Browse Forums Building A New House Re: M3tric0n Homes 121Apr 06, 2010 3:53 pm Before they start construction, M3tr1con will send you the finalised "build drawings" for you to review. We found a few errors (well, changes we requested that weren't shown). That's the time you really want to scrutinise. Stefan Building the M3tr!con Liberty 42 at Stonecutters Ridge. The New Build Blog - "Life, In Progress." Stonecutters Ridge Community Website | My photos Re: M3tric0n Homes 122Dec 20, 2010 8:41 pm Are there any people currently building with M? We've just had our 'Preliminary Contract' signing and have had some unpleasant surprises with additional costings... We had an independent soil test done prior to purchasing the land with the company coming back saying an 'M' slab would be appropriate, but M saying we need a 'P' slab (at an additional $8000) and in one drawing from their soil testing ppl it has a tree marked as on our block, and on another M drawing it shows it next door & having increased in size by 6mts! Go figure (and i think it's actually on next doors block)! We had a 'fill in' CSC today, who seemed nice enough, but will have further info on how she handles all our questions when hubby calls her tom wanting to know the whys & where fores with these extra charges, and to get their soil test ppl back out there to double check this freaking tree! Hopefully things run a bit smoother from here Building the Milano30 Site start: 30th June 2011 PCI: 1st December 2011 Handover: As soon as the bank pays! Approx 16th December viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44051 Re: M3tric0n Homes 124Dec 21, 2010 6:47 am Hi Morox Yes those unpleasant surprises cropped up for us too. Some of the things you can challenge and ask for clarification or a break down of costs, others you just have to accept. Since you have your own soil test I'd definately challenge that one. Re: M3tric0n Homes 125Dec 21, 2010 1:41 pm Thanks Aussie_Chik. We had clarification today, unfortunately all extra costs could be clarified & were deemed necessary (and the CSC even said 'I think that's a really good price'!) by them, so I guess we just need to suck it up. Building the Milano30 Site start: 30th June 2011 PCI: 1st December 2011 Handover: As soon as the bank pays! Approx 16th December viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44051 Re: M3tric0n Homes 126Dec 21, 2010 7:24 pm Hi guys, we are building the M Homes *Tribeca*. Our site costs are approx $28K as we have a 1.2m slope so we will require a drop edge beam and extra stairs leading from the garage, we where very surprised at this additional cost - so including this plus the updrades so far, we have spent approx $352K (we are yet to have our internal colour choices, kitchen/bathroom and electrical) we have found the whole thing overwhelming, when we first decided to build we only looked at the base price and thought that would be it, so now we are struggling to justify this build. On top of that we still need to do landscaping, driveway, flooring, a/c etc - My Grey hairs are increasing = ( Re: M3tric0n Homes 127Dec 21, 2010 8:30 pm Just a quick heads up - we spent about $70K on house variations, studio m, electrical and subsequent council variations, and we don't feel as though we went overboard. Re: M3tric0n Homes 128Dec 22, 2010 6:55 am Ojaaynme, I'm glad we are not the only ones feeling overwhelmed by it all. We are still under our 'budget' without having had our electrical / colour appointment, but we had really hoped to include ALL new furniture / window furnishings (not through M) in it but that is seeming a little unrealistic now. We are building the Milano. I've got to go to our local council today as M have to dig into the easement that is on our block, and they need councils OK - not sure how this is going to go. Aussie_Chik if you don't mind, what upgrades did you do? Building the Milano30 Site start: 30th June 2011 PCI: 1st December 2011 Handover: As soon as the bank pays! Approx 16th December viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44051 Re: M3tric0n Homes 129Dec 23, 2010 11:45 am Hi all.. We signed up with M about 2 months ago. Building the Denver 32 vogue with some slight mods. Base price was $251800 and so far the quote stands at $371274. Which was alot more than I had planned. We just paid our 2nd deposit so should be going to studio M soon. Site costs were $17800 with M class, other things like the slab for the portico and grand outdoor room suprised me coming in at $8107 Re: M3tric0n Homes 130Dec 23, 2010 3:02 pm We going with the santorini 29...base price for us was about $214,000 now were at $284000...we are putting in our own air con as covenant say we cant have evap...so I expect house to come in after carpet,aircon,woodfloors to be be about $320,000 Re: M3tric0n Homes 131Jan 07, 2011 8:07 pm We built the Santorini 29... Love it!! The actual experience with M themselves was pretty poor... We count our blessings at how awesome our supervisor was. We spend about 50k on top of the base price and then another 20k