Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jul 19, 2018 7:16 pm METRICON - MERRICKS 38 w PENINSULA FACADE I am currently looking to Build a new House in QLD. This will be our first build and hence have no prior experience working with Builders. I started looking at choice of builders in February this year and decided to go with Metricon for following 2 main reasons: 1. Floorplan - most close to what we wanted. 2. Market Reviews as being the good quality builder I started my journey with Metricon in mid February. Approached the sales person in one of the display homes and explained our requirements and he presented us with a floorplan which we really liked i.e. Merricks 38 w quite a few modification ( Peninsula facade, Master bedroom at he back and second balcony next to master bedroom at the back etc.). We paid the initial deposit $1.5K early March and signed PC in first week of May with payment of $2.5K.From day one we have been very clear with the sales person on our requirements. When he presented us our first draft plans and quote in Feb we gave a list of items that he got wrong and require fixing. He said that fixing those items would take him 2-3 weeks so would be better to do that as part of the PC. To my surprise he only addressed less than half of those items as part of the PC and when we questioned that he said if he goes back no that will take him another 3-4 weeks to fix that and he promised to fix that as part of the final contract, once after we did our selections. So based on that promise we signed the PC and paid the PC deposit. Mainly so that we can save time and get to build ASAP. After all the long process and wait (and our visit to the Studio M) we received our Final Contract Late June. To my horror the Contract was still wrong and most of the items were still not addressed and to my surprise Sales person asked me to sign the contract as is and promised to fix it as a variation. This is where I lost my patience and realised all that he is interested in is to get the sale and never wanted to listen to our requirements. Now I have told him to get it all fixed but he said a new contract will take 3-4 weeks . After this I contacted his manager to understand what was going wrong but he didn't know much and promised to have the paperwork updated within 2 days. Now it has been more than 10 days and still keep hearing excuses everyday and yet to recive the final paperwork. NOTE: The above story is a short version of the whole process, there were few more challenges which I have not detailed here e.g. Metricon increased their Site Costs by 40%, compared to the pricing provided in PC ETC. I have in total spend almost 5-6 months with Metricon and yet to have the final Contract. Hence I am seeking for some feedback and would like to find out what sort of experience others have had with Metricon. - Is this the standard process? - Are all builders like that? - Is it an exception due to my sales person? - What can I do to rectify the delays? - Should I cut my losses and walk away now? Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 2Jul 19, 2018 7:43 pm Unfortunately its quite common with most volume builders, you will also find variations very expensive, sales man will say anything to get your money, once you sign, it will be bad luck, you signed the contract, you need a inspector to help you with knowledge, look at building experts website, you should include a pre contract inspection or volume boys will present a biast builder slanted contract, generally they won't even let you take contract home, if not, don't under any circumstances sign, renting six months longer is way better than getting a poor build experience that generally will never be solved property, while costing you a bomb, do your homework and learn heaps, also read Mrs jms custom coral bronte build, this is a good example of what happens regularly, only having knowledge will help, good luck. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 3Jul 19, 2018 10:09 pm I am building with Metricon myself. With most volume builders the costs of certain items i.e site costs, tiles unfortunately come later as variations. My variations after contract come to about 140k. Site costs went up 30k. It is unfortunate that it is such but I understand the builder does not know what they will encounter until a proper evaluation of the land happens. Make sure all structural modifications are done prior to contract signing. That way you will know what the building will cost minus the extras (tiles/taps etc.) If you like the house I would say stick it out. Do not be anxious as to why the contract has not been done in a couple of days. Your file has to go a team to review and correct. And there will be errors. Which unfortunately you will have to discover. ( I found that as a challenge and enjoyed the process. I was determined that this whole process was going to be a positive one and if I worried about issues of why this was wrong when I have told then 3 times already, I would have thrown the towel in the first couple of months) I signed in January 2017, and contract signing was august 2017 and I did not have the last variation -tiles until January 2018 Yes it took a year. If you want a stress free process to acquiring a house buying a pre established house is best. I know I have done it many times. You have a budget you find a house you agree to buy and a couple of months later you move in. Building is not like that. You see build price can fluctuate depending on factors in your control and outside your control. That unknown is difficult to handle but building new in the end is a more rewarding journey. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 4Jul 19, 2018 11:54 pm stanus I am building with Metricon myself. With most volume builders the costs of certain items i.e site costs, tiles unfortunately come later as variations. My variations after contract come to about 140k. Site costs went up 30k. It is unfortunate that it is such but I understand the builder does not know what they will encounter until a proper evaluation of the land happens. Make sure all structural modifications are done prior to contract signing. That way you will know what the building will cost minus the extras (tiles/taps etc.) If you like the house I would say stick it out. Do not be anxious as to why the contract has not been done in a couple of days. Your file has to go a team to review and correct. And there will be errors. Which unfortunately you will have to discover. ( I found that as a challenge and enjoyed the process. I was determined that this whole process was going to be a positive one and if I worried about issues of why this was wrong when I have told then 3 times already, I would have thrown the towel in the first couple of months) I signed in January 2017, and contract signing was august 2017 and I did not have the last variation -tiles until January 2018 Yes it took a year. If you want a stress free process to acquiring a house buying a pre established house is best. I know I have done it many times. You have a budget you find a house you agree to buy and a couple of months later you move in. Building is not like that. You see build price can fluctuate depending on factors in your control and outside your control. That unknown is difficult to handle but building new in the end is a more rewarding journey. FINALLY! Someone else that thinks like me!!! Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 5Jul 20, 2018 8:53 am Look out for the warning signs as you haven't even got to site yet..pull out if need be... Salesman are the same wherever you build..you have to keep your wits about you New Build Perth Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 6Jul 20, 2018 9:04 am The sales persons job is to get a sale, and I'm pretty sure you'll have the same experience no matter where you go. Ours told us we'd be in the house by April; we didnt even start buliding till May. You have to take what they say with a grain of salt. There were things we requested way back when we first signed up that didnt make it in till after the contract had been signed. Its not unusual. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 7Jul 25, 2018 10:35 am Joker Unfortunately its quite common with most volume builders, you will also find variations very expensive, sales man will say anything to get your money, once you sign, it will be bad luck, you signed the contract, you need a inspector to help you with knowledge, look at building experts website, you should include a pre contract inspection or volume boys will present a biast builder slanted contract, generally they won't even let you take contract home, if not, don't under any circumstances sign, renting six months longer is way better than getting a poor build experience that generally will never be solved property, while costing you a bomb, do your homework and learn heaps, also read Mrs jms custom coral bronte build, this is a good example of what happens regularly, only having knowledge will help, good luck. Thank you for your response. I haven't signed the contract yet and have refused to sign it until I have all the variations corrected. You are so right in regards to not being able to take contract home, I found that was the case with my sales person too but now I have spoken to his manager and have a new sales person looking after me and she is way better and I was able to get a copy of the contract that I was able to take home and review, not to mention I found quite a few anomalies, which I would have not found if I was signing while sitting in their office. I will look more into the building inspector. Initially I was only planning to hire one for the last stage of the house build but will look into hiring one to evaluate each stage. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 8Jul 25, 2018 10:39 am stanus I am building with Metricon myself. With most volume builders the costs of certain items i.e site costs, tiles unfortunately come later as variations. My variations after contract come to about 140k. Site costs went up 30k. It is unfortunate that it is such but I understand the builder does not know what they will encounter until a proper evaluation of the land happens. Make sure all structural modifications are done prior to contract signing. That way you will know what the building will cost minus the extras (tiles/taps etc.) If you like the house I would say stick it out. Do not be anxious as to why the contract has not been done in a couple of days. Your file has to go a team to review and correct. And there will be errors. Which unfortunately you will have to discover. ( I found that as a challenge and enjoyed the process. I was determined that this whole process was going to be a positive one and if I worried about issues of why this was wrong when I have told then 3 times already, I would have thrown the towel in the first couple of months) I signed in January 2017, and contract signing was august 2017 and I did not have the last variation -tiles until January 2018 Yes it took a year. If you want a stress free process to acquiring a house buying a pre established house is best. I know I have done it many times. You have a budget you find a house you agree to buy and a couple of months later you move in. Building is not like that. You see build price can fluctuate depending on factors in your control and outside your control. That unknown is difficult to handle but building new in the end is a more rewarding journey. Thank you for your response and wise words. I am a investor too and have bought and sold few houses in the past but since they were investments, emotions were not involved too much. I guess I have a learning curve here. Can I please ask you how's how long was the build process for you, is it complete now and was it all worth it? Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 9Jul 25, 2018 10:42 am blackcat20 The sales persons job is to get a sale, and I'm pretty sure you'll have the same experience no matter where you go. Ours told us we'd be in the house by April; we didnt even start buliding till May. You have to take what they say with a grain of salt. There were things we requested way back when we first signed up that didnt make it in till after the contract had been signed. Its not unusual. Than you for your response. Gives me bit of an assurance that I am no exception here. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 10Jul 25, 2018 11:57 am I built with Metricon QLD. The administration process is pretty bad, but on the upside, construction in QLD seems to be the best compared with other states. And that's more important, so just stay strong and deal with all the crappy paperwork. I'm currently dealing with Plantation on an investment build, and it's seem to have been much more smooth, but I think as you mentioned, because it isn't my actual home, i'm less emotionally invested. I've documented my journey with Metricon QLD quite detailed, you can find it from my signature below. Wishing you all the best with your journey, it's definitely worth it in the end =) Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 11Jul 25, 2018 4:33 pm 10110106 stanus I am building with Metricon myself. With most volume builders the costs of certain items i.e site costs, tiles unfortunately come later as variations. My variations after contract come to about 140k. Site costs went up 30k. It is unfortunate that it is such but I understand the builder does not know what they will encounter until a proper evaluation of the land happens. Make sure all structural modifications are done prior to contract signing. That way you will know what the building will cost minus the extras (tiles/taps etc.) If you like the house I would say stick it out. Do not be anxious as to why the contract has not been done in a couple of days. Your file has to go a team to review and correct. And there will be errors. Which unfortunately you will have to discover. ( I found that as a challenge and enjoyed the process. I was determined that this whole process was going to be a positive one and if I worried about issues of why this was wrong when I have told then 3 times already, I would have thrown the towel in the first couple of months) I signed in January 2017, and contract signing was august 2017 and I did not have the last variation -tiles until January 2018 Yes it took a year. If you want a stress free process to acquiring a house buying a pre established house is best. I know I have done it many times. You have a budget you find a house you agree to buy and a couple of months later you move in. Building is not like that. You see build price can fluctuate depending on factors in your control and outside your control. That unknown is difficult to handle but building new in the end is a more rewarding journey. Thank you for your response and wise words. I am a investor too and have bought and sold few houses in the past but since they were investments, emotions were not involved too much. I guess I have a learning curve here. Can I please ask you how's how long was the build process for you, is it complete now and was it all worth it? My Building should start next month (my 'file' has been passed onto construction) although at the moment I have no start date. I had to finalise a investment home sale prior to building and that took a lot longer than I initially thought. The admin process is a bit error prone but as I said I enjoyed it. You need patience to go through it and it is not geared towards the impatient individual.And after all you are building your dream home, why not enjoy the journey? Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 12Aug 01, 2018 7:46 am As much as possible, get everything in writing, get your own building inspector and be patient. They will stall you on issues you have, won't respond to emails etc just to make you comply. It's all a state of mind, stay positive and remember that it's better to go in eyes open than eyes shut. Don't be a mushroom Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 13Aug 01, 2018 7:55 am We had both a horrible contract period, and what started out as a positive build but turned into a pretty awful build, and are still battling Metricon to fix something. Inspections, inspections, inspections. They are worth every dollar and then some. Our house would have fallen down by now without them (not kidding... No nails in the framework!). Do not accept the house until you are happy with it. Our build took 14 months, and we wouldn't have taken possession except that i needed spinal surgery and needed to recuperate in a better house than our hovel rental. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 14Aug 01, 2018 10:20 am Thank you all for your feedback. I have now signed the contract and have taken few takeaways from feedback here: - I just need to lower my expectations. I work in a very agile environment so quite used to that but obviously the construction industry is way opposite to that. - Ensure that I get everything in writing - Ensure i double check all the documents I sign - Expect delays with everything - And most importantly enjoy the journey and stay positive. I look forward to sharing my journey with you guys in this forum; will start a new link and share all the floor plans and progress etc. Thanks again for your feedback. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 15Aug 01, 2018 11:16 am That's it, keep smiling and have fun. Re: Bldg w Metricon QLD - Shocking experience, shld I pull o 16Aug 01, 2018 9:13 pm That's it! Just try relax and enjoy the journey. Don't get too worked up over small things or you'll lose your mind!!! Black on light wood does look good. Not sure if it will be as long lasting as a steel finish? 6 6621 I apologise for any confusion, but your understanding is correct. We approached our situation differently based on advice from… 11 53926 Hi All, I have been dealing with icare for insurance in completing our house after our original builder went bust. We have gotten to tender stage and one of the companies… 0 20936 |