4Feb 24, 2009 1:13 pm Mel&Em Hi, We are more than happy with the build quality. Cost wise, I would say that we spent an additional $40-50k in extras (not including site costs). Extras included tiles, carpets, larger showers, spa, more cupboards, larger pantry, addition of bedroom, decking in alfresco, additional lights and power points, vacpan etc. Other things like stone benchtops, downlights, appliances, ducted vac, cooling etc were already included as part of their promotion at the time. I think their current promotion is even better than the one we got so I think that you might get away with less than the $40k. Given that our decking was 10k and flooring (carpet and tile) was another 16k, we really only did about 25k in all of the other extras. I also think that no matter who you end up going with, you will end up paying similar $$ for houses with similar specs. What you get in the way of promotions, you will pay more for extras or site costs. My advice is make sure you like the plan and that it suits your needs. Make changes that you can afford and need. Do not go for a house that appears cheaper up front (if you prefer the design of the more expensive one) because you will end up paying a similar amount for it in the long run. Good luck with your decision. Thanks so much for your response. Your $40k extra on top of the base price sounds good for what you got in there. The promotions at the moment include colourbond roof, fitout to all beroom robes, ducted evaporative cooling (there is no mention of heating?) ironing centre, Blanco s/s kitchen appliances, gas point to alfresco, water filter, silestone benchtop, and numerous others so I hope that my $50 extras budget will squeeze everything else in neede to finish. Thanks again for your response- your advice has been very helpful. Cheers Michelle Re: Anyone built with National Builders Group 5Feb 24, 2009 1:20 pm pinkfairymagic Hi Shell, We have currently put down our $1000 deposit with NBG, but as you can see from my last blog entry (see sig) we are possibly going to go with another company. We love NBG's value for money, but their customer service has alot to be said for and their time frames for where I live are excruciating, they are just sooooo SLOW! We are still undecided as to what to do... Good-Luck with whatever you decide. Hi, Where in country vic are you? We are in country vic and I just hope it is a different part! I really feel for you! I had a look at your blog and can feel your frustrations, although I am not too concerned about when the house is finished because to tell you the truth, I would like to be able to put extra towards our current mortgage to create more equity and with the current "build now pay later" I am thinking a longer build time would actually suit me. Did your sales rep give you a "rough" idea of what the extra would be on top of the base price or do you have no idea what-so-ever? That would really frustrate me- especally when paying the $1000 deposit! I am assuming you don't get that back? This is exactly why I am doing as much reasearch as possible before I do anything! I haven't even purchased the block yet- just in case! I hope you hear something very soon! Michelle Re: Anyone built with National Builders Group 6Feb 24, 2009 6:52 pm Hi again
Heating is an automatic inclusion with all (if not most and definately with NBS) builders these days. Cooling is only to upper floor on 2-story homes. Good luck Re: Anyone built with National Builders Group 7Feb 24, 2009 9:22 pm We signed up with NBG before all the nice inclusions. Our house cost moved from $227k base cost to $314 at quotation including site costs, carpet, tiles, a large waterproofed balcony upstairs, enclosing the side verandah into the house and fitting out a bar and wine room, upgraded the heating, flyscreens, and the list goes on. Since that point we have spent another $25000 with the builder - an extra retaining wall, electrical, (nearly $10,000 at the colour selection on upgrades), and so forth. We still have money to spend on retaining walls at the front of the property, rear fill, driveways and blinds. Then furniture... I think it's time we won tattslotto. We did have some significant site costs that most people wouldn't have had. We got Metricon to do an estimate on site costs on the block and they were a fraction less. So far pretty happy with the build although not moving fast enough. Fi has moved in!! Hi All, we are starting to think of building with Masterpiece Builders in Victoria, has anyone had any feedback or experience with them 0 14026 First time poster long story short we are planning knocking down rebuilding a house in Wavell Heights We are thinking to go with Omni built homes as they are but flexible… 0 17437 4 14775 |