Once you know your budget you will need to choose a new home builder that can build your home in your price bracket but take into consideration the types of homes they build, quality, speed, communication, etc.
Different types of New Home Builds
There are different types of builders generally classified into 4 groups
Project/volume builder who has a number of floorplans and facades to choose from
Project/volume builder who offers above as well as full custom builds
Custom builder who builds according to newly designed plans
Owner builder – These are people who generally have experience in the industry and manage the build themselves
You have a choice of a custom or project/volume builder. There are a few project/volume builders who also do custom. This doesnt go into the pricing of them but rather how to identify one that you want to work with.
Project/Volume Builder
Choice of floorplans and facades
Multiple display homes available to view (caution, they include lots of expensive upgrades)
Modifications to the floorplans are generally possible. Most of the time anything except for the staircase can be altered.
Manages everything from start to finish incl. CDC or DA
Build 100’s to 1000’s properties per year.
More often than not have high attrition rate between sales reps, Customer Service Managers (CSM) and Site Supervisors.
Lengthy admin times, almost all sales reps arent honest about this. Dont trust their timelines, get feedback from others building with them.
Build quality is hit and miss though there are some good ones.
Franchise models in some cases like Adenbrook, GJ Gardner, Hotondo so each franchise can perform very differently.
Project/Volume Builder (Custom)
Choice of floorplans and facades
Build off bespoke plans
Same as Project/Volume Builder
Offer a design service through working with a building designer*. Cost can vary normally up to about 5k. Your design however is locked in with the builder and you cant use it elsewhere.
Alternatively bring your own designs from a building designer*. The builder can tender off these and then continue the process to get to CDC or DA approval. You may already have these however the builder may not credit much if you already have these, these could be anywhere from nothing to 4k to 13k.
Builds 10’s to 100’s of properties per year
Lengthy admin times but sometimes not as bad as pure project/volume builders
Attrition rates arent as high for Sales reps, CSM and Site Supervisors
Site Supervisors arent as stretched but this is hit and miss
Build quality is generally good
Custom Builder
Build off bespoke plans
Same as Project/Volume Builder (Custom) except they normally wont have standard floorplans to choose from
Build 15-20 builds per year, some much less than this.
Site supervisors dont manage more than 10 builds at a time, generally much less than this so quality is easier to manage
Owner Builder
Build off bespoke plans and manages the build themselves
Finance is unlikely and normally requires to be self funded
Savings from being hands on.
May not get the same pricing discounts as larger builders
Check out Architect Plans for more details on whats involved.
* Building designer can also mean architect or draftsman
Factors to consider between each group of builders
The following factors should be considered and these are discussed further below in more detail:
Initial Research
Floorplans on offer
Facades available
What modifications can be made. Some builder like Hoot (from Wisdom Homes) and Domain homes (from Clarendon) allow limited to no floorplan changes
Inclusions on offer
Initial Screening
Online presence
Reviews
Social posts
Communication
The types of builds the generally do ie. volume or custom
Pricing
How long have they existed for
Secondary screening
How many homes they build per year
How many homes their supervisors manage
Staff turnover
Standard inclusions
Infringements they have eg. NCAT judgements
Building licence
Building inspectors feedback
Builders Licence Check
Licence SuspendedConstruction Business Start Date
Suspended LicenceTribunal OrderNo licence to build over 20k
Always check a builder licence as it can identify serious issues with the business. In NSW you can find this on Verify Licence. Some of the things to check are:
Tribunal order – This can sometimes come up if there’s a dispute with the builder and where the local building body forces the builder to rectify an problem through a court proceeding
Licence condition – for contracts not requiring insurance through home building. This means the builder is not allowed to build houses. This is something you would find with smaller trades like an electrician.
Online Reviews
ProductReview – Although these are verified they don’t provide a good cross section of client feedback. One of the reasons for this is the following:
Positive Reviews – Could be solicited by the builder from people from people who had a good experience. These are also people who may not have had high expectations of the builder but that’s not always the case. Also carefully look at the people posting positive reviews as you can sometimes find similar messages from people who have just joined the site who have only posted one review
Negative Reviews – A client who is in the middle of pre-construction or recently completed their build will not be inclined to post a negative review as the builder can retaliate by adding extra costs, delays or not perform warranty fixes. The times where you will see this is when a client has pulled out of the contract or their fixes haven’t been completed. Those that also haven’t had a good experience might prefer to just move on and forget about the bad experience.
Google Reviews – Its not often used and many reviews arent that useful
Facebook Groups – This gives the most accurate view of people building with a certain builder. You can find general groups or specific ones. There are good discussions for all phases of the development as well as a good cross section of people who can provide feedback about the builder.
Depending on yourself you may want to ask the builder for about 5 or more references from clients who are at various stages of their build eg. Those who are
Currently in the selections process – see how responsive they are and how quickly they are moving through this stage
In the middle of building – see how the quality of timeliness of their build is
Completed their build recently – see how the builder is managing defects or finishing touches after the final payment
Completed their build a few years ago – see how the builder responds to maintenance issues
Some questions to ask:
What are you building, custom or modified
Why did you choose them
How did you feel about their contract and the deposit required
How accurate have the Provisional Allowances been vs the real prices
Have you had variations after the deposit
What significant changes did you make after the tender deposit
What issues did you have with drafting
Have you had any issues since signing
How quickly did they deal with issues and did they provide a satisfactory outcome
What have their communications been like, do they return your calls, do they respond to requests in a timely manner, do they answer your questions
How was your experience with the selections process
What would you advise me to look out for in general
Do you feel they have been honest in their dealings with you
Have you spoken to others about their experience
Did you use an inspector and what did they say about he quality, and how would you rate them on this.
What maintenance issues have you had and how quickly were they dealt with and were they done to your satisfaction
Building Inspectors
Call a few different building inspectors to find out if they have inspected homes from the builder before at various stages. They will often have good insights into the quality of the construction.
