Building with Fairmont Homes NSW - Balmoral 42

Hi All,

Thought it would be worth while to share my story so far with Fairmont Homes. They are a small to medium sized home builder in NSW, and it's awfully difficult to find anything about them online except for a few positive reviews.

I thought I'd share how things have been for us so far, and will share pictures / thoughts as we progress through our build.

Deposit Paid - 5th August 2018
Initial Tender - 26th August 2018
Final Tender and contract signing - 14th November 2018
Land Settlement - Jan 14th 2019
Council Plans Submitted - 12th Feb 2019
DA Approved - 8th March 2019
Final Construction Plans - 30th April 2019
Construction Commence - Hopefully next week

We settled on Fairmont Homes after visiting a few of their display homes, what really sold us was their apparent quality, friendly staff and that "wow" feeling when we walked into the home. When we visited one of their older display homes, we were quite impress how good everything still looked from a construction standpoint (quality paint work, tiling, kitchen cabinetry, sliding doors etc) - to me a sign of a well constructed house given the abuse its probably taken over the last 3-4 years.

I will say, staff have been amazing, quality of product looks great, though they have been let down by process's not really being clearly articulated and we've had a few hiccups along the way (one because we went to Europe for 7 weeks Oct 2018-Nov 2018, thanks for WiFi I was able to work through some of the quotes and items to finalize) but others that could no doubt be avoided.

As they are a small builder, there is no "selections studio" like MJH / Clarendon / Eden Brae etc, most of this is handled by there construction partners - Beaumont Tiles, Styleline Kitchens, Jade Electrical etc. The process seemed simple enough, Beaumont Tiles were great and provided a lot of information, although we did find out that one of the tiles was discontinued when I questioned an item on our tiles selection. Fairmont Homes, and conversely myself where significantly let down with the time frame it took for Styleline to provide pricing on the kitchen layout we selected, From making contact in late November, it took until April 2019 to get out first quote back. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but I'm hoping this isn't a reflection on their kitchen build times.

I wouldn't really suggest they are geared to first home builders / buyers, their process seems more for people that know what they want, vs needing help to get a great outcome, in saying that there are plenty of facebook comments / reviews suggesting they are good here too - so perhaps its a little bit down to me researching most of the things we wanted.

All up for some randomly generated ratings:

Staff: 5/5
Quality of workmanship: 4.5/5 (which says a lot for me as I'm not expecting 5/5 from a project home builder, will update this when my build is complete!)
Process: 3/5 (not for the uninitiated)
Attention to detail in planing process: 3/5 (pretty average experience here to be honest, many mistakes in the drafting of plans and tender process, nothing that can't be fixed but stuff that would easily flow through to construction and cause issues if not flagged before hand)
Pricing: I can't really compare but I hazard expensive, maybe $$$ out of $$$$, my friend is building with MJH and comparably things or similar but many items a bit pricer with Fairmont, this is likely down to supplier purchasing agreements, Fairmont are extremely flexible in items to be used during the build (and we have gone for a lot of expensive options, (Kitchen, Staircase, Flooring, all premium etc), but then you get what you pay for.

Total so far: 4 / 5, let down by their Kitchen department and lack of attention to detail in the tender / plan creation process. Staff have been flexible, friendly and really supportive in the process, though it does feel like there is a lack of urgency to get anything done.

On to the more sexy stuff

Plans:

We made a couple of minor alterations from the base plan
- extended the alfresco slab by 1.1 south
- removed bath from ensuite
- added enclosed toilet to ensuite
- added double shower
- widows moved to sides of vanities
- changed the size of the en suite (door openings and the width to add an extra 20cm to the master bedroom
- added step down to lounge / dining / kitchen / pantry (3.08m ceiling height)
- 2.74 ceiling to rest of house down and up


Ground Floor

1st Floor


Colours / Facade (after playing around in Sketchup)


Kitchen

Laundry:



Kitchen and Laundry Colours will be:

Doors / Cupboard etc - Black woodmatt Polytec


Benchtops - cloudburst concrete


Tiles:


Unfortunately Icon Dove Stacked MOS tile (second from the right) is now "discontinued" this was going to be our facade tile, we've since changed this to the same colour tile, but in 600x300 format so its not longer a mosaic but is bigger, ended up being slightly more expensive (presumably the old tile was at run out price) but given the size of the facade this kind of makes sense.

From left to right:
Bathroom / Powder / Main - Walls + Laundry Floor (600x600)
Bathroom / Powder / Main - Floors (600x600)
Laundry Splashback (mosaic)
Feature Facade Tile (600x300)
Patio / Alfresco tile (600x600)

For some strange reason we like the Matt Black look in a few of the display homes so have opted for Matt Black Tapware / Accessories including the amazing looking Methven Aurajet system and sweet sinks by Franke . Dual Bosch ovens (in blaak) / induction coocktop / integrated dishwasher.



Staircase

This was a tough one as we don't want to go with glass, its just to impractical with dogs / finger prints etc, we were impressed with the design in the display home and opted for one similar, but with Matt black posts, vic ash handrail and steel wire balustrade.

