First Place Building Company
Verified74 reviews
- Pre-Construction
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- Mid-Construction
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- Post-Construction
Absolutely amazing service from Janam at First place. We recently settled in a new property. Janam walked us through each step of the process and our question were answered quickly...he was always around us when we needed him. Really appreciate it Janam. I strongly recommend Janam at First Place to get advice for purchasing a property. Show details · 1
Nightmare place – This company comes under AHB group. Don' t go for this name and don't trust its salesman..... This is a nightmare place and so stressful to deal with. My brother signed a contract with this company almost a year ago with an advance payment of $15000. He notified company that the land was ready in December 2023. After 6 months in June 2024, he… Read more
received an email that the amount to build a single storey house has gone up and he will have to pay $65,000 on the top of the actual amount he had signed for. In short they wanted significant more money on top of the contract price. The bank didn't approve additional amount so my brother offered what bank had reapproved. For a laugh, he has just been offered $650 as a refund to cancel the contract. In the mean time he has been paying interest on his land and going through a stressful phase. What a stressful company to deal with. Hopefully, this matter will be dealt in the court of law. In short **** avoid this group and it's companies****
- +7
Feeling frustrated and manipulated – Feeling frustrated with the quality of construction work with my first home. From Day 1 I always had issue with build and felt like poor finish. The house started having cracks from the third month I got into the property. When ever I call for maintenance they don’t even respond properly and I have to call back and beg for people to come and have… Read more
a look and still the issue doesn’t get sorted. They fixed the cracks and once and still the cracks are keep on coming. I should have never gone with this and now I regret. Tried to contact the builder who is now trying to push it on the concreter that it doesn’t come under the structural warranty. Concreter advised not their fault but it not obvious having too many cracks.
Felt that even the doors, door handles are all of cheap quality which was selected through the gallery. Couldn’t express all my frustration in writing.
This is not the standard we should expect from builders as it is every individuals dream to build their first home turned out to be a bad experience for me.
As of now I am stuck and don’t know what to do. Feeling not safe as well to live in as cracks getting bigger.
Reviews with attachments
- +5
3 YEARS and NO HOME.. First Place is the last place anyone should ever think about going to – My journey with First Place began in 2019 and has been nothing short of a nightmare. I've encountered numerous challenges and disappointments throughout the entire process, and I feel compelled to share my experience to help others avoid the same fate. Constant Management Changes: I've had to deal with the frustration of three different site… Read more
managers during my home construction. This constant turnover led to confusion, miscommunication, and a lack of consistency in the project's management.
Communication and Threats: The communication from the management team at First Place has been abysmal. I've been met with threats rather than solutions to my concerns. It's disheartening to feel like a customer should fight for basic answers and updates.
Long Delays: Waiting for years for a home to be constructed is far from reasonable. The delays in my case have been excessive, leading to additional costs and significant inconvenience in my living arrangements.
Poor Workmanship: The quality of the home is far from what anyone would expect after such a long wait. The construction was managed poorly, resulting in numerous issues, including cracks and bubbles in the front facade paintwork and subpar silicone work around the house.
Lack of Accountability: First Place appears to lack accountability for their work. They've adopted the practice of ghosting customers when legitimate concerns are raised, leaving homeowners to deal with unresolved issues.
First Place is also refusing to pay any penalties due to construction delays, which are stipulated in the building contract. The banks and our landlords never waived off any interest or rental payments so how is First Place eligible for breach of contractual payments?
In conclusion, I deeply regret entrusting First Place with the construction of my first home. Their attractive facade does not reflect the reality of the situation. I urge anyone considering this builder to think twice and thoroughly research their options before making such a significant investment. My hope is that my experience can serve as a cautionary tale and prevent others from enduring a similar ordeal.
First Place... haha the last place anyone should be going to !
- +1
Extremely Dissatisfied with First Place Homes – I regret to say that my experience with First Place Homes has been nothing short of a nightmare. I feel compelled to share my grievances, hoping that others may avoid the frustrations I've endured. 1. **During Build:** During the construction process, I was unreasonably charged late payment fees by the finance team for builder and bank… Read more
holidays. Their actions lacked any sense of empathy or understanding, leaving me to wonder if a robot could have provided better reasoning than this cold-hearted finance team!
