Hi,
Is anyone building a Boutique Home? Just wanting some feed back on them.
Thanx
Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Boutique Homes 2Mar 06, 2009 6:43 pm Theres one or two threads about Boutique - cant find it though. But I hear they are a good builder, havent heard anything bad. Built the Atlantique 37 Mk2 with Carlisle Homes - WE'RE IN!! Building thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14413 ATLANTIQUE 37 MK2 PHOTOS THREAD - updated 22nd August '09 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22399 Re: Boutique Homes 3Mar 06, 2009 6:58 pm I have a friend who is building the Santuary with Boutique Homes.......
They are building in Point Cook. They have just started and are over the moon on the way it's going so far. This was their first experience building with a builder, so you can imagine how nervous they must have been.... Been an architect they asked me to overview a few things for them.....all that upfront stuff. I was impressed myself.... in their service and patience. Everything was clear, they really didn't need me... They do build a good home and their designs are different. I know they have been recently taken over by Australia's biggest residential builder the ABN group, which is a very good thing. Good luck..... Re: Boutique Homes 4Mar 06, 2009 7:03 pm Who have they been taken up by? Built the Atlantique 37 Mk2 with Carlisle Homes - WE'RE IN!! Building thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14413 ATLANTIQUE 37 MK2 PHOTOS THREAD - updated 22nd August '09 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22399 Re: Boutique Homes 5Mar 07, 2009 7:35 am Thanks Salt&Pepper and Ricky for your responses.
We are actually planning on building the Sanctury too I am happy to hear Boutique have a good rep because we had come close to choosing a Simonds Home "the Mahogany" only because we have a corner block, but as soon as we saw the Boutique Homes we fell in love with them, so we thought we would just build a front on house as we would have many more house designs to choose from. Re: Boutique Homes 6Mar 07, 2009 8:45 am Boutique have been taken over by the same group that owns Dale Alcock Homes in W.A.
I'm not going to say too much at this stage but may add something next week after a meeting. The philosophy of the company has changed. Whereas previously any alterations and changes were possible, they are no longer accommodated. They are no longer the type of builder that their name suggests, but are more of the mindset of the major builders offering less flexibility. There will be push to become a major player in Melbourne over the next 12 to 18 months. How this affects the quality of their homes remains to be seen. It may not affect them at all. There has been a turnover of staff in pretty mich all areas since the buy out and very few "Boutique" people remain on the administrative side at least. None of what I have written above is necessarily a bad thing, but the company is in a transaitional phase and the recommendation of people that built pre takeover may not be important. It's now, in effect, a different company. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Boutique Homes 7Mar 07, 2009 10:22 pm joles Boutique have been taken over by the same group that owns Dale Alcock Homes in W.A. I'm not going to say too much at this stage but may add something next week after a meeting. The philosophy of the company has changed. Whereas previously any alterations and changes were possible, they are no longer accommodated. They are no longer the type of builder that their name suggests, but are more of the mindset of the major builders offering less flexibility. There will be push to become a major player in Melbourne over the next 12 to 18 months. How this affects the quality of their homes remains to be seen. It may not affect them at all. There has been a turnover of staff in pretty mich all areas since the buy out and very few "Boutique" people remain on the administrative side at least. None of what I have written above is necessarily a bad thing, but the company is in a transaitional phase and the recommendation of people that built pre takeover may not be important. It's now, in effect, a different company. Interesting.. Looks like we will have to wait and see the resultant Boutique Homes. Built the Atlantique 37 Mk2 with Carlisle Homes - WE'RE IN!! Building thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14413 ATLANTIQUE 37 MK2 PHOTOS THREAD - updated 22nd August '09 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22399 Boutique 8Mar 18, 2009 3:20 pm Hi guys
I am having some issues with Boutique. I signed the contract in Sept 08, all conditions precendent to the contract were completed with the receipt of the building permit in mid Dec 08. They told me they would start on site end 2008, then early 2009 but 3 weeks ago they issued a variation for an additional 5% of the total contract price (supposedly 1% for each month delay!) stating this increase was due to delays since my initial engagement of them - first payment of $2,500 for initial drawings in Jan 08. They have told me they will not start on site until I sign this variation. Note that I have not caused any delays at all in the process. I have asked for details of what the price increase relates to - they are very slow in responding - it has now been over 2.5 weeks - they say they will respond this week. Each month delay results in rent, storage and temporary fencing costs to myself. I am just wondering if there are others out there who have been hit with this type of increased price variation from this builder or are having other issues with the Builder. cheers Weez Re: Boutique Homes 9Mar 18, 2009 3:46 pm Hmmmm thats strange - I wouldnt think they can obtain such money from their own accord, and I'm sure its not in the contract. It seems odd to ask for 5% extra - they should have had site start sooner. Built the Atlantique 37 Mk2 with Carlisle Homes - WE'RE IN!! Building thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=14413 ATLANTIQUE 37 MK2 PHOTOS THREAD - updated 22nd August '09 viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22399 Re: Boutique Homes 10Mar 18, 2009 4:55 pm Shame that they appear to have changed so much with the takeover. They were very flexible when we built with them last year (literally hundreds of variations made by us to their standard design, even during the construction phase). They have also pared down the number of designs available, which means our house is no longer one that is marketed (not that our house actually is all that much like any of their old designs either!!).
