Ben Trager Homes

Got dump after waiting 1 month for the building contract – We signed the pre agreement 1 month before the Home Builder incentive kicked in. We were waiting for the actual building contract. Was reassured of contract completion only to receive a call to say they are NOT proceeding with us? all happened after the incentive came in? We wasted 2 months of planning and finding a builder and pick Ben Trager,… Read more

bad mistake.

I hope after all this is settled, they will find no willing customers to build with them!!!

I definitely won't!

Third time building and the best so far – We have now been in our new Ben Trager home for 6 months and no issues to date. The build process was a pleasure from start to finish, regular updates were received, including photos. The build was completed well before the due date and to a very high standard. We hired an independent building inspector who conducted regular inspections and he… Read more ·  1

only found a few minor issues that were fixed immediately without question. A special thanks to Christie our Pre-Start Consultant, Susan our Client Liason Officer, and Mark our Building Supervisor, they made the whole process seamless and were a pleasure to deal with. This was our third time building, first with Ben Trager Homes, and this was by far the best experience, we are very happy with our home. We would certainly recommend Ben Trager Homes.

Unbelievable happy with our BT homes – We built two homes with BT which completed in 2018. One was a double storey and the other a single storey both on the same block. We have waited a year before writing a review was to ensure our initial delight and pleasure that we experienced in the early months remained . To say that we are thrilled with our homes is an understatement. Jadon… Read more ·  1

(Sales Consultant/Designer) produced a wonderful bespoke design to fit both homes uniquely on the block. Tim the site supervisor was a real pleasure to deal with and was always readily available to address any issues we had no matter how minor. Susan the Liason Officer kept us a breast of all developments in a prompt efficient manner. The true test of workmanship is how big the list of defects are during the maintenance period. The list for BOTH homes could be counted on your hands and was extremely short containing only minor issues. Would we build with Ben Trager again? YES. Would we recommend Ben Trager? YES.

New House, Now 12 months on! – We moved in to our new Ben Trager home in April/May 2018. We have held off on a review until now (July 2019) because we believe that the true test of a company is not only a quality product but also a solid foundation of integrity for when; or if an issue arises. Your staff; especially Adam Delpero (Sales consultant), Christie (pre-start),… Read more ·  1

Tim Strong (Site supervisor) and the follow-up maintenance team Jimmy and James from Multi trade have all been kind, courteous and professional to deal with. Infact; on most occasions they have gone above and beyond our expectations. This is a credit to your Company ethos.

Throughout the design and construction process and afterwards; all your team and contractors have had a great attitude and made the process as smooth and seamless as possible. In short, we have recommended Ben Trager homes to everyone we have spoken with, maybe one day we will have the chance to build another home and choose Ben Trager homes once again.

We are loving our new home!

Build with Ben Trager Homes – Picked Ben Trager due to their excellent designs and range of finishes and optional inclusions which provide plenty of flexibility. Started off with a couple of meetings with the Sales Consultant, Adam Delpero who fully understood our brief and very efficiently put together a professional quote. With this understanding, this quickly led to… Read more ·  1

contract and drawings, and then prestart. Once more the process was very efficiently managed by Christie Mayers- we also had an opportunity to meet Ben at that stage.

The building process was adhered to schedule with regular updates from the office and the Supervisor, addressing all queries promptly.

The build was completed as scheduled and we have just completed 6 months in the new house. The service through the build was top notch and minor items picked up at the 6 monthly maintenance were promptly and efficiently dealt with.

We absolutely love the house Ben Trager Homes has built for us!

Special thanks to the Supervisor, Tim Strong who was with us through the build process and always addressed all issues raised promptly and with a smile.

Thoroughly recommend Ben Trager Homes if you are in the market looking to build a new home.

This is very good – It is Quiet good as a builder compare with other, their fix query and problem are fast and effective. Christie the Prestart lady and Debbie the Liaison Officer are did the excellent jobs . Craig Marshall the sales office is very helpful and professional.The three persons i like most in Ben Trager Home.I have no comment to the planning department.  Show details ·  1

New build in Kiara – I was very impressed with the quality of the product supplied for the build, the tradesmen were all very efficient - I have had all of their work inspected by a couple of friends who have been in the building game and they couldn't find fault with the work completed. The build was well managed, there was a bit of a delay in starting the process,… Read more ·  1

but once underway the build went to schedule.

In regards to customer service, I had constant contact with the Sandra Pegg, the build liaise, and Mason, the site manager. Both were very informative during the whole build process.