2. **Post Build (Within First Year):** a. The provided drainage block and emergency contact list was utterly useless, as the numbers provided were uncontactable. It became necessary to hire a 3rd party plumber to address a drainage blockage issue.
b. It took a mind-boggling 40+ emails and over a year to be reimbursed for expenses incurred during the drainage blockage ordeal. First Place Homes displayed a complete disregard for other people's time, causing unnecessary stress and inconvenience.
c. To add to the growing list of issues, all three smoke alarms in my home turned out to be faulty, incessantly beeping and forcing me to replace them at my own expense.
d. The final straw was when my garage door motor stopped working. Attempts to contact the warranty department proved futile, as no one answered the phones. It's as if the warranty team exists solely to avoid fulfilling warranties and frustrate customers with their utter unresponsiveness.
In sum, my experience with First Place Homes has been nothing short of a disaster. I implore anyone considering their services to think twice and explore alternative options. This ordeal has left me deeply dissatisfied and disheartened by the lack of professionalism and respect for customers' time and well-being demonstrated by First Place Homes.
- +1
Aweful experience – Dealing with first place homes has been my worst nightmare till date. My house is more than 2 and a half years old since the handover date and building works are still not complete. I have had several officials inspect my house but none have taken any action to complete the works. They just keep blaming other but no solution has been proposed. No… Read more
action taken to fix their own faults. It’s mentally draining and the worst kind off experience. Maintenance manager [Name Removed] has asked me to send him email with list of defects but none have been addressed , I have not heard back from him even once regarding an update. Their service is beyond horrific . Never build with them.
- +4
Think five times to build house with first place – 6 weeks ago, I received fixing invoice and builder claim they finish the fixing stage. the photo attached show you guys what have not done, chase supervisor and manager, no one answer the call or follow up go to the ocean. That is how poter davis colloapes happen, charge customer which they have not finish job. Now I receive letter from legal… Read more
department said invoice overdue and job need hold and need extention the job finish time
I smell bit like porter davis now, they never finish fixing stage since 6 weeks ago and now blame you the faulty party.
If you check my profile I have lots review with builder as I build so many houses in last 17 years,yes, this is worst.
communication is horrbile, very horrible. I will update the quality job later to show you guys
go find another builder there will be some good builders there, I know it is diffculty time but you should find some.
Positive reviews
Extremely happy – I started building my house with them at the start of this year. I had my doubts considering construction companies were collapsing. However, first place didn’t disappoint me. Our consultant, JP was very professional and was so accommodating. He knew his product and went above and beyond to provide excellent customer service. It took us while to… Read more
get permit from council but once work went on-site it was extremely quick and site manager always gives us update every fortnight. He did some adjustments as well later in the stage according some minor requirements. We will be moving soon in our dream home. Thank you First place.
Matt is super! First Place managed the build really well – Our site manager, Matt, has been great. Since he took over from the previous site manager, he has looked after us really well. He managed our build like it was his own. He listens to us and acts on outstanding works quickly and at great quality. He is such a professional and anyone he looks after is in great hands. This is our first time building… Read more · 1
with First Place and we're so glad that it has been smooth overall. While there were delays and communication issues from the first building supervisor, the overall build was managed well. The workmanship and quality are great. First Place has handled the build really well. The portal is also a nice feature where we can see communication updates, documents and pictures during the key stages of the build.
Matthew Italiano - 5 star service – We requested Matt to come in on a Saturday to take us around the house and show the progress as its almost at the closing stages. Matt had plans but he knew we travelled to Melbourne for this, and he took time out of his busy schedule to fit us in. He was excellent in explaining everything to us and provide a rough indication for final settlement… Read more
and was very helpful in doing so. Matt is an amazing individual as well and very friendly, and we thank him and First Place for this great service.
