Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 4Aug 07, 2019 6:04 pm yymao Beware of the false positive online reviews in your research into builders, as many of these are fake, commissioned and incentivised by the builders! Particularly the glowing 5 star ones on productreview with no substance or facts included. Some high profile major volume building companies are clearly 'gaming' this to manipulate their star ratings and deceive their potential customers. In a slowing construction market some builders are now desperately resorting to such un ethical marketing tactics to compete for new customers. Some key watch-outs are:
Reviews from people who have only ever posted one or two reviews. Be aware that ‘verified customer’ simply means the reviewer has submitted a document to product review that shows some relationship with the builder and this document can easily be faked by the review poster. No substance to the reviews, just fluffy generic positive comments with no specifics. Reviews that look like adaptations of a template, following a similar pattern. No balance of the positive and negative aspects that most realistic reviews would have. The company's personnel are repeatably identified (usually against the product review platforms posting rules) Reviews of companies that pay 'management' service fees to the website. Reviews that repeatably praise the 'honesty' and ‘integrity’ of the company's staff. Reviews that disparage the company's competitors, both in general or naming them. High proportions of pre sales or pre construction stage reviews, not of the of the actual finished product. Every build will have issues that have been solved along the way - look for some details of how these were solved. Check the Q&A for other readers comments about suspicious reviews. Often someone calls them out. For your research into a circa $500K purchase do not just accept what you read online is real. Or the aggregated star ratings. It may be a good idea to use the product review message facility to actually contact the review posters and ask for more specific details if you intend to consider the reviews and ratings to assess a company. The online fake review writers such as builders’ sales staff, social media advertising agencies, or paid overseas fake review providers will struggle with authentic specific details and risk identifying and outing themselves. Beware! The home building market has slowed down significantly recently and volume builders are becoming increasing desperate competing for sales. If a company is this deceptive at this early stage of your relationship consider how they might behave towards you after you have signed the contract, it’s a buyers market now, research and choose carefully! Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 5Sep 30, 2019 8:16 pm yymao vickieee I wouldn't trust them, had a bad experience. Thank you. I decided to build my home with metricon now after research. Hello there, I am currently short listing builders for my new home in Woodlea and true value is one of them. I have some questions to ask because my dealings to date have been good, but I haven't signed anything yet so it may be to early to be sure. vickieee, why don't you trust them? What experience did you have? yymao, you ended up signing with metricon who were on my list until all the media coverage regarding slab heave. I don't want to risk it especially considering my soil type is P. Did you know about the slab heave issues before choosing metricon? Thank you, Amit. Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 6Sep 30, 2019 8:33 pm Amit75 yymao vickieee I wouldn't trust them, had a bad experience. Thank you. I decided to build my home with metricon now after research. Hello there, I am currently short listing builders for my new home in Woodlea and true value is one of them. I have some questions to ask because my dealings to date have been good, but I haven't signed anything yet so it may be to early to be sure. vickieee, why don't you trust them? What experience did you have? yymao, you ended up signing with metricon who were on my list until all the media coverage regarding slab heave. I don't want to risk it especially considering my soil type is P. Did you know about the slab heave issues before choosing metricon? Thank you, Amit. Hi Amit I am aware of slab heave issues. It was not just metricon I believe when there were building boom. I will still go with metricon for now. I am not an expert and just sharing my experience and beginner knowledge after my homework. They now have life time structural warranty which indicates when they build the Slabbing, the engineering behind would support this warranty. If your soil test result is P, the engineer will design the Slabbing for P class. I will still hire independent building inspector to check different building stages, when I select any other builder in Melbourne. I was concerned with smaller builders as who only offer 7 or 10 years warranty. Metricon is not a perfect and budget choice. They can have non standard design but are not really flexible with many structural changes but so far I won't complain too much as I believe the products they offer should be quality ones. I have done my color selection and now awaiting for signing contract when it is ready. Yunyun Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 7Sep 30, 2019 8:45 pm Thank you Yunyun for your reply. A lifetime structural guarantee is something I would prefer also. Please keep me informed if your price changes from what you signed up on to once you get your contact. This also scares me with builders. Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 8Oct 26, 2019 11:49 am I'm currently building with true value homes and my experience hasnt been 100% positive so far. but i guess its impossible to have a truly positive experience with any builder. The salesperson overpromised and underdelivered. There is a lack of coordination between the contracts and administration team. quality of work is good but they are very very slow. their pricing is not cheap and is on par with other companies. if you decide to go with them then take everything in writing. reading those reviews on productreviews i have started to believe that some of them might actually be fake. Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 9Oct 26, 2019 12:49 pm I reckon you've nailed it! Product Review has an issue, particularly with builders and home removals. They say they have processes to filter out the un authentic positive reviews but clearly many companies succeed getting these posted, then even subsequently endorsing the reviews themselves. Some companies are more sophisticated than others at 'managing' social media. FYI, Different industry, same problem: https://traveladdicts.net/tripadvisor-fake-reviews/ Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 10Oct 26, 2019 1:37 pm Plus delays occur in the construction industry so you might want to find out the contract expiration fee. with true value homes its $1000/month after one year of signing preliminary agreement. what a rip off Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 11Oct 26, 2019 9:01 pm Thanks for everyone's response. After months of comparing builders, inclusions and pricing I have chosen to build my first home with True Value. Up till this point (new home order, booked in for colours) my experience has been great. The sales person I dealt with was ok, but comparing to other sales people from other builders they seem to be all the same. Once my file was received by head office I was introduced to Leisa and Natalie who have been so informing and helpful. At this stage I don't regret my decision to build with them even though they were a little more expensive than some other smaller builders but there they have since introduced a lifetime structural guarantee which gives me confidence. I will keep this conversation going throughout my build experience and see if I can see if they love up to there reviews. Nash86, why hasn't your experience been 100%? Also the $1000 per month price hold isnt exactly right. I have read that if the land is delayed the price hold fee will be the lesser of $1000/month or the then current build price. I was understanding of this because at the end of the day the builder came hold the price forever and it is unrealistic to think that because my land developer delays my land, my builder should pay for it. Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 12Dec 02, 2019 9:34 pm Amit75 Thanks for everyone's response. After months of comparing builders, inclusions and pricing I have chosen to build my first home with True Value. Up till this point (new home order, booked in for colours) my experience has been great. The sales person I dealt with was ok, but comparing to other sales people from other builders they seem to be all the same. Once my file was received by head office I was introduced to Leisa and Natalie who have been so informing and helpful. At this stage I don't regret my decision to build with them even though they were a little more expensive than some other smaller builders but there they have since introduced a lifetime structural guarantee which gives me confidence. I will keep this conversation going throughout my build experience and see if I can see if they love up to there reviews. Nash86, why hasn't your experience been 100%? Also the $1000 per month price hold isnt exactly right. I have read that if the land is delayed the price hold fee will be the lesser of $1000/month or the then current build price. I was understanding of this because at the end of the day the builder came hold the price forever and it is unrealistic to think that because my land developer delays my land, my builder should pay for it. Hi Amit75, I am looking to build with True Value Homes, at the initial stage of enquiry though, can you please tell us how you are going, it has only been 2 months since your last post, but I am interested to know. Thanks Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 13Dec 03, 2019 9:45 pm lightrei Amit75 Thanks for everyone's response. After months of comparing builders, inclusions and pricing I have chosen to build my first home with True Value. Up till this point (new home order, booked in for colours) my experience has been great. The sales person I dealt with was ok, but comparing to other sales people from other builders they seem to be all the same. Once my file was received by head office I was introduced to Leisa and Natalie who have been so informing and helpful. At this stage I don't regret my decision to build with them even though they were a little more expensive than some other smaller builders but there they have since introduced a lifetime structural guarantee which gives me confidence. I will keep this conversation going throughout my build experience and see if I can see if they love up to there reviews. Nash86, why hasn't your experience been 100%? Also the $1000 per month price hold isnt exactly right. I have read that if the land is delayed the price hold fee will be the lesser of $1000/month or the then current build price. I was understanding of this because at the end of the day the builder came hold the price forever and it is unrealistic to think that because my land developer delays my land, my builder should pay for it. Hi Amit75, I am looking to build with True Value Homes, at the initial stage of enquiry though, can you please tell us how you are going, it has only been 2 months since your last post, but I am interested to know. Thanks Hi lightrei, I have been real busy at work lately and haven't had time to update my experience. I have finished my colour selections and contract signing already and now True Value is in the process of obtaining the building permit. I will be posting up a detailed breakdown of everything including a timeline and images for everyone to see but for now all I can say is it has been smooth and enjoyable. I opted for a personal colour selection appointment with one of there interior designers who was so helpful and informative. I spent a bit of money in the colours but mainly because I wanted black tapware throughout and undermount sinks and basins, but some items I didn't upgrade like curtains because it would be cheaper at places like dollar curtains + blinds. A 4 hour appointment is what I had which was enough because I came prepared. My contracts were sent to me prior to my appointment and I had my brother in-law (lawyer) look over it thoroughly to make sure it was ok, which it was. My appointment for contract signing went for about 40 minutes as there is a lot of pages to sign and initial but overall it was good. My site start is looking like mid to late Jan due to their end of year shutdown. Communication up until now by my client liaison, contacts and color admin has been great. I feel they are doing everything they can to keep me informed. At present I would highly recommend them, I just hope it stays this way when we start construction but I'm very optimistic. Amit Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 14Dec 04, 2019 6:59 am Hi amit75 did your lawyer highlight any clauses in the true value homes contract for your consideration? What is the liquidated damages amount payable per working day for delays? This is typically a key watch out. Any other possible concerns with your contract you considered that other forum members might consider? Like payment timings, independent inspections, work standards, lifetime guarantee terms etc. As the contract is a key milestone for your months of diligent work so far, we are interested in your comments regarding this.
Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 15Dec 07, 2019 2:19 pm vickieee I wouldn't trust them, had a bad experience. Hi Vickieee, Can you please elaborate why you had a bad experience with them. We are considering building with them. If you can shred any light about your experience would be great, as they have perfect rating in product reviews, so we are skeptical. Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 16Dec 07, 2019 2:25 pm Amit75 lightrei Amit75 Thanks for everyone's response. After months of comparing builders, inclusions and pricing I have chosen to build my first home with True Value. Up till this point (new home order, booked in for colours) my experience has been great. The sales person I dealt with was ok, but comparing to other sales people from other builders they seem to be all the same. Once my file was received by head office I was introduced to Leisa and Natalie who have been so informing and helpful. At this stage I don't regret my decision to build with them even though they were a little more expensive than some other smaller builders but there they have since introduced a lifetime structural guarantee which gives me confidence. I will keep this conversation going throughout my build experience and see if I can see if they love up to there reviews. Nash86, why hasn't your experience been 100%? Also the $1000 per month price hold isnt exactly right. I have read that if the land is delayed the price hold fee will be the lesser of $1000/month or the then current build price. I was understanding of this because at the end of the day the builder came hold the price forever and it is unrealistic to think that because my land developer delays my land, my builder should pay for it. Hi Amit75, I am looking to build with True Value Homes, at the initial stage of enquiry though, can you please tell us how you are going, it has only been 2 months since your last post, but I am interested to know. Thanks Hi lightrei, I have been real busy at work lately and haven't had time to update my experience. I have finished my colour selections and contract signing already and now True Value is in the process of obtaining the building permit. I will be posting up a detailed breakdown of everything including a timeline and images for everyone to see but for now all I can say is it has been smooth and enjoyable. I opted for a personal colour selection appointment with one of there interior designers who was so helpful and informative. I spent a bit of money in the colours but mainly because I wanted black tapware throughout and undermount sinks and basins, but some items I didn't upgrade like curtains because it would be cheaper at places like dollar curtains + blinds. A 4 hour appointment is what I had which was enough because I came prepared. My contracts were sent to me prior to my appointment and I had my brother in-law (lawyer) look over it thoroughly to make sure it was ok, which it was. My appointment for contract signing went for about 40 minutes as there is a lot of pages to sign and initial but overall it was good. My site start is looking like mid to late Jan due to their end of year shutdown. Communication up until now by my client liaison, contacts and color admin has been great. I feel they are doing everything they can to keep me informed. At present I would highly recommend them, I just hope it stays this way when we start construction but I'm very optimistic. Amit Thanks a lot for your update, it's nice that you have a lawyer in the family, so handy. We are planning to obtain the contract and give to a lawyer to have a proper look before committing to any signings. We won't be building for at least another 3 months, doing our shopping around and research at the moment, but for now we are quite happy with one of their plans and if all goes well we would most likely want to build with them, probably by then we'll get to hear more from you about True Value Homes. Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 17Dec 08, 2019 3:04 pm Norfolk Hi amit75 did your lawyer highlight any clauses in the true value homes contract for your consideration? What is the liquidated damages amount payable per working day for delays? This is typically a key watch out. Any other possible concerns with your contract you considered that other forum members might consider? Like payment timings, independent inspections, work standards, lifetime guarantee terms etc. As the contract is a key milestone for your months of diligent work so far, we are interested in your comments regarding this. Hi Norfolk, the only thing I was concern about in the contract was that they increased the base stage % from the standard 10% to 15%. However, my lawyer said that it is perfectly normal and legal for a builder to do this if they can justify the reasons why this is necessary. In my case, P-class soil and slab upgrade was justification enough to please my concerns and my lawyer was fine with that also. Word of warning though: any % amount greater than 20% of the contract price to the completion of base stage is cause for concern said my lawyer. This means 5% deposit and no more than 15% at base totalling 20% at the completion of the base stage. If any builders are doing this, be warned it is a huge concern for banks and my lawyer said a red flag that the builder wants more money upfront for the work they have done. Other than my concern about the base stage at 15%, my lawyer said everything else was online with the building contracts act and fine to sign. Liquidated damages for both builder and client were standard $250 per week which is default in the HIA contract. Independent inspections are allowed at no cost as long as they are conducted during my progress stage walkthroughs which is perfect as I would like to be there when my inspector is there so there is no communication issues. And lastly, the lifetime structural guarantee is in there and the terms are the same as what the have on their website here: www.truevaluehomes.com.au/terms-conditions/ I will have mors time later this week to post some images of my colour selection and share a link to my contract for anyone to view. Sorry for the slowness of my responses, however work is starting to slow down for me now and I'll have more time to post updates very soon. I am excited to share my experiences, hopefully it is helpful. Amit Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 18Dec 08, 2019 3:18 pm Hi lightrei, I'll share my contract with you soon so you can see what to expect. This far they have lived up to my expectations and there reviews. Especially after hearing from my brother in-law that all was ok to sign and no need for me to be concerned. There a medium size builder who doesn't do anymore than 12 site starts a month, this is what I was told at contract signing appointment. To me this means they have a more personal relationship with with me and take the time do things right, from my experience so far. They are not like some of the other builders that I have heard my friends speak about through their experiences. If you do choose them to build your home I would be interested in hearing your experience and I'd be glad to help where I can. Amit Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 19Dec 09, 2019 7:11 am Hi amit75 thanks for your comprehensive response. Did your lawyer brother in law have any concerns about liquidated damages amount being limited to $250 per week compared to your actual accomodation costs per week? I think this should be a watch out item for others in the true value homes contract because it allows them to delay the build at minimal cost to them but high cost to you if you find defects that are expensive for them to fix. Based on their outstanding 90 perfect 5 star reviews in productreview over the past 3 years, I would have expected true value homes to back themselves to deliver a quality and on time build with more realistic liquidated damages per week in their contract. With only a token $250 per week for delays it seems they are not confident they can deliver this, which is in direct contrast with all those perfect 5 star reviews and their own confident statements in the productreview Q&A that I see. I suggest if they are as reliable and focussed on quality as their 90 5 stat reviews confirms, then they should have no problem offering at least $1000 per week liquidated damages in their contract to provide real incentive to perform and confidence to their potential customers. What do others think?
Re: Anybody built with True Value Homes in Melbourne 20Dec 09, 2019 7:30 am Hi amit75 in addition to the liquidated damages, a further concern with the true value homes contract may be limited opportunity for access for independent inspections you mention. Surely ‘reasonable access’ means more than just at the time of stage inspections, correct? After all, the extra inspections will greatly assist true value with extra eyes to deliver good quality workmanship which benefits both you and them. Also, are the progress payments only payable after a satisfactory inspection? Or is payment due irrespective of this? I hope true value homes appreciates my questions here. I consider the more transparent information that prospective customers have via this forums, in addition to the 90 outstanding 5 star reviews about them on other public forums, the more comfortable and confident they may be choosing true value homes. This is a win / win for everyone! I haven’t. But have a Lowe Design home. Not only did I find Matt Lowe patronising and a bully, but the home is NOT TO CODE. I have water coming through the bricks… 1 13917 As a tradesmen get a private inspector although I don't think there worth it in their profession themselves the reminder they serve to the tradesmen doing the work is… 3 27358 They make the room much easier to clean for one, reflect more light (if light colour tiles are used), and you dont end up with dust on the top edge of tiles (cause most… 3 9591 |