Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 08, 2010 1:53 pm Hi I'm new to this forum and house building in general. I am currently deciding between two houses - one is the Caprice by Provincial, the other is the Monte Carlo 33 by Fowler Homes. Has anyone built with either of these builders? I think I like the design of the Caprice a little better but so far the sales guy hasn't shown much interest in actually getting our business. A tender has been done but little interest has been shown since then in following us up etc. Fowler we are still waiting on the tender so I'm not sure of their service yet. Stories of any experiences would be much appreciated. Thanks Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 2Nov 08, 2010 4:10 pm Hi CherryB, We built the Caprice with Provincial. We moved in 3 months ago and I have the utmost admiration with the job they did. Our SS was/(is!) fantastic and we were very pleased with the whole process. Fit and finish of the home is top class. You can track our build in the blog here: http://jacksonsbuild.blogspot.com/ Jonathan Building the Caprice33 by Provincial Homes. Now it's time for the landscaping http://jacksonsbuild.blogspot.com Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 3Nov 09, 2010 6:57 pm Thanks Jonathan. I have actually looked at your blog a few times so it's great to hear from you. Glad you are enjoying your house. We are a bit worried about the lack of tests etc done before we pay our $5000 commencement fee and if that could mean alot of costs we will find out about down the track. Our sales guy has said it will all work itself out but I'm hoping that 'working itself out' doesn't mean and extra $20,000 or anything. Also, our sales guy hasn't exactly seemed all that anxious to get our business so far. Nice to not have someone hassling all the time but it would be nice if he showed a bit of interest. Quick question - did Provincial do your floorboards or did you organise that yourself? Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 4Nov 09, 2010 9:19 pm The interest levels improve significantly when you pay the commencement fee. It's fairly understandable for a smaller builder as they must get so many 'tire kickers' who saw, 'wooo, the display home is nice, please give us a tender price (for free)'. We liked the flexibility of the downstairs floorplan (extended rumpus, added study etc)so had no problem paying the 5k commencement fee. Some of the provisional items turned out to be over estimates anyway so we got some money 'back'. I would still recommend getting a Geo report done on your block for piece of mind (your cost). Also, we had a fiasco with the surveyed levels that come with the title deeds of the land. They were wrong, by at least 500mm which caused a reset of the finished floor level and also roof pitch to keep the hight within council requirements - but Provincial handled all that. Building, as a process, is a stressful business. Document everything, you never know if you'll need it. I'm a glass half full kinda guy but it sometimes helped to send a curt and direct email asking for clarification on something or other. They were always sorted out quickly. Good luck with your decision. Jonathan Building the Caprice33 by Provincial Homes. Now it's time for the landscaping http://jacksonsbuild.blogspot.com Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 5Nov 09, 2010 9:21 pm cherryb Quick question - did Provincial do your floorboards or did you organise that yourself? We did them ourselves after handover. Flooring wasn't offered as an option when we tendered. Building the Caprice33 by Provincial Homes. Now it's time for the landscaping http://jacksonsbuild.blogspot.com Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 6Nov 09, 2010 9:29 pm Hi cherryb, We are building with Fowler and scheduled for handover this Friday. So far so good and we are happy with their workmanship and service. We've found they've included a lot of things in their standard inclusion where it would cost extra from other builders. They are a smaller size builder but it's been good as I nearly know all the names in their office Another point I like about them is the credit that they gave when I pulled things out of the tender even after signing contract, they were never pushy to get us to upgrade and really helped us build something we liked and within our budget. Good luck I welcome your questions Cheers jim Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 7Nov 12, 2010 9:29 am Thanks both of you for your replies. Both builders sound pretty good (as builders go) so hopefully either will be good for us. I'm sure I will be posting back here alot as we start the process. Jim, what house did you build with Fowler? We are looking at the Monte Carlo 33. Jonathan, we have a diagram with the levels on that was given to us when we purchased the land and Provincial also did a basic one when they surveyed the land. I might check if they are similar and if so can, I guess, safely assume they are correct. Good to know interest levels improve down the track. I understand they must get plenty of people requesting free tenders. Did you find you could negotiate on prices etc on much or get any other inclusions? Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 9Nov 12, 2010 9:41 am cherryb Are you building in Matraville? I drive past there all the time. how funny, I thought I lived so far away from everyone else on h1, there'd be no way anyone would drive past my house. You are the 2nd person on h1 that has identified my house by driving past. Good luck with your decision making, stop by and say hi sometime, we are handing over today so we'd be there nearly everyday Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 10Dec 08, 2010 12:27 pm I'm building Waverley 34 with Provincial Homes, no issues so far. We just signed an HIA contract this week. To know more of the building updates, please follow this link http://www.infotechapps.com/SiteBuilder/mainApp?num=138 Re: Has anyone built with Provincial or Fowler homes in NSW? 11Nov 19, 2012 11:27 am jbsj1974 (Jackson) and ronj, how are you going? Its been around 2 years, would be good to know how your houses are , any problems ? cracks, leaking, plasterin etc>? I did see a few bad reviews on provincial online. 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 105491 Hi we are looking to talk to people who have built with them recently. We have signed mid range built contract but identified that a lot of things are not included.… 0 641 Anyone built with Fowler Homes? Feedback? Especially any things concerning or negatives? Have heard some horror… 0 9288 |