Any experiences with Firstyle homes

I was quoted $7600 for driveway and path to front - this was a year back and now will have to get the new quote.
25K for flooring is expensive - what are you getting done - wood?

Hi Sam_sc, thank you for the reply, for the flooring I requested porcelain tiles(builders standard range) which also includes carpet for all bedrooms and sitting area. Are you building with firstyle too? I have been going through their standard range of bricks and not too happy.. planning to upgrade it to a different colour. Any idea how much extra it might cost for upgrading the brick?

No idea about bricks - I am waiting for registration

Yes I am with Firstyle.

Here is my experience with Firstyle and so far it's not very positive.

The paperworks stage was slow and the sales person was hard to deal with when we wanted to do changes. Eventually we got changes we wanted and the job progressed to pre-construction department. At this stage everything went smoothly. All appointments went very well and the people there were helpful. Out plans came back from CDC in only 4 weeks and the job moved to construction.

Our slab has been completed which is a good news. The bad news is that there are cracks all over it. We asked Firstyle about it and it took them one week to come back and reply that those were 'shrinkage' cracks caused by the concrete being poured in hot weather. To us it didn't sound like a good reason though so we asked them if they were going to fix them and I haven't heard from them since. It's been almost one week.

Will see what happens...

Hi all!

We are literally at very beginning!

Land contract is with solicitor and with a few minor adjustments we should be signing soon. Broker believes that funding should be a no brainer so pre approval will be happening shortly.

I have a few questions... Urgh so many questions.

We have extended the alfresco and extended the garage. Added colourbond and removed the little raise in the floor to the bathrooms - I have a toddler, its a recipe for disaster. We are already aware of possible total cost for this and are happy.

My brain is in fast forward mode, then replay and fast forward again! Building huh?

I wanted to know if anyone has been to the selection room and perhaps noticed the timber look tiles and roughly how much extra we would be looking at? What are the difference in price ranges anyhow? Who do they go through for tiling?

Also, shower niches? Feature mosaic tile? AND floor to ceiling tiles - porcelein.

Caesarstone waterfall bench tops?

What is the standard and upgraded kitchen cupboard materials and for kitchen island?

We got lucky with air con thrown in along with downlights. Among other things.

Single storey Silkwood 21.7 at Cobbitty. House and land. I must admit that salesman has been great. I think we have called him a million times already.

You were warned about the excessive questions! I've been losing sleep over this damn house. And its only the beginning!

Congrats to those who are also starting and also moving in! Best wishes

Thank you in advance!

Ones you've had the above things priced you'll be surprised how expensive they are. Firstyle charges ridiculous money for upgrades. To give you an idea shower niches will cost you around $2k. Ceramic tiles you don't get to choose until the construction is half way there. Anyway, congrats with your endeavour! Where are you building? And sorry I didn't quite answer all your questions.

Could you please explain with more examples ?
I am also thinking of Firstyle & will help.

Sure. What exactly are you interested in?

I have just got my approval from the Council. So waiting on the construction cert now.
Here is t he thing I found with FS...as soon as you do any upgrade on t he items included in their promotion..you won;t get any credit back and you will be paying a full price..do your homework before going to selection center as you only have 3hours. You won;t be able to pick tiles during the selection stage...you will be asked to do it at the tile center when FS is ready to lay them. I got 4 bathroom niche..n paid approx 2k for all 4...they are as expensive as other major builders around..I am yet to see the quality of their construction..only thing I didn't like is they never gave me any upgrade for free apart from AIrcon..but then I have to pay 4k to upgrade it so that I can have both zones (Up+Down) running simultaneously..

I'm not building - but I am purchasing my unregistered land with them. Very slow indeed - didn't even respond to my solicitor when they were asked to delay exchange due to missing documents.

I don't think I will be building with them once the land exchange has occurred.

Interested to find out driveway/flooring/ceiling height costs.

The houses with Standard inclusions is 100k cheaper than the major project builders.
Will the price between an estimate and Contract vary a lot ?

- 2.59 ceilings around $3k
- timber laminate in lieu of standard ceramic tiles was around $2k
- driveway included

All our upgrades came to ~ $30k.

Are you basing this on an estimate they gave you, or their price list? The prices on their price list are missing a lot of necessary items like basix and slab costs that some builders do include in their advertised prices. In my experience the estimated prices are in the same ballpark as other project builders.

@fredescu, I am basing on their price list with standard inclusions and basix. Example their 29sq house is 250k and same house in Metricon is 350k

I wouldn't base anything off price lists. Ask someone from both companies to give you a rough estimate to build on your lot. If the inclusions are roughly the same, there won't be 100k difference.

Thanks @fradescu, I have only based on the price lists. FS homes Price list says including standard site costs.

They are reluctant to give me an estimate as my settlement is due in 6 months.

For your size..expect a site cost of around 28k to 30k..n basix abt 5k..if you have access to recycled water..

Example:
Waterhouse 34.2 Distinct (On Display Edmondson Park) is $268,500 that includes Standard Site costs.
vs
Metricon Elysian 29 with Standard Site Costs is $330k.

Ignore these specific numbers because I'm doing a KDR, but just to give you an idea, Braeside 33 Distinct is on the pricelist for $275k. Their estimate is roughly 420k to build. In comparison, Fowler Seville 33 is $325k on their price list, and they've estimated around $420k to build too. Wisdom Impression 33 is $340k on their price list, and their estimate is $440k. Wisdom includes flooring and the other two don't. So for pretty much the same size house, all three are estimating pretty much the same cost.

I had a contour survey already done to get those estimates. Perhaps they won't give you an estimate because your lot hasn't completed development, so the contours won't be final yet?