Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 02, 2009 2:33 pm Of you guys who have continued with Wincrest now that they are back, how has your experience been lately? Also, anyone considering going with them now? We are strongly considering going with them, even with their financial troubles. The reason I am thinking of this is we really like the house design, it fits our budget, and at least we know they are being highly audited at the moment by external parties and have just invested some money back into the business... Am I crazy? Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 2Apr 02, 2009 3:02 pm We're still building with Wincrest. I have found that the communication is better now and that work on the house is steaming ahead. The tradies they're using obviously still care about the quality of their work (very noticeable with brickwork). I was worried that work may be substandard, but it's not the case. At this stage I'm happy. Judie Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 3Apr 02, 2009 4:47 pm The company lost over $9m soo many trades and families lost tens of thousands of dollars, let alone the down time that cost owners when their frames sat in the rain for months getting all grey. If you drive around there are still many buidling sites where there is no work going on. There are so many other really good honest builders with great designs around, i would not trust them at all. I think they are just being good sales men at the moment. Good luck with it all however i think you can do better!! Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 4Apr 02, 2009 5:07 pm yeah I tend to agree with you, however I'm really stuck right now... My "do better" version was Westminster, and we all know what just happened to them, so I'm running scared. I can't find many who will do a nice, 34-36 square double story for under 300k finished with some upgrades. Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 5Apr 02, 2009 5:36 pm mm there are quite a few builders that have great products for that price. Try claredon or allcastle. allcastle have a great range try their Balmoral 36 is only $197,950 base price. I am getting a quote as i agree i was thinking about westminster myself, they are really helpful Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 7Apr 02, 2009 5:49 pm mmm my friends built with them and they were really really happy with them, actaully they have a beautiful home. You must have a steep block, as it seems strange. Good luck with everything Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 9Apr 02, 2009 7:49 pm Hi Peterd We had paid our $3K deposit and our plans had just gone into council when they called in the administrators.....so in a way we were quite lucky as it also gave us some "thinking" space. We have really liked the service we received from Wincrest since the beginning - they have always gone out of their way (almost 6 months before the administrator was bought in) and even today helped fix up a blunder by our council without hesitation (infact they were going in for a fight if the council didn't fix it as it would have cost us more money). We have weighed up all the options and in today's climate we feel that one building company would be as risky as the other (personal opinion only). As you noted they are apparently being regularly audited by the administrator to ensure they are on the right track to return the $ they have agreed to the tradies. Our only other option was to owner build, and we would have dearly loved to do this, but with two toddlers and both of us working, it isn't really an option. So we have continued and are about two weeks away from signing the building contract. I am actually feeling quite comfortable about it too Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 10Apr 02, 2009 8:05 pm peterd yeah I tend to agree with you, however I'm really stuck right now... My "do better" version was Westminster, and we all know what just happened to them, so I'm running scared. I can't find many who will do a nice, 34-36 square double story for under 300k finished with some upgrades. Have you looked at Wisdom homes, I can give them a thumbs up, and you'll get a quick build with them too. 4 months (allowing for xmas) for ours to be built. C&G -------------------------------- A new building chapter begins.. Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 12Apr 03, 2009 7:58 am Please reconsider going with any company that has already blundered enough to have gotten anywhere near liquidation. My husband lost $20,000 to them years ago, I am not surprised that they did not go over then. This climate is bad enough for the likes of multinational companies, banks and the like, how can a small company like this play the game when things are sooooo bad in building. I have looked at many many project home companies and have seen beyond what most people look at..........the finishes. Bad gyprock work is the worst for almost all of them, swayed walls, unlevel ceilings, badly designed plumbing, mistakes, errors, ******, promises.......................... oh my goodness I have to be the bearer of bad news but you need to look past the design and realise that this is the biggest, most important purchase in your life and if there is any small, teeny, weenie possibility that you could lose anything from the process beyond huge delays when liquidators come in................. THEN Build yourself its worth the headache because you control quality and reduce the costs (even if you hire a project manager- and I know a few) Just my opinion, but I have been in design and building for over 20 years. Its not good out there, just listen to people on this forum. Pages and pages of complaints, concerns and worries. Its not meant to be like that, we should all be excited and happy. Good luck, Pinkladyloo Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 13Apr 03, 2009 9:16 am thanks very much for the feedback pinkladyloo, i do appreciate it. With time the way they are i'm very uncertain which way to go! Do you know any project managers in the south sydney area, I would be very interested to explore the OB route, with the help of a project manager, might be a way to control the project more! Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 14Apr 03, 2009 10:34 am Ok, I will contact someone for you and you can arrange a meeting with him. I can vouch for him highly, he is a multi talented person who has been in all facets of construction from construction to demolition and even landscaping. He is a member of the PMI (Project Managers Institute) and thus a qualified Project Manager, very highly organised, has a high standard of workmanship and knows how to "move" contractors with respect and in a fair manner. I don't know if he is available at the moment but you have a way to go first in planning and getting organised. To pull of an owner build required ORGANISATION. That does not mean you need to be on site daily (especially with little ones) but you need to know what is being done and when and you must look for good quality tradesmen and site their work before you begin. With a solid plan and someone on site daily to get the work done it can work extremely well. The secret is to run several tradesmen at one time which cannot be done by Project Home companies because they cannot put a supervisor on every home daily; so the time they lose is by doing the work step by step, as one trade finishes another can start. A good PM will cost around $65/hr and a build could take 35 weeks with no rain; that’s about $120,000 on the cost of the home. Now a project builder charges 20% on the build cost to run the job for you (on a $350,000 home, $70,000 and then they make money by charging you ridiculous prices for materials extras and variations i.e. my new kitchen with Clarendon last year was quotes at an extra $13,000 for timber doors, so I left the doors in laminate and after handover had a kitchen company do the doors in timber and with a pantry fit out for $7,000- that’s the sort of difference you may find. There are pros and cons for both........... you need to do some research for yourself, today's market is a buyers paradise because there are so many unemployed tradesmen in construction. My background was as the founder/director of an Australian Design College (17yrs) so I have a good idea about the industry. You can send a contact number to ltb@people.net.au if you like and I will put you in contact with someone. Think long and hard, but wisely! Pinkladyloo Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 15Apr 03, 2009 12:20 pm peterd Yes we did look strongly at Wisdom, but find them a bit pricey? I don't think we'd get the Wisdom 33 under 300k finished would we? Hi... i had a look and the current package price for an impression 33 is 258k. So that includes standard site costs, tiles, carpets, security system, auto garage door, driveway, so all pretty much finished except for landscaping and window coverings. You also need to add the facade costs - ours was another 11k for the esprit and part rendering but don't know if that's changed. So I reckon you can easily do it for under 300k if you've got a standard block. Anyway, I just wanted to recommend Wisdom because they've done such a great job for us... we really have had no stress with them, and you can see from our blog how quick they've been. We wasted 9 months with another bigger builder before switching to W and I wish I'd found someone that could give a personal recommendation for a builder at that time. Good luck with whichever way you choose to go. Cheers C&G -------------------------------- A new building chapter begins.. Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 16Apr 03, 2009 12:25 pm Interesting, i dont think owner builders often understand the insurance problems one if a trade has an accident and two when you go to sell a home a lot of people are put off an owner built home. A friend of mine owner built, had no buying power with say the timber frame and had to pay up front before the frame was delivered. He then had a tiler cut his hand on site and is still in court. For paying a builder a margin you get a warranty and no court issues. He also had to take 9 months off work and two years later his house still isnt complete as he will get around to it some time. Good luck Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 17Apr 03, 2009 1:00 pm As many would already know, we were a week away from council approval when wincrest went down. During the period where things were being sorted out, we had a long hard think about what we wanted to do. We had no doubt that Wincrest could start the build but had big doubts about whether they could complete it. So we bailed. Lost our 3k plus well over 6 mths of planning etc (not to mention interest on the block of land) and have decided to go owner builder. I totally agree with Pinkladyloo - if done properly, you will get a much much better product from going OB with hopefully not too much added cost. We also have a project manager who so far has been great. We are going back to council with new plans next week and they have said they will expedite the DA given what we have been through. We are much happier now. Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 18Apr 03, 2009 1:14 pm Look, owner building is not everyone's cup of tea. Yes accidents can happen but if your contractor is a company- he has his own workers comp and public liability and the insurance issue works both ways- if he causes you injury also. As for pricing, don't forget that you may have to pay for frames upfront yes, but with a project home builder you pay installments which add up to well beyond what has been installed on your building site. The good just have to be delivered before you are expected to pay. There is no doubt, you have to be organised, and keep on top of pricing. But again, given this market and pricing/quotes of desperate tradesmen desperate for work that is a BIG advantage isn't it. AND you only have yourself to blame when things go wrong. You don't sell your old home until YOU know you can move into your new one. Just take out insurance! Pinkladyloo Re: Who is still building with Wincrest? 20Apr 03, 2009 1:36 pm peterd Yes we did look strongly at Wisdom, but find them a bit pricey? Peter, not sure how far South you are but Wisdom won't build in Kogarah Council. I was told no further than Hurstville. Bel Still not in. Don't ask!? Thanks for your reply. I will just wait and see I guess. Trying to get some more information from our builder. 9 30236 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110525 |