Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Mar 31, 2009 2:36 pm Am furious right now! When we first did our tender I think it was valid for six months. Builder did say that we had just scraped in before a price rise, and that we would have to keep things moving so that we didn't get an increase. He said that as long as we kept things moving and didn't cause any delays he wouldn't put the price up, would give us a little leeway.
Since then I went in to see him, made some pretty minor changes to the plans and waited for the updates. It took three attempts to get these simple plan changes done, and the months went by. He was, and still is, hopeless at returning calls, sometimes I'd wait a week to be polite and then start calling again. We've now been in council for about six weeks, but we expected three months, and I asked for a tender extension for finance and have been given $6500. I feel like walking! (again lol) Re: Builder wants to charge $6500 for tender expiring. 2Mar 31, 2009 2:58 pm Oh Rachelle it's just totally unfair. They cause delays in their processes and yet you have to cover the costs. It's like they very well know they are going to take longer than the tender period so why bother giving you one. We are probably about to go through the same thing too. We had a 201 day tender due to end the first week of June and have only been in council 2 weeks. Once we are out it will be another 2 months to get the construction plans and contract and there will probably 2 more price rises - we have already had one. And yes we'll have to cop it. Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 3Mar 31, 2009 3:23 pm I've just drafted this email.. Hi George, The $6500 increase is not acceptable to us, given that we did not cause any delays and you said that if we didn't hold anything up there would only be a minimal increase, however maybe we can get around it another way. 1. You said that we couldn't negotiate an upgrade package because we were on the lower price, now that we are almost at the full price can you please offer us a package price for the deluxe inclusions and the kitchen/bathroom upgrades, since we have added all of the upgrades from the Price List. 2. Since the base price went up, the site costs went down for new customers. Could you please decrease our site costs to $8,300 in line with the new pricing. 3. Scaffolding also decreased with the base price increase, please decrease ours to $4000. 4. Tenders with the incrased base cost include the Peace Of Mind Rental Guarantee, please add to ours 5. Tenders with the increased base price include the All Seasons Maintenance Warranty, please add to ours. We paid our deposit in good faith based on your word and the original tender, if the timeframe wasn't sufficient given that no delays were caused by us then it should have been longer, we did not expect three sets of plan changes to get one set of changes done. I hope that we can come to an amicable agreement in regards to the above points. Please call me to discuss. Regards, Rachelle What I need is an upgrade package price, does anyone have one? Re: Builder wants to charge $6500 for tender expiring. 4Mar 31, 2009 3:28 pm Hey Rachelle.....yep another one here, although we also got mixed up in the builders appointing administrators, but we would have gone over time anyway = another $3K. . We had everything turnaround within 24hrs our end and only one change from the original plans. So we have now decided to do extra changes.....may as well make the most of the price rise!!!!! Your proposal back to them is excellent. BTW I was told our council is the only one in NSW exempt from the new building approval process Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 5Mar 31, 2009 3:42 pm sorry Surfshak, but I giggled when I read what you said about your council, bloody typical isn't it. See $3k we could have worn, but $6500 is a joke. But I think he's got to give us a package price for upgrades since his himself said "I can't because you are on the lower price". The site costs are $2k less for new customers and the scaffolding is $500 less so we might be able to bring the $6500 to $3000. Very rude that they put our base price up to $1000 off the current price, but didn't give us the discounted site costs, or the additional guarantees. Re: Builder wants to charge $6500 for tender expiring. 6Mar 31, 2009 3:55 pm buildingadreamhome Oh Rachelle it's just totally unfair. They cause delays in their processes and yet you have to cover the costs. It's like they very well know they are going to take longer than the tender period so why bother giving you one. We are probably about to go through the same thing too. We had a 201 day tender due to end the first week of June and have only been in council 2 weeks. Once we are out it will be another 2 months to get the construction plans and contract and there will probably 2 more price rises - we have already had one. And yes we'll have to cop it. Sorry, missed your post before. It's totally unfair, I'm furious! It feels like trickery! Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 7Mar 31, 2009 4:08 pm Oh darn Rachelle, bl00dy builders!!! The letter you have drafted is great - I think you have stated your case, and given them solutions to rectify. Good luck! Still not in. Don't ask!? Re: Builder wants to charge $6500 for tender expiring. 