of our own to do electrical, flooring, driveway, curtains, alarm etc. Compared to someone like PD the upgrades cost a lot more.. So don't let a low base price deceive you. They tried to add in another 10k of site costs on the day of contract as they advised us that we were now a 'P' class soil condition and needed piering etc.. We got an independent soil report undertaken and it said otherwise... So due to an internal 'mix up' they ate their words and took the 10k off!! We made heaps of changes to the design and they were very flexible. Just stay on top of them. I love our house Re: M3tric0n Homes 132Jan 08, 2011 4:58 pm I'm building a single storey home with M. Base price was about 250 but the finished price a little over 600 and that is house only - no curtains, no carpet, no driveways. That said you might say I went to town on the fit-out. Our contract was so thick with variations is was heavy to carry around. As others have stated in earlier posts M do make mistakes and lots of them. While arguably you shouldn't have to YOU have to take the responsibility to check everything otherwise you will be stuck with the repercussions. I don't necessarily subscribe to conspiracy theories but of the dozens of mistakes I found I don't recall one in my favour! M try but the volumes they are dealing with are such they just can't stay on top of everthing as well as you can - you're building just the one house. Take heart, when it's all said and done M are no worse then all the rest in fact I have built with others and M is probably slightly better ..... It's very much a relative thing though. Re: M3tric0n Homes 134Jan 19, 2011 8:40 pm I'm a bit miffed with M at the moment. We signed our prelim contract the Monday before Christmas & during this appointment were advised we had to go to our council to seek approval to have a small excavated area over the easement on our block. I did some checking on the councils website & found the appropriate application forms which i forwarded to M (as a 'statement of reason' had to be provided & I believe that is something M needs to provide), along with some general questions that came from our appointment & things in the contract later that Monday arvo. I have STILL NOT HAD A RESPONSE! It's been 3.5 weeks, I understand Christmas was inbetween, but come on!! We are currently overseas & wanted this ready to submit to council on our return to get the ball rolling, but that wont happen. Building the Milano30 Site start: 30th June 2011 PCI: 1st December 2011 Handover: As soon as the bank pays! Approx 16th December viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44051 Re: M3tric0n Homes 135Jan 20, 2011 9:24 am morox I'm a bit miffed with M at the moment. We signed our prelim contract the Monday before Christmas & during this appointment were advised we had to go to our council to seek approval to have a small excavated area over the easement on our block. I did some checking on the councils website & found the appropriate application forms which i forwarded to M (as a 'statement of reason' had to be provided & I believe that is something M needs to provide), along with some general questions that came from our appointment & things in the contract later that Monday arvo. I have STILL NOT HAD A RESPONSE! It's been 3.5 weeks, I understand Christmas was inbetween, but come on!! We are currently overseas & wanted this ready to submit to council on our return to get the ball rolling, but that wont happen. i'm sure they're permits department should be able to help you out. email your CSA and tell them to forward it to permits to help you out. they can be a bit frustrating like that - they have a 48 hour response turnaround time frame.. so hopefully you'll hear something soon Re: M3tric0n Homes 136Jan 20, 2011 7:43 pm ssci1 morox I'm a bit miffed with M at the moment. We signed our prelim contract the Monday before Christmas & during this appointment were advised we had to go to our council to seek approval to have a small excavated area over the easement on our block. I did some checking on the councils website & found the appropriate application forms which i forwarded to M (as a 'statement of reason' had to be provided & I believe that is something M needs to provide), along with some general questions that came from our appointment & things in the contract later that Monday arvo. I have STILL NOT HAD A RESPONSE! It's been 3.5 weeks, I understand Christmas was inbetween, but come on!! We are currently overseas & wanted this ready to submit to council on our return to get the ball rolling, but that wont happen. i'm sure they're permits department should be able to help you out. email your CSA and tell them to forward it to permits to help you out. they can be a bit frustrating like that - they have a 48 hour response turnaround time frame.. so hopefully you'll hear something soon Thanks for the info ssci1 - when I get home I will resend the email & ask them to forward to permits. It's just frustrating! Building the Milano30 Site start: 30th June 2011 PCI: 1st December 2011 