Come on a journey of inspiration & adventure while renovate & restore a beautiful Victorian home 'St Elmo' in the picturesque Hunter Valley, Australia & laugh at a few of our family adventures along the way.




Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Progress...What the!!!

I thought I was a little overdue for an update on the progress of the dream house
OR
should I say lack of progress
We selected a builder whose work was of good quality & he was easy to deal with.
 After showing him our plans & inspiration images he assured us he had the time to build our house & it wouldn't be a problem to build to our budget...
4 months later we still have NO working plans from the architect, just a concept. Last week when we thought we would be receiving an exact costing to take to the bank, we got nothing more than an estimate cost.
This estimate also happened to be exactly 
100 THOUSAND DOLLARS OVER BUDGET!!!
&
The builder has gone on holidays for 2 weeks. No one in his nice, busy little office, is able to answer any of our questions, they are only saying "We will make an apt for you when he returns"


WE DON"T WANT AN APPOINTMENT
We just want to know
IS THIS A SIMPLE TYPO???
OR
has this guy just waisted a huge chunk of our life ?
He sent us to make selections of materials, fixtures & fittings. We have designed the kitchen & bathrooms, all within the budget he allocated, so HOW can it possibly blow out by so much?


So for fear of this dragging out FOREVER we are now off to visit other builders, to get an idea as to whether or not the budget we have for this dream house is possible...
If not we will start looking at project homes to suit our sloping block


Time is ticking...
We thought our plans would be at least progressing through the building approvals department at our local council by now, instead we are still at square one!!!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!
The frustration!
Any way, there is no future in the past, so we will keep working on moving forward & see what results come from other builders & what answers we get from the current builder when he returns to HIS HOME after a mind clearing holiday!!!

CHEERS
Trish xxx

 

16 comments:

Signe said...

Gah, that sucks!
Hope you get it sorted and that you can find another builder that is a bit more trustworthy this time...

Jenny said...

Oh Trish, so disappointing! I hope it is not a sign of things to come with him. I would be getting everything in writing. Maybe letting him know you are looking at other builders will make him pull his socks up! I guess you have a little more time to save up for the interior decorating? ;-)

GoldenValley50 said...

How frustrating! I agree, it does seem very strange particularly when he knew what your budget was. Almost seems like he has deliberately priced himself out of the job. You are doing the wise thing in sourcing out other builders. Keep your chin up! :)Sharyne

MrsKT said...

Not a good way to start Trish, hopefully it was just a BIG typo on the builder's behalf. Good luck with your meetings with other builders. Will be thinking of you ;)

Just Martha said...

Run away...... red alert, red alert. Find someone new. Obviously a 0/10 for customer service. 0/10 for care factor. Find someone you can breathe easy with. It will happen and then it will be all smooth sailing... Good luck!!! You might like to scream into a pillow as therapy for all the frustration...

Life in the Country Lane said...

Very frustrating Trish! Might be a sign to find someone more reliable. Hope you find a builder to work with you. Hope you get to enjoy some stress free time this week.
Rebecca x

Blogs said...

I hate frustrations...especially when someone is messing with you and your house! arrggghh! for sure! your right though...no time to waste living in the past or mistakes...wishing you luck and joy to come!:)

designchic said...

I think maybe I'd start anew...frustrating for sure. If he's giving you this trouble before the first footing is poured-trust me it's not a good sign...

lisa mae said...

oh trish......feeling for you right now, it is so disappointing when people let you down.....he sounds like he's not a man of his word, who knows loking around you may find the builder of your dreams......options are good......i truely hope this works out for the best for you lisa xox

brismod said...

Oh dear. What a shame. I wouldn't reward that builder with your business. Sounds like he's only given you a taste of the worst that will come. Good luck!

Tara said...

Chin up Trish..I'm sure when you get all this behind you, your new home will be FABULOUS..xx

The Decorating Emporium said...

Trish, I feel so sorry for you. Time seems to stand still when you start processes like these. I agree with brismod, take this as a sign that this builder is not the one for you, and keep moving forward. Best of luck!
M

Ange said...

Judging by all the capital letters you've used I would say you're at about boiling point ;o)
I agree with other comments...if that's what you're having to deal with this early in the game it may well be an indication of what lies ahead. To quote Dr Phil (did I really say that?!) "The best predictor of future behavour, is past behaviour"
Angex

Beautiful House said...

Oh Trish, so sorry, definately speak with some other builders.

Unknown said...

What a pain in the #$%&....We had exactly the same thing Trish....we signed up an dthe whole way along we kept saying "are you sure all this will come in with our budget?" by the end they came in $80k over and then proceeded to tell us our budget was unrealistic.....what a waste of time and $3k in pre proposal drawings.
New builder and new plan meant we arrived at a new home but within our budget. We are glad we trusted our instincts and decided to leave them behind. Good luck...just know it all works out in the end, trust me.

CHECKS AND SPOTS said...

Oh Trish! I feel for you...so frustrating! I'd def be talking to other builders. This is not the way you want to start a relationship with someone who's going to feature so largely in your life for the next little while...argh!

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