Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Anybody building at Googong ? 1072Mar 17, 2014 6:14 pm Building a modified Ambassador Elite with MJH Re: Anybody building at Googong ? 1075Mar 18, 2014 9:39 am TheGoogs Hi All, I've just joined as my wife and I are strongly considering looking in a lot in 4b. We've placed our names in the ballot so hopefully will find out this weekend. So crossed fingers we get in early to choose our lot. We are close to locking in MJH as our builder they seem very popular in the area and their designs have impressed us over Classic and Blackett. At this point what are some broad recommendations from the forum? Particularly which bits we should be doing through the builder and which through independent contractors. Lastly how to we keep the bastards honest?? Are they typically willing to negotiate on prices? TheGongs - there are quotes on here about MJH wardrobes that you should read, they don't provide much on internals and also about not starting your build on time may cost with MJH, so have a read. Blackett apparently are signing contracts for 18 months in advance at fixed prices not sure who else does this - pagdia Re: Anybody building at Googong ? 1076Mar 18, 2014 5:16 pm uncyspam Blackett and Classic both do custom design. Looking at their designs is an idea if what you can do. Our design with Blackett bears no resemblance at all to any of those designs. Mjh only offers standard designs, and you can customise them a little. This means that if they have a standard that you like that fits nicely on your block and orients well, then great, otherwise you will be far better off choosing a full custom design. Don't let the cost deter you, the cost of mjh putting their design on your block will be similar to a custom design. I'm doing everything except floor coverings, window coverings and landscaping through the builder. Some are doing their own fencing, retaining walls or more, but I found our builders prices to be consistent with what I could organise myself, with the added bonus that I don't have to organise anything. If you feel that the sales agent isn't being honest, then no matter what you do, your build isn't going work out very well. You need to build a good relationship with your builder, you will be working together for some time to come. Personally I found some builders agents to be extremely difficult to deal with, so they were removed from my list very quickly. Most of the builders are kept "honest" on price by the market forces at play - getting another quote elsewhere will quickly show you if they are playing silly buggers. Don't forget to check and double check inclusions. Some builders do NOT include some things in their upfront quoted price that you can't possibly finish your house without. My quote from MJH had costs for approvals and so on that some others include in thier base price. Some include floor coverings or landscaping, others don't. Some include very small allowances for kitchens or nothing at all for Laundries. Lastly, if you haven't chosen your block yet, go talk to a couple of builders and see what they think of the block. Talk them about the fall, orientation to north, how hard it will be to get your BASIX approval considering orientation etc. While all that stuff probably hasn't entered your mind yet, it needs to - fall over your land can cost many 10's of thousands of dollars over a flat piece of land, orientation of your living areas to north is (in my opinion) absolutely essential in our climate, and will make your house a nice place to be, rather than always cold or hot (or always needing heating or cooling!) and will also effect the cost of getting your BASIX certification. Thank you for this great advice it's been really useful. Currently looking at a north south block near Gorman Homestead which as I stand is on top of a hill/rise, so will also be considering 2 stories. Any positive or negative stories from Rawson homes? They have some interesting 2 story designs. Re: Anybody building at Googong ? 1077Mar 20, 2014 3:08 pm Well fences will be down on Monday so finally we will be able to step foot on our block!!! I have still been feeling a bit down about the delays but i am doing some retail therapy to fix this. I have now bought some magnolias for the garden and we're heading to some furniture shops this weekend! Freedom has a buy 1 lounge, get 1 free deal at the moment... Hopefully we find something! How's everyone else going?! Re: Anybody building at Googong ? 1078Mar 20, 2014 3:18 pm TheGoogs uncyspam Blackett and Classic both do custom design. Looking at their designs is an idea if what you can do. Our design with Blackett bears no resemblance at all to any of those designs. Mjh only offers standard designs, and you can customise them a little. This means that if they have a standard that you like that fits nicely on your block and orients well, then great, otherwise you will be far better off choosing a full custom design. Don't let the cost deter you, the cost of mjh putting their design on your block will be similar to a custom design. I'm doing everything except floor coverings, window coverings and landscaping through the builder. Some are doing their own fencing, retaining walls or more, but I found our builders prices to be consistent with what I could organise myself, with the added bonus that I don't have to organise anything. If you feel that the sales agent isn't being honest, then no matter what you do, your build isn't going work out very well. You need to build a good relationship with your builder, you will be working together for some time to come. Personally I found some builders agents to be extremely difficult to deal with, so they were removed from my list very quickly. Most of the builders are kept "honest" on price by the market forces at play - getting another quote elsewhere will quickly show you if they are playing silly buggers. Don't forget to check and double check inclusions. Some builders do NOT include some things in their upfront quoted price that you can't possibly finish your house without. My quote from MJH had costs for approvals and so on that some others include in thier base price. Some include floor coverings or landscaping, others don't. Some include very small allowances for kitchens or nothing at all for Laundries. Lastly, if you haven't chosen your block yet, go talk to a couple of builders and see what they think of the block. Talk them about the fall, orientation to north, how hard it will be to get your BASIX approval considering orientation etc. While all that stuff probably hasn't entered your mind yet, it needs to - fall over your land can cost many 10's of thousands of dollars over a flat piece of land, orientation of your living areas to north is (in my opinion) absolutely essential in our climate, and will make your house a nice place to be, rather than always cold or hot (or always needing heating or cooling!) and will also effect the cost of getting your BASIX certification. Thank you for this great advice it's been really useful. Currently looking at a north south block near Gorman Homestead which as I stand is on top of a hill/rise, so will also be considering 2 stories. Any positive or negative stories from Rawson homes? They have some interesting 2 story designs. That block certainly sounds nice- when do you find out if it's yours? My sister in law built with Rawson in crace. They built the Chifley 35 and had many, many dramas! The build took a long time and they had a huge list of problems after the 90 day maintenance period. It has put them off building again but in the end they have a beautiful home. They have built 2 homes and their experience this time around was much worse... I have heard fantastic reviews on Rawson as well though! Have a look at both the mjh and Rawson threads on this forum and you will get a huge amount of info Re: Anybody building at Googong ? 1079Mar 20, 2014 7:54 pm Some good news for all those following the NBN. Looks like as of today, the NBNCo Website has updated Googong 1A/1C to service available from build commenced. http://www.nbnco.com.au/when-do-i-get-i ... ut:hro:img Would be cool if anyone tell us when they get NBN! (Or even order it from a ISP - call up and just enquire) Re: Anybody building at Googong ? 1080Mar 20, 2014 8:55 pm Nice find Googonga. Was searching about this the other day to find some more info. Will have to pop the lid tomorrow and find out if the cable is there. Fingers crossed it is as this was the one of the main reasons we waited for googong. I have also emailed IINET asking if it is available or not. Hey guys building a new place through a volume builder and just wondering if i should complain to the site supervisor as we just had plasterboard installed. Looks like… 0 11798 Elvis has left the building... The site supervisor quit after 2 month on the project. I guess he was just instructed to bark at people, but didn't like when he was… 26 21565 |