Sunvista Homes Builder

Discussion in 'Development' started by Samj, 7th Dec, 2017.

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  1. Samj

    Samj Well-Known Member

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    Hi All,

    We have been trying to find a builder to build a medium size two story house. I have talked to a sales agent and they sounds good. But they are not available on productReview site and couldn’t find much reviews/feedbacks on them. So I am just wondering if anyone here has got any experience with them? Please let me know if you have any feedback on them.

    Thank you,
    Sam
     
  2. Colin Rice

    Colin Rice Mortgage Broker Business Member

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  3. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    We operate extensively inside the building industry and haven't heard of them, BUT their online reviews look genuine and positive in comparison to what you might consider 'average' for builders in their space.
     
  4. Samj

    Samj Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Tom,

    Now we are thinking about Plantation Homes. They have plenty of bad reviews on ProductReview. But still most of them are talking about bad administration/documentation work. Not much complaints about structure. Have you dealt with them?
     
  5. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    Definitely dealt with Plantation, they're huge, and trying very hard to take on Metricon.

    Builders that big get mixed reviews for a few reasons;
    - Lots of houses being built means lots of opportunity for criticism.
    - Huge organisation means many hands, some of which are good at their job and some not.

    I've seen some good and great Plantation homes, but I've also seen some real shockers. There's so many different contractors, site managers, inspectors, etc, that it's not really one centrally controlled organisation anymore.

    Mostly for that reason (and I am biased) I prefer the medium builders. They've got a bit of scale for competitiveness but you can be confident you're dealing with the same people.
     
  6. Samj

    Samj Well-Known Member

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    Thanks again Tom, I agree with you. This is the second time we are building a house. Last time we went with a medium size builder (Style Master Homes) and it wasn't a good experience. I may try a big builder this time. They provide more inclusions than medium size builders, apparently.
     
  7. MattMc

    MattMc Member

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    Hi Samj, I have used Sunvista myself personally and worked with them at a professional level for quite some time. They are a great builder and never had any problems with them. I would also recommend Bold Group who are based in North Lakes. Hope this helps.
     
  8. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    Not sure why I never got an alert for your response @Samj.

    How did you go by the way?
     
  9. Samj

    Samj Well-Known Member

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    Hi Tom,

    We are in the process of building with Plantation Homes. They initial process is really slow... Looks like construction phase is not slow though.
     
    Tom Rivera likes this.
  10. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    Cool! You should post a thread about your experience with them!
     
  11. Whippy One

    Whippy One New Member

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    25th Jun, 2019
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    Qld
    Hi Sam/All

    We have recently built our first home with this builder here is a few issues we have had with them, you be the judge.

    This builder was appalling in all facets of our first home build.

    All staff are rude and arrogant both over the phone and face to face. I was told by their onsite foreman in our FIRST meeting when i raised several issues that we are "expecting a rolls royce when you have a volkswagon budget" "we need to finish this build and move onto the next one". This is just one example*

    The construction manager will tell you one thing to your face and produce something sub par quality. We have had yelling fights face to face with the construction manager and foreman and it has left my partner in tears. Their own staff have no idea what Aus standards to build to and will pull the wool over your eyes at any opportunity they get. PLEASE USE A THIRD PARTY INSPECTION COMPANY AT ALL STAGES OF THE BUILD.

    Installation of wrong walk in pantry layout.
    Did not install tri lock onto front door as per contract and said "thats what we always install" that doesnt make it right and had to fight for a tri lock to be put in.

    House slab in the lounge had a hump and a divet in it. Floor was layed like it was nothing until my inspector picked up on it. This caused further delays because the hump had to be grinded out.

    Skirtings in lounge were bowed in and their idea of a fix was to pack it in with silicon. Garage skirting was bowed out. Their idea of a fix was to plane off the bow.

    Outdoor tap was installed in the wrong location.

    They tried to charge us an extra $500.00 to have a "kerb cut" from the driveway. The kerb is a box gutter not slanted and requires a kerb cut regardless. This was already part of the contract and even though they tried to charge us extra we didnt give in and they finally accepted that they were in the wrong.

    I have had face to face conversations to which were very negative remarks by their own sub contractors who complete all of their work. Sub contractors complain that they are on tight constraints with the build and the materials supplied are of poor quality.

