Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 41Jul 09, 2012 8:32 pm Just checked our revised driveway quote received this week - our driveway is 55m2 and the driveway cost is $7,000. Price per m2 might have gone up due to carbon tax?? We built the Wisdom Majestic 40 - moved in! Our blog - http://ourwisdommajestic40.blogspot.com.au/ Our H1 thread - viewtopic.php?t=54156 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 42Jul 09, 2012 10:57 pm Hi Gogo - I spoke to council again today & got a new person.....found out that the neighbour is liable for more retaining than we originally thought.....also found out he tried to tell council that we are liable to retain because on the down side etc & they have told him that he is responsible for retaining his fill.....will he listen???? Happy to sit him out.......my youngest is learning to play the drums at school - perhaps it is time to buy him his own drum kit......the alfresco would be a perfect place to practice! One Wheel - DH was told it was some special nail/srew thingy (technical term for I'm not really sure what) that opens out on the reverse side of the plaster for added stability. He said it can be patched....just suggested we remove it because we had decided to change this straight away. - I know how you feel with extras....ours went up $25K with having to resign a new tender & use DEB's to have our back at NGL. - Our handrail is already installed so it is too late to change to stained. It's not worth slowing up progress to get it changed. Hills - driveway similar size....with addition of crossover restoration. Charges for concrete pump, excavation, removal of dirt, drainage grill also included......friends in same estate got their driveway done by an indepenent person for $110m2 flat rate no additional charges. Currently getting an updated retaining/driveway quote (last one done in Dec) so expecting it to go up even more. Tiling to bathrooms almost finished - impressed with the attention to detail they seem to be taking. Got a pleasant suprise today to find that the windows have tiled surrounds/sills like Gogo's......that I wasn't expecting so very happy. MHC Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 45Aug 10, 2012 6:56 pm willcres wogboy Hi everyone, Would you guys tell me what dollars would builder pay if they are late in completing your home? Wogboy, They'll never pay it. They'll claim wet weather/ rain days as many as possible. My house supposed to finish this week but they called me this week to claim 51 days rain days, that means it's almost 2 months late from my 26 week contract....and no letter / written email to support. 51 rain days?!?!? That seems impossible. Did they tell you when the rain days were? Our builder has a $300 week rental payment if they go over time, but it is always hard to enforce. In any case, our builder will be close to the 25 week building period anyway. SunshineT's Build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=34585 Designs start: 4/12/09 DA: 5/7/11 Demo: 22/12/11 Slab: 24/2/12 Keys: 31/8/12 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 46Aug 10, 2012 8:01 pm I know, T, that's why I rang BOM straightaway to get daily rain record..
Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 47Aug 10, 2012 8:37 pm Wogboy,
They'll never pay it. They'll claim wet weather/ rain days as many as possible. My house supposed to finish this week but they called me this week to claim 51 days rain days, that means it's almost 2 months late from my 26 week contract....and no letter / written email to support.[/quote] Hi Wilcres, I looked into the contract again because I remember reading that builder has to notify you within 10 days about extension and that is in clause 9.2 but then I found in Builders condition clause 1.1 and if you check clause 10.4 even writing on this forum is illegal, according to Wisdom Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 48Aug 11, 2012 12:36 am yeah, don't know, better edit it then...
Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 49Aug 11, 2012 8:45 am If you upgrade your tiles do they deduct the standard inclusion allowance for the tile, or do you have to pay for the full amount? What extra cost are involved in getting larger tiles? Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 50Aug 11, 2012 9:08 am Rosiebee, With my build, I took all builder's standard tiles. But there's extra cost for glue, laying different tiles sizes, laying mosaic / feature tiles & labour cost. Where r u building? Are you with W as well? Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 51Aug 11, 2012 1:14 pm Hey guys, I was just wanting to know how long after council approval with it take to get to construction????? thanks Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 53Aug 13, 2012 10:18 am Hi Guys I am new to this forum and looking forward to get some information about wisdom . i am also considering to start building with Wisdom Homes in The Ponds. Originally i was almost finalized with Eaden Brae and waiting for tender. The main reason behind i choose them that they are seems to be value for money and they are very good at estimation process and they will tell you what will be the exact price. But major problem with them was that they don't have floor plan we needed and we had to make lots of changes. Suddenly we been contacted Wisdom sales office the The Ponds. Then we saw a perfect plan for our self which is Prosperity 24.i had a meeting with Wisdom sales person J** at The ponds. Since my land will get registered on coming December.,seems they can't give me fixed price tender [where EBH guaranteed on pricing ].Also guy who spoke was not good at estimations for the items i have requested. When i read through this forum i have found that allowance they giving for the driveway is not enough . I am bit nervous at this moment and juggling to decide between EBH or Wisdom. We really like the Prosperity 24 and 100% spot on . PLEASE ADVICE ME IF YOU HAD SOME ISSUES OF DEALING WITH WISDOM ? Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 54Aug 14, 2012 4:06 pm BigJo Hi Guys I am new to this forum and looking forward to get some information about wisdom . i am also considering to start building with Wisdom Homes in The Ponds. Originally i was almost finalized with Eaden Brae and waiting for tender. The main reason behind i choose them that they are seems to be value for money and they are very good at estimation process and they will tell you what will be the exact price. But major problem with them was that they don't have floor plan we needed and we had to make lots of changes. Suddenly we been contacted Wisdom sales office the The Ponds. Then we saw a perfect plan for our self which is Prosperity 24.i had a meeting with Wisdom sales person J** at The ponds. Since my land will get registered on coming December.,seems they can't give me fixed price tender [where EBH guaranteed on pricing ].Also guy who spoke was not good at estimations for the items i have requested. When i read through this forum i have found that allowance they giving for the driveway is not enough . I am bit nervous at this moment and juggling to decide between EBH or Wisdom. We really like the Prosperity 24 and 100% spot on . PLEASE ADVICE ME IF YOU HAD SOME ISSUES OF DEALING WITH WISDOM ? Hi BigJo, Not so much an advice but my experience in dealing with Wisdom Homes. We have decided on the KDR route with Wisdom being our choice of builder. Our site scrape started the week before Christmas last year (2011) and we have just finished our bathroom tiling and first coat of paint. Communications turnaround between our SS is on the slow side. Minimum requirements of our chosen air conditioning unit wasn't given until the AC supplier contacted us (1 week before installation of ducting) - we've found that our AC requires a minimum number of zones which ended costing us an additional 2k. On the plus side, the standard inclusions (IMO) are quite good, design is good if not one of the best out there, build quality is good (according to those I've spoken to as well as the tradies) and decent value for money. If you are to go with Wisdom, just make sure to ask all the questions you could think of and get their replies in writing (or email as with my case). Indeed build is on the slow side but I have heard of worse from more (supposedly) reputable and established builders. Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 55Aug 14, 2012 9:09 pm Hi BigJo, I'm building with WH at the moment too at lock up stage. I have to say from the admin process, they're slow, but I think other builders also the same. Once you're in construction stage, their communication is quite good, quick to response. Depend on the supervisor as well, if you get a good one, your building is gonna fly.... But their standard kitchen is the most painful. At the moment I'm sad & not happy with the kitchen result, basic standard included, design is not reasonable, joints is very feasible, it's not 100% WH fault but mostly from their kitchen company used who didn't communicate well with us, no advice before regarding size, standard measurement etc. now we end up with dissapointment & dissapointment. We're still fighting about our kitchen & hopefully this week will get result. I think either one is a good choice, but make sure you're happy with the floor plan & standard inclusions they give you. Keep everything in writing, it's very useful when later on they make a mistake & didn't give you what supposed to be. Good luck for your build! Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 56Aug 15, 2012 9:54 am willcres Hi BigJo, I'm building with WH at the moment too at lock up stage. I have to say from the admin process, they're slow, but I think other builders also the same. Once you're in construction stage, their communication is quite good, quick to response. Depend on the supervisor as well, if you get a good one, your building is gonna fly.... But their standard kitchen is the most painful. At the moment I'm sad & not happy with the kitchen result, basic standard included, design is not reasonable, joints is very feasible, it's not 100% WH fault but mostly from their kitchen company used who didn't communicate well with us, no advice before regarding size, standard measurement etc. now we end up with dissapointment & dissapointment. We're still fighting about our kitchen & hopefully this week will get result. I think either one is a good choice, but make sure you're happy with the floor plan & standard inclusions they give you. Keep everything in writing, it's very useful when later on they make a mistake & didn't give you what supposed to be. Good luck for your build! May I add if you are in the established area, please check your stormwater design. They charged us about 15k for those. Their flooring is through what I find as another insane company named dilorenzo. If you have plans to do anything different than in your package, they slug you with $$$$$$. Inm y estimate if we were to do the folloring we are getting (after handover), Dilorenzo would have chraged us an extra 30k. It may be well worth your money to upgrade the stairs. With your kitchen, do not bother upgrading anything through their kitchen company unless it is something that can't be fixed later after handover. They are not worth it. To give you a comparison, my butlar's pantry fitout would have costed me 80% more than it is costing me as I am doing it through a handyman, saving of around 5k. I am getting a nice butlar's pantry for ~$2k. If fact, you can even ask them to give you credit for overhead cupboards already in your kitchen plan and later do them yourselves. If I had my time again, I would do this. Check and recheck what they are doing with your final contract pricing. They added once item's cost (about $700) twice for me. I will recheck it more before the final payment. Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 57Aug 15, 2012 12:53 pm Inspiration30 Hey guys, I was just wanting to know how long after council approval with it take to get to construction????? thanks Hi Inspiration, we received council approval 13 weeks ago and not started yet and not yet provided a start date, however a portaloo appeared on our block this week, so hoping we will start in 2-3 weeks. We have had some delays/ issues which caused some of the delays. We built the Wisdom Majestic 40 - moved in! Our blog - http://ourwisdommajestic40.blogspot.com.au/ Our H1 thread - viewtopic.php?t=54156 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 58Aug 15, 2012 1:10 pm BigJo Hi Guys I am new to this forum and looking forward to get some information about wisdom . I am also considering to start building with Wisdom Homes in The Ponds. Since my land will get registered on coming December.,seems they can't give me fixed price tender [where EBH guaranteed on pricing ].Also guy who spoke was not good at estimations for the items i have requested. When i read through this forum i have found that allowance they giving for the driveway is not enough . I am bit nervous at this moment and juggling to decide between EBH or Wisdom. We really like the Prosperity 24 and 100% spot on . PLEASE ADVICE ME IF YOU HAD SOME ISSUES OF DEALING WITH WISDOM ? Hi Bigjo, I am also building with Wisdom, about to complete site start. The admin side of things is quite slow, I am hoping the actual building of the home will be quicker. I think if the land is not registered and W can't get onto the land for soil testing and the like, then they won't be able to provide a quote on the site costs. However they do provide a minimum amount for site costs, so ask what that is so you get an idea. Is the block flat? If it has a fall/rise over 0.5 m then there will probably be extra costs for this. We also had late extra site costs due to the sewer location, which cost us an extra $7.5K. So if you can, make sure they are aware of the sewer location and build requirements for it, so they can quote your site costs more accurately. As for all other extras in the home, W were able to provide a rough idea of each item when we asked the salesman at Oran Park and by the time we went to tender, most of the costs were pretty spot on. We have had quite a few variations, especially kitchen and electrical uprades. The driveway cost for us was also greater than the $5,500 landscaping certificate, I think it came to $7.5K, but we expected that. Once you have house plans and where it is situated on the block, they then will be able to provide a landscaping quote. I found W quite upfront about costs before going to tender, so our budget based on their estimates and the actual cost was pretty much spot on. It has only been the extra site costs after we signed the contract that was unexpected, as these only came to light after council approved the DA. Hope this helps, Good luck!! We built the Wisdom Majestic 40 - moved in! Our blog - http://ourwisdommajestic40.blogspot.com.au/ Our H1 thread - viewtopic.php?t=54156 Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 59Aug 15, 2012 3:49 pm Thank you very much for the valuable responds. I am getting bit confident about Wisdom now because of you guys, I am going to build at The Ponds . But my land will get registered by coming December. So for the admin process i am thinking that they have enough time to until December. Fingers crossed.... Onewheel My land is pretty much flat (800mm elevation) according to the contour plan. I have seen lots of people who building with Wisdom was dealing with Oran Park. Is there any reason? Currently I am dealing with sales guy at Ponds .He seems to be good .I already send him an email with load questions in it. But Sales guy who handled my case in EBH was very professional and that was the main reason we trusted EBH. Tender from EBH will be on 28th and if that price comes closer to 250 mark i will consider going with Wisdom . I am hoping to do timber flooring (Excluding bedrooms) by my self so I will ask credit for that. Anyone got contacts for timber flooring ? I have done bit of comparison about Wisdom Vs EBH Here is the list of items you get with Wisdom in comparison with EBH inclusion list(For the extra 20k I am paying for WH) Kitchen Decorative glass splashback to Kitchen (up to 3m2 with 2No. GPO cut-outs) Bulkheads Undermount double bowl kitchen sink Blum motion soft close Kitchen drawers and pot drawers Laminated overhead cupboard above fridge space Set of pot drawers to Kitchen Stainless steel orgaline cutlery tray Bathroom Caesarstone to vanities throughout (standard range - 20mm thick) Full height tiling to two walls only of Bathroom and Ensuite (main visible walls) Floor Coverings Ceramic Tiles to Entry Floor and Wall Ceramic tile upgrade from $25m2 to $35m2 throughout Laundry Built-in laminated Laundry unit with stainless steel drop in tub, mixer tap set and 20mm caserstone top Outside External Finishes 25 degree roof pitch in lieu of 20 degree roof pitch Off white mortar to brickwork in lieu of natural coloured mortar Aluminium awning windows to front facade and Bathrooms Garage Plasterboard lined interior to Garage in lieu of face brickwork BASIX Whirlybird roof ventilator for better cooling & BASIX score http://firsthomebuildingadventure.blogspot.com.au/ Re: Anyone building with Wisdom Homes?? 60Aug 15, 2012 4:05 pm Bigjo, We also got that inclusions for $5990. What did EB give you? Can someone please offer some advice? Im DESPERATE. Because I'm completely and utterly exhausted. How long are variations taking with other companies at the moment? We… 0 18460 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 19 73436 Hi Everyone, I am exploring builder in NSW and received a very tempting quote from Wisdom home for their momentum series. I just want to know experience of building… 0 8233 |