Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 741Oct 12, 2012 3:17 pm Hey Guys, I just received a quote from Ark Finishing Touches for their polystyrene venetian blinds and it is amazingly so much cheaper than PVC quotes I've been getting?? They claim that it is a stronger, more superior product as it can withstand higher heat levels and therefore no warping. Does anyone know anything about PVC vs Polystyrene venetians? Thanks! Deposit: Jul11 Contract: 1/11/11 Colours/Electrical/Sentinel/Aircon: Nov11 CDC: Dec11 File on hold: Dec11-Jun12 Construction: Jul12 Lock-up: 14th Nov http://hometanamal.blogspot.com.au/ Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 742Oct 13, 2012 12:48 pm Vatche - How did you go. Did they do the right thing by you? Not a lot to report for us. Thursday, house was wrapped, granitegard mostly done. Too much rain yesterday for anything else. Notice the bricks all over the ground. The ground got so soaked many of the piles toppled over. A few hit the house causing rips and holes in the wrap. Luckily, no windows were damaged. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 743Oct 14, 2012 9:02 am PS_Sirocco7, looks like good progress of your house. Few weeks back it was just vacant land. Hope they can patch the small rips of the envirowrap. As to us, I got them working under the rain, as I told them I was serious about charging them $1000/day past Monday. So it should be ready by Monday. I gave M the 20 day start from Monday 15/10/2012. So not too long now before we get slabbed Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 744Oct 14, 2012 10:28 am After the arguments, they finally got their fingers out of their asses and started working, even under the rain. I guess the prospect of loosing $1000/day got them worried, and so it should, as I was not joking or just pretending. I was serious! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Visited Saturday, and saw the workers going through the rubble and sorting the recyclables. I also realised that he is using his trailer to dump the rubbish and not getting a big dump-truck, saving money on my time! Hence the reason for such a long time taken to finish off the job. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ You can watch a short video of the demolition on my blog. Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 745Oct 14, 2012 3:27 pm My demolition company used a small truck to dump the rubbish and still finished it in three days. Then I had to level the block before M would take it to start the 20 days. After the demolition people had finish and the block was clear M came out and said it had to be levelled before they would take it - so that cost another $3000 and a delay of over a month due to it being in February and all that rain. Only when the site was clear and level - and there is no real slope - what they wanted was all the dinks and uneven stuff left by the demolition trucks to be smoothed out - would they take over the block. Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 746Oct 14, 2012 4:59 pm Hi everyone, Quick question....can you (or should you) sign a building contract before your bank gives you pre approval for the construction aspect of your loan (we have pre approval for the land already but still waiting on the construction...). Our tender is about to expire & we don't know what to do Symphony MBTF Hunter Jul - $1000 Aug - $3500 Nov - Con & Plans to Counc Dec 4 - Council & Land Jan 25 - Colours Mar 20 - 20 days Ap 18 - Slab May 1 - Frames May 10 - Bricks May 23 - Roof Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 747Oct 14, 2012 7:05 pm [quote="nubear01"]Hi everyone, Quick question....can you (or should you) sign a building contract before your bank gives you pre approval for the construction aspect of your loan (we have pre approval for the land already but still waiting on the construction...). Our tender is about to expire & we don't know what to do /quote] You will have to pay the 5% deposit when signing contracts(which you wont get back),so it is up to you whether you want to take that risk.I would be speaking to your lender first,we did have our pre approval prior to signing for our own peace of mind and to get a figure on how much you can borrow to make sure it is enough to cover contract price as what doesnt will have to come out of your pocket. Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 748Oct 14, 2012 7:10 pm My bank made it clear that I wasn't to sign a contract without their approval, which I had very early in the piece (so much so that I had to resign with the lender three times due to M's delays). Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 749Oct 14, 2012 10:31 pm [quote="nubear01"]Hi everyone, Quick question....can you (or should you) sign a building contract before your bank gives you pre approval for the construction aspect of your loan (we have pre approval for the land already but still waiting on the construction...). Our tender is about to expire & we don't know what to do /quote] They will most likely extend the period of your tender for free if you ask. Just give it a go. Otherwise I would advise strongly against signing before bank approval. It's not M's problem if you don't pay up - it's yours and you will legally bind yourself to commit to the construction expense regardless of your bank approval situation. Probably a risk not worth taking? Guess it also depends on how confident you are that it will come through. I don't think M ask for bank approval at contract stage but I can't really remember. Pretty sure that they need it at pre-construction stage at final validation. Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 750Oct 15, 2012 5:40 am Wow Vatche its gone! Congratulations persistence pays off! Our windows were delivered on Friday and today we will orgainise a site inspection. We want to have a look with our SS so hopefully that will happen sometime this week as bricks get delivered on Friday. Cheers viewtopic.php?f=31&t=46741 Clovelly - Masterton Homes 5% to M 290312 CDC 21/06 20 days 29/08 Slab 17/09 Frame 26/09 Bricks 24/10 Roof tiles 20/11 Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 751Oct 15, 2012 12:36 pm Hi all, You haven't heard from me for a while but I'm back. Building is now complete and we are currently installing timber floors and carpets etc. Had a pretty smooth build with most small issues addressed. however after we signed a final inspection we lost our SS and now they don't want to know us. So be careful that all is fixed. The 90 day inspection period doesn't mean they'll fix things. We have particularly had problems with bricks and cleaning of bricks. We chose Austral Bowral Dry pressed bricks in Simmental Silver and Brahmin Granite the bricks are a not performing well even though they were "above diamond" and a very expensive choice they are not cleaning up ( I will post some pictures soon) and whilst we've had Austral reps and the builder trying to sort out a solution they have given up and we have a home that looks like uncleaned brickwork. Not good In our experience they won't fit appliances until after sign off - electricity was connected so it's after you sign off that you realise things may not work and in fitting appliances they can do some damage ( chipping a chunk out of front of 40mm benchtop, wiring incorrect, gouged the garage floor with bobcat cleaning up site , chipped tiles in bathrooms and kitchen fitting data points and etc. Left out features we've paid for and won't listen about it or refunds , final paintwork poor, missing parts of appliances, water leaks in laundry plumbing , dented trims ,............ the list goes on and on. it's basically , you signed off ... F%@# OFF ! Even though you have to sign off before they finish ! And they'll tell you - it's ok we'll fix that - NO THEY WON"T . What was a good experience has very turned bad. I will say more and post some pictures. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ [img]http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r520/MCM59/2012-08-19_1548231.jpg[img][/img]http://i1169.photobucket.com/albums/r520/MCM59/2012-08-19_1548231.jpg[/img] Building Villana 32 - Modified Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 752Oct 15, 2012 1:42 pm nubear01 Hi everyone, Quick question....can you (or should you) sign a building contract before your bank gives you pre approval for the construction aspect of your loan (we have pre approval for the land already but still waiting on the construction...). Our tender is about to expire & we don't know what to do Make sure before you sign off, you provide the bank/financial institution a copy of the final tender and have pre-approval for that amount in written form. Make sure you have the 5% in cash as well, as the bank will not lend you till the plans are approved, and for plans to get approved, you need to pay 5%. So, basically, you cannot sign the contract and start the build before you have 5% and bank pre-approval for the balance. Hope this helps, and good luck. Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 754Oct 15, 2012 1:51 pm Oh dear Blinder! Looks like you have a nice looking house from the outside. I can't believe the number of issues you have already. Then again, it is not just M, I have seen/heard so much worse with other builders too. Just have to keep at them. Fair Trading and Media work out well, at most times. Do not just mention or threaten M, but take action with Fair Trading. You have nothing to lose. Keep us posted. Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 755Oct 15, 2012 1:52 pm Banj Negative progress on our build today - not only was nothing done, but all the equipment they need to progress the build has left the site. Sorry, they are coming to my place now Just kidding... Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 757Oct 15, 2012 4:10 pm Banj Hey, wouldn't surprise me, we're 19 weeks into our build, and all we have is a hole with a garage slab One thing I've learnt so far is to be patient. As long as they are within their obligated contract duration terms, you will be ok. After all, one must set their goals realistically. If the contract says 34 weeks from survey peg-out date, mark it on your calendar 34 weeks and keep that in mind. If your build finishes off early, then it is a bonus. Why not ask M to give you a simple timeline, eg. 3 weeks for slab, 2 weeks for frames, 4 weeks for bricks, 3 weeks for roof tiles etc, then you can keep track of the timeline, give or take few weeks variance. Unless they are months behind schedule, then you would take to the next level of asking about the build progress. Am I correct in my assumptions above? Comments are welcome from people already in their new home. Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 758Oct 15, 2012 5:01 pm Well, they've got 7 weeks left under their contractual obligations... The external drainage pipes aren't in yet, so I strongly suspect they're not going to make it. Building Masterton Overture Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 759Oct 15, 2012 8:22 pm Blinder Hi all, You haven't heard from me for a while but I'm back. Building is now complete and we are currently installing timber floors and carpets etc. Had a pretty smooth build with most small issues addressed. however after we signed a final inspection we lost our SS and now they don't want to know us. So be careful that all is fixed. The 90 day inspection period doesn't mean they'll fix things. We have particularly had problems with bricks and cleaning of bricks. We chose Austral Bowral Dry pressed bricks in Simmental Silver and Brahmin Granite the bricks are a not performing well even though they were "above diamond" and a very expensive choice they are not cleaning up ( I will post some pictures soon) and whilst we've had Austral reps and the builder trying to sort out a solution they have given up and we have a home that looks like uncleaned brickwork. Not good In our experience they won't fit appliances until after sign off - electricity was connected so it's after you sign off that you realise things may not work and in fitting appliances they can do some damage ( chipping a chunk out of front of 40mm benchtop, wiring incorrect, gouged the garage floor with bobcat cleaning up site , chipped tiles in bathrooms and kitchen fitting data points and etc. Left out features we've paid for and won't listen about it or refunds , final paintwork poor, missing parts of appliances, water leaks in laundry plumbing , dented trims ,............ the list goes on and on. it's basically , you signed off ... F%@# OFF ! Even though you have to sign off before they finish ! And they'll tell you - it's ok we'll fix that - NO THEY WON"T . What was a good experience has very turned bad. Hey Blinder thats a real shame your house looks lovely on the outside and Im really surprised about the bricks as the Brahim Granite were a new brick that was super expensive and bowral dry pressed are a good solid brick. hubby has read quiet a few posts regarding after sales service and he wont be paying final payment until all fixed. Me has a feeling we wontz beee very popular! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=46741 Clovelly - Masterton Homes 5% to M 290312 CDC 21/06 20 days 29/08 Slab 17/09 Frame 26/09 Bricks 24/10 Roof tiles 20/11 Re: Masterton Homes - The new thread 3.0 760Oct 15, 2012 8:44 pm Blinder-from my experience you are so true when you say they dont want to fix anything,what worked for me was,i firstly contacted department of fair trading to find out what my rights were,then i contacted the woman in charge of maintenance at head office to let her know i knew what they were legally obliged to do and demanded they send someone out and mentioned i had rung dept of fair trading and thats when they finally wanted to listen.Your ss(or replacement)is responsible up until the 3 month maintenance period.Unfortunately unless you stand your ground and tell them its their obligation to fix the problems, they will feed you with a whole lot of crap and wont do a thing.Good luck. 4 17054 Hi, Apologies - I know there is plenty out there on this but struggling to put together the puzzle. 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