Million dollar home in Perth

shaidas · Sep 18, 2021 5:50 pm

That is exactly what I was told by Ken, the sales guy, so I went down and met their Director and he confirmed that Riverstone has never changed a quoted price or passed on increase in cost to clients. My mistake was I did not take it in writing. I did take it in writing that I will be free to bring in my own trade or supplies if I see it being more cost effective but not the cost hike.

If it is Ken you are dealing with or whoever it is, tell them you spoke to Shai and I have suggested that you should get that in writing as a part of the contract. They use a standard contract which allows them to pass on the cost rise should they wish. That is what almost made me walk away when they surprised us with the 60k hike. Mark visited us with all his comparative costing from when we signed and current supplier invoices and since any new builder would have charged us the cost increase, we decided to continue. What you are being quoted now likely has the cost rise factored in but given the current times, there is no way of knowing whether it will get better or worse so take it in writing from whoever you chose to build with.

Wrt variations, their interior designer Nadia has a very good sense of style and a lot of experience. Her services are included in their price. Designing phase was done before contract signing and was only for the look and feel and room layouts based on our feedback and needs. The storage/cupboards/WIR/kitchen/lighting all came later and were suggested by Nadia and revised by us. They have been very accommodating with minor variations and Nadia has told us the areas that we are better of getting done ourselves to save the builder's margins. They do not charge like project builders for every small thing and in some cases variations have reduced the contract price for us.

One thing to note is that they allocate 8k for a WIR and that is way too low. Even before price rises 8k would not get you much in terms of a custom hand made designs compliant WIR, now it is worse. This is my first build and I had no idea of costs of things like WIRs , staircases, Lifts, Pools, Landscaping etc. Knowing that helps to check the allocations made by the builder. Lower allocations makes the contract price look more attractive. And conversely they also tend to use the best and most expensive in everything so there is a scope to save money with things like smart wiring/security, Lift, Lighting etc if you know what you want.

Overall everything has been excellent so far barring the 60k hike. Hope that helps and feel free to ping me if you need more info.

AsxTradingGirl · Sep 19, 2021 10:44 am

shaidas

That is exactly what I was told by Ken, the sales guy, so I went down and met their Director and he confirmed that Riverstone has never changed a quoted price or passed on increase in cost to clients. My mistake was I did not take it in writing. I did take it in writing that I will be free to bring in my own trade or supplies if I see it being more cost effective but not the cost hike.

If it is Ken you are dealing with or whoever it is, tell them you spoke to Shai and I have suggested that you should get that in writing as a part of the contract. They use a standard contract which allows them to pass on the cost rise should they wish. That is what almost made me walk away when they surprised us with the 60k hike. Mark visited us with all his comparative costing from when we signed and current supplier invoices and since any new builder would have charged us the cost increase, we decided to continue. What you are being quoted now likely has the cost rise factored in but given the current times, there is no way of knowing whether it will get better or worse so take it in writing from whoever you chose to build with.

Wrt variations, their interior designer Nadia has a very good sense of style and a lot of experience. Her services are included in their price. Designing phase was done before contract signing and was only for the look and feel and room layouts based on our feedback and needs. The storage/cupboards/WIR/kitchen/lighting all came later and were suggested by Nadia and revised by us. They have been very accommodating with minor variations and Nadia has told us the areas that we are better of getting done ourselves to save the builder's margins. They do not charge like project builders for every small thing and in some cases variations have reduced the contract price for us.

One thing to note is that they allocate 8k for a WIR and that is way too low. Even before price rises 8k would not get you much in terms of a custom hand made designs compliant WIR, now it is worse. This is my first build and I had no idea of costs of things like WIRs , staircases, Lifts, Pools, Landscaping etc. Knowing that helps to check the allocations made by the builder. Lower allocations makes the contract price look more attractive. And conversely they also tend to use the best and most expensive in everything so there is a scope to save money with things like smart wiring/security, Lift, Lighting etc if you know what you want.

Overall everything has been excellent so far barring the 60k hike. Hope that helps and feel free to ping me if you need more info.

Thanks so much for your detailed response Shai. I will ask them to put ‘no increase to quoted price’ in the contract. I do have that in an email however the contract is the right place for it. When you have some time, please share the things you are planning on doing yourself. Are you putting in a fibre glass or concrete pool? That is one decision I have to make. This is my first build also! Exciting but daunting at the same time. My build is at a similar price point to you and around 500sqm.