This was my first foray into building a home and I was very impressed from the moment I went into the Ben Trager office to discuss the potential building design to handover. All of the staff I dealt with were very professional and was a great experience for me.

A great first time experience! – This is a little late but it was my first home and was a little tricky being a subdivision. The sales person had a lot of extra advice and was able to help me work out costs that I had not considered and then got my home to suit me and my total budget. She was helpful and honest and I couldn't fault her. While the paperwork side of things… Read more ·  1

was busy, once my house started, everything went very quickly and there were barley any issues. My site supervisor I met on site at least three or four times and he was great at explaining all the ins and outs and what was the next stage. My family is in the building industry and were also happy with the finished product. There was some minor patching at the end as well as a sight delay before the cabinetry went in, I was told what had happened and what was planned every fortnight and the girls in the office were really friendly & helpful.

I have been in my house for over a year and only had a minor maintenance issue with the shower screens that was fixed straight away.

Overall, it was a stress free experience and now I am loving my new home.

Living nightmare – I wish we had never built with Ben Trager Homes. Spent over 300k with this company and feel like dream block has been ruined by 12 months of leaks, mould, unprofessional workmanship, substandard products, arguments and immense stress. Our life is constantly on hold with this builder- just want to sell and get out of the place. Do yourself a favour and build with someone else. I wouldn't recommend Ben Trager homes to anyone.  Show details

Carefree Experience – Our experience with Ben Trager homes was pleasant from beginning to end. It began with Shane who we met at one of the Ben Trager display homes. Shane was tentative and understanding and he gave us his full attention. He was able to understand the information in our heads, even though at times it wasn't coming out all that clearly. Shane met… Read more

with us numerous times, was always accommodating and even offered to show us the finishings in an almost complete Ben Trager house.

The build progressed in a timely and most efficient manner thanks to the efforts of our building supervisor Daniel. Throughout the construction phase, Daniel made himself available at our request and was very patient and understanding and rectified any problems immediately. He coordinated the trades in such an efficient manner that our house was ready before schedule.

From an administrative perspective, the Ben Trager team (including our liaison officers) were very professional, dealing with queries in a timely manner.

We would like to thank the Ben Trager team for the great experience and Ben Trager himself, for taking the time out of his undoubtedly busy schedule to come and have a word with us.

Ben Trager Homes - Stunning Home Built By People Who Listen & Care – We chose Ben Trager Homes as a result of their beautiful designs, excellent range of inclusions, and extensive range of optional upgrades. The display homes exemplified all of these. The planning stage involved a lot of back and forth and negotiation, but it was well worth it, as we felt we ended up with a lot of lovely detail in our home. The… Read more ·  1

Sales Manager was more than happy to work through any issues we faced at this stage with our land developer, as well as offer some really excellent suggestions to make the home design better. I was pleased that she spent the time with us, in a meeting at head office, to address all of our concerns. Notes were taken, and everything was followed up efficiently, along with regular updates being given via phone and email.

The owner of the company, Ben Trager, gladly offered advice and suggestions when we met personally with him during pre-start, and via a couple of follow-up phone calls I had with him at a later date.

The building process began in April 2015, and we moved in May 2016… totalling 13 months for a double-storey home built during the WA building boom. It did feel like a long time during construction, but in hindsight, it was good going.

There were inevitable delays and a few mistakes that were sometimes frustrating, but, importantly, the Site Supervisor, Area Construction Manager, and Customer Service Manager all dealt these with promptly and professionally.

Our calls were always taken, and we felt listened to. We had high expectations of Ben Trager Homes, and they always followed through. Everything we asked for was completed to our satisfaction.

We were very excited to see the progress of our home, and as we were interstate during construction, they gladly sent us many photos that catalogued the progress of the build. We felt like we could oversee what was going on, and these photos have made a nice keepsake now that it’s all over.

Our house is stunning, and we’d gladly recommend Ben Trager Homes to anyone looking to build a new home.

dream journey – Our experience was enjoyable from the first meeting to handover, from ben tragers design consultant, show home sales people, pre start team and actually meeting ben trager himself, all very friendly informative and very helpful throughout the whole build.Our supervisor was very efficient and kept the build moving along with hardly any delays, our… Read more ·  1

slab went down in feb 2016 and we got the keys in sep 2016.I personally have been constructing houses for 30 years earning a great reputation but for work restraints was unable to construct our dream home but i wouldn't hesitate in recommending ben trager homes to anyone wanting to build their own dream, dean&kazz ☺

Couldn't ask for more – Our experience was superb start to finish. We got a huge nearly custom-designed home for a very affordable price. The process was smooth and took 11 months from slab. Little things like reserved parking at pre-start and fortnightly updates were great. Our building supervisor and liaison were very professional and exceptionally helpful. We could… Read more

not be happier with the quality of the house and are very thankful to all of the Ben Trager Homes team.

