Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 30, 2014 4:25 pm Hi All, I have been desperatley searching for reviews with our builders we are in discussions with. It is so far both extremely exciting and scary. I've had some advice from outside builders which go for and against both builders. I would really like to know from those with experience, things we should expect, things to look out for and important things to ask and keep track of. What rings alarm bells, what should we steer clear of etc. We signed a contract for land last night - which is very exciting, however still unsure of design etc. so far have only found 2 companies in Perth which are around our budget. Can anyone help with these questions / queries i have. Many thanks in Advance - FYI, we have secured land in Avonlee, Brabham and apparently titles come out in November? How long after titles would we expect our house to be built? We've been told 12 months from signing up, but a builder said today, it would be 12 months from the titles coming out.....?? So many conflicting stories, we've got no idea. 14 Dreng Way, Brabham Signed Land Contract - 29/06/2014 Finance Formal approval - 16/09/2014 Prestart - 30/04/2015 Titles - 22/05/2015 Building Permit - 25/05/2015 Land settled - Slab - Bricks - Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 2Jun 30, 2014 5:51 pm I'm building in Perth and we came to our builder with clear titled land in October last year, signing off with them on plans and paying deposit end of October. It is now the last day of June (8 months later) and we have a tap to show for our efforts. If we are lucky we might get a slab by August, not holding my breath though. Realistically, do as much as you can before your titles issue. Then it's up to the builder to get organised and get the rest going. They won't be able to do soil samples etc until your titles are ready as they can't do contour surveys until the blocks are ready. I would say you would be looking 12 months+ from when your titles are issued. Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 3Jun 30, 2014 6:03 pm Hi Marcia, Thank you so much for responding - it's great to get a 'realistic' idea of what to expect. I don't want to be silly and think that we will be in our house in a ridiculous amount of time. I also want to make sure what the sales men try and sell us isn't misleading us into making a decision and going with them. I understand they cannot do site surveying until the titles are issued, but am i right in expecting possibly getting keys around xmas time next year for titles which are issued in November of this year? 14 Dreng Way, Brabham Signed Land Contract - 29/06/2014 Finance Formal approval - 16/09/2014 Prestart - 30/04/2015 Titles - 22/05/2015 Building Permit - 25/05/2015 Land settled - Slab - Bricks - Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 4Jun 30, 2014 6:17 pm Kaylz I understand they cannot do site surveying until the titles are issued, but am i right in expecting possibly getting keys around xmas time next year for titles which are issued in November of this year? I think that IF your titles release on time (which often they aren't) you would still be pushing to get in for Christmas the year after. Most home builder salespeople tell you '6 months admin time, 6 months build time' ... the reality is 6-8 months admin time, 8-10 months build time. Some people build quicker, some slower, depends on how organised your builder is, how good your site supervisor is and many other factors. You are right to educate yourself about what your builder can, will, won't do and to be realistic about things. Be prepared for changes along the way (for example, we took so long to get to prestart we lost our granite option on our benchtops, having to choose a different stone, which we are not happy about but what do you do!). Have a back up plan for all your selections, just in case product is no longer available or the builder removes it due to quality issues. Read through as much feedback as you can about your builder especially how long other people have waited for things. I have found this forum to be the most dinkum on feedback, a good mix of good and bad reviews. Sites like Product Review and Whirlpool etc, generally only focus on the bad experiences. For my builder, some have built inside 12 months, some have taken much much longer and then there is my husband and I seemingly in the middle. Good luck and ask away any questions, this forum is incredibly helpful and there are heaps of people who have followed your path before you. Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 5Jun 30, 2014 6:24 pm Wow - thanks for a fantastic responce Marcia. I will be asking as many questions as i possibly can throughout this process and trying educate myself as much as i can. Thanks for the advice on having a back up plan in case something gets taken off the products list - GREAT idea. I've definitely read some really bad reviews on Product review & whirlpool which is scary because one of the builders we had in mind seems to be the worst rated one in the whole of WA, BUT in saying that, if you go onto websites, there are always positive reviews, so it's really hard to tell. I understand each build is going to be different, but really trying to weigh up the odds / reviews etc. Hoping to find some further reviews and information with the other companies we have approached. HGWA is one we have approached and just waiting to hear back whether or not they can come in under our budget, but have heard great things. We can take as long as up to the release of the titles to choose a builder, is that correct? 14 Dreng Way, Brabham Signed Land Contract - 29/06/2014 Finance Formal approval - 16/09/2014 Prestart - 30/04/2015 Titles - 22/05/2015 Building Permit - 25/05/2015 Land settled - Slab - Bricks - Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 6Jun 30, 2014 6:37 pm Kaylz We can take as long as up to the release of the titles to choose a builder, is that correct? Yep ... but you want to get the ball rolling as quick as you can. Last time we built, we built with Celebration Homes, started the process five months before titles were issued. Once issues, we were at construction within two months because everything was ready to go. This time around, we had a block and had been looking for a builder ... seems to be no rush by the builder which is disappointing but at the same time, we don't want a house built super fast and problems perhaps arising. Needs to be a good balance. Also, with your timeframes ... don't forget ALL builders close down for 3-4 weeks over Christmas and New Year, you get to kiss that time goodbye. In our case, we are going to cop two Christmas shutdowns which is frustrating, going by your timeline, you might too. Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 7Jun 30, 2014 11:34 pm Congratulations and good luck with the titles wait, it seems very far away at times but it comes eventually. Picking a builder is a very personal decision, find a plan you like with both builders and compare them (price, inclusions, customer service) apples for apples. At the end of the day follow your instincts and go with the one you feel most comfortable with. Get whatever the salesperson is promising in writing, they can't dispute it when it's in writing and it will save you many headaches. Building a Sierra on the Gold Coast https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68899 Full timeline on Pg 1 Settlement: 13/05/14 Retaining Walls: 20/06/14 Site Start: 02/07/14 Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 8Jun 30, 2014 11:38 pm Thank you StephyD, ill definitely get everything included in writing when it comes to it. What is the best way to find out about people's experience with different builders. ? We're in comparisons with two builders at the moment but I've got another 2 I'm trying to seek prices from too 14 Dreng Way, Brabham Signed Land Contract - 29/06/2014 Finance Formal approval - 16/09/2014 Prestart - 30/04/2015 Titles - 22/05/2015 Building Permit - 25/05/2015 Land settled - Slab - Bricks - Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 9Jul 01, 2014 12:05 am I think this is a great place to learn of real world building experiences, I found the review sites to be very emotionally charged and sometimes the people had very unrealistic expectations. It requires a bit of time but it's probably a worthy investment considering what's at stake. Just use the search function on this forum and search the builders name and/or house design name to see if anyone here has a build thread covering the journey with that builder. Building a Sierra on the Gold Coast https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=68899 Full timeline on Pg 1 Settlement: 13/05/14 Retaining Walls: 20/06/14 Site Start: 02/07/14 Re: HELP - Building our first home - need advice. 10Jul 01, 2014 9:11 am Thanks stephyd, ill do that later today 14 Dreng Way, Brabham Signed Land Contract - 29/06/2014 Finance Formal approval - 16/09/2014 Prestart - 30/04/2015 Titles - 22/05/2015 Building Permit - 25/05/2015 Land settled - Slab - Bricks - Thank you so much for the effort. We will use it to talk with builder. We also had idea of building duplex instead and seeking suggest ions. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106744 11 13842 Levelling compound Ardit is the best but buy a bag of sand and make sand dam to protect your wood floor 2 15253 XCEM Alpha flooring seems to relatively new and I could not found any reviews. Have you or someone you know have used it and would recommend over other subfloor options?… 2 7590 |