Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 02, 2012 4:39 pm Hi everyone, My wife and I have decided that we wanted to build a new house in Springvale VICTORIA. After going through many builders, we found a house we like from HENLEY. It's the Sahara Q2 We have not signed any documents yet but we have discussed this with our sales consultant (Sean Bamford) who seems very honest and knowledgeable. (However no replies to emails) We have taken on board various addons such as Boston Façade, Grand Theater and Dining, Spa in ensuite, Gas/Water lines to the alfresco, Second sink in second bathroom upstairs, Laundry with cupboards and tiles and a few adjustments on where the fridge is meant to be located. I would love to hear from people that have either built with Henley and their experiences, people that have built in the Springvale area and rough site costs and just general advise on what to look out for. They are asking us to sign the paper to lock in the price (apparently, pricing will be changing very soon and most likely, going up) but we want to be well informed before we make a decision. To everyone, many thanks Saj Re: Building with Henley - Would like some advise and tips 2Apr 02, 2012 5:01 pm I would question your motives for Springvale well before questioning your choice of builder. What possible reason could you have for choosing Springvale where those attributes don't apply to other suburbs? Henleys pricing recently went up by about $5k on their entry level homes - I've seen literature printed around the place, but they're still displaying the old literature quite predominantly. (eg, $134k goes to $139). Building a Delta 21 at Craigieburn - http://homeofzero.blogspot.com.au/ Deposit: 26/02. Contract: 22/05. Settlement: 29/05. Site start: 18/10. Re: Building with Henley - Would like some advise and tips 3Apr 02, 2012 5:35 pm Good question. The reason why the house would be built in Springvale is because we currently have an old dilapidated house in Springvale on a decent block of land. We will be demolishing the current house to make place for the new one. Both of us are working in the city and thus commuting is not so bad from Springvale. Also, we have two kids who currently do go to school and their babysitters live right next door to us. They are the one that drops them to school in the morning and picks them up in the afternoon. Thus leaving Springvale would be a con for us more than a pro... Re: Building with Henley - Would like some advise and tips 4Apr 02, 2012 5:40 pm Hi sajithj, welcome to Homeone! I built with Henley in Melbourne's East 3 years ago, and there is plenty of info in my house build thread and blog (both in my sig below) if you feel like having a browse...you'll have to go a fair way back, though! It's pretty hard to give an idea on site costs, as they do vary from street to street, depending on what the soil is (clay, sand etc) and how much slope there is. Just as a guide, ours was $15,500. We did have tree root barrier all along the front of our slab, we had a 1m fall across the block from right to left so we had to have deepend edge beams where there was fill. Ours were sandy soils, too. If there is a significant cut and fill area, then you may require retaining walls which will put up the costs as well. I'm not sure of Henley have changed their zones, or not, but I assume they told you whether or not you have to pay 'extra' for possibly being in a particular 'zone'. Ours was $7K, friends who built in Glen Iris were charged (from memory) $30K, and their site costs were $60K (retaining walls, cut and fill, clay soils). You will have a better idea once the soil tests are done...once you have paid your deposit. Since you are building close to Cosham, I would highly recommend a few hours there to get an idea of what colours and upgrades are available. I was given a price list for my specific house with all the upgrade costs on it which was invaluable when I was making my decisions. As houses have different amounts of bricks, tiles, cabinets, windows, architraves etc, one upgrade price from one Henley home might be completely different to yours! Whatever the base price is, add at least $50K for upgrades. Like ANY builder, there will be issues. Whether it be with lack of communication between different 'departments' in head office, or tradies being supplied with the wrong materials and/or plans. Just make sure you check, re-check and triple check absolutely everything on your plans and in your contract. I had a relatively smooth build, but it was still the most stressfull thing I have ever done. I would also advise the use of an independant inspector at various stages during the build. We didn't and have since discovered a potential fire hazard in our ceiling (yet to be rectified). Good Luck!!! Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: Building with Henley - Would like some advise and tips 5Apr 02, 2012 8:30 pm Thank you for all the advice. I will have a read of your blog. Like you said, I'm sure that there will be complications with the building process. I just hope to minimize having to deal with their after care which seems what people are mostly complaining about. I am hoping to go to the Cosham showroom a few times beforehand to have a look at the various selection they have. I suppose what scares me the most is all the negative reviews I have read about Henley. Re: Building with Henley - Would like some advise and tips 6Apr 03, 2012 12:59 pm Quick question, I was going through the brochure about the inclusions for Henley. I came across a clause that worries me a bit that goes as follows: 'Henley reserves the right to change or substitute the make, model &/or type of any product'. Does that mean that they can change the make and model of the things we choose during the selection stage at the Cosham showroom without our consent during the construction stage? Re: Building with Henley - Would like some advise and tips 7Apr 03, 2012 1:10 pm its pretty standard clause, to cover their bases if something is not available at the time that it's needed, but im sure you would be notified of any changes prior, and any credits etc would be in the way of post contract variation. all builders would be the same I would have thought Re: Building with Henley - Would like some advise and tips 8Apr 03, 2012 1:53 pm Thanks tengals, That is kind of reassuring. I have sent a whole bunch of questions to my sales coordinator. Let's see what he comes back with. Sucks that Cosham is closed this weekend (Easter Holiday) so have to wait another week and a half before I can see pop my head to see what's on offer. No the fireplace doesn’t work. It’s been enclosed. I’m not sure what was removed, as it was done quite some time ago - well before what I can see with photos online… 2 9114 I am looking for someone who might have tackled a similar issue as me. I have a few rendered interior walls, the surface condition is hardly flat. I can see all the bumps… 0 5747 |