8Mar 31, 2009 4:17 pm Rachelle buildingadreamhome Oh Rachelle it's just totally unfair. They cause delays in their processes and yet you have to cover the costs. It's like they very well know they are going to take longer than the tender period so why bother giving you one. We are probably about to go through the same thing too. We had a 201 day tender due to end the first week of June and have only been in council 2 weeks. Once we are out it will be another 2 months to get the construction plans and contract and there will probably 2 more price rises - we have already had one. And yes we'll have to cop it. Sorry, missed your post before. It's totally unfair, I'm furious! It feels like trickery! No worries. I think your letter is good. Especially where other prices have come down so should yours. Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 9Mar 31, 2009 6:49 pm Hi, I started my tnder process in oct 09, and then the contract signed Nov 09. But the contarct expired in Feb 09. Clarendon extended it to April 09. But during this time, the base price of our hosue ahs gone by $10,000. we had all the variations done in early April. But it was the bank who delayed the approval process, we did not get the aproval until late April. The loan document was not issued until May 09. Clarendon has asked us for an extra $10,000. We thought that was unfair. The CSO suggested us to write a letter. Finally, they haev only asked us for $4350 increase. By Aug 09 the base price has now gone up $23000 in total. Write the letetr and see ifthey can reduce the increase or waive it. I am glad that it is nearly over this week. Good luck. behw Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 10Mar 31, 2009 6:51 pm Hi, Sorry, I mean Oct 07 and Nov 07 I started my tnder process in oct 07, and then the contract signed Nov 07. But the contarct expired in Feb 09. Clarendon extended it to April 08. But during this time, the base price of our hosue ahs gone by $10,000. we had all the variations done in early April. But it was the bank who delayed the approval process, we did not get the aproval until late April. The loan document was not issued until May 08. Clarendon has asked us for an extra $10,000. We thought that was unfair. The CSO suggested us to write a letter. Finally, they haev only asked us for $4350 increase. By Aug 08 the base price has now gone up $23000 in total. Write the letetr and see ifthey can reduce the increase or waive it. I am glad that it is nearly over this week. Good luck. behw Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 11Mar 31, 2009 6:55 pm Agreed, good e-mail. Rascals. Let us know what they say Rachelle. "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 12Apr 01, 2009 9:37 am ah! now i see what's happening with you .. i'm not yet at that stage .. but my friend who built with Mirvac last year was hit with a price rise too .. about $10K ! .. anyways, he grunted n put up a fight and had to pay $5K at the end of it .. there is room to negotiate .. not too sure about how you want the upgrade package to be built-in .. and that previous customers had to pay more in site costs? .. they do cover it somewhere (more base price // facade // site excavation costs etc) .. i really wonder if they make mistakes to delay purposely and then claim price rises and blame us for the delays! .. too much of a coincidence with EVERYONE! --- I don't have a signature - just this sentence saying that I don't have one - that'll do! Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 13Apr 01, 2009 9:55 am bluemetal77 i really wonder if they make mistakes to delay purposely and then claim price rises and blame us for the delays! .. too much of a coincidence with EVERYONE! I haven't had any mistakes made but my builder took 7 weeks to get our council submission ready. They are just tiresomely slooooooooooowwwwwww........ I guess the downside of going with a large volume builder who has price rises every quarter. Rachelle have you sent the email yet?? Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Beware Provincial builders 14Apr 01, 2009 2:32 pm Thanks for your pm bluemetal, I asked you for your dates as I used your tender to find the changes in site costs etc. Your base price was $7.5k higher, but your site costs were $2k lower etc. I was interested in your dates in case he told me that it had changed since then or something, but since your tender expiry is august and he's only given us until July I can fight. buildingadreamhome, yeah I sent it last night. I put a return receipt on it and he hasn't opened it yet. From past experience he doesn't read his email. This is the second time I have used return receipt and the last time I sent him an email, marked it as urgent, but he still didn't open until after leaving a daily message for three days I started calling him hourly as he wasn't taking my calls (he was in a meeting, on the phone, had someone with him etc). He finally opened it after my fourth call that day, still didn't call me back but had someone else call me back and tell me that tender was on it's way. Meanwhile he was supposed to have been working on it all that time, but I don't know if he could have been since he hadn't opened the email. *sigh* I'm tired today so not going to bother, but tomorrow I'll start my hourly tirade! I wish I had been more aggressive last year, might not be in this position. I was too polite, I'd leave him a message but then not bother him again for up to a week. Then leave another, wait maybe two days, etc etc. Now I don't care about being polite! Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 15Apr 01, 2009 7:33 pm I'm a bit confused about the site costs thing. How can you compare site costs when they vary so wildly from site to site? "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 16Apr 01, 2009 9:47 pm These appear to be identical fixed site costs, same description anyway. Then we have $6k provisional allowances for peiring but that could go up or down. Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 17Apr 02, 2009 1:31 pm Hi everyone, I have read all your posts and I think you all need to do one thing and do it well. COMMUNICATE- constantly. Bother your supervisors and CSO's, write to the managers above them. Email and phone daily until you get a response. I unfortunately chose to build a Clar*nd*n Hm and it took 2 years (after promising 12 months from start to finish) to take possession. I got jack of it all very quickly indeed around the tender stage. I am a designer and husband in the building industry so we were in a position to understand more than most........and yet we got taken for a long and painful ride. I documented 800 emails to date, phoned constantly, took 1200 photos throughout the build, and wrote to all managers’ right up to the CEO when I did not get a satisfactory response (CEO actually came out to my home.)Yet here I am today talking to you all, as painters in the next room are touching up 120 cracks that appeared in my new project home (built on rock) within 2 months of handover after 2 years building! MAD, am I mad do I hear you say? Well I'm now a bit over the mad stage but my eyes have been opened to the unfair treatment of customers who have been locked into HIA contracts that benefit the home builders and give no rights to the customers That has led me to think about what I can do to help other people in the same situation. So I am writing all my experiences on paper, I will set up a web site soon to educate people on how to avoid the tricks of project home builders! and how to deal with them. Don't fear being a thorn in their side, in fact a bit of attitude will get them to treat you carefully! I was never angry or rude to the company, I did not interfere except to ask questions or specify concerns over construction. I treated everyone with respect and received so little in communication back. i did however receive plenty of poor workmanship for a $350,000 home with no garages and that I will be extending myself later on. Beware of the "pleasant" happy supervisor. They may be easy to talk to, do small things for you and smile a lot, but that does not mean they will always do a great job. Many of the happy ones don't run tradesmen well and get walked on themselves by poor quality workers. Many of the poor guys are actually stressed and overworked running 30 homes at once like mine was. But that does not help my build. As for the tender prices you were discussing may I issue a warning there too; Basic site costs are just "estimates" and yes based on the average build. If they build under their estimate you do not get a refund, but if they hit rock you do get variations. They often charge up to $20,000 but ask them why and they cannot tell you (the Tender presenters that is) SO ASK FOR A BREAKDOWN and if you think its wrong, then challenge them on it and make it a provisional cost and not a fixed cost. Then go to site on a daily basis if you can and take photos of the work as completed. I was lucky enough to be living on my property while building down the back. So I got to see what you all don’t see. I even got a variation from a concreter (passed onto me by the builder without having been signed off or sited by anyone) for $2,000 of extras including a 20 ton excavator (that was in fact a 6.5 ton excavator- as I was there) and for rock that was not cut out and concrete that was priced for in my base price. Oh, there is so much more. Beware, document and communicate. And don’t take no for an answer. Write to them Rachael daily if you must, they assume you will forget and not fight them, when you don’t they cave in! Good Luck Pinkladyloo Sorry, its such a long winded response, I just had an adrenaline rush with the discussion! Trust me I have a 500page daily diary on this company and their "workmanship" Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 18Apr 03, 2009 6:26 pm Hey Rachelle are Provincial Homes that bad..sounds terrible... did you get it sorted out ?? Trust in the Universe Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 19Apr 03, 2009 6:35 pm pinkladyloo So I am writing all my experiences on paper, I will set up a web site soon to educate people on how to avoid the tricks of project home builders! and how to deal with them. that sounds really good, I'm surprised no one else has done that yet! keep us updated... Annie A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: $6500 for tender expiring - Caprice builders pls help 20Apr 04, 2009 3:21 am pinkladyloo ... That has led me to think about what I can do to help other people in the same situation. So I am writing all my experiences on paper, I will set up a web site soon to educate people on how to avoid the tricks of project home builders! and how to deal with them.... Please have the website up soon. Especially for those who are rushing to beat the expiry of the $21k deadline. Rachelle: Any updates? Hey. Head to a metal and decide on which profile you will use first. Profiles with larger corrugations can greatly change the appearance of the color in different… 0 3381 Look at your bill from the electricity company. It should detail the charges. You will need to do some estimating and some calculations. Then charge the… 8 4194 Site works are just about to start on our build with Blueprint in Midvale. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106894 2 3946 |