Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Dec 16, 2018 7:31 pm Hi All, We are building our first home with Wisdom Homes (a Washington 26) - had all our appointments and organized everything before our land at The Hills of Carmel, Box Hill was even registered (land was delayed by 4 months and ended up registering August 2018 ) so we would be all ready to go by the time land registered (had everything signed by December 2017). Everything was going really smoothly until the land registered, and since then we have had endless problems with Wisdom's admin team. Our first customer service rep got promoted, so we were handed over to another woman who went on leave 1 week after our land registered, and we had no contact with them for that week despite constantly calling, leaving voice mails, e-mails etc. Finally she returned from leave and we we're able to get the ball rolling on everything we needed to submit to council or CDC. We were told this process would take 8 weeks. This is where the first issue arose. We wanted to go through the CDC as it only takes a couple of weeks to go through them, and this is what we had told everyone we talked to. Wisdom told us it HAD to go through council and it was on our signed documents. We went back through everything we had signed and found ONE document that said DA that we had signed - mind you I didn't even realize DA meant council! We pleaded with them that we wanted to go through CDC but they said we HAD to go through council so we agreed. Come to find out now that many of our neighbors in the same estate were able to go through the CDC and their builds are well under way. Then our sales rep who we first signed the tender with had not put a rain water tank in the plans. We had asked our first customer service rep repeatedly to put a rain water tank in as we don't have recycled water in the area, and she still had not. So we asked our new customer service rep REPEATEDLY both over the phone and in e-mails and every time it was disregarded. Of course when we receive our submission documents to council, no rain water tank. My husband had to call them and requested to speak to someone higher up and sternly ask that they put the rain water tank in immediately - they got it done that afternoon - great! Then in our variations we had a $5500 charge for drop edge beams and a $1200 charge to pump the extra concrete for the beams - but we don't even need drop edge beams! Our blocks is VERY flat as it is, all they have to do is cut and fill our block (we have half a meter cut and fill included in our site costs). We have asked them to explain to us why we need these but they can't seem to give us an answer. Just a way to get more money out of us we assume. So we signed it all, sent it back, and finally it was submitted to council a few days later - yay! A few weeks later we heard from Wisdom again - council wants some of our windows frosted for privacy reasons (we're on a zero boundary lot and are very close to our neighbors so understandable). She says she will get the variation for us to sign by the end of that day. A few days pass and we still haven't got the variation. We try calling her directly multiple times, e-mail, and hear nothing. So we try a different number and ask to speak to her team leader since we can't get onto her. She tells us they never get variations to customers that day, it takes at least 10 days for them to write it up!!! Finally we heard from our customer service rep who finally gets us the variation, we signed it, sent it back and it goes back to council. A week later we hear from Wisdom again - council actually needs the frosted windows to be half the size and up really high so you can't look at your neighbors. So we ask why didn't the drafting team know that!? How many houses have they built?? Didn't they know if council is requesting privacy windows that they can't just frost them, they have to be a certain type of window?? How can we trust the drafting team telling us we need pointless drop edge beams if they can't even get the window requirements right!? Safe to say we were furious. We signed and it's now back in council waiting for approval. It's now December 16th 2018 and we're not going to even have a slab laid before the end of the year. This entire process wouldn't have been so frustrating if we had a customer service rep that actually got back to us, replied to our e-mails, responded to our phone calls but we don't! We get given false promises and false hope that things will get done quicker then they actually do. It has made this process take so much longer then it should've taken. We have a newborn baby and are currently living in a granny flat so things are tight, I was so hopeful that once the land was registered things would move quickly with Wisdom and it would all be approved before December but that dream is long gone. We thought going with one of the top 10 builders would mean their processes were streamlined and their customer service team would be experienced and know what their doing - how wrong we were. Our neighbors who have gone with smaller builders, and a few who went with other big builders, are all half way through their builds. Has anyone else had a similar experience with Wisdom's admin team?? It has become beyond frustrating dealing with them and we're really regretting even choosing Wisdom (also sorry for the huge vent) Re: Wisdom Homes Admin Issues 2Dec 16, 2018 7:40 pm cgoldring Hi All, We are