Would You Recommand Metricon for Building Your First House in Regional Victoria (Wallan)

sparekh on 17/10/2018 - 11:38

Hey OzBargainers,

First home buyer here. I am planning to build my home sometime early next year. Land is titling in April 2019 so have some decent time for a good builder. The building location is in Wallan, Victoria. Just north of Melbourne. Land size is 18*32 and it has about 1.6m fall.

I have gone and seen many displays by big builder such as Metricon, Henley, Carlise etc. And most of them were amazing.

Currently, Wife's set on Glendale 34 from Metricon (Double Storey) and they seem to have some promotion going for that design as well. Our max budget is 350K. We were happy until i decided to do a quick search about Metricon quality. Found out that lots people have problem with their house built by Metricon and some cases against the builder.

Has anyone here every built with Metricon before? Would you recommend Metricon for a first home buyer?

or are there any other better builders out there that we are missing?
What should we look out for while on our hunt for a builder?
And what precautions/actions to take before/after the build contract has been signed?

Any other tips/advice for first home buyers?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • dcep on 17/10/2018 - 11:48

    Nah, it's the individuals assigned to your build - Project manager & Site supervisor, that you need to look out for.

    Tips ? Hire your own building inspector for each & every sign offs.
    And, close 1 eye or both eyes.

    • sparekh on 17/10/2018 - 12:25

      Having a third party building inspector would be a good choice to get impartial quality assurance. Thanks mate.
      and what do you mean by close 1 eye or both eyes?

  • [Deactivated] on 17/10/2018 - 13:08

    Wallan is hardly regional any more.

  • stirlo on 17/10/2018 - 16:20

    Save $10-20k of your budget for inevitable variations and extras that you need.

    • sparekh on 18/10/2018 - 16:29

      yup. Currently thinking it would be arond 50K including site costs

  • vinni9284 on 17/10/2018 - 16:35
    +1
    1. Selecting Builder? - Carlisle is a better builder out of the high volume builder. Check them out on product reviews.
      1.1 - Carlisle usually gives you jack inclusions, unless you start with the "T" - series. And even then they give you jack (e.g. no curtains, door stoppers, toilet paper holders, towel racks etc)
      1.2 - I have built with Carlisle back in 2013. They were good however they are still are builder and have short term memory loss and conjunctivitis when it comes to fixing.
      2 - In regards to contracts, ALWAYS seek a building solicitor (i did and it cost me $500) that is nothing compared to a $350+K home.
      3 - Allow $30K for extras, as you will always select it. Focus on the most important things like Kitchen. Don't get sucked in to other things unless you love it..and it is impossible post construction (e.g structural changes)
      4 - OPT for a building inspector (~ $2.5K for most of the process) MUST!!!! Don't believe the builder's bulls!it talk how good they are. You NEVER trust them. They get cheap labour to work on your home. The paint job is usually the worst quality with many of the builders.
      5 - Have everything in writing.
      6 - Check out your Developer - LDP information and see what are do's and don'ts in your estate (you can download this at the developers site)
      7 - I would STRONGLY ADVISE that you build a home that has a display. You get the feel of the home.
      8 - Allow up to $15K for concreting & external landscaping. Usually the developers want you to have Exposed aggregate or coloured concreting.
      9 - If it is a double storey, allow provisions (wiring PoE) for CCTV cameras in future. It is very hard to install after the build

    The experience of a brand new home is fantastic however there are many hurdles during the build and can be stressful.
    But it is worth it.

    Good luck

    Cheers

    • sparekh on 18/10/2018 - 16:30

      thanks @vinni9284 , it's helpful. I will definitely seek a building solicitor and inspector.

  • ms_caz on 17/10/2018 - 19:18

    We built with a small builder, SJD, here in the south east Melb burbs. I am not sure if they build in your part of town. The build went smoothly, communication was good and quality has been fine - the house is now two years old and we have not had any construction issues. We got a good package of inclusions with them.

    We then built with Dennis Family homes - they were fantastic. Price and inclusions were excellent. Build time was really efficient. Sometime people knock the bigger builders but in Dennis' case they clearly have it down to a routine, with each of the trades working effectively with each other and being expert in their particular part of the process.

    We decided to go with Dennis (rather then return to SJD) as they had a wider variety of options at different price points. We would recommend both, though.

    • sparekh on 18/10/2018 - 16:30

      thanks @ms_caz, I will checkouot SJD and Dnnis Family homes.

  • Franky93 on 18/10/2018 - 16:40

    My partner's parents built a new home with Metricon in Craigieburn and the house was riddled with problems. Lucky they hired an independent building inspector as he pointed out over 70 big and small errors which they had to fix (one being the balcony was not level so they had to knock it down and do it again). Once they got the house, there were lights missing, cracks in the wall, paint spots all over the floor and a sliding door fell down after a few days. I would not recommend going with them!

    • sparekh on 19/10/2018 - 10:43

      I have heard similar stories but i don't know what other option I have. From what i gathered most of the Volume builders are the same, you just need to hire a third party Build Inspector for each stage and just keep inspecting to make sure everything is working fine. And read contract carefully etc etc. People who are happy with Metricon don't really see a need to post online.

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