Handover: As soon as the bank pays! Approx 16th December viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44051 Re: M3tric0n Homes 137Jan 27, 2011 6:37 am It may be the jet-lag talking but I think we have lucked out with our CSC, she is SO unhelpful it's not funny! I'm so jacked off at the whole process at the moment. After a phone call, she did provide us with a 'statement' for us to provide to council as previously mentioned - however this was a one liner that we could have written ourselves giving no substance to WHY it needs to happen! Not to mention she didn't provide us with an updated plan as we pushed our setback back an extra 1.5mts... And then she asked if we have planning permission yet - it could have been good if they'd mentioned that we need to to that at our prelim contract meeting as being first time builders, we had no idea we need to do that, let alone fork out $500 to submit it! Can anyone out there tell me if they signed their 'proper' contract BEFORE their electrical & tile appointment?? It didn't sound right to me that she wants us to sign the contract before these appoints - we know we are picking floor tiles that aren't from the 'standard' range & upgrading electricals big time, so why would we sign a contract which doesn't even include this price changes??? Sorry for the vent / angry post - I'm annoyed!! Building the Milano30 Site start: 30th June 2011 PCI: 1st December 2011 Handover: As soon as the bank pays! Approx 16th December viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44051 Re: M3tric0n Homes 138Jan 27, 2011 11:59 am Quote: Sorry for the vent / angry post - I'm annoyed!! It's understandable - and this process can be frustrating, certainly. I think it can be stressful for two main reasons: a) we need more information at all times b) communication is key - and when it is not there, of course you will blow a fuse. Anyway, your post raises a couple of interesting points: 1. I was also not happy with my CSC and sent an email outlining the difficulties to my Sales person who was fantastic (was at my wit's end). The email (a complete rant) was clearly forwarded to the CSC (not expected! ) - along with relevant managers, I assume - and after a bristling reply from the CSC was handed over to another one. Never looked back after that. If you are dealing with someone who is not engaged with your build, move heaven and earth to get a decent staff member, because the difference I experienced after that was RADICAL. So there are amazing staff available to you - you need to source them. Your post suggests to me you need to go with your intuition on that one...don't delay. 2. I signed my main contract prior to colour consult and electricals which were done about a month later. Not a problem. They just get added as variations as you go. I wouldn't necessarily be suspicious about that. If you PM me I can forward a price list of electricals so you can ball park your costs if that helps. Probably the main issue that gives rise to deep-end anger is the not knowing, and not being told. So once again, source a CSC you feel is on your side. In terms of the permit scenario (and I didn't follow that thread too closely), I suggest it comes back to Point 1 made earlier and in the previous statement. A good CSC is key. Hope this helps. Building with the Big M, Sandarra Settlement July 16 Site Scrape Sep 22 Slab Oct 12 Framing commenced Oct 13 Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=39517 Re: M3tric0n Homes 139Jan 27, 2011 12:39 pm that is unusual.... our contracts were prepared prior to us completing our colour appointment but we had a massive post contract variation given to us the day of contract - so we handed the contract together with the PCV to the bank so it was all good. i personally wouldn't sign until i had everything done and dusted - just make sure you're comfortable doing it. as for the issue with your CSA... i honestly dont understand how hard it is to outline the process to your client so they know where they stand. ggrrrrr makes my blood boil. that was the one thing that killed me about building with 'M'... everything was so disjointed and i never got the full story. kick up a stink ..... if you're not been unreasonable there is no reason as to why they should be so frustrating. Re: M3tric0n Homes 140Jan 27, 2011 1:03 pm Postscript: Yes, depending on what your financial situation/lending institution requirements are - you might need to know the full figure of the contract for finance approval of that amount. I was referring to the ease of process, not the $$ issue. Certainly if you feel more comfortable locking everything away (or neeed to) prior to contract signing then of course go with that. Building with the Big M, Sandarra Settlement July 16 Site Scrape Sep 22 Slab Oct 12 Framing commenced Oct 13 Build thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=39517 Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 74701 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 105553 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 23483 |