We had a pretty good experience with them, but obviously probably not relevant since the takeover. We also got hit with a "delayed start" charge, as we had issues with our title that took months to get sorted out - however, the charge was more like 2% for a 3-4 month delay. I guess God didn't use subbies... Re: Boutique Homes 11Mar 20, 2009 3:12 pm Thanks guys for the feedback.
Weez - If i were you i would double check the contract to see if they can do that, but you know what these people are like they would have sneaked it in there somewhere in the really small font writing. It's actually quite scary how you can sign a contract for a certain amount but how the price can go up for something like that. We are so undecided on which house to build. We have looked at all the SImonds Homes and then decided we didn't want to build with them, then we saw Boutique Homes and the Sanctuary/Resort and fell in love with it as soon as we walked in we were like this is the one, it's been the only house we can both agree on. But then last Saturday we went to get it all priced up (for the Resort the base priced house, the Sanctuary is the same house with all the extras) and i just didn't feel comfortable paying that much - it adds up so quickly. You know we want to still be able to live quite comfortably like we do now with our existing mortgage and have room to move if interest rates go up. Anyway after that we went to check out Porter Davis in Point Cook and we looked at the Francis and the Foxley in Derrimut. I really like the Foxley and my partner likes the Francis with the alfresco and we added some changes to it third car garage etc. Anyway the Francis came in under budget so we both liked that but there is just something missing with that house. I might talk to the sales guy about making some more changes like i really want double doors to m/bedroom and more storage! Re: Boutique Homes 12Mar 22, 2009 10:02 pm We have been shopping for a builder/house shopping for about 6 months now. We loved the promenade but started with the boulevard as our base design. So far the sales consultant/main office have accomodated all of the changes requested so far (2-3 pages full, few structure with rest fittings/specifications). Managed to negiotate a decent promo before we signed a provisional contract about 2 weeks ago. Upgrades generally reasonable/comparable and sometimes excessive (usually stuff they are not familar with or do not normally do - mitred tiles). One thing I do notice is you can get a quote from the sales consultant but they are just provisional sums. The main office works out the actual quote and it gets listed into the provision contract. We signed to those sums but as I haven't reached contract stage I am not sure if those will change. Also the provisional contract states if you make any structural changes, it voids the site start guarantee. The provisional contract locks price in for 5 months (so I was told) so will get progress updated. That variation fee you are getting hit with sounds bad . Let us know how it goes especially if you were not the cause of the delay. Re: Boutique Homes 13Mar 23, 2009 9:36 pm Hi guys, thankyou very much for your great responses. I am not having much joy with this and totally feel these guys are taking advantage of me as all the hold ups have been at their end.. Boutique can be very very slow in responding. As far as the contract goes Boutique are trying to use a couple of items in the contract to convince me this requested 5% increase is valid including the contract having a one line stating that the price could be reviewed after 45 days of contract signing; and also putting 'first deposit date' as at Jan 09 the date as to when I paid an initial $2.5K to get the first round of detailed drawings (well before the final Sept 08 contract signing date at which time I paid remaining deposit amount). Today I met with the Builder and he tells me that due to ownership changing hands in Dec 09 there were some contracts which were not transferred over to their responsibility including mine (sounds odd - you think if you buy a company you take on the liabilities), but I can check this with my legal friends tomorrow. When I questioned them on who owns the copyright to my detailed plans / drawings he tells me they as new owners do own this (mmm... interesting)... They have reduced the % increase requested however are asking for a new contract to be signed with them and to get the commencement date changed to current so they avoid the penalty clause for delay which is $1600 per month. Will keep you updated. Good luck to B&B / Tuned on choosing which house to build. Weez Re: Boutique Homes 14Apr 28, 2009 1:02 pm about building with boutique im going