Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 19, 2019 12:41 am Hi All, I've been following this forum for a little while now, and love it. Some great content on here! My wife and I have purchased a block in Perth's northern corridor and am now entering the design / consultation stage. We have gone for a few display homes for ideas, but spent a lot of time researching designs online (floor plans from builders, houzz etc). We have a a good idea on certain aspects of our design, and features we want the house to have, but are also open to suggestions from builders/a designer as their the experts. We are leaning towards going via a boutique / smaller builder as there are some trades I would prefer to use - its not a deal breaker, but some very close friends & family are trades, so know I would get a very attractive price and quality would be exceptional. Whilst some spec builders will allow me to use certain trades - in many cases they won't credit me much for removing (for example) tiling...so makes it uneconomical to introduce my own trades. The trades I would look to introduce are: - bench tops (kitchen, laundry, bathrooms). This is a must - supply (however have builder install) appliances (oven, cooktop, range-hood, outdoor bbq etc) and sinks. This is a must - supply and install tiling - not a must but strong preference - Cabinets - not a must but preference - painting (internals post handover - not door frames, ceilings etc) - again not a must, but preference We are looking to build: - Single story - approx 350 sqm - high quality build - budget circa 350k (this excludes pool cost, exposed aggregate, landscaping) Our block is 730 sqm so have some flexibility re. design Would also look to install a fiberglass pool (possibly during the build process???) - but organise this myself, and not via the builder due to cost. After going to a number of display homes recently we found the sales people difficult to deal with. They clearly are that, sales people. Our preference is to work with a consultant that is less pushy, doesn't degrade his competition at his/her first opportunity, and has a good idea of design. We've also found it difficult to find a design (be it display home or a spec builders design) which works for us, as many are for smaller blocks. We are considering going to a building broker - but have heard mixed reports. Would really appreciate your thoughts - recommended process from here (ie go through a spec builder and modify existing design or go to house designer, or building broker) - any recommendations of quality builders in that price range for a single story - any good sales consultants you've used - thoughts on building brokers, and whether you would recommend one in Perth (there are a few Ive come across online) Any advice is greatly appreciated Thanks Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 2Nov 19, 2019 7:47 pm Sounds as though you need a custom plan drawn up. Building brokers can be okay, but they can also be considered "freelance salespeople" who work for several builders and can be swayed by commission. We also disliked dealing with salespeople. I found it easier to email my plans around for quotes and only dealing with the top few offers to make our final decision. Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 3Nov 19, 2019 10:06 pm amilelka We also disliked dealing with salespeople. I found it easier to email my plans around for quotes and only dealing with the top few offers to make our final decision. Thanks for the reply amilelka. Sounds like you went through something similar. A couple of questions if you don't mind? - do you recommend the designer you used? - when you contacted the building companies to quite up your build, do you end up liaise with the sales people or go direct to their quoting manager / building manager? - did you contact the spec builders or more boutique builders? Any good / bad experiences you can share / companies you recommend? Thanks so much Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 4Nov 19, 2019 10:57 pm Hi RogerRoger33 Welcome to the forum It's a great time to be building in Perth Low Build Rates, quick build times, Suppliers ready to do deals,etc,etc Shop around for a designer here are my tips 1. 2% of the contract price should get you a Design, Engineering and quantities all included 2. Make sure you get the contour, site report and preliminary engineering avoid any surprises before you sign build contracts 3. have you details, species and selection sorted beforehand 4. Also hidden commission are illegal in WA they must be disclosed 5.Don't fall for the tens of thousands in giveaways and free upgrades It's tantamount to real estate sucker deals offering free rent for a short period and then the rent just skyrockets..if you get what I mean 6. Avoid salesman, Too often I hear builders Say " the Salesman made a honest mistake...what does he know he's not a building expert?" OT Basically he doesn't form part of the contract and good luck suing him Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 5Nov 19, 2019 11:22 pm Can recommend Lisa Michelon at New Choice Homes. She is based at the Marina Display in Jindalee. Very knowledgable but not pushy. New Choice are a flexible builder and happy to customise. Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 6Nov 20, 2019 12:03 am RogerRoger33 amilelka We also disliked dealing with salespeople. I found it easier to email my plans around for quotes and only dealing with the top few offers to make our final decision. Thanks for the reply amilelka. Sounds like you went through something similar. A couple of questions if you don't mind? - do you recommend the designer you used? - when you contacted the building companies to quite up your build, do you end up liaise with the sales people or go direct to their quoting manager / building manager? - did you contact the spec builders or more boutique builders? Any good / bad experiences you can share / companies you recommend? Thanks so much All of the builders we approached liased with us through a sales representative, thats just the way their business works. But I felt there was less sales BS because we had plans and spelled out exactly what we wanted. Communicating through email ensured that any promises were written down for future reference. Regarding boutique vs volume builders - our first build was with a boutique builder and had major issues that ended up in court. Our second build with a cheap large volume builder was fairly smooth. For our third build we initially went through the whole contract process with a volume builder (101 residential) but got frustrated by false promises by our sales rep, and repeated errors in documentation. Things became a mess so we walked away and started over. The builder we eventually chose had the equal best price, but more flexibility than others regarding trades and selections. I felt they were big enough to know what they were doing, but small enough for us to not get lost in the system. We're yet to see how things end up, but we don't have any major complaints so far. Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 7Nov 20, 2019 12:16 am amilelka RogerRoger33 amilelka We also disliked dealing with salespeople. I found it easier to email my plans around for quotes and only dealing with the top few offers to make our final decision. Thanks for the reply amilelka. Sounds like you went through something similar. A couple of questions if you don't mind? - do you recommend the designer you used? - when you contacted the building companies to quite up your build, do you end up liaise with the sales people or go direct to their quoting manager / building manager? - did you contact the spec builders or more boutique builders? Any good / bad experiences you can share / companies you recommend? Thanks so much All of the builders we approached liased with us through a sales representative, thats just the way their business works. But I felt there was less sales BS because we had plans and spelled out exactly what we wanted. Communicating through email ensured that any promises were written down for future reference. Regarding boutique vs volume builders - our first build was with a boutique builder and had major issues that ended up in court. Our second build with a cheap large volume builder was fairly smooth. For our third build we initially went through the whole contract process with a volume builder (101 residential) but got frustrated by false promises by our sales rep, and repeated errors in documentation. Things became a mess so we walked away and started over. The builder we eventually chose had the equal best price, but more flexibility than others regarding trades and selections. I felt they were big enough to know what they were doing, but small enough for us to not get lost in the system. We're yet to see how things end up, but we don't have any major complaints so far. Thanks for the reply. Sounds like your (so far) happy with your current builder. Mind recommending them? Can PM me if you prefer. Also a fantastic tip re email. When you first mentioned that I thought it would be somewhat inefficient, but it makes perfect sense re. Keeping a written trail. Thanks again Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 8Nov 20, 2019 1:51 am Unikitty Can recommend Lisa Michelon at New Choice Homes. She is based at the Marina Display in Jindalee. Very knowledgable but not pushy. New Choice are a flexible builder and happy to customise. Thanks for the recommendation - appreciated. Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 9Nov 20, 2019 1:54 am StructuralBIMGuy Hi RogerRoger33 Welcome to the forum It's a great time to be building in Perth Low Build Rates, quick build times, Suppliers ready to do deals,etc,etc Shop around for a designer here are my tips 1. 2% of the contract price should get you a Design, Engineering and quantities all included 2. Make sure you get the contour, site report and preliminary engineering avoid any surprises before you sign build contracts 3. have you details, species and selection sorted beforehand 4. Also hidden commission are illegal in WA they must be disclosed 5.Don't fall for the tens of thousands in giveaways and free upgrades It's tantamount to real estate sucker deals offering free rent for a short period and then the rent just skyrockets..if you get what I mean 6. Avoid salesman, Too often I hear builders Say " the Salesman made a honest mistake...what does he know he's not a building expert?" OT Basically he doesn't form part of the contract and good luck suing him Thanks StructuralBIMGuy Have been quoted 1% for design drawings (not including engineering etc) by a couple of designers - will enquire how much for all drawings. Some good advice there - thanks. Regarding selections - is it a matter of going to Reece and other retail stores and noting model numbers etc, or do different builders have different suppliers so will be limited to where I can go to make selections? Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 10Nov 20, 2019 8:54 am RogerRoger33 Have been quoted 1% for design drawings (not including engineering etc) by a couple of designers - will enquire how much for all drawings. Designers & Engineers are also desperate for work, make sure you get the data, build quantities included in the 2% They come in very handy, when checking big ticket items, PS's, progress payments, site deliveries, etc,etc Here's a static Image (or Photo) All build data is now live (Dynamic) OT IMO this forum is about sharing and helping Thanks to Google RogerRoger33 Some good advice there - thanks. Regarding selections - is it a matter of going to Reece and other retail stores and noting model numbers etc, or do different builders have different suppliers so will be limited to where I can go to make selections? Everything can be done online, searching, pricing,and ordering Your build species,quotes ,data can be dynamically linked to all the online suppliers for tendering.. and at builders rates, better still get the discounts passed on to you. OT if you choose to go down this path Please note your data will be shared Cheers Chris Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: New Build - Design & Consultation Stage (Perth) 11Sep 08, 2020 11:12 pm I can help with a lot of the stuff you're after. Drop me an email or check the Konkrethaus insta Not unless you have managed to put it as a special condition into the contract somehow. 1 4039 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 5613 1 3401 |