I did ask them about rainwater collection which she is looking in to. I understand they put in the points for solar but it’s a ‘do it yourself’ thing. It’s hard to know what would be obtained at a trade discount vs sourcing yourself. It’s also hard to get good tradespeople sometimes.

shaidas · Sep 19, 2021 3:11 pm

I did a lot of research even before I selected the builder as I am sure you have done. I had done the soil tests and engineering reports done beforehand and asked Riverstone to not charge me for that at any stage so they deducted that from their quote. Basic approach was very simple, I looked at the quote, took the biggest numbers and checked whether I can get it done cheaper at the same level of quality. Riverstone uses pretty high level experienced trades who have been building with them from the get go so in some cases it is better to pay more and use their staff. When I started out things were turning more expensive, now things are worse with acute shortage in almost every trade and item, so my approach may not work, bear that in mind. Another thing is anything you do on your own, Riverstone obviously will not warranty it or any other damage it does to the structural work.

We had a house on the block so first thing was demo. We did that ourselves but Riverstone gave us a few names. This saved us a bit.

Aircon, do it yourself.. it will be cheaper.

Solar , do it yourself.. it will be cheaper.

Smart wiring, do it yourself. Riverstone uses the biggest name in town and they charge like a wounded bull. Same with security.

Here are the rest of the areas where you might save ..

Windows and doors..Avanti (Italian) vs Jason( Aussie/Chinese) .. big difference in pricing and quality.. go to their display homes. see it for yourself and decide. We have gone with a mix. We have an upside down house with a large glass sliding door overlooking the swan river. This was probably the biggest price saver for us.

Stairs.. if you like traditional stairs ..not a problem.. stick with Riverstone. But if you want something else be prepared for the cost.. a floating staircase can be very expensive, as can be any other diversion like concrete or stone. Riverstone is a traditional company , they do not like to experiment outside their comfort zone. I imagine because quality matters to them. So if you want something unique you are on your own.

Flooring is a big cost in a 500 sq house. If you are looking at tiling stick with them as their tilers are very very good unless you know someone who does a better job. You can buy the tiles on your own for cash and that will save some money. If going with wood or concrete use your own, find the best deal with a company or person with experience and good reputation. We will have Marri flooring with our own supplier and installer. Tiling and carpeting we have left to Riverstone.

Swimming pool is another big ticket item, if you do not mind the feel of a fibre glass bed , stick to fibre glass as it is cheaper and can support salt water systems without any corrosion and may last longer. I chose concrete because I wanted a fresh water pool and dislike the feel of fibre glass underfoot. My pool is built up to the foundation so I was never going to risk hiring another company but I did take quotes and surprisingly Riverstone were cheaper than the quotes I received. So they are doing the swimming pool and fence.

Lift is another big ticket item.. if you have that, get your own do not use Riverstone. We have saved a fair bit here.

Appliances, if you want Miele then stick with Riverstone because Miele does not offer discounts to anyone. If not.. you can save a lot here if you are willing to buy and hold when a sale comes on. We went with a mix of Miele and Non Miele. Our Butler's pantry is a wet kitchen, all Non Miele appliances from Rick Hart's seconds. Main kitchen is all Miele. We have saved a lot here.

Landscaping, do not use Riverstone. As soon as the house plan is finalised get a good landscaper to draw up a design most councils need a plan these days and you will need that to get the approval to start building. You will need to be careful with your selection here because designing a landscape needs a lot of knowledge and skill.. do not use a gumtree landscaper for the design. Riverstone uses Tim Davies, they are very good but very expensive. Once you have the plan which outlines species, retic etc get quotes on implementing the design and go with what you think is right. Big savings here.

Paving, in our case it is exposed aggregate , no one can guarantee it will not crack so in our case we will use our own and save money.

Fireplace, we wanted a 2 sided real wood fireplace, pretty expensive saved a lot by buying it ourselves when the sales came on. Obviously I had done the research before hand.

Lighting is a big ticket item. Riverstone uses a local company to provide a lighting blueprint where they give you a plan what light is needed where. Unfortunately while I know that the same lights are available online way cheaper, they are not Australian standards approved so Riverstone will not install them. Having said that..I have tried to find a better alternative but in Australia there is none unless you are an electrician in which case woohoo massive savings here. Otherwise no savings here.. you can of course replace individual lights with cheaper lights over the course of the year that it will take to build your house, as sales come on. But the lighting designer knows her wares and her client..very impressive details in the plans.