My crued example:



as displayed:



So, that's our journey so far. We are due to break ground in the next 7 business days Weather permitting of course. Super excited to start, and hopefully the process will be pretty smooth sailing from here. We are currently renting 5 mins away from out new block, so we thankfully we are close by to be able to keep on top of things as they progress.

Despite some setbacks, I would be happy to recommend Fairmont Homes NSW based on my experience so far, hopefully the end product is outstanding!

Congrats on the start of your build!

Make sure you hire professional building inspector or inspection company to inspect after critical stages of the build.

Unfortunately, quality of workmanship has nothing to do with the look the tiles or quality of the painting in the demo homes.

You should be rather focusing on confirming the quality of your structural engineering, foundation, drainage and structural elements (framing, roof) as well as on the quality of your insulation and windows/doors installations.

Just my 2 cents.

Small Update, site cutout complete, framing for slab complete, slab pluming complete, waffle pods and reo delivered. Slab was meant to be poured tomorrow, but given this morning we had quite a sizable down pour of rain, the reo/pods weren't installed so I in visage it'll be a couple of days and we will have a slab. It looks way bigger then we expected, exciting times!

alexp79 - agree, I simply just didn't mention structural items because its difficult to see them in display homes, what is visible looks to had stood the test of time and abuse from the general public quite well. So hopefully a sign of good things to follow.

So far very impressed with the professionalism of the guys on site, a good job with cleaning / removing soil etc and non of the issues that other builders seem to do (dump soil on next doors land and wait until they complain to remove it etc).

Hi Gildea,
We are thinking of going with Fairmont Homes NSW. Can I please ask how many square metres your home is and roughly how much it came to? Are you still happy with your decision to go with Fairmont?

Thank you!

Hi! Our house is 380m2. We did a lot of upgrades, I don't have an exact total handy but it would be close to $700k. I'm sure we could have saved 15% by doing a lot ourselves after handover but we didn't want that experience and hassel.

We had some initial dramas with a site supervisor who is no longer with the company. Our experience hasn't been great though I dont think it represents there normal experience. Since the new site supervisor has taken over it's been a much better experience.

I've had to be ontop of most things, but given the amount of variations and add ons, most things have been completed correctly with what looks to be great quality. Theres been plenty of items either not ordered correctly or ordered correctly but supplier has stuffed up.

All up, if we had the current supervisor since the start I'd have no problems recommending them, just a pitty we had such an average experience for the first 5 months of the build.

Hi Gildea,
Thanks so much for the quick reply! It seems to be a common theme across all builders - the building experience comes down to the site supervisor.
Glad you ended up with a good one, even though it took a while!

Hi Gildea
We are new to forum.
Congrats on your build. We too looking at building with Fairmont. Can I ask if you don't mind sharing the kind of upgrades that led you to 700k?
Thank you

Main items would have been

2.74m cieling up and down
Double glazing throughout
Step down to rear (3.1m)
Kitchen / stone work throughout
3mx2m fixed window
Staircase
Upgrading flooring

Thanks for your prompt response.
Are you happy with workmanship since moving in?
How long did the build take from slab pour?

Thanking you, much appreciated

Build took approx 12 months (was contracted for 9).

Workmanship has been okay - some bits fine some bits poor most of it on par with other project home builders. Overall liveable and I can't comment on the final product yet as we are still going through fixes from handover.

Overall I can't say I would recommend them to others based on our experience with them so far. Not sure if it was a timing thing but I think something happened in the business around the time we started building which has impacted their ability to execute, our painting finish etc is terrible, and their tardiness in fixing our problems has been pathetic as well. (Given we handed over in May and its August now and rather then fix the problems they just kept pushing it back until eventually it was maintenance window time).

They were very accommodating on most requests however and we are very happy with he design and house, just the finishing touches and tradesmenship on finished items isn't exactly inspiring.

A lot of mistakes along the way and I had to be over everything in the process, if you don't live close to site to do regular visits then be wary. (In saying that its probably the same for most builders)

Hi Gildea,

We are currently building with Fairmont homes NSW now and wanted to see how your home is doing now, 6 months after your last post. Like you have mentioned, there isn't a lot of informative reviews on this builder, except yours, so thank you for this!!

We are currently building in Calderwood in the Shellharbour City. This is our first build, so we are very nervous but excited at the same time.

My apologies for hijacking your post. If anyone is interested in our experience with Fairmont Homes NSW, thus far, let me know and I'll start another post, instead of adding to Gildea's. We are at framing stage at the moment.

Hi Stu

Could I possibly contact you privately. I’m also building with Fairmont at Calderwood and would like to chat

Of course you can. Just PM me here if you wish. I am interested to hear your thoughts.

NEVER EVER Build with MANKO homes, Poor Quality, Non Qualified Supervisors who are college student, They will make sure once you signed, they will stress you out at every stage of the build, from planning to build to after build support, they will try to cut corners and use cheapest trade and stuff as possible which a customer realise when build is completed and problems starts surfacing and they simply shrug their shoulders off your reported issues, stop taking calls, and stop responding to you over emails and leave you to bear the expensive repairs, although inclusions are a bit extra than others but that gets compensated in the quality and after build support.