Frustrating build that took ages – We built with Ben Trager in 2014. The slab went down mid year 2014 and we did not get our keys until February 2016. Our build had many defects that constantly needed to be fixed. We had around five supervisors and they all didn't seem to be able to tell us why the build was so slow. We went with Ben Trager homes originally because they… Read more

promised us that they could build a two storey home faster than the traditional brick homes. This was rubbish. The sales rep told us 52 weeks for the build and it ended up being over 70 weeks. This cost us a lot of money in interest because we had to pay for two large mortgages.

We felt that we also suffered because we are very laid back people and did not complain a lot. We kept asking why it was so slow but did not get an answer. Finally, they set the final inspection for October 2015 and told us that they would fix all issues and give us the keys in 10 days. It took them until February 2016! We were also threatened by our customer service officer that we had to pay the final invoice by Christmas time even though the defects had not been fixed and if we didn't pay they would not look after the house over the Christmas break and we would be liable for any damage. When we then complained, her supervisor apologised to us and they retracted that demand.

This was the most frustrating build and cost us a lot of money from the delay. The house is ok but the finishes were average. The tradies employed by the builder were very average and made lots of mistakes. I would never build with Ben Trager again. Very slow build from a builder who markets that they can build a two storey house faster because of their construction of the second storey.

Smooth building experience – I have never written a review before but after the great building experience if feel they deserve the recognition. All phases of the build have been well managed by professional and knowledgeable staff. We liked their designs and method of building the 2 storey homes and the sales person Jai was very helpful, making personal changes to the layout… Read more ·  1

was easy and relatively inexpensive compared to other builders.

The actual build of our home has been one of little stress with a great site supervisor Shannon and customer liaison Samantha. We have been keep well informed at all stages of the build and have been very impressed with the finished home. I have worked in the trades for nearly 15 years and the standard of work done by their tradesman has been of a very high standard.

Our home was completed 4 weeks ahead of the contracted build time which is fast for a 2 storey home but without short cuts or poor quality work. I believe this was thanks to our site supervisor that from our meetings seemed very knowledgeable and professional.

I would gladly build with Ben Trager Homes again and would happily recommend them to anyone.

Thanks for our fantastic home!

Kyle N

Appalling building experience – I'm not one to write reviews, though after another issue with our home and no response from builder I really want to ensure no one else experiences what we have with Ben Trager Homes. We choose Ben Trager due to the Narrow Lot design, outstanding pricing and our extremely knowledgeable and professional Sales person. Unfortunately that's where… Read more

the professionalism and service ended. Our build has been a nightmare and an incredibly stressful experience. Emails and phone calls are not responded to, which is very frustrating when you are wanting to rectify and discuss issues, however is nothing in comparison to the nightmare of the poor craftsmanship.

We have built three homes prior and understand from time to time errors happen and are guidelines that can allow for these margins to fall under and pass as acceptable, though our build has seen major issues at every stage. We were advised in November we should be at lock up prior to Christmas, and now is April and still not at lock up.

Below are some of the issues we have experienced and most are not rectified.

Damage to neighbours car.

Complaints from neighbours of the building site cleanliness.

Floor plumbing in wrong location resulting in the drilling of slab. (approximately 1/2 a metre out)

Slab damage by forklift resulting in breaking pipes in concrete.

Walls in main entrance not straight.

refrigerator wiring in wrong position.

Workmen urinating in the storeroom as not wishing to use outside toilet.

Gutter damage caused by tradesmen and having to be replaced.

Bathroom windows located in wrong location and installed in main stairwell area.

Roof tiles over 150 roof tiles have been replaced on upper floor and now entire ground floor has had to be replaced due to constant cracking and even though we have requested an inspection and meeting with Ben, in reference to this issue our emails have gone unanswered.

Soak wells were too large to install and had arranged for smaller ones though this still has not been actioned.

Our supervisor [name removed] has been wonderful and empathetic, though this unfortunately only goes so far and it seems he is now at the stage where he doesn't have answers either.

Due to all our concerns and needing peace of mind, we have employed an Independent building inspector for our final inspection to ensure we have not missed any issues and have further problems after hand over.

There are some positives of Ben Trager as mentioned above. The designs are first class, sales staff in displays are genuine and friendly and very knowledgeable on building systems and very passionate about their Employer. Unfortunately though this is where the experience ends.

