Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 13, 2018 8:48 pm Hi , I wanted to share my journey with Metricon and give insight to all who are planning to build in Sydney. Signing Up : We visited every builder at display homes and shortlisted few based on the designs we liked . Clarendon - Sheridan 34 ( liked the overall design , visited willowdale met with the sales person , her arrogance and not willing to provide clarification had put me off. Still i kept pursuing through their headoffice, somehow the numbers were not matching up to the budget. Rawson - Benham - like their display home and went ahead with the tender . We were only given a a page document of the design and no detail plan was shared. That did make me uncomfortable as i wanted to compare the detail plan with their display home to understand what will be provided and will be the upgrade / change. Every time i would ask the sales person he would say its after you award us the contract . I guess that was the deal breaker. Metricon - met with the sales person ( lawrence lee ) parklea office , he patiently explained the designs and did a walk through. There was no rushing or sense of urgency. Few days we kept going with more questions, we were given detail plan in the beginning so i had time to study it and get invested in it thoroughly. With few months of deliberation we finally signed up with Metricon in Jan 2018. Reasons for Signing up with them : - Detail plans were given in the start - every question was answered and clarified - no urgency was shown and not pushed to close the deal even though the inclusions were not comparable to others but we only were satisfied with the sales process and hoped that rest of the process will be similar. little did we know..... Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 3Aug 13, 2018 9:55 pm Colour Studio - Customer Service - We were assigned a customer support coordinator ( David Unwin ) who would send us occasional emails about contract variations and a one liner in the end " we can't raise another variation unless this one is done ." Along side we also did a studio presentation with ( Amelia ) to do internal selections. A company like metricon which has built thousands of houses couldn't show any pictures / colour charts with coordinated colour scheme or even a software where customers could visualize their finished home. What an irony it is , they are willing to risk their reputation but wouldn't invest in a system. Anyways, early on I realised that the customer service coordinator was only interested in ticking boxes but lacked attention to detail. Therefore, i had to check every single document with a fine tooth comb and had to request correction on multiple occasions. This created lack of trust in their system. Mistakes such as: wrong window sizes, incorrect door styles, one liners in the variation which gives them blanket approval for additional cost and the list goes on. Every time i pointed out the mistake they would conveniently reason out instead of admitting the mistake. ( another reason for not trusting .) Two escapegoats in Metricon ( drafting & estimating ) either the document is with the " estimating " or with " drafting " and nobody knows when it will come back. I am starting to wonder if this is the case in other states, i think Sydney is the only beneficiary of this superb service. Now, as we are first time builders we have limited understanding of the process but thats where the builder comes in who should keep the customer in loop regards to the process and timelines. Metricon has no such policy apparently . Their motto i believe is ( see no evil , hear no evil , speak no evil ) or may be ( say nothing ) and then one day everything will fall into place. They started dragging the process , i would ask for tiles and it would take weeks to get a response, staircase upgrade with landing ( weeks and weeks for approval ...................the journey was long , slow and vague. Five months went by and Mr. Unwin sends me a quote of $2500 as price hold period was over. I am thinking there is no accountability in the company, taking 1 month to ask staircase supplier if they can have a landing or not , then take weeks to find out if the staircase comply with the building standards, weeks and weeks for the tiles studio to come back if we can have a white matt finsh tile for the splashback, CDC application sent without the owners signature ..............isn't there a project manager ( like most industries have ) who is checking the progress of the project or it's a deliberate attempt because they are simply not ready to build. We have been promised ( false promises ) that this month all docs will be done and they can hit the ground end August if the two brothers " estimating " and " drafting " do the pending work on time. Question is should i give them another chance or walk away and save my self from a long perilous journey ahead . Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 4Aug 14, 2018 10:02 am Drafting is where we got held up too supposedly, but I actually think it was with engineering which is a 3rd party. The CSCs are generally lovely but they really have their hands tied as too many people have a finger in the pie and they dont have the power to push things along. And yes they can only do one variation at a time. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 5Aug 27, 2018 11:31 am blackcat20 Drafting is where we got held up too supposedly, but I actually think it was with engineering which is a 3rd party. The CSCs are generally lovely but they really have their hands tied as too many people have a finger in the pie and they dont have the power to push things along. And yes they can only do one variation at a time. their process needs an overhaul i believe . there is disconnect in their communication from start till finish . We are two months delayed from the actual start of the project and i just got the final plans two days ago and i can find so many errors. They will take ages to fix them on the plans . At the same time they are sending me variation for expiry of price hold . Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 6Aug 27, 2018 12:05 pm Rawson - their motto everything hidden (joking) - only one visit to them I got them off my list... Metricon - only had a visit (homeworld kellyville) - SP didn't show enough interest for sale to us. May be because they felt we are not rich enough to build with them (lol). Even he didn't bother to send us quote he promised. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 7Aug 27, 2018 1:14 pm s-X-s Rawson - their motto everything hidden (joking) - only one visit to them I got them off my list... Metricon - only had a visit (homeworld kellyville) - SP didn't show enough interest for sale to us. May be because they felt we are not rich enough to build with them (lol). Even he didn't bother to send us quote he promised. Look i went to every builder and went through all the display designs . I have comparison sheets in terms of their inclusions. Right now we are yet to start and i am already frustrated with how their studio team is communicating . So you agree on one thing but that will not be reflected on your plan. In case there is a discrepancy for eg : our plans show a meterbox next to the garage whereas they have picked up a wording on the contract which says on the LHS. They have told me that incase they have a discrepancy the contract will take precedence. Now , we all know that SP only show you the plans and discussions are all around the plans so where is the disconnect. A mistake has been done by them but they wont admit. In any case we are not budging till they fix it. So, Metricon will take more than 8 months to finalize your documents only because their internal system is super slow . How the build will go is another matter. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 8Sep 06, 2018 7:07 pm Our construction started Sep-17 and it's not yet over. we're building in SW Sydney. Not sure how much you're getting for delays, we were offered $30/day whereas Clarendon offers $40/day. Our admin experience was generally positive. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 9Sep 06, 2018 7:24 pm Hi , we have not started construction yet , we are just between estimating and drafting . The contracts were signed in Feb 2018 . The metricon sydney team is just inefficient they tend to make mistakes with every document , i have to double check everything . Where are you building that is suburb and who dealt with you in the customer service. I have spoken few times with Kristy customer services manager but she just keeps delaying and not once has she accepted the mistake . Today i met with some other builders in kellyville and they were shocked to hear that metricon hasn't started construction since contract signing , they were of the opinion that probably the company is not doing well or have some other issues . Seriously, i am so nervous to start building with them. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 10Sep 06, 2018 7:59 pm We're building in Willowdale estate, Leppington. We dealt with Lauren- she was good. The construction team is slack, they took so long to build that eventually complained to the area manager and eventually resorted to thrashing M on Product Review. Finally we've a PCI date for next week. M is building a massive project in Willowdale for Stockland (Avena Townhomes) and that's delayed too, it's possible they're not paying tradies or their financial position is not in great shape. Either ways you should make an informed decision. They definitely have the reputation for being a slightly better builder, if you ask me- admin experience was pretty smooth, construction was horrendous. We had an initial walkthrough 2 weeks ago and the quality was definitely good. It's only the time taken I've an issue with. Few things I tell anyone building with Metricon- 1) Check HIA contract and ask for more compensation for delays. 2) There are 5 progress payments, ask for 4 equal payments so there is incentive for M finish construction on time. 3) Ask for a confirmed confirmation date depending on house configuration. Because the compensation is only $30 they tend to take their own sweet time. 4) Ask for walkthrough at every stage of build Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 11Sep 07, 2018 8:53 am SkB We're building in Willowdale estate, Leppington. We dealt with Lauren- she was good. The construction team is slack, they took so long to build that eventually complained to the area manager and eventually resorted to thrashing M on Product Review. Finally we've a PCI date for next week. M is building a massive project in Willowdale for Stockland (Avena Townhomes) and that's delayed too, it's possible they're not paying tradies or their financial position is not in great shape. Either ways you should make an informed decision. They definitely have the reputation for being a slightly better builder, if you ask me- admin experience was pretty smooth, construction was horrendous. We had an initial walkthrough 2 weeks ago and the quality was definitely good. It's only the time taken I've an issue with. Few things I tell anyone building with Metricon- 1) Check HIA contract and ask for more compensation for delays. 2) There are 5 progress payments, ask for 4 equal payments so there is incentive for M finish construction on time. 3) Ask for a confirmed confirmation date depending on house configuration. Because the compensation is only $30 they tend to take their own sweet time. 4) Ask for walkthrough at every stage of build You have definitely some valid points , as we have already signed so we can't request a change now but i will see how i can incorporate some of the above. Thanks for sharing . we have all heard ' time is money' and apparently customer's time has no value in front of them. I am glad you took to productreview so that others can know. I am seriously thinking of sending our ordeal to news.com and let them share it with general public so that it has a wide reach . Can the HIA contract be changed or amended. ? Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 12Sep 30, 2018 9:42 pm SkB Our construction started Sep-17 and it's not yet over. we're building in SW Sydney. Not sure how much you're getting for delays, we were offered $30/day whereas Clarendon offers $40/day. Our admin experience was generally positive. Look $30/day is nothing i have found out that many builders offer $80/day as an industry norm. We have signed the contract with the same figure but little did we know. Even if they are delayed they can always ask for extension without even paying $30 . So , tell me your payment schedule , have they been reaching the milestones on time . such as slab , frame etc There is a clause in the contract ' dispute resolution' have a look at that . It's very vague but i had known earlier i would have asked to change that , the clauses should be fair and not one sided. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 13Oct 02, 2018 10:38 pm Hi Dany, Thanks heaps for the input. Can we ask them to add below clauses in the contract and would they listen ? Few things I tell anyone building with Metricon- 1) Check HIA contract and ask for more compensation for delays. 2) There are 5 progress payments, ask for 4 equal payments so there is incentive for M finish construction on time. 3) Ask for a confirmed confirmation date depending on house configuration. Because the compensation is only $30 they tend to take their own sweet time. 4) Ask for walkthrough at every stage of build Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 14Oct 03, 2018 9:36 am contract is between two parties ( home owner ) and ( builder ) so if there is anything you want to add or change as per law you can request that so treat it as negotiation . 1. Liquidated Damages = by default it is $1 which is just unacceptable. You should request what is reasonable in your opinion. If you have a reference what other home owners are getting , take that into account. If you are renting a place , consider that so keep everything in perspective and then request an amount. 2. Progress Payment Schedule = Yes , you can request for 4 or even 10 in my opinion. See builders like to put 4 big chunks as it benefits them but does it benefit a home owner , i dont think so . There is no law or standard to have 4 or 5 . It should be what suits both parties. If i had known i would have requested 6 or 7 logical phases and keep a good chunk towards the end . Having a 10% in the end has no incentive for the builder and thats where the major defects are seen. 3. Clause 12 : Commencing the Building Works - so as per contract the builder should start the work within 20 working days as soon as Clause 45 ( special conditions ) are met . So , if you look at special conditions it has a long list of things that needs to be done, most of which you have no control over it . Such as final plans , colour selection etc . Basically, this is a way to start the project when the builder is ready so instead of putting a date they have put an exhaustive list in special conditions which you have no control over and therefore no fixed date can be given. If i had known this before, i would request to change special conditions or put dates in special conditions so that they are liable to meet those deadlines and wont leave that blank. 4. You can ask for walkthrough it is your right , your home but they don't put that in writing you have to discuss it with the site supervisor . My suggestion, ask them in advance get it in writing on email , phone conversation and what you are requesting is in all sense justifiable. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 16Oct 03, 2018 10:18 am After being on here a few years, and following a bunch of Metricon builds. I would definitely steer clear of Metricon NSW. Don't think a single build has been up to standard in a timely manor. No idea what other builders are like in that state, but Metricon seem to be horrible. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 17Oct 03, 2018 11:04 am dulie After being on here a few years, and following a bunch of Metricon builds. I would definitely steer clear of Metricon NSW. Don't think a single build has been up to standard in a timely manor. No idea what other builders are like in that state, but Metricon seem to be horrible. Guys , after going through their back office and admin they have spoilt the relationship. I sometimes feel that Metricon brings the worst in you . I doubt if the top management knows how the people in their regional offices are handling the customers. They don't show respect or consideration . It is obvious they only care for their checklist. Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 18Dec 15, 2018 8:47 pm Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 19Dec 15, 2018 8:52 pm Re: Building with Metricon in Sydney 20Dec 15, 2018 9:14 pm Studio M Selection : The selection process was a disaster , the consultant was not able to show any colour schemes or combinations. Kitchen Selection : Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ the Bathroom Selection Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Powder Room Selection Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ No idea about the driveway question, but your price for a house that size including landscaping seems very good! 1 6383 Hi, First of all, thank you to this community for sharing your thoughts and opinions. We are in early days of our pre-contract stage for Metricon Doulton and we are… 0 12014 Hello All 🙂 We are planning to start our journey of construction our first home. We zeroed down on Metricon and henley homes based on design suitable for our lot and… 0 9422 |