Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jun 04, 2020 7:40 am Hi All, We are in process of finalizing one of our design with Masterton and would like get your feedback on their quality, build process, and customer service, etc.. We are building single storey 29.5 sq home in Oran Park and the sales person the build time will be six months and the approval time wll be three months. So, in total allow between nine to 12 months. Is this realistic? Also, we would like to move into our home as early as possible so that we don't pay rent and the interest which will be tight. Any advise and feedback on Masterton? Thanks, Mahendar Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 3Jul 08, 2020 6:07 pm Yes, we are almost. We couldn’t find any catch, but like to hear others opinion as well. like how their build quality, time to complete, etc.. do you know anyone who built with Masterton? Or are you planning for? Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 5Jul 08, 2020 8:00 pm Which model are you going with in masterton and where are you building? Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 6Jul 08, 2020 8:00 pm Which model are you going with in masterton and where are you building? Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 8Jul 08, 2020 8:43 pm Heard good things about these guys, only new small builder though, this could be a negative, inclusions look good. www.kastelandesignerhomes.com.au Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 9Jul 08, 2020 8:48 pm Just looked into it, I think masterton inclusion is bit better than Kastel and designer? Are these guys custom builder? Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 10Jul 08, 2020 9:18 pm Mahendar Muthu Just looked into it, I think masterton inclusion is bit better than Kastel and designer? Are these guys custom builder? I believe so, they design your home from scratch to suit you, I just did a comparison, only 1 or 2 things jumped out at me that Masterton was better, (40mm stone kitchen, treated frame) Kastelan seems to have the better appliances, PC items and they have waterfalls, I'm tossing up though with them, Masterton or Mojo Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 11Jul 08, 2020 9:21 pm Mahendar Muthu Just looked into it, I think masterton inclusion is bit better than Kastel and designer? Are these guys custom builder? Also, just noticed the air conditioner in Masterton, I would prefer the Actron over the Temperzone Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 12Jul 08, 2020 9:50 pm GrahamB Mahendar Muthu Just looked into it, I think masterton inclusion is bit better than Kastel and designer? Are these guys custom builder? I believe so, they design your home from scratch to suit you, I just did a comparison, only 1 or 2 things jumped out at me that Masterton was better, (40mm stone kitchen, treated frame) Kastelan seems to have the better appliances, PC items and they have waterfalls, I'm tossing up though with them, Masterton or Mojo Oliveri sinks, taps and white goods are a piece of junk according to the reviews. The builder providing those into his houses (even as basic inclusions) loses credibility on spot. I don't see how and why 40 mm edge is considered to be really better than 20 mm (and waterfalls too). For modern minimalist interiors it is rather a drawback. Tiles and carpets for custom designed homes? Next builder, please. I believe that truly custom home builder should not be offering any inclusions at all Everything should be provided based on the customer preferences from scratch ideally via intuitive Web or mobile configurator tool. Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 13Jul 08, 2020 11:16 pm Oliveri sinks and taps..junk?!? Please tell me more, Ive just spent $2500k on the so called junk, Oliveri is one of the big players, maybe it was a specific model? But i certainly wouldn’t be so broad in your statement AlexP, I’ll tell me builder that he loses all credibility because I’m putting oliveri sinks in (fully custom build-my choice), what do you suggest? I’ve previously had a $2000 Abey Barazza sink, also crap??? Sorry Alex you seem to know everything, so please tell me how my sink is junk? Particularly as its going into a very expensive build, I dont want my whole house to devalue because of my sink... Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 14Jul 08, 2020 11:43 pm gogo65 Oliveri sinks and taps..junk?!? Please tell me more, Ive just spent $2500k on the so called junk, Oliveri is one of the big players, maybe it was a specific model? But i certainly wouldn’t be so broad in your statement AlexP, I’ll tell me builder that he loses all credibility because I’m putting oliveri sinks in (fully custom build-my choice), what do you suggest? I’ve previously had a $2000 Abey Barazza sink, also crap??? Sorry Alex you seem to know everything, so please tell me how my sink is junk? Particularly as its going into a very expensive build, I dont want my whole house to devalue because of my sink... Average 2 star reviews on Product Review for both tapware and sinks (all models). May be they are old and big in Australia, but I would rather trust dozens of people than follow price tags and marketing booklets. BTW, no one in the rest of the world is aware what Oliveri is. But everyone knows Grohe, Blanco, Duravit, Franke etc. Funny how Oliveri sells Hansgrohe taps from their own Web site. Just something to think about. Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 15Jul 09, 2020 10:20 am alexp79 GrahamB Mahendar Muthu Just looked into it, I think masterton inclusion is bit better than Kastel and designer? Are these guys custom builder? I believe so, they design your home from scratch to suit you, I just did a comparison, only 1 or 2 things jumped out at me that Masterton was better, (40mm stone kitchen, treated frame) Kastelan seems to have the better appliances, PC items and they have waterfalls, I'm tossing up though with them, Masterton or Mojo Oliveri sinks, taps and white goods are a piece of junk according to the reviews. The builder providing those into his houses (even as basic inclusions) loses credibility on spot. I don't see how and why 40 mm edge is considered to be really better than 20 mm (and waterfalls too). For modern minimalist interiors it is rather a drawback. Tiles and carpets for custom designed homes? Next builder, please. I believe that truly custom home builder should not be offering any inclusions at all Everything should be provided based on the customer preferences from scratch ideally via intuitive Web or mobile configurator tool. Its funny how you know so much, you may want to look at the difference between Custom home and Architecturally designed, home builder with inclusions as opposed to an endless budget (based on the customer preferences from scratch) I don't look at reviews as most of them are written by people like you, who just want to be keyboard warriors, stamp their opinion on everything no matter how out of touch with reality it is. Everyone has bad reviews, and normally its only the sooks of the world that do the reviews, I had a bad experience with Technika, I had a bad experience with Miele both ends of the spectrum. Did I cry about it on line. No. Its the world we live in. You state that "for modern minimalist interiors it is rather a drawback" again YOUR opinion, yet 9 out of 10 people in a display village scenario ask the sales people "is 40mm included!" Can you please direct me to your website so I can come to the wrong conclusions, state my own personal opinion and pick apart your building company and the processes you go through! Oh, hang on. Are you a builder, do you have a job? Or just a keyboard warrior stamping your opinions on others on the tax payers dime, Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 16Jul 09, 2020 12:33 pm Keyboard warrior or not, no one can argue that reviews are important feedback engine between consumer and the manufacturer and although GrahamB (as a building manager and direct representative for Kastel and Designer Homes, from I can get) is not looking into them, it is still remains an important instrument and deciding factor for the majority of the consumers. One or two complaints is generally not an issue, but dozens of them with similar problem backed up by responses from the manufacturer rep in the light of "scratches are just property of the material" is quite noticeable red flag. If you, as a builder, is not interested in "this whining", then how I can be confident that you are doing due diligence on your structural material suppliers and listening to the complaints from your own customers? May be you are simply telling them that "other builders' customers also had bad experience and this is the world we live in"? Custom home is custom home no matter who is really designed it - an architect or just a house designer. I have seen house designers who design on an architect level and vice versa. I understand the reality of Australian markets where builders are mainly competing with each other in the set of inclusions while the customers are using set of inclusions for a head to head comparison (instead of let's say house few plans you have designed and proud of, published set of 3rd party inspection reports including pictures during the building stages of your homes available online for everyone's review). But if you are in custom homes business (and therefore charge extra on top of standard project home costs), it probably makes a lot of sense to provide custom set of the inclusions too. You are not in the same game as project builders, after all! How specifically do you guys stand out when it gets to the build and design quality rather than set of standard inclusions? Will you be able to provide full list your existing customers and provide new potential customer an ability to interview ALL of them or at least some of them randomly? I am not even asking for the reports as none of the builders will be providing those, however, for a lot of people this kind of openness could become a deciding factor. Anyway, I am just a keyboard warrior, so please do not take anything I write seriously. Probably, Oliveri is not that bad at all. At least their pricing looks upmarket and their designs look good (this is what most customers purchase based upon?). Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 17Jul 09, 2020 1:27 pm GrahamB Heard good things about these guys, only new small builder though, this could be a negative, inclusions look good. http://www.kastelandesignerhomes.com.au What good things did you hear about them? Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 18Jul 09, 2020 4:38 pm alexp79 Keyboard warrior or not, no one can argue that reviews are important feedback engine between consumer and the manufacturer and although GrahamB (as a building manager and direct representative for Kastel and Designer Homes, from I can get) is not looking into them, it is still remains an important instrument and deciding factor for the majority of the consumers. One or two complaints is generally not an issue, but dozens of them with similar problem backed up by responses from the manufacturer rep in the light of "scratches are just property of the material" is quite noticeable red flag. If you, as a builder, is not interested in "this whining", then how I can be confident that you are doing due diligence on your structural material suppliers and listening to the complaints