I do not want anyone to have the stress myself and my husband have been through both emotionally watching the poor craftsmanship of our home as well as financially as trying to balance rent with paying building repayments which has been extended a further 4 months of financial pressure approximately.

Regards

Michelle G.

Good build – While the quality generally was generally good, the builder seemed to have some difficulty getting the logistics right. This did slow down the building process. They did follow up on minor maintenance required and overall we are happy with the quality of the building and the way they sorted out the minor issues. Money. [name removed] The staff… Read more

were generally not easygoing and anything to upgrade from their "builders Range" was overpriced or not available. No problem as long as you do it their way.

No Complaints here – My wife and I spent a long time going through different display homes looking for the right design. We couldn’t find what we were after yet we knew what we wanted. We ended up meeting Jadon at Ben Trager’s display in the Vale and he was brilliant. He helped us put our ideas into one design that worked for our block. Nothing was too much… Read more

trouble for Jadon and he knew his stuff. Top bloke.

Pre start was without fault, Laura did an incredible job and again, nothing was too much trouble. It was at pre start that we realised that we had truly made the right decision when we met Ben Trager. He apparently meets every client at pre start but we had thought it a hard task and too much to expect when Jadon had told us. Sure enough he spent about 20 minutes talking to my wife and I and seems like a genuine decent guy. Im not sure how many managing directors would take the time out to meet every client. We had one small hiccup with our developer needing a second render colour on our façade and our pre start lady Laura organised that after pre start with no ill effects.

Construction took as long as Ben Trager had told us it would. We were happy with that. The tradesman all did a good job, some did an excellent job. We ended up having about 3 different supervisors but the same Area Manager above them the whole time so it didn’t seem to have an adverse effect on things. When I asked why we’d had several supervisors I was told that they move them around so that they always have a manageable amount of jobs. We have been happily living in our home for several months now and my wife and family love it. Best decision we ever made was to walk into that display in the Vale. For a relatively new building company, they are doing something right. Thanks Ben and the team for making this a peaceful happy journey for us and giving us a quality home we can be proud of.

Modern design with good features but took longer than expected to build – We choose to build with Ben Trager homes back in December 2013, construction approval was granted by the council relatively quickly, with site works commencing in April with the lower level slab being laid in May 2014. I will try to be a fair and just in my review, because there are both strong points as well as the unfortunate negative aspects. … Read more

1. First part of any review of a builder should focus on the reason for choosing the builder in the first place. For us there were several reasons why we decided on choosing Ben Trager Homes, which I will elaborate on. As most people would know the size of a residential housing block is continually shrinking every year, 5 years ago a standard block around 18.5m by 32m (592sqm) was easy to come by in most new estates, now finding a block over 500sqm is becoming harder. We have built on a reasonable block of 592sqm which played a part in a decision to build a 2 storey house. The benefit of the 2 storey house is there is still space on the block for other additions.

Ben Trager Homes, specialize in 2 storey houses, and for us we needed a 2 storey house to allow for a decent floorplan. As well as the space for a triple garage, hardstanding area behind the garage and room for a narrow pool. Doing all of this on the block with a single storey house wouldn't have been achievable, there wouldn't have been sufficient room, when you take setbacks into account.

What separated Ben Trager Homes for the other builders who also build 2 storey houses, came down to several key areas that stood out for us. Their designs are well thought out and functional and make good use of the space, there isn't a lot of wasted space and all rooms are good sizes. The house design we choose was a former display home that has been closed and sold, but it is a 5 by 3, which has a separate guest suite at the front of the ground floor, with the master suite upstairs. We needed the extra bedroom for visiting family and or friends. All rooms including the kids bedrooms have high ceilings, not just the main living area and entrance which a lot of other builders offer. Standard features for the Showcase spec are worth it, if your budget allows for it. We have a steel spline staircase with Tasmanian oak steps and glass. It adds the wow factor!

Another point worth mentioning is the use of glass. Some builders like Dale Alcock Homes whom we have built with previously over use large format floor to ceiling glass in all areas. This means the cost associated with window furnishing will be higher due to size, and heating and ceiling to. The different types and sizes of glass that BTH use provide a good look and work well with the design. Nothing worse than having a very large window in a bedroom that looks directly onto a colour-bond fence 1500mm away.

Most of BTH houses are fully acrylic rendered all the way around the house not just the front. The only exposed brick work is on the boundary garage wall. This does provide a good visual appearance. A must have in any 2 storey house, is an upstairs slab. This makes so much of a difference, it is solid and provides good sound deadening properties.

