Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Oct 06, 2011 6:29 pm Hi everyone, We are struggling to pick a builder because everyone seems to have just about equal positive and negative comments. We've looked at a few different display homes and quite liked the Switch 870 home. Also the Woodbridge from Gemmill but I don't know much about the companies. Our budget is about $250K. Who are you building with in Perth and would you use them again or reccomend them to friends? Thanks Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 2Oct 11, 2011 1:58 pm Hi we built with switch homes and did not have a good experience with them as they were only new on the scene then, sounds like they have improved a lot since we built "as they needed too". I can only suggest you go with a company that has tradespeople they always use and the biggest issue we had was not having a building supervisor consistently throughout build so we had to constantly pick things up and make sure they were addressed by builder and try to keep build moving forward, house sat for a month with no work being done, not what we paid for as this is supervisors job to have the trades follow on from each other. Go driving around estates and have a look at builds underway atm to check out the quality of workmanship and see how quick construction is moving along on there builds, ask clients if onsite how happy they are. Switch have fabulous house designs and we love our house and luckily turned out alright not a lot of maintenance issues so pleased with that. All building companies have good and bad out there, so whom ever you choose be vigilant and make sure everything is in writing and all plans are correct before you start. A lot of building companies out there include things in the home you have to pay extra for with switch so compare specs, eg treated pine roof timbers, stone benchtops, 100mm slab. So good luck and happy building.
Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 3Oct 11, 2011 2:06 pm We chose DA homes and have been more then impressed. We love the standard inclusions, much higher specs then other companies, a good range of designs, and when having sticky beaks at homes, they just seemed to be finished off at higher quality then other companies. However, as Kazzbah61 said, people have good and bad issues with companies. Some of the issues people have had with DA have been shocking and I think if I had known about them, would I have gone through them? but our own personal experience has been great. issues have been picked up on and dealt with appropriately, and that is what i like. When there is a problem, how is the issue solved? We were treated with courtesy and we were listened too, and we got what we were paying for. We are about to start the construction stage, so hopefully those good points continue throughout the build! Goodluck choosing your builder, and definitely talk to people on site if you can! Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 4Oct 11, 2011 2:39 pm I'm building with switch at the moment. In looking for a builder I think as long as you compare apples with apples (as far as inclusions go) you really just gotta find the house/inclusions you like the most..you'll read good and bad about every builder (some more one than the other) but as kazzbah said, a lot of it comes down to tradies.. FWIW- I've had no issue with switch since we started building, there was some communication issues prior to that but the build is powering along and my ss is brilliant and I'm very happy we stuck to our guns and are getting our dream home. I also built with ventura 10 years ago and had a brilliant build ATM there seems to be a lot of issues here with DA homes, but end last year/beginning of this one you'd have struggled to find someone happy with swtich. Good luck! my new build thread- Ben Trager https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89826 my switch build thread (2011) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36569 Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 5Nov 07, 2011 11:13 am Hi - We are also building with Switch. Similar to Tinkster, we had some issues before the build began - they demolished for us, in hindsight, we should have organised that ourselves. BUt since the slab went down in April, things have been pretty good. Not saying there haven't been issues, but nothing that hasn't been resolved and that's the main thing. I would agree with all the above comments, all seem to have their good and bad points. When you find the house you love, makesure it will suit you honestly - you block size, orientation, window placement is a big one!All the best in making your choice. Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 6Nov 07, 2011 11:06 pm Check Product Review and pick a builder who has significantly better then 50% positive reviews within the last year. The issue in Perth is the labour pool is so small the idiot who wrecked someones' home with X builder last year could now be working for Y builder. Take on board the fact that although all of these companies state they are builders they aren't really; they simply design your home and sub-contract it out so it's pot luck at best. Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 7Nov 07, 2011 11:33 pm Scotnal- would love to see your plans and pics! Nice to hear of another switch-er my new build thread- Ben Trager https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89826 my switch build thread (2011) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36569 Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 8Nov 07, 2011 11:50 pm Also building with Switch Homes. building their 830 design as per the Baldivis display - only minor changes. So far have been impressed with Switch and the quality of their tradespeople. We had a problem with our bricks not matching and although it took a while to work through it we felt that Switch Homes were working in our interests to get resolved with the brick company. At the end of the day you need to find a design that suits your needs and that may well determine which builder you go with. Switch 830 in Meve Commenced 20/7/2011 Completed Early april 2012 Moved in 30/4/2012 Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 9Nov 08, 2011 3:05 am I built with homebuyers centre and was very happy with them, I'd reccomend them again provided you are building in the southern suburbs. It all depends on the supervisor and one of them down south is very good, where as I've heard quite a few horror stories from those in the northern suburbs. For your Budget I'd be looking at Dale Alcock. I've found there designs and finishes to be miles ahead of the others. Unfortunatly they were just a bit too much for what I wanted to spend. Re: Who (home builders) to choose in Perth? 10Nov 08, 2011 11:02 am Hi There, I am building with Broadway Homes. There was only a couple of homes that I liked the layout of and that showed interest in making changes that I wanted. The sales consultant has been very good and I think we are making progress. It is made difficult because we are doing everything via email and have only met twice. I think it is taking a little longer than I would have expected as we have been discussing since about May and signed a PPA at end of June but progress is being made. I guess like most things the internet is a great collator of negative unfiltered information. I spoke with a some people and visited several of their displays and spoke with some suppliers. I will more than likely have someone supervise the slab pour though as I see this as a critical part. It also seems I want everything upgraded so the starting price and finishing price are worlds apart. It is very frightening though. Ciao Mark 1 1794 Anthony Firstly, wow you have put a lot of work into your list of questions! Great job and they are mostly valid questions that a builder should be able to answer. As… 14 9097 Hi All, we are starting to think of building with Masterpiece Builders in Victoria, has anyone had any feedback or experience with them 0 7447 |