Inbuilt bbq ..do yourself a favour do not waste money, looks cool, has no value. Save some money there.

Fans.. buy them yourselves and do not forget to put an electric charging point in your garage..may seem useless now , 3 years down the track you will thank me.

Hope that saves you some money..ask if you need more info, But barring the 60k jolt, the supervisor replies to me instantly, the sales guy replies instantly even now if we have any issues. Like I said I read a lot of horror stories on building but Riverstone seems to be doing the right thing all along so get the no price rise in writing and you will be golden. So far Riverstone have been pretty good except the 60k.

shaidas · Sep 19, 2021 3:36 pm

And I forgot to mention, as soon as the plan is finalised, shop around and find a WIR company that makes a WIR that works for you. Pay them to lock in the price. Actually pay every supplier an advance to lock in the price if you can. If prices do not rise you do not lose. If they do rise you save.

AsxTradingGirl · Sep 19, 2021 6:32 pm

shaidas

And I forgot to mention, as soon as the plan is finalised, shop around and find a WIR company that makes a WIR that works for you. Pay them to lock in the price. Actually pay every supplier an advance to lock in the price if you can. If prices do not rise you do not lose. If they do rise you save.

Ah yes, you did mention that previously. BTW, how do you know the allocated amounts for each item? At the quote stage, they just have listed ‘included’ for everything and when I asked the price they said it all makes up the base build cost. Did you get a detailed breakdown during the detailed design and planning phase?

shaidas · Sep 19, 2021 9:24 pm

I would have thought that is obvious. This is a custom builder. Your house is not a cookie cutter design where the builder knows the costs beforehand because they have built a display home and 10s of the same design and layout. They will give you a cost before signing the contract. For that stage you have to pay them to get your design done so that they can design the house and cost what you want in your house. That should have been evident. I hope I have not wasted my time trying to help you Not sure if you are looking at building with Riverstone or what exactly you want but hopefully I have helped you out. Ah well, I suppose anyone using a custom builder will get help from my post. I wish someone had detailed it out like I have before I decided to build.

AsxTradingGirl · Sep 19, 2021 10:42 pm

shaidas

I would have thought that is obvious. This is a custom builder. Your house is not a cookie cutter design where the builder knows the costs beforehand because they have built a display home and 10s of the same design and layout. They will give you a cost before signing the contract. For that stage you have to pay them to get your design done so that they can design the house and cost what you want in your house. That should have been evident. I hope I have not wasted my time trying to help you Not sure if you are looking at building with Riverstone or what exactly you want but hopefully I have helped you out. Ah well, I suppose anyone using a custom builder will get help from my post. I wish someone had detailed it out like I have before I decided to build.

Apologies, I was not sure how you were aware of the cost breakdown since Riverstone have not mentioned that I would get a cost breakdown at the detailed design stage, which we are about to do next - 2% of the cost of the home, detailed design and council planning. You have been super helpful Shai, thanks for taking the time to respond.

shaidas · Sep 19, 2021 10:56 pm

AsxTradingGirl

shaidas

I would have thought that is obvious. This is a custom builder. Your house is not a cookie cutter design where the builder knows the costs beforehand because they have built a display home and 10s of the same design and layout. They will give you a cost before signing the contract. For that stage you have to pay them to get your design done so that they can design the house and cost what you want in your house. That should have been evident. I hope I have not wasted my time trying to help you Not sure if you are looking at building with Riverstone or what exactly you want but hopefully I have helped you out. Ah well, I suppose anyone using a custom builder will get help from my post. I wish someone had detailed it out like I have before I decided to build.

Apologies, I was not sure how you were aware of the cost breakdown since Riverstone have not mentioned that I would get a cost breakdown at the detailed design stage, which we are about to do next - 2% of the cost of the home, detailed design and council planning. You have been super helpful Shai, thanks for taking the time to respond.

No, Riverstone do not take percentages so obviously you are not quite true in your intentions or they have changed their stance which is quite easy for me to confirm since their director is an email away. Percentage is more Seacrest style.. Well I do not know what you want or why you started this conversation but best of luck with your build if you are building. Hopefully I have helped some other people who are looking at building a house to their needs.