from your own customers? May be you are simply telling them that "other builders' customers also had bad experience and this is the world we live in"? Custom home is custom home no matter who is really designed it - an architect or just a house designer. I have seen house designers who design on an architect level and vice versa. I understand the reality of Australian markets where builders are mainly competing with each other in the set of inclusions while the customers are using set of inclusions for a head to head comparison (instead of let's say house few plans you have designed and proud of, published set of 3rd party inspection reports including pictures during the building stages of your homes available online for everyone's review). But if you are in custom homes business (and therefore charge extra on top of standard project home costs), it probably makes a lot of sense to provide custom set of the inclusions too. You are not in the same game as project builders, after all! How specifically do you guys stand out when it gets to the build and design quality rather than set of standard inclusions? Will you be able to provide full list your existing customers and provide new potential customer an ability to interview ALL of them or at least some of them randomly? I am not even asking for the reports as none of the builders will be providing those, however, for a lot of people this kind of openness could become a deciding factor. Anyway, I am just a keyboard warrior, so please do not take anything I write seriously. Probably, Oliveri is not that bad at all. At least their pricing looks upmarket and their designs look good (this is what most customers purchase based upon?). I am actually a construction consultant that works with many different builders, what builder would be stupid enough to listen to your pathetic ramble and give clients names out to perspective customers, you are an idiot, its against privacy laws. Unlike you, I don't have the time to google everything to seem to be smart, I do what I do because I enjoy it and I enjoy working with smaller builders who do and always will put people before profit. Since you know more than the rest of the world answer me this, without inclusions, how do clients compare builders, without inclusions, how do companies price. And contrary to your belief about custom homes costing more, they DONT!!! it is perceived that way, the only thing that costs more on a custom home is the drawing of the home, everything else from that moment on is the same. Do you really think they pay a bricklayer more? If you do then you're definitely not in the building industry Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 19Jul 09, 2020 5:01 pm Generally, it is being agreed with the clients that they are agreeable to provide a reference via email or phone, this is how most of builders work. The most advanced ones agree and organise visits to the houses pre-selected by the potential customer. Calling people's names and getting personal doesn't really increase your credibility here. Even project builders provide customers with several sets of inclusions and allow to dynamically vary between them. Having a an online (or offline) spreadsheet where customer can "play" with the inclusions and see the price difference effect can be a good starting point. And yes, custom homes will generally cost more when comparing to project homes due a set of factors, mainly due to the custom materials being used (which are not always purchased in substantial bulk amounts and oftentimes are even purchased by the customers themselves), more skilled traders required for more complicated (and lengthy!) jobs e.g., not every gyprocker can do coved ceilings well. Not every builder can build reverse brick veneer or hybrid construction or rammed earth wall. Nowadays, unfortunately, not every builder is experienced enough to put together a conventional rafted slab. Not every plumber knows can install a manifold plumbing system. Not every electrician knows how to design and run nicely looking conduits or can install smart switches. Those are all just few examples of custom preferences which custom builders can address, based on my experience and experience of my friends who built with custom builders. Nope, you may not be paying bricklayer more, but bricklayer will certainly charge you more for the jobs which take them more to complete. Even being a reputable building consultant, there is always opportunity to learn more and start thinking out of box. Re: Is Masterton Homes worth going for? 20Jul 09, 2020 5:02 pm GrahamB It is not against privacy laws to give clients names out to perspective customers if the clients have given their permission for this. Transparent and smart builders will provide such contacts, supported in this by their satisfied customers. Good builders will have nothing to hide here. This is common business practice that makes sense for builder and client which I recommend every prospective customer insists on. If they won't provide these contacts its a danger sign, thank them politely and walk away. Consider that most anonymous '5 star' posts about builders on social media are not genuine. Volume builders operate a high volume 'low cost' production line business model which means cheaper contractors, building materials, and administration, and minimal building supervision or QA costs etc. which enables them to provide a more affordable build. You get what you pay for. Hi I am wanting some opinions about the build of a steel shed I am going to get one about 4.5 x 2.5 m steel shed and the height will be about 2.3-2.4m high The one I am… 0 14458 I would never build with Fowler homes. 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