Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 04, 2009 4:23 pm Hi there, My partner and I are starting the process of building for the first time!! Its very exciting but also very scary, time-consuming and generally all consuming at the moment!! We've already had a bit of a false start, getting to contract stage with a builder. The contract was extremely factually incorrect and the building substantially altered to what we'd been quoted, and the pricing substantially changed, and we were treated with a lack of communication, complete dishonesty and scorn from the builder... needless to say they won't be getting out money Despite our initial setback, we're trying again... this time with the Big M! We're currently looking at the Allegra Nova home, with a double gge added, side outdoor room, and butlers pantry. Have some concerns that we're going to get to colour selection and our selection is going to be so small, we're going to blow the budget upgrading options. Does anyone have any feedback as to what we can expect with selections, or some idea of what to budget for upgrades to flooring and electrical? We're in Melbourne metro, western suburbs. Thanks in advance!! Re: Our first build! 2Oct 04, 2009 5:35 pm Check out the building with Merticon(Big M?) thread before signing anything. Price isn't everything and you've got time to look around before the next cut-off for grants. Best of luck Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Our first build! 3Oct 04, 2009 6:33 pm Welcome Sarahl! Hubby & I are building with M*tricon also in the Western Suburbs & all I can say is that so far they have been great! We have only just started the construction phase though so hopefully il be able to still speak highly of them at the end of our experience. There are some horror stories on this forum & we had heard a few bad things about them form others but I think at the end of the day each & every builder has its good & bad. As hubby keeps telling me "it all depends on what SS you get & how experienced/efficient they are"! I havn't met our SS yet so fingers crossed Just some advice though, make sure you question everything & check & double check your contracts & plans. When we had our colour selections there were some nice things that were standard but we did upgrade a few things. All in all i think that this is pretty standard across all builders anyway! We were originally going to build a 22sq Denn*s Family Home which buy the time we added the some things ended up actually costing us more than what my now 26sq M* home has cost! Do your home work before your colour selections as they dont give you a lot of time on the day to make all your choices! My cousin built the Tribeca through M* & the house is just amazing! They had a lot of hiccups along the way but anything that was wrong got fixed immediatley. So dont let the few bad threads on here deter you. I think you'l find quite a few positive threads on M*. All the best with whatever you decide Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Our first build! 4Oct 04, 2009 7:13 pm Thanks both for your reply.. I did have a look to see if there was a specific Big M thread, but I couldn't seem to see one.. perhaps the house stuff is slowly driving me crazy!! Shelz, we saw the display of your home I think at Pt Cook - its gorg! Good luck - I hope it all goes to plan. We were really impressed at the professionalism from the sales guy where we are, and the layout of the quotes etc was a revelation after our first attempt which ultimately fell over - here's hoping for better results this time!! Re: Our first build! 5Oct 05, 2009 9:39 am When in doubt go with the educated opinion, in this case Shelz. She's further along and knows more about m3tric0n. I'm only going on what I've read here. Bad news get reported quickly and loudly, too often good news is regarded with suspicion. I hope everything goes well for you. BTW Shelz I'm building in the next town from you. West Melton has a very different feel to the rest of Melton(which I didn't like). I didn't notice how nice West Melton was until after I bought my land. Good luck with your SS Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Our first build! 6Oct 05, 2009 11:00 am sarahl Shelz, we saw the display of your home I think at Pt Cook - its gorg! Good luck - I hope it all goes to plan. Thanx sarahl & trust me this building thing does slowly drive you crazy Iv been to the display in Pt Cook but it's slightly different to ours, i think that display has the dining room & alfresco extension which we didn't do because it wasn't yet an available option when i signed up. Either that or they just didn't disclose the option to us! This is an example of what i mean when i say question everything! There were a few things i wouldv'e definatley paid the extra for if i was advised that they existed before it was to late trepidman BTW Shelz I'm building in the next town from you. West Melton has a very different feel to the rest of Melton(which I didn't like). I didn't notice how nice West Melton was until after I bought my land. Good luck with your SS Thanx trepidman I actually would've preferred Baccus but Hubby didn't want to go any further than Melton! So we settled on West Melton as its a little bit away form the rest of Melton but still not to far out for him Im really liking it there now. For us it was a matter of land prices. I lived in Caroline springs before that but the land prices there were just to much for us. So it was a matter of cheaper land & spend more on the house or vice a versa. So im happy with the cheaper land Building: Santorini 26 with M*tricon Where:VIC Site Cut 29/09/09 Slab Complete 09/10/09 Frame Complete 22/10/09 LockUp Complete 17/11/09 Fixing Complete 03/12/09 **My Thread:[/i] viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23110 Re: Our first build! 7Oct 05, 2009 9:20 pm Sarah, There's lots of people building with Big M here. The best thing about it is someone has already encountered the same hurdle. They might say no to you, but chances are they've said yes to someone here on the same issue. It is a powerful tool in dealing with builders. I've already used it successfully and my slab isn't even down yet. Shelz, I know what you mean about land prices. I live in Werribee, if I want to build out west it left me with Wyndham, Melton and Bacchus Marsh. My priority was quiet, so Bacchus. BTW I just realised Caroline springs is Melton, so is Eynesbury. The character of each is so diverse. Gravity. Its the law. At lock-up stage(lock-up stage) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25438 Re: Our first build! - if its not the builder - its the finance 8Oct 24, 2009 9:11 am Just to update this - it will hopefully become my thread throughout!! Bank Drama's!! After finally signing on the line, our banker has had to change the whole way we're doing our finance, changing from a house and land package to separate land and construction loans, which has meant we've got to try and come up with additional monies to make up a deposit shortfall!! So we're currently raiding the piggy banks to see if we can somehow find an additional $6k or so!! Bit much to try and find down the back of the sofa And it also means our construction won't start til later on, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing as it means we can iron out a few other wrinkles (we hope) and as it was looking like we were going to have to do any colour upgrades we didn't know we wanted by variation (scary!). And less on the overall loan in the end, so this will hopefully help with the masterplan of getting it paid off a lot earlier!! Must say the big M have been nothing but excellent and flexible/ accommodating - even now the deposit has been paid, touch wood!! Will hopefully get a plan to scan and load up soon - if anyone has any ideas on how to scratch up a quick $6k that doesn't involve me selling my body on the street, I'm all ears! Cheers! S. hi guys. Please be nice. First time home builder in Qld. I would like some feedback please on whether I should build my granny flat first before my main house at the… 0 4589 So it looks like we finally have some movement on site! Definitely later than expected, but I'll take any progress at this point. I'll drop by over the weekend to get… 5 27722 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17609 |