Negative reviews
Avoid at all cost if you don't want to be taken on ride lies and nonsense – Extremely disappointed, deceitful dishonest, misleading lied to outright. They strung me along for eight months despite my chasing. They came back after eight months with 7% plus increase as they was waiting the price to go up. Told the start time within weeks 8 months on, No sign of them They are asking for 7% plus. People be carefull try to… Read more
stay away from this builder AHB wich means first place homes, sheridan homes, Royston Homes, Soho homes and some more under this group avoid at all cost. Better to pay more with other honest builders than to get in the mess that I am in. Run away as far as you could from this builder. Bitterly disappointed worst experience ever. They don't even deserve one star I will give them -5 if I could.
Do not recommend to anyone – Signed a contract with this company 2 years ago with extra payment to cover for potential price rise. When my land finally git registered, they wanted significant more money on top of contract price. I ended up paying out of pocket just to disolve the contract that did not get honoured by them. Happy to part ways with them despite of loosing money and 2 years worth of interest on my initial payment. Show details
Unfair and unethical experience in my opinion – We just signed the contract but found that we paid thousands more compare to other builder which is also part of ahb group. Not just that but when we asked to swap some of the landscaping items like extending 1m worth of natural turf we were given thousands in variation. This is too after we were referred by the staff but still no mercy! Show details
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Recent reviews
If you want stress free build at a very competitive price - go with First Place – After consulting with a number of building companies we ended up choosing First Place & glad we did! This building company has very competitive price's, the material's and build quality is A1 & the experience so far has been nothing but exceptional. Our initial contact within First Place was with Krysie Waters our new home advisor. Krysie was… Read more · 1
transparent, very detailed & handheld us through the whole design process process till the point where we were ready to build. Once the design process finished we started the build stage. Our site manager Gus has been keeping in contact with us through the whole build process along side the office staff Marco & Suzzanne. There is even a portal you can log in to where all your build documents are held, the stages of the build the team are up to with photo's - very impressive.
The build stage is almost complete, looking good so far during our walk through & on time as promised.
Keep up the great work guys !!!
Home advisor & building stages and supervisors – First place home advisor really helpful. I recommended them to family and friends. Krysie was my house advisor really helped me alot when choosing what to add on my home and communication really great, she always make sure she get back to you as soon as possible either email or phone call. Suer very helpful and friendly always get back on time… Read more
email or call she is pre site administrator. At Slab stage everything was good and Supervisor was communicating with me well. Frame stage had abit of communication with both supervisor and construction administration that time they were telling me that they don't have enough site supervisor and he was supervising many house. I was not happy with this comment. Which explains to me that site supervisor wasn't supervising my home only go when my private Inspection was attending for inspection. They were few errors to be fixed, if supervisor was attending my house 2 to 3 days in every week. Those errors couldn't be found on the report. New site supervisor came in after frame stage from Sherridon home's, only had one year experience as asked him his experience. He was not communicating with me and I didn't know what was going on at the house until I went to visit the site with him. He told me that they are doing reverse building and said he couldn't found a bricklayer. During that day I did see some things not looking good and asked the supervisor, he was telling me that's normal. When my private Inspection go for next stage inspection found out that it was not meeting the building standards. He was seem unsure what was really going own at the house. Although he told he does visit my house 2 times in a week, I didn't believe that.poor construction administration from Sherridon home's wasn't get back to any emails or phone call. Send her emails or calling her never replied back or return call back. I wasn't happy about it. Site supervisor wasn't following up and get things fixed after my private supervisor report back.
I am happy now that First place has its own staff very helpful and friendly, communication really great and my new supervisor and construction administration really good in communication and get back on time emails or phones. Since the first place site supervisor came in get bricklayer own time and lockup stage was completed own time and following up with the report from my private Inspection Hope my house will be build great and maybe with good quality materials.
Always read reviews most people comment negative feedback about First place, hope maybe I will be the luck one to build my house perfectly. Finger cross let me keep hoping like that.
