Hi jol0
That’s terrible, I suspect we will have the same problems. Did you use an independent building inspector to spot the defects?

That’s ridiculous. Shouldn’t have to put up with this.

Yes well we are in Auburn. That’s the thing. They didn’t give us any reason for the delay. “Oh it will be done next week” “oh we waiting for some…

Biggest regret going with Masterton. We are building a duplex at south west Sydney. Our site has been sitting without a roof for 8 months now, half *** job done…

That's awful jol0! I really hope things pick up for you! We have a newbie SS so a bit anxious with this whole thing.

South west Sydney. Do you have a timeline for slab and frames? Just wondering whether it is fine to have the frames sitting around during Xmas break. What do you…

I think we have the same timeline kly525.
Took us 5 months from DA approval to construction. Just released into construction yesterday.

I think your right about the budget. Extra costs that were unknown to us at the time of signing the tender are now coming in. Just been told we need…

Hi pommie,
900k with bare minimum might be possible if you don't account for driveway, demo, council fees (10k for duplex), etc.
I would budget at least 300K above your base…

Hi GillyM, thanks for the tips! Very reassuring that the window splashback is fairly easy to clean.
We are planning on Luna White too and white tiles but I like…

GillyM, I love the look of your kitchen. We are also getting a window splash back.
What colour are your tiles surrounding the window and the kitchen benchtop?
Also do you…

Mine was $1250 for 2127 stacker.

Congratulations MartinsHarmony - looks great!
Just wondering about the progress payment schedule.. if you upgrade things after your final tender (electricals) does the progress payment get updated? Or perhaps all…

Yes dealing with M can be a pain. I have been clashing a lot with one person in M, who has been very unhelpful (do they ignore phone calls purposely?).…

Congratulations NJC! Love your colour choices

Speaking of mistakes, they made a mistake on our tender variation. Calculated to be $100 more than what the final tender was suppose to be. Make sure to double check…

I know! I almost missed the clause with the Building Period because it wasn't in the HIA booklet but in a separate "Particulars of the contract" list.
I will look…

I thought that would be the proper way to do things.
On the one hand I just want to get it over and done with and they said I…

Did anyone sign the building contract at home and mail it back to M? I thought this was a bit strange. Also strange that the insurance expires next month!

Yeah it was in an email.
Well, that is ridiculous.. poor form.
They better follow through and not go back on their word. It was one of the first things…

".. I have never had any clients pay any pre contract amount for variations as you can still make minor changes...After DA approval, you may be penalised...." M.

M said to me that they will only charge variation fee post council submission. Which makes sense, you can't think of everything you want to change until you see the…

MartinsHarmony we are building in Cumberland Council. Yes, the skylights are crazily overpriced. But just wondering if it will be hard to get the installed post-construction.
How long does it…

Yes, seems like they are pretty good at ripping people off!
We are building the Eclipse duplex, if anyone is in the same boat, please let me know!

If only it was that easy! We are building a duplex so it was 10K for the plan prep fee..
The sales consultant said the 120 day tender period was to…

Fisher75 so sorry to hear about your experience. I can't believe you paid $15,000 extra, that is ridiculous! Thank you for your tips, I will definitely ask try to negotiate…

Hi everyone, I am a newbie to building and I have been following this thread. Thank you everyone for your posts and blogs, I've found them to be very helpful…