Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 03, 2007 8:08 am I think that the whole process of building a house could be made a lot less painful if the builders put a bit more thought into what they do.
A major concern for most people is the ammount of time it takes to get a house built,from the moment you first walk into the sales office. The builders main concern is to sign you up to buy a house from them.The concern I have is that the builder is quick to point out they guarantee to build your house in fifteen weeks.They forget to mention that it will take several months before they are ready to build.People need to know up front as soon as they enter the sales office exactly how long it takes to have their house built.When going from one display home to another I had to play twenty questions with sales people to get any relevant imformation,more like extracting information rather than being informed.The usual lines were "Have a glossy sales brochure" or "We can do anything you want if you have enough money". A pet hate for me is that even though you may be spending a couple of hundred thousand dollars the builder insists on sending urgent important documentation by unregistered mail that takes around three days.To me that is three days wasted. In the end I think a sense of urgency is all that is required. Feel free to discuss and add your own views. Building an Allworth home at St Georges Basin,New South Wales. http://myallworth.blogspot.com/ http://www.allworthhomes.com.au/ Re: Builders Need To Improve. 2Dec 03, 2007 8:11 am not2oldru I A pet hate for me is that even though you may be spending a couple of hundred thousand dollars the builder insists on sending urgent important documentation by unregistered mail that takes around three days.To me that is three days wasted. Agreed!! PD would send contract drawings to be returned in 7 days (5 business days) in the post so you would have 1 day to actually go over 10 pages of drawings!! They always managed to send invoices express post though!!!! Built Porter Davis "Dromana" 2007. Re: Builders Need To Improve. 3Dec 03, 2007 8:28 am 15 weeks, in Sydney?
Our builder will only do 30 weeks... Re: Builders Need To Improve. 4Dec 03, 2007 2:10 pm vanderlay not2oldru I A pet hate for me is that even though you may be spending a couple of hundred thousand dollars the builder insists on sending urgent important documentation by unregistered mail that takes around three days.To me that is three days wasted. Agreed!! PD would send contract drawings to be returned in 7 days (5 business days) in the post so you would have 1 day to actually go over 10 pages of drawings!! They always managed to send invoices express post though!!!! I like that one: * Important documents that need your checking, approval and hold up the building - normal post. * Invoices - express post. At least we know where the priority is Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Builders Need To Improve. 5Dec 03, 2007 2:15 pm Yeah, getting through pages of drawings in 1-2 days is hard !
One of the good things we found with our PD salesman is that - right from Day 1 we had an accurate understanding of the pre-construction process and the time each stage takes. We knew how long between our sales apointment and our variations apointment. Then how long to colour selection, then how long to tender etc etc. From the day we sat in the sales office we knew what month our site start would be, and a few weeks later we found out they had brought us forward 2 months to start earlier! Re: Builders Need To Improve. 6Dec 03, 2007 2:19 pm Obviously new to the forum not2oldru!
I COULDN’T AGREE WITH YOU MORE! Everyone here knows how much I like to complain about them! Having probs with your builder??? Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Builders Need To Improve. 7Dec 03, 2007 2:35 pm I agree that some builders are like that. My friend is building with Plantation in QLD and they were so eager to take her $1500 deposit that they forgot to mention that it would be 12 months till they actually started building!!! Too busy was there excuse, why keep taking on clients if you don't have enough builders to actually build the house?
Alot of companies are like that but we are lucky that Dixon give you a good idea of a start date and then calculate how long a house will take to build. Ours will take 161 days (a couple of weeks are included for rain, delay, etc). They even write down the exact steps and timeframe for each process. Jet Re: Builders Need To Improve. 8Dec 03, 2007 2:44 pm Hey Michelle,
I am not really having problems with the builder as such,but more the whole casual attitude exhibited by all builders when confronted by a customer.It should be common knowledge to everyone about how long it takes to build a house.If you already own a home you need to know when to sell it and when to commence with the new home ,otherwise get used to renting for an extended period.All the glossy brochures I have seen make no mention of nine months to 12 months before you can have your new house. What about when trying to compare one builder to anothe?Some build basix into site costs,some have it as part of the house price and others have it stand alone. THE WHOLE PROCESS OF BUILDING A HOUSE IS MADE MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE ERRATIC NATURE OF THE BUILDERS. I am just trying to generate debate about the management type problems rather than actual building defects.Time is money but some builders do not realise that. Building an Allworth home at St Georges Basin,New South Wales. http://myallworth.blogspot.com/ http://www.allworthhomes.com.au/ Re: Builders Need To Improve. 9Dec 03, 2007 2:47 pm Well it should generate a good discussion!!!
Good for you…..I could go on ALL day about it. But I won’t….just to be nice to everyone. Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Builders Need To Improve. 10Dec 03, 2007 2:54 pm I would ask for two things of a builder:
1) How much will it cost? I don't care if they charge $1 for the house and $249,999 for site costs or $249,999 for the house and $1 for the site cost. If they need to do any soil tests to get an exact price I would get the test done. If I pay for the soil test then I keep the results and can go elsewhere. If the builder pays for the soil test then they can keep it. 2) When will it be finished? I don't care if they wait 5 months to start and then complete the house in 1 month or start in a month and take 5 months. I wouldn't part with any money (excpet for tests that I get to keep) or sign anythign until I knew these two things. No if or buts. Oh, and make sure that any liquidated damages in your contract equal the rental value of the completed property. I've heard some shockers in this department. Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Site works are just about to start on our build with Blueprint in Midvale. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106894 2 4177 Hi all, We are looking to build a new two storey house in western Sydney. Can anyone recommend a smallish builder to go with? We are trying to stay away from the big… 0 12473 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 109077 |