Hi Andrew. Thanks for your feedback.… Read more
Review of First Place – First Place was unknown to me due to its low-cost marketing strategies unlike other big names. The low cost is passed down to the build. Hence, I was able to get a budgeted and competitive quotation as compared to other builders. As for the sales team, I want to give credit to Mark (Director) and Issy (Sales) for their absolute support and… Read more · 1
patience in the execution of the contract. Issy spent hours convincing me that First Place is a worthy builder to engage with. He made every effort to answer my emails and mobile phone calls promptly even during non-office hours.
First Place was also able to accommodate to different ways of communication and support even when I was oveseas for the whole process of contract signing. The staff answered all my further queries, complexities and complications with professionalism and diligence. They valued customers’ needs, budgets, preference and affordability and tailor the build to customers’ satisfaction. Things can go wrong and off-track down the build process but the staff were always there to solve all problems.
I have no doubt in any way recommending First Place to any potential customers, family members, friends and colleagues. Thanks Mark and Issy.
9 months later and construction is not even half way – **** Update 27 Sep 2023 It's been long time since my first review and I things have not been great since. I'm very disappointed. 9 months since construction started. I'm on lock up stage and my roof has not even been finished. I had a bad experience with my first builder going under liquidation, this just adds just more financial and mental… Read more
stress, especially when you see other people around the block moving into their houses even when construction started after mine.
Many things have happened in the last few month, like change of Management on First-Place, my site supervisor changed twice. Some work had to be re-done. And in the last 5 months the construction site looks almost the same (pic below).
I'm still positive my new supervisor can make progress and deliver a quality home, but until then I have to change my review to 1 star.
*** Old Review (pre-construction) I had a terrible experience with a previous builder, a whole year wasted and construction never started . After several weeks looking for a new builder, I found First Place, great experience from the beginning. Price is affordable, most important for single buyers. They are committed to help and they are reasonable and understanding.
My Home Advisor, Krysie Waters, helped me out through the whole pre-construction process, not just the sales part. She spent hours modifying the plans to suit my needs and demands, also she gave me lots of knowledgeable advice and suggestions to improve my design. I was very impressed how they were willing to modify and accommodate their plans to fit in my small lot.
I am just at the beginning of the construction process (that's why I post as Pre-construction), with the base finished just before last Christmas and the process has been smooth without delays and most important, no more stress. Also, Marco, from the Customer Service Construction Team has been friendly and helpful, answering my questions and providing me with the documents I need.
I'm looking forward to start the new stage, and to be moving into my new home very soon.
Thanks First-Place Team
Hi Enrique. Thanks for your kind… Read more
Very efficient and responds quickly – First place has helped us with the selection of the floorplan that we needed. They were quite accommodative with our request for few minor alterations to the design, very helpful, honest, quick response times, and got the ball rolling efficiently. Jason was really great in getting things over the line and his timely suggestions helped us to make… Read more · 1
appropriate decisions. At every step he and the First Place team were providing the support that we needed and answered our calls immediately and our questions with much patience. I would surely use First Place with my future plans and am happy to recommend them to anyone who is looking for an efficient way to get their projects done without any hassles. Thanks Jason & First Place. Keep up the good work.
First place Jason in sales – I have not yet started my home, but have built previously with other builders. This is my first time with First Place Homes, the professionalism and help has been a comfort and a pleasure to deal with. As I know I ask many questions and had many plan revisions. So far I would definitely recommended anyone contemplating on building to get in touch… Read more · 1
with Jason from First Place Homes. If the construction goes as smoothly, I will be building again with first place homes. The pricing structure, flexibility to plans, inclusions and costs for variations/ extras has been very fair in my opinion and some instances pleasantly surprising. Well done First Place Homes !!! I’ll post again once construction has completed.
This is perfect they are great – You could say the initial contact was very good they understood we had a budget to keep to and a very small block and they found a plan to fit that criteria and because the block has just titled we will keep you up to date as we journey along with the builder we have been communicating with Jason from First Place Show details
there are some true evils that works there! the pope should send exorcist to that company, and this is not a joke – I have to recall and give you an updated version of my experience, This company is evil, do not build with them. They will lie to you, they will give you nighmares and you will have to fight with them to have the hope of having a house! They have given me a house with holes