Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 09, 2015 7:20 pm I have purchased an acre near the gold coast, but i am struggling on making a decision. Does anyone have any tips on choosing a builder??? Big builder v little builder.. design own plan v choose a plan.. so many possibilities and options. Help!! Re: How to decide on a builder?? 3Aug 10, 2015 12:29 am Congrats on a massive and gorgeous plot Emily. I've just bought a 590 m2 plot in Perth and intend to do plans and sourcing a builder via a building broker. I'll commission my own design and the broker then puts out the design to tender amongst vetted and proven builders. That's the theory anyway. Sounded sensible to me and I'm taking the plunge! Good luck with finding a builder. Re: How to decide on a builder?? 5Aug 10, 2015 7:16 am Welcome emilyb35! It will really come down to your budget and personal preferences, as well as maybe some considerations of your site. It's hard to tell from your photo, but it looks like maybe the site has quite a big slope? If that's the case, not all volume builders will be able to accommodate you. I suggest you go to a few of the display villages around (I'm not sure where you are on the coast, but Ormeau Ridge has a good selection). Look at all the builders and their displays and start getting an idea of what you want. Take your land plan with you so you can show them the slope, size, orientation etc. See if a few builders you like think they'll be able to accommodate you. Jen (& Dave) Plantation Bronte, Ormeau Ridge, Gold Coast QLD 12/03/2015 - Commencement... 26/08/2015 - Handover! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76446 Re: How to decide on a builder?? 6Aug 10, 2015 7:20 am Thank you, my acre is near ormeau ridge and i have been visiting the displays there, we can do a flat slab on our block easily, i think the picture looks steeper than it is. Thank you for your advice. How many quotes did you do before choosing a builder? This forum is so helpful. Thanks again. Emily Re: How to decide on a builder?? 7Aug 10, 2015 7:26 am We went to three different display villages and spoke to dozens of builders before getting quotes from 4 - Plantation (who we chose in the end), Coral, GJ Gardner, and Burbank. Plantation won in the end due to the salesperson's immense effort to find a plan that really suited us, and their standard inclusions. However, their new "entry level" range (used to be Breakthrough, now Molto) has lower inclusions than what we got when we signed up with the Breakthrough range. It's impossible to compare apples to apples in terms of inclusions though, so I recommend not getting too hung up on the inclusions unless you're really looking at a dealbreaker Jen (& Dave) Plantation Bronte, Ormeau Ridge, Gold Coast QLD 12/03/2015 - Commencement... 26/08/2015 - Handover! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76446 Re: How to decide on a builder?? 8Aug 10, 2015 7:30 am Ok, so did you compare the base price and which plan was best for you? I get caught up in it all and get lost.. so you paid deposits to get the final pricing or just prelim quotes? ? Its hard with our acre because its out of the box for most builders.. Re: How to decide on a builder?? 9Aug 10, 2015 7:35 am We didn't pay anyone anything until we decided on plantation. So that was all just preliminary quotes. All 4 did modifications to their standard plans to accommodate what we were looking for. We chose the plan that worked best on our block, had all the must-haves we wanted, and suited us the best in terms of flow and layout. I didn't find it too hard to "walk through" each plan in my mind (my husband found that difficult though) and imagine how we'd use each room. It's hard, but try to take some of the emotion out of it Think critically: does this plan have everything we need? Think about what you like and don't like where you're living now. Does the plan have the things you like? Does it not have the things you don't like? Don't rush yourself or be sucked in by "you must sign by tomorrow to take advantage of this offer" talk from the sales people. There's always another offer Jen (& Dave) Plantation Bronte, Ormeau Ridge, Gold Coast QLD 12/03/2015 - Commencement... 26/08/2015 - Handover! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76446 Re: How to decide on a builder?? 10Aug 10, 2015 7:40 am Thank you. I havent even spoken with plantation, we have had quotes from coral, metricon and simonds. I just dont love any of the plans, its hard as most dont have many acreage designs, im going to go back snd speak with gj gardner, and i think i might approach s smaller builder dnb design and build.. although it might be more expensive, maybe no carpet and tiles for me for a while. Thanks so.much for your advice. Re: How to decide on a builder?? 11Aug 10, 2015 7:43 am Coral has nice acreage plans - the Longreach seems particularly popular on here I think Plantation have a couple too but not sure. Try GJ, but they can be a bit hit and miss. Good luck Jen (& Dave) Plantation Bronte, Ormeau Ridge, Gold Coast QLD 12/03/2015 - Commencement... 26/08/2015 - Handover! viewtopic.php?f=31&t=76446 Re: How to decide on a builder?? 13Aug 10, 2015 8:02 am Go and check out Stroud Homes, they have a display in Gainsborough Greens at Pimpama. They specialise in Acerage homes. My brother used them to build on his 8 Acre block in Logan Village. Also if you haven't already, go out to Yarabiliba. So many display homes out there :-D Modified Miami 31- Brighton Homes https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=91265&f=31&p=1789112#p1789112 Re: How to decide on a builder?? 15Aug 10, 2015 8:33 am From my experience it comes down to your personal experience with the sales person. I signed with one builder abd changed to another because the sales person convinced me enough to build with them. My preference is small builders because they do care personally, flexible, good inclusions and competitive cost. Re: How to decide on a builder?? 17Aug 10, 2015 8:45 am We signed and built with Planbuild homes because they weren't one of the huge builders and we found their price to be very very good. Their salesperson was also fabulous, nothing was ever too difficult. They also have a display in Pimpama, at the Meadows estate :-D Modified Miami 31- Brighton Homes https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=91265&f=31&p=1789112#p1789112 Re: How to decide on a builder?? 18Aug 10, 2015 8:47 am Hi Emily, congratulations on getting a beautiful big block of land. As others have said it's about personal preference and relationships with people. For us we put together a rough concept, engaged a draftsman and then spoke to builders. We went custom with a small volume builder, we talk directly to him and not a 3rd person and have never regretted our choice. This is our 3rd build & the 2nd time we have used this way to build. My main advice is don't rush this part after all you want a great home at the end. Good luck! Custom build Northern NSW viewtopic.php?f=31&t=72217 Re: How to decide on a builder?? 19Aug 10, 2015 8:50 am TraceyWayne Hi Emily, congratulations on getting a beautiful big block of land. As others have said it's about personal preference and relationships with people. For us we put together a rough concept, engaged a draftsman and then spoke to builders. We went custom with a small volume builder, we talk directly to him and not a 3rd person and have never regretted our choice. This is our 3rd build & the 2nd time we have used this way to build. My main advice is don't rush this part after all you want a great home at the end. Good luck! Thank you!! Re: How to decide on a builder?? 20Aug 12, 2015 8:21 pm Hi We went with the Longreach at coral and have made a number of changes but the price is at least 40k less then the other builders with the same size house. Price for the size of the house and inclusions is why we chose them. If you have over 300k to spend go and check out the Metricon home at jimboomba. I thought this would be a popular question but I haven't been able to find any similar posts. Perhaps I'm wording my searches wrong? When you have car insurance and the… 0 6624 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20432 |