Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Building with Oakford Homes 9Nov 12, 2022 4:15 pm chucky20old Hi all, After a few months of looking at other builders and getting estimates etc (we have our own plan from a previous attempt to build that didn't progress) and have just paid the preliminaries deposit with Oakford. Their quote was quite reasonable and the consultant was very helpful. We are going to build at Mt Barker. I would be interested to hear of others experiences with Oakford, how close was the original quote to what the final contract price was, was the footings estimate accurate, and were you able to supply any items yourself e.g taps etc, or have other trades install things like air cond before handover? Appreciate everyone's advise and insights, with costs going up and house prices potentially coming down any advise is appreciated. Thanks Matt If you haven't had a soil and prelim engineers report then likely Oakford would have just quoted bare basic footings. So I'd prepare for an additional cost there (we're with a different builder and they've added 35k for example). I would also guess that there will be additional things added once you sit down with them again and go through more details. Hopefully they're fairly genuine and this won't be significant though. Re: Building with Oakford Homes 10Nov 12, 2022 4:25 pm Thanks Stonesthrow, Footings has been an interesting one, with estimates from other builders ranging up to $60k, Oakford estimate was $38k, didn't specify what soil type but was told they build a lot up at Mt barker and would have used an average. Doing a lot after the build, landscaping, driveway and paths, flooring etc so will be watching overall cost closely, its a fairly large house and not a lot of comparable properties in the area, so will be watching valuations closely. At the moment told from deposit to handover could be 22 months, I expect it wont be that long as the industry starts to get back to normal next year, i hope. Matt Re: Building with Oakford Homes 11Nov 12, 2022 4:50 pm chucky20old Thanks Stonesthrow, Footings has been an interesting one, with estimates from other builders ranging up to $60k, Oakford estimate was $38k, didn't specify what soil type but was told they build a lot up at Mt barker and would have used an average. Doing a lot after the build, landscaping, driveway and paths, flooring etc so will be watching overall cost closely, its a fairly large house and not a lot of comparable properties in the area, so will be watching valuations closely. At the moment told from deposit to handover could be 22 months, I expect it wont be that long as the industry starts to get back to normal next year, i hope. Matt We also got told 22-24 months from start to finish. Our builder made up some rubbish justification (delays with getting quotes, council, materials, trades) but I am assuming they're still very overwhelmed from existing work that they're just stalling with new clients. We've been stuck in pretty much the same position since March/April (we've had all the prelim stuff done) and the builder pretty much never gets back to us with updates. We would be fine to wait as long as they were just honest with us. I would ask Oakford to break down the estimated timing (clearly) so at least you're not in the dark like we are. Re: Building with Oakford Homes 12Nov 12, 2022 5:01 pm Yep definitely plan to ask for a more accurate estimate. The consultant did say that a lot of the backlog is starting to move through, combination of first homeowner grant builds and covid delays, allowing for a few months to get though the planning stages would like to think its going to ease up. Who are you building with, i'm the same as long as they keep me informed thats all I ask, although we do settle on the land next month so would rather not have to keep it maintained for 18 months if possible, Re: Building with Oakford Homes 13Nov 12, 2022 5:32 pm chucky20old Yep definitely plan to ask for a more accurate estimate. The consultant did say that a lot of the backlog is starting to move through, combination of first homeowner grant builds and covid delays, allowing for a few months to get though the planning stages would like to think its going to ease up. Who are you building with, i'm the same as long as they keep me informed thats all I ask, although we do settle on the land next month so would rather not have to keep it maintained for 18 months if possible, Yeah that's what we thought Things might be getting better but very slowly. Ask for references and speak to them. If they are defensive or try to avoid the request, walk. 1 76320 I would never build with Fowler homes. I built with them in 2021 and till date maintenance issues are pending. All their existing trades and businesses don't work with… 14 106966 Hi there! Putting the feelers out there for those who have (or almost) built with Arli homes! Interested in your experiences who've built from their stock home designs… 0 24860 |