through the same thing signed contracts in dec/jan but payed deposit some time in sep sold my last house in november and building has not yet started and boutique are requesting extra money due to time delays which have all been on there end. please let me know if you have had any progress and how you have dealt with this? would like to know asap please,please, please i need help more importantly i need a house. also where are you building? Re: Boutique Homes 16Jun 08, 2009 11:43 pm No experience with the builder, but I have spoken with a few of their sales people. If their sales people are anything to go by, stay clear. I could sell a house better than they could, and I don't have teeth. Re: Boutique Homes 17Oct 24, 2009 9:50 pm Hello, New to this forum. Signed a PWC with Boutique a month ago (no formal contract yet)and waiting for the land to be titled in Jan 2010. So far they've been great in explaining the process and guiding me through. The only thing I don't understand is their reluctance in giving me a packaged price for a house including Fencing and Front Landscaping which most builders do I believe. When I asked, they tell me that these are gimmicks and "you should be able to do this in few thousand dollars and by doing that I might even save " and " you wouldn't want to add on to the base price of the house". I understand that just the fencing and front yard landscaping is going to cost me well over $10k ( I'm not sure but this is what I think will cost from all the quotes and talks I've seen on various forums so far). If 1.8m colorbond fences are about 65-70 dollars per/m installed. A straightforward calculation to fence an area 32 m long and 12m wide, would be $6160 It may not be this simple but the cost would be close , wouldn't it? 4 bedroom house with carpets/tiles/driveway etc $175K (including site-works) but no fencing and front landscaping, I wonder if I'm missing out on a lot because I want a quality home with the longer duration of structural guarantee and maintenance warranty. I do not know anyone personally who has built with Boutique. Most people I know have either built with Metricon, PD or currenlty building with Devine, Orbit, and they all had Fencing and Front Landscaping inc in their total package price. Moreover, other builders I spoke to before Boutique had the same kind of house with Fence+F Landscape in the same price. What do you think guys?? Any thoughts, ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks heaps. Cheers Re: Boutique Homes 18Oct 25, 2009 7:12 pm We're building with them and have signed contracts. Waiting on permits and final PCV costings and we should be in for a site start soon. We didn't inquiry about fencing/driveway. Guessing there isn't much margin (for the builder) in fencing and more hassle/coordinating with neighbours. We also plan on shopping around for our driveways - want to see the house before commiting to a style. They can give silly unrealistic excuses on certain things so take it with a grain of salt. We noticed the 12 month guarantee is not stipulated in the HIA contract, they have a 3-4 month version. 12 month is an "in-house policy"... Things have moved more slowly than we have liked - hopefully things pickup now since they seem to be more stablised, especially on the staff front. Shoot away if you have more questions. Re: Boutique Homes 19Oct 28, 2009 3:09 pm Thanks tuned86, how about the 25 year structural guarantee? I tried to search things on the internet and on HIA website, but no luck finding anything about guarantees/warranties from builders. The guarantees were the main reasons for me to choose Boutique Homes in the first place, otherwise there were plenty of other builders willing to give me a lot more than what Boutique offered at the same price. If these warranties they are advertising are not stipulated , how are they valid? I find this misleading? how are they allowed to do that? I feel short changed now.... Re: Boutique Homes 20Oct 28, 2009 9:42 pm No mention of the 25 year structural guarantee in the contract either. I was told it is a Boutique policy and not a standard HIA item and therefore not included in the contract (hogwash?). Note that I did not take the contract to be reviewed by the Solicitor, maybe it can be added in as a 'special clause/condition'. Arm yourself before you sign the HIA contract? Unfortunately we were pressed for time to meet the FHOG deadline. Despite all this, we are still proceeding as its was the only house I really liked/suited our block. Hopefully they build something soon so I can take photos of and share more experiences. I also have a referral cheque if anyone thinking of signup. 10 15745 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74702 |