So summarizing the design, specification and features of BTH and why we chose them, I would give them a 4.5 out of 5.

2. Value For Money - The first section gives a good idea as to why we choose BTH. They aren't an exclusive high end builder that those with mega bucks may use. But they aren't targeting the new first home buyer. I would classify BTH as a premium builder for those whom have built previously and known what they are after and have a bit more money to spend. Most BTH houses would start at the high 200's onwards, our contracted price is around the 415K mark. For what we are getting I do think this is good value for money. All benchtops are EssaStone inculding all the bathrooms and laundry. Value I would give them 4.5 out of 5.

3. Pre-start, Planning and Communication - Our initial pre-start meeting to go over the choices went relatively well. I wouldn't say it was a seemless process, but the pre-start consult was helpful. Some items which are standard probably should have a upgrade option. Unfortunately not all standard items are of high quality, and we will look at changing them out our self in due course. Drafting unfortunately needs some improvement in the area of quality checks, several variations had to be issued by the builder to change from a spec. Other mistakes that should have been picked up in QA, is the way in which doors swing. Unfortunately our walk in pantry and walk in linen both swing inward, which isn't ideal for a small area. Summarizing this, I would say improvement is needed here, the first client liaison we had was not that good at getting back to us, the second client liaison was a major improvement in correspondence.

I would give a 3.5 out of 5, some improvements required here, especially in the drafting.

4. Construction and Schedule - This is the biggest single let down of the whole experience and the one which does generate negativity on my behalf. I will try and be as factual as I can, but the duration to complete the build is just far to long. It has taken 16 months to complete, with hand-over just occurring now. Ron who awarded a 2 star review at least had his place completed in less than 12 months. I have spoken with Ben Trager directly on this issue and he has provided some insight, and I acknowledge that not every thing is under their control. But we had several long periods with absolutely no work carried out, 3 months waiting for lower level roof carpenters. As with Phillip's review, some of the trades are real let down, it took far to long for the kitchen cabinetry to be completed, which held up other work. The electrical work as seems to take a long time to complete. I lost count on how many different building supervisors I had? What is annoying is being told work will be completed by a certain date, only to find out it was still not complete. I attend the Practical Completion 2 inspection the other day, which is suppose to be the final prior to collecting keys only to find out there is still work to started (not finished). The final inspection should be all complete, not waiting on the electricians to come back and install the LED star lights which aren't in the down stairs ensuite as well as the laundry. I'm sorry to say, that there was 3 weeks between PC1 and PC2 and the work is incomplete. 16 months is just far to long, especially when all the houses around me that cost about half the amount are built in 8 to 9 months, I was expecting this to take 12 months, I am lucky that I don't have to move out of my current house. It must be acknowledged that builders are at the mercy of the relevant trades turning up when required.

hopefully others don't experience as longer build time as I did. Apparently building times are longer SOR, maybe due to the supply of trades in the area.

Score 3 out of 5.

5. Quality - Overall quality on the house as whole seem good. The building supervisors are good and aren't trying to hide things from you. But unfortunately some of the work by some trades is below par, which has resulted in rework, not once but sometimes twice. I am not impressed with the electrical work and the glazing. Firstly the electrical, as I stated before lights are still required to be installed. But what annoys me the must is when someone tries to pass off the the wrong LED as the same as the other in a room and think I would notice. The other is the location of some LED star lights over a kitchen benchtop are positioned so out of wack it just looks wrong. The other disappointment is the glazing, especially the upstairs ensuite mirrors. Originally we wanted a single mirror, which would have been 2400mm long. We were told that their (BTH) glazing supplier couldn't do this, so we had to go with two separate mirrors. On the PC1 inspection I noticed that they weren't even the same sizes the dimensions were both different, and they weren't aligned the same. On PC2, they were moved but it still looks wrong and the dimensions are still different. I did my own inquires with a local glass supplier who can offer me what I originally want which is a single mirror 2400mm long for only $250 per square meter, I sort it out myself.

In summary, the building supervisors are good and very through, but some minor items do get past them. BTH are willing to work on resolving the issues I have, which is positive outcome.

Minor electrical and glazing has caused a half point deduction

4.5 out of 5.

Conclusion - My total score come out to 20 out of 25, which results in the 4 out 5 for the website review. If it weren't for the long duration, and some overlooked drafting and specification issues, and those quality issues the score would have been higher.

Would I build with BTH again? It is hard to tell, I don't regret choosing them as the house is probably the best place in the whole estate. At least look over their display homes, and compare with other builders.