Hi, I am looking to build a home, so far Im waiting for a contract on the block, got a per approval bank in the works

Question is who should I go with???

So far I'm looking at

Fairmount
Rosdale
Statesman Homes
Format (Never heard of them until started looking)
AV Jennings

The block is a small one & I don't have a massive budget (130 000 max) for the house.

Any Ideas...

Edited by unitedgal: 3/4/2013 03:31:01 PM

Have you considered an homage to Native Americans by constructing either a wigwam or tepee on the land?

Ha ha - would be cheaper :) but not practical..

Camper vans, what up!

What are you looking for in the house ? How many rooms ? How many toilets ? Do you want a theatre room /alfresco areas ? Do the packages come with extras paid for ie fence and concreting ? Also dont fall in the trap of who's cheaper as all companies usually do some cost cutting to get you In the quicker .

Have you considered making the house out paddlepop sticks?

To be fair, it's Adelaide...a couple of 44 gallon drums and bob's your uncle.

The rest of you are NOT HELPING....


here is some plans that will fit on my block

http://www.hickinbotham.com.au/page/content/dynamic_house_designs_type/532

http://www.statesman-homes.com.au/house_designs/view/124/prospect

http://www.fairmonthomes.com.au/home-collection/Vermont

My problem is knowing who to go with, not what type of home I want

I'll eat a 10-pack of paddlepops and mail you the sticks. That'll be a help. 10 less ice-creams you're going to have to eat...

The big issue here is do I go for Banana flavour or Rainbow? :-k :-k :-k

Have you had a geotechnical investigation done yet?

If not, don't even look at plans and layouts until you know what you're dealing with.

This so much . Never ever go into blind . My wife and I research to make sure everything was done before building .

Also talk to the builders reps . Ask numerous questions , go with your gut don't be persuaded on going over your budget . They can put in things to suit your budget

Im pretty stubborn...I wont go over what I can afford


EDIT - Used google, looks like its re soil testing etc.

I think im safe - the land is owned by the Government through Public Trustee. They are knocking down trust homes and selling the land

Edited by UnitedGal: 3/4/2013 08:24:48 PM

Edited by UnitedGal: 3/4/2013 08:26:06 PM

I thought about helping. But it's far more entertaining if I don't.

Ok being serious, do not go with a large builder. Go talk to the smaller ones (the 70-100 home/annum builders) and with a plan that you like and then draw it up with them. You are going to get better finishing, better workmanship and more bang for your buck out of them than with a large builder. I will post a few builders I have had recommended to me in this thread with their contact details once I get hold of them.

You should be safe with government owned land . Usually they will test the land before selling to developers who usually retest the land to make sure they can build and make profit. Disagree with g.a on going with small builders,I know some small builders who make the big boys look like angels,end of the day they are in it to make money .Shop around and ask as many questions as possible , don't be afraid to be a hard ass ,considering you are paying them to build your home .

Edited by mvfcarsenal16.8: 3/4/2013 10:39:01 PM

I am just going from personal experience and first hand accounts, I have also heard brilliant things about big builders - but that generally was because of the site manager, have a good one and everything is awesome, have a bad one and the shit hits the fan.

Agree g.a .I've had a great experience with my builder due to the fact my site manager was brilliant .my cousin went wwith a small builder who happened to be his wife's best friend and he shafted my cousin big time . Went over budget and house materials and the like were crap. But in saying that building is a massive task that will enrich your life as its yours

Personally I would never use friends or family to do anything related to money, too many ways for the shit to hit the fan!

Yep it does . Man all this talk about building is making me look forward to the building course Im gonna do !

Sometimes but not always, they may rely on any original soil tests which are well outdated.

My strongest recommendation is that you pay for a geotechnical report and not a soil test. Soil tests are about 300-500$ and aren't worth the paper they're written on. Geotechnical reports cost a great deal more (up to $1500) but it could save you thousands in footings and footing design.

I can't stress this enough. It amuses me greatly when fuckwits complain about how much actual engineers cost to do a simple job and then come back with pleasantries when their $300 soil test results in a footing design that is 10x the cost of getting a proper report in the first place.

Hey there no offence but what size home are you thinking of building with 130k?
And how big is the land? What are the builders offering with that amount?

Make sure you wire the place up with network cables.

At least 2 in each room, 4 or 6 in any room that you expect technology things (like a living room with TV) going to a central location like a network cupboard, which has it's own power connections (for modems/routers), a phone line (for ADSL), and some kind of ethernet link to the likely installation point for the NBN.

i can't give advice on adelaide, but have a little bit of advice on building homes in general.

i didn't recognise too many of the building company names in your OP, but i'm going to reference ones i know (i assume nsw ones?). the likes of montgomery, mastertons, etc etc are great at what they're used to doing - same look houses everywhere. they'll get it done without a fuss, and you just have to pick some colours & stuff. simple and easy.

the problem is they're not very unique at all, and they don't like to stray too far from what they know. the moment you want to move too many walls around etc - they start to wig out.

if you go to a smaller company, possibly with an architect design and a small builder, you have to be a lot more involved. my parents are building a place now, getting it architect-designed & getting a local builder to do the work. but my dad doesn't have the time to "manage" the project, and my mum spins out when faced with makng a decision without 3 people saying they agree with it, so they're actually hiring a building project manager to basically act as my dad and govern everything that happens. apparently your non-big-building-companies tend to do shortcuts/make decisions for you/etc and you really need someone there on a regular basis to tell them to do/don't do particular things.

so my advice is if you have time/patience/know-how, go with the smaller companies. if you don't want fuss & are too busy to be receiving phone calls regularly, go with the big mob and let them sort the fuss.

good luck with it all, hope it turns out awesome

I built my house in Adelaide and went with a small builder Clairsville Constructions. I went straight to the archetect first and drew up my plans according to how I liked it rather than picking a set plan that fits on your block. I used this to obtain quotes from different builders. All in all everyone that I know are never satisfied with how the process workd out. Delays, mistakes nothing ever goes 100% smoothly. You can only build to your budget and there are budget builders and quality builders and quality builders. Do your homework and ask lots of questions and talk to people who have built with the prospective builders so ask for references.

pv4 - those I suggested were Adelaide based builders. I know Metricom is moving into Adelaide based in Melbourne


I put 3 links to what type of quote

I had a builder from Rossdale homes come to me as my Uncle knew him and he was in the area -

http://www.rossdalehomes.com.au/home/bolero - he is using this plan as a basis as it fits my block due to what we think the council will let us do bbut giving me a quote based on what I told him. He is also going to call the council for me to get the ins and outs of the restrictions which is great!

Homeshow in Adelaide??

Try a building forum-there are a few out there

You need to decide whether an off the shelf plan meets your expectation.Try display homes to try and picture just what you want/need.
You'd be surprised just how little you do need-(13 or 14 square can suffice)Many folks have houses that are far too excessive- including myself
As someone that works in the housing industry, it's quite obvious that hardly anyone wants to think outside the square
Have had a number of clients that have drawn plans for their house where building is done in stages as the family grows and more funds become available

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Ohh, nice

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