Hi Stu84,

sorry for some reason I missed this one (and the notifcation that came through via email must be going crazy!

Likely doesnt help given you are currently building with them, but I would strongly suggest you have each stage inspected via an independant, and DO NOT hand over your money until you are 100% satisfied.

To this date, 12 months post handover, I still have a laundry list of items that are to be rectified that where identified pre and post PCI and noted in writing prior to hand over of keys.

We've had two water leaks since, and one during the build itself, and numerous other defects that we comprimised on.

We are about ready to take them to court, there response's (or lack there off) is ridiculous, they go quite for weeks, and leave many things half done or not resolved properly.

Beware of there "$1" per day liquidated damages, if you are building with them I suggest you negotiate changing this value to a realistic amount (to the tune of $100+ per day) to get a realistic build period out of them for starters.

All up, we are happy and love the design and some of the finishes, however it's severly let down by their attempted fixes and crap installers that clearly just wanted to get things done fast and bugger off, mainly the plasterboard / finishing is hopless throughout, and it wasn't rectfied prior to painting, as such is borderline impossible to resolve now.

They are extremely unorganised and have left us with a house yet again covered in blue tape with defects for about the 3rd time now, for weeks on end with no resolution. We just wanted to move into a finished house, instead we've been in a construction zone for 12 months, and will no doubt continue to battle with them for many more. I'm hoping they pull their head out and just do some work (we were promised 2 solid weeks it would be sorted prior to easter, we had a single carpenter visit for two days out of the 10, and a flooring guy for half a day.

They are clearly capable of building nice homes, but I think a lot of their good staff left the business just when we started building, and their maintenace team seems non existant anymore.

Thanks for the reply Gildea. After reading all that, all I can say is WOW.

12 months living in a constant construction zone, that's just insane. How could a family owned company who "pride' themselves with these awards they have won, be proud of delivering a product which needs a lot of work, after PCI. Where is the pride?

We have asked if we can use a private inspector several times since the 22nd of Feb and still haven't received a response. Everything you have happened to you, I feel like this is a common occurrence. I hadn't received any contact from our site supervisor since 22 Jan after repeated requests for some sort of update, which we were told the message was passed on to the Construction Manager but hadn't received anything, until last Thursday the 1st of April. I sent our 'Client Liaison Officer' an email on this day which turned out she had left and management were receiving her emails.

Sure enough I received an email from management, not long after, which CC'd the construction manager. Then a following email CC'ing our new site supervisor stating we will receive weekly updates regarding the built and if we had any questions, he will be the man. I guess we won't be holding our breath.
I really hope they do what they say but after hearing your issues and others, I feel like they are like many other builders where they just don't have the pride in customer relations, communication and delivering a good quality home.

The lack of organisation is apparent with our dealing. It comes across that some people within are unorganised, whether is may be from heavy workload or just poor time management, but I kinda feel like we aren't important because we have purchased the home and a house and land package so I feel like the attitude has been like we don't matter.

I agree, they are capable in building nice homes but I feel like it's irrelevant if they can't commit to basic communication.

I am expecting issues once we move it, again I'm hopeful it won't be too bad. I guess time will tell. I hope you get things sorted out smoothly and your get the result you paid for.

Digressing, I noticed a review on product review website maybe a month ago, which gave them 1 star, which outlined many similar things like the communication issues, but that has now disappeared. So I'm not sure if they are the type of company that pay customers to remove negative reviews. Maybe they like the "smoke and mirrors" approach. look like a fancy caring business, but really only want your money first and deal with whatever issues when it suits them.

Thankfully there doesn't appear to be anything structurally broken, though who really knows...

More then anything we are just totally disappointed in there response to resolving anything. I get during a build mistakes happen and you can get some average contractors etc, but the fact that it's seen and left as is, presumably hoping we wouldnt notice, or just live with it.

I have noticed a few of those reviews, and even one that suggested they where offered money to remove it, I can't attest to the authenticity of those, intact I was holding of even posting here in case they decide to delay fixing our issues further (or not at all), I haven't posted on google / product review either, and notice they don't allow reviews on Facebook.

Like you said, family business, proud, respect customers, customer service etc, all things they spruke proudly about, I can't say I agree with their statements.

Thanks for your update Gildea.

I was hesitant in posting our dealings on here too, since we are still in the build but since the communication has been really poor, except for a couple of emails on one day once management were notified, we haven't received an OK as yet with using our private inspector. It's been a few months since asking and all we want is approval.

Anyway trying to be positive, I hope things get sorted for you smoothly from here on in, their communication improves and they stick to what they say.

Exactly the same experience here and some!!

Im considering using them for a custom build. Its between them, Meridian Homes, King Homes and GJ Gardner. How are your builds going? Were there any structural issues that havent been fixed yet?