    Electrician sub contractor - EXPERTS OZ
    Walls had to be replaced due to the poor running and drilling of the ac drain. Did not install insulation onto ac drain leaving the protential for condensation to build up. Did not use a proper earthing bar for the electrical mains entering the property they used an already rusty offcut of reinforcement bar. Cheap backyard spot lights shine as bright as 1 candle. Rangehood for the exhaust was initially installed on the eave about the clothesline leaving the potential for our hung clothes to smell like tuesday nights tuna curry.

    Roofing sub contractor- SMART METAL ROOFING
    Original state of the roof before we argued multiple times was in a very poor condition. Burrs left on the roof from when sheetmetal was cut leading to corroision. Roofing ridges did not line up from the top of the roof down to the corners of gutters. Guttering was not square and did not have correct fall. Lobster tails on the edge of ridges were not pop riveted.

    Tiling sub contractor - TONY GLOVER TILING
    Pin holes in grout in bathroom and kitchen. Grout was crumbling away from beneath shower head. Tiles have rough edges both in showers and kitchen. Kitchen tiles were rough so they filed the edges which looked great. But did not file the edges for tiles in the bathroom calling the tiles that the builder supplied as "cheap" and "thats the best they can do"

    Certifier - APEX CC
    Frame stage was certified only to have my own inspector defect the entire frame and sent the plasterers and brickies home. Walls had to be replaced. Booker rod clamping the frame onto the slab were all loose. Offcuts of timber was used to knock the frame work together.

    Flooring -STYLE FLOORING XTRA LAWNTON
    Since before 29.09.2018 vinyl planks were peeling throughout the house. 03.06.2019 planks are still an issue and silicon edging that meet floors to skirting have yet to be re done. The silicon that is in however makes it look like the house was recently renovated by a cowboy handyman.

    Cabinetry - KINGSWOOD CABINETS
    Initially installed the worst walk in pantry known to man. Instead of flush shelving on 3 walks of the pantry we recieved pre made shelves that hid most of the pantry. Cabinet material did not match architraves. We then had to argue our point across that they did not match our plans nor did it match the display home.

    Plumbing - AGUA PLUMBING
    Shower head entry from walls were both installed off center??? Then had to be put back onto the center amd tiles had to be replaced. Plumbing was run through where a shower niche was supposed to be.

    Landscaping
    We signed for a front garden layout with over 45 plants with a number of varietys. What got delivered was only 17 plants and a hand full. Grass was dead in some areas which i complained about but then the builder said that happens if you actually read our contract. However they didnt even read their own contract stating it needed watering for x amount of days and what they had done was something completely different.

    Please note that the above is nothing but the truth and has not been exaggerated in any way shape or form. Some of these issues have been fixed since, however it was just like getting a tooth pulled. They try to get one over you in every single circumstance that you question their workmanship, inclusions within the contract and extras.

    There is nothing this Builder can say to combat any of the above. Because this is exactly what our building experience was like. Hours upon hours of annual leave was taken to deal with this circus show. Thousands of dollars spent on a reliable inspector to inspect each stage because this builder cannot be trusted.

    This is just a rough review a more detailed review will be uploaded soon.

    For any photos of the above or further information please email [email protected]
     
    Tom Rivera likes this.
  12. Whippy One

    Whippy One New Member

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    To top it all off, we now have multiple roof leaks.
     
  13. frank22

    frank22 Well-Known Member

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    Holy Cow . I had tears in my eyes reading that. These builders should be run out of town,then again you have more rights buying a toaster than when you build a house in this country.
    I am at the planning stages of a 3BV single strorey DG, 177m2 subdivision ,I built before with a large volume builder (carlisle) and had little or no issues , this time I have no choice but go with a custom builder and,in the past 6 months cannot find one that ticks the boxes in melbourne ? they either too cheap and that is a recipe for disaster or they are over the top.
     
  14. Sam#2021

    Sam#2021 New Member

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    I would not recommend as our experience has been a nightmare nothing what we were advised of had numerous issues since handover and the Maintenance Coordinator is totally unprofessional in her dealings and would benefit from under taking a course in Customer Service. They market themselves well but don't follow through. The company do not like negative reviews so yes you will find it hard to find honest feedback. Good luck with your build.