AsxTradingGirl · Sep 19, 2021 11:12 pm

Here is there process: https://riverstone.com.au/our-process/#design-process

See the "Concept Design" section:

Concept design

This is one of the steps clients find the most exciting because they can really start to visualise what their new luxury home will look like. As part of our design service, we’ll present you with a 3D elevation that helps you see your new home from all angles. We’ll also present a budget estimate at this point.

Once you’re completely happy with the concept plans, we’ll ask you to sign off on your Preparation of Plans Agreement (PPA) and pay a non-refundable contract package fee, which is 2% of the budget estimate.

shaidas · Sep 19, 2021 11:27 pm

You got that off their website aye ? Have you engaged with a sales consultant yet ? That blurb refers to post design stage. ONCE YOU ARE COMPLETELY HAPPY WITH THE CONCEPT PLANS. Have you got the concept plan sorted ? What is your name and which sales consultant are you engaged with ? If you are genuine good for you ..I shall do all I can to help you out .

shaidas · Sep 19, 2021 11:53 pm

Well you had me going there for a second scamster. Most people building in the million plus range are not looking online but that is changing rapidly so hopefully this helps someone out and my effort in posting does not go to waste

AsxTradingGirl · Sep 20, 2021 12:28 am

I am not a scamster. Our design consultant is Anna. We do have concept plans which don't have detail - that only comes at the next stage after I pay 2% of the build budget. The concept comes with a Quotation Report. Ours Quotation report does not have line item amounts which is what I was asking you. Maybe you had the flooring etc. added as Provisional Sums?? She told me that they don't break down the amounts, but maybe they do after you get the Detailed Design, which is our next step. I don't understand why you think I'm a scammer, I was legitimately asking about the process you went through but I'll just ask Anna instead.

shaidas · Sep 20, 2021 12:34 am

Mate , there is no Anna in Riverstone. You are not a girl. You are just trying too hard .. everything comes with time. Stop struggling so hard and making a joke of yourself. Or keep trying.. your choice kid.

chippy · Sep 20, 2021 1:05 am

shaidas

Mate , there is no Anna in Riverstone. You are not a girl. You are just trying too hard .. everything comes with time. Stop struggling so hard and making a joke of yourself. Or keep trying.. your choice kid.

Hey Shaidas. I think you might want to chill a little bit.
ASX seems to be asking legit questions and you are acting quite rude.
I just googled Riverstone and Anna Pearce is their deign consultant so maybe you are the one who is wrong.
I don't understand the hostility??

Noname · Sep 20, 2021 9:03 am

chippy

shaidas

Mate , there is no Anna in Riverstone. You are not a girl. You are just trying too hard .. everything comes with time. Stop struggling so hard and making a joke of yourself. Or keep trying.. your choice kid.

Hey Shaidas. I think you might want to chill a little bit.
ASX seems to be asking legit questions and you are acting quite rude.
I just googled Riverstone and Anna Pearce is their deign consultant so maybe you are the one who is wrong.
I don't understand the hostility??

didnt you know, building a million dollar house in Perth earns one the right to be a cnut.

Homeone123 · Sep 21, 2021 1:06 am

Long time lurker but just joined to comment on this hilarious thread of 2 perth millionaires trying to have a dik measuring competition- Gold.

Noname · Sep 21, 2021 6:59 am

Homeone123

Long time lurker but just joined to comment on this hilarious thread of 2 perth millionaires trying to have a dik measuring competition- Gold.

Actually is just one misogynistic Perth millionaire who for some reason reads subtext in posts that doesn't exist and flys off the handle like a 5 year old who just had their toy broken.

Doozer1905 · Sep 23, 2021 12:05 am

shaidas

Windows and doors..Avanti (Italian) vs Jason( Aussie/Chinese)

That is completely wrong information

Doozer1905 · Sep 23, 2021 12:15 am

shaidas

Mate , there is no Anna in Riverstone. You are not a girl. You are just trying too hard .. everything comes with time. Stop struggling so hard and making a joke of yourself. Or keep trying.. your choice kid.

I think the bigger joke is on you, you keep digging a bigger hole. Get over yourself

Noname · Sep 23, 2021 7:42 am

I'm a bit disappointed this loser hasn't bitten back. Must be doing more important things, cos you know, rich people don't use the internet much (though that's apparently changing).