building our first home with Wisdom Homes (a Washington 26) - had all our appointments and organized everything before our land at The Hills of Carmel, Box Hill was even registered (land was delayed by 4 months and ended up registering August 2018 ) so we would be all ready to go by the time land registered (had everything signed by December 2017). Everything was going really smoothly until the land registered, and since then we have had endless problems with Wisdom's admin team. Our first customer service rep got promoted, so we were handed over to another woman who went on leave 1 week after our land registered, and we had no contact with them for that week despite constantly calling, leaving voice mails, e-mails etc. Finally she returned from leave and we we're able to get the ball rolling on everything we needed to submit to council or CDC. We were told this process would take 8 weeks. This is where the first issue arose. We wanted to go through the CDC as it only takes a couple of weeks to go through them, and this is what we had told everyone we talked to. Wisdom told us it HAD to go through council and it was on our signed documents. We went back through everything we had signed and found ONE document that said DA that we had signed - mind you I didn't even realize DA meant council! We pleaded with them that we wanted to go through CDC but they said we HAD to go through council so we agreed. Come to find out now that many of our neighbors in the same estate were able to go through the CDC and their builds are well under way. Then our sales rep who we first signed the tender with had not put a rain water tank in the plans. We had asked our first customer service rep repeatedly to put a rain water tank in as we don't have recycled water in the area, and she still had not. So we asked our new customer service rep REPEATEDLY both over the phone and in e-mails and every time it was disregarded. Of course when we receive our submission documents to council, no rain water tank. My husband had to call them and requested to speak to someone higher up and sternly ask that they put the rain water tank in immediately - they got it done that afternoon - great! Then in our variations we had a $5500 charge for drop edge beams and a $1200 charge to pump the extra concrete for the beams - but we don't even need drop edge beams! Our blocks is VERY flat as it is, all they have to do is cut and fill our block (we have half a meter cut and fill included in our site costs). We have asked them to explain to us why we need these but they can't seem to give us an answer. Just a way to get more money out of us we assume. So we signed it all, sent it back, and finally it was submitted to council a few days later - yay! A few weeks later we heard from Wisdom again - council wants some of our windows frosted for privacy reasons (we're on a zero boundary lot and are very close to our neighbors so understandable). She says she will get the variation for us to sign by the end of that day. A few days pass and we still haven't got the variation. We try calling her directly multiple times, e-mail, and hear nothing. So we try a different number and ask to speak to her team leader since we can't get onto her. She tells us they never get variations to customers that day, it takes at least 10 days for them to write it up!!! Finally we heard from our customer service rep who finally gets us the variation, we signed it, sent it back and it goes back to council. A week later we hear from Wisdom again - council actually needs the frosted windows to be half the size and up really high so you can't look at your neighbors. So we ask why didn't the drafting team know that!? How many houses have they built?? Didn't they know if council is requesting privacy windows that they can't just frost them, they have to be a certain type of window?? How can we trust the drafting team telling us we need pointless drop edge beams if they can't even get the window requirements right!? Safe to say we were furious. We signed and it's now back in council waiting for approval. It's now December 16th 2018 and we're not going to even have a slab laid before the end of the year. This entire process wouldn't have been so frustrating if we had a customer service rep that actually got back to us, replied to our e-mails, responded to our phone calls but we don't! We get given false promises and false hope that things will get done quicker then they actually do. It has made this process take so much longer then it should've taken. We have a newborn baby and are currently living in a granny flat so things are tight, I was so hopeful that once the land was registered things would move quickly with Wisdom and it would all be approved before December but that dream is long gone. We thought going with one of the top 10 builders would mean their processes were streamlined and their customer service team would be experienced and know what their doing - how wrong we were. Our neighbors who have gone with smaller builders, and a few who went with other big builders, are all half way through their builds. Has anyone else had a similar experience with Wisdom's admin team?? It has become beyond frustrating dealing with them and we're really regretting even choosing Wisdom (also sorry for the huge vent) Wisdom’s admin period is slow and painful for everyone. We went through CDC but our CSR was very efficient and some of our window heights were changed before we applied for approvals. Your house design must have not been suitable for CdC for some reason, perhaps because of the windows. They would have been trying to get them through as large as possible for you I’m guessing, some times they are approved, sometimes not. We had relatives build who didn’t need to have highlight windows but were approved through a DA. We went through CDC and all our upper windows are highlights. You will need the DEBs. On your slab plans they will be marked on there. They must be used to contain the fill. I know it’s very frustrating but it would always have been a push for you to get through council and have all your end panel completed to get a slab by Christmas. We got our approval on June 1 and slab laid in September. Hopefully you’ll be in your new house by next Christmas. Building Monte Carlo 40- Wisdom homes Re: Wisdom Homes Admin Issues 3Dec 16, 2018 9:17 pm We went through some of the same issues as you last year as well. We have drop edge beams on a lot that appeared flat with less than half a metre drop across the block. We also ended up with another drop edge beam on our driveway at the end which we didn’t get the cost for until half way through the build. So if your DEB ends up being where your garage is, be forewarned you will probably need it for the driveway too. Our admin journey was very similar timelines and we ended up getting our slab in late February this year. We moved into our home at the beginning of November. Admin is no end of frustration, but your home will be worth it in the end. Once the build starts they fly along and seeing the progress yourself each week helps rather than waiting on a phone call or email. Re: Wisdom Homes Admin Issues 4Dec 16, 2018 10:45 pm I'm also bulid the Washington ,we are in marsden park! We had some delays as well, the team cost 2 month to change a lot number of the document, and everything at least give them 2 weeks to solve that! Our land was registered in late August, otherwise we just received the DA / Variation and still waiting for the final draft , Hopefully we can receive that next week~ and maybe start bulid in junuary! Good luck to both of us! Re: Wisdom Homes Admin Issues 5Dec 17, 2018 11:01 am Jenifermarie We went through some of the same issues as you last year as well. We have drop edge beams on a lot that appeared flat with less than half a metre drop across the block. We also ended up with another drop edge beam on our driveway at the end which we didn’t get the cost for until half way through the build. So if your DEB ends up being where your garage is, be forewarned you will probably need it for the driveway too. Our admin journey was very similar timelines and we ended up getting our slab in late February this year. We moved into our home at the beginning of November. Admin is no end of frustration, but your home will be worth it in the end. Once the build starts they fly along and seeing the progress yourself each week helps rather than waiting on a phone call or email. Sounds like you’ve had a very similar experience to us! Thanks for the warning, I’ll give my husband the heads up about the driveway DEB. Yes I understand the admin team can’t answer all our questions about why we need certain things, but it would be good if someone from the drafting team could contact us and discuss. Yep I’m so in love with our little home I always just stare at the floor plans dreaming of what it will look like 😂 once the slabs laid I will be happy! Congrats on your new home! Re: Wisdom Homes Admin Issues 6Dec 17, 2018 11:03 am melindaz I'm also bulid the Washington ,we are in marsden park! We had some delays as well, the team cost 2 month to change a lot number of the document, and everything at least give them 2 weeks to solve that! Our land was registered in late August, otherwise we just received the DA / Variation and still waiting for the final draft , Hopefully we can receive that next week~ and maybe start bulid in junuary! Good luck to both of us! Oh super close to us! Love the Washington’s! It’s crazy how long it takes them to change simple little things, let alone major changes. Fingers crossed for both of us!! Re: Wisdom Homes Admin Issues 7Dec 17, 2018 12:39 pm cgoldring Hi All, We are building our first home with Wisdom Homes (a Washington 26) - had all our appointments and organized everything before our land at The Hills of Carmel, Box Hill was even registered (land was delayed by 4 months and ended up registering August 2018 ) so we would be all ready to go by the time land registered (had everything signed by December 2017). Everything was going really smoothly until the land registered, and since then we have had endless problems with Wisdom's admin team. Our first customer service rep got promoted, so we were handed over to another woman who went on leave 1 week after our land registered, and we had no contact with them for that week despite constantly calling, leaving voice mails, e-mails etc. Finally she returned from leave and we we're able to get the ball rolling on everything we needed to submit to council or CDC. We were told this process would take 8 weeks. This is where the first issue arose. We wanted to go through the CDC as it only takes a couple of weeks to go through them, and this is what we had told everyone we talked to. Wisdom told us it HAD to go through council and it was on our signed documents. We went back through everything we had signed and found ONE document that said DA that we had signed - mind you I didn't even realize DA meant council! We pleaded with them that we wanted to go through CDC but they said we HAD to go through council so we agreed. Come to find out now that many of our neighbors in the same estate were able to go through the CDC and their builds are well under way. Then our sales rep who we first signed the tender with had not put a rain water tank in the plans. We had asked our first customer service rep repeatedly to put a rain water tank in as we don't have recycled water in the area, and she still had not. So we asked our new customer service rep REPEATEDLY both over the phone and in e-mails and every time it was disregarded. Of course when we receive our submission documents to council, no rain water tank. My husband had to call them and requested to speak to someone higher up and sternly ask that they put the rain water tank in immediately - they got it done that afternoon - great! Then in our variations we had a $5500 charge for drop edge beams and a $1200 charge to pump the extra concrete for the beams - but we don't even need drop edge beams! Our blocks is VERY flat as it is, all they have to do is cut and fill our block (we have half a meter cut and fill included in our site costs). We have asked them to explain to us why we need these but they can't seem to give us an answer. Just a way to get more money out of us we assume. So we signed it all, sent it back, and finally it was submitted to council a few days later - yay! A few weeks later we heard from Wisdom again - council wants some of our windows frosted for privacy reasons (we're on a zero boundary lot and are very close to our neighbors so understandable). She says she will get the variation for us to sign by the end of that day. A few days pass and we still haven't got the variation. We try calling her directly multiple times, e-mail, and hear nothing. So we try a different number and ask to speak to her team leader since we can't get onto her. She tells us they never get variations to customers that day, it takes at least 10 days for them to write it up!!! Finally we heard from our customer service rep who finally gets us the variation, we signed it, sent it back and it goes back to council. A week later we hear from Wisdom again - council actually needs the frosted windows to be half the size and up really high so you can't look at your neighbors. So we ask why didn't the drafting team know that!? How many houses have they built?? Didn't they know if council is requesting privacy windows that they can't just frost them, they have to be a certain type of window?? How can we trust the drafting team telling us we need pointless drop edge beams if they can't even get the window requirements right!? Safe to say we were furious. We signed and it's now back in council waiting for approval. It's now December 16th 2018 and we're not going to even have a slab laid before the end of the year. This entire process wouldn't have been so frustrating if we had a customer service rep that actually got back to us, replied to our e-mails, responded to our phone calls but we don't! We get given false promises and false hope that things will get done quicker then they actually do. It has made this process take so much longer then it should've taken. We have a newborn baby and are currently living in a granny flat so things are tight, I was so hopeful that once the land was registered things would move quickly with Wisdom and it would all be approved before December but that dream is long gone. We thought going with one of the top 10 builders would mean their processes were streamlined and their customer service team would be experienced and know what their doing - how wrong we were. Our neighbors who have gone with smaller builders, and a few who went with other big builders, are all half way through their builds. Has anyone else had a similar experience with Wisdom's admin team?? It has become beyond frustrating dealing with them and we're really regretting even choosing Wisdom (also sorry for the huge vent) Hi cgoldring, Sorry to hear of your experience to date. I have asked our Customer Service Manager to contact you directly to discuss with you in more detail and to put an improvement plan in place to get your build back on track. I will also PM you my contact details in case you need them in the future. Regards, Mark Scully General manager Wisdom Group Live Your Way Re: Wisdom Homes Admin Issues 8Dec 21, 2018 3:22 pm Hi all, Just thought I’d give a quick update on our situation. We’ve spoken with Wisdom about our frustrations, and we now have a new CSR who will hopefully be much more responsive and give us regular updates. Wisdom also worked hard to get our variations completed and get our plans back into council before the Christmas break which is really wonderful. Not sure if councils skeleton staff will get to it over the break, but at least it’s back in their hands! Can someone please offer some advice? Im DESPERATE. Because I'm completely and utterly exhausted. How long are variations taking with other companies at the moment? We… 0 18470 In fairness nobody gave a crap about the ACCC and the gag clauses continued in the pro forma templates of a few other builders after the ACCC took on Wisdom, and more… 19 73480 Hi Everyone, I am exploring builder in NSW and received a very tempting quote from Wisdom home for their momentum series. I just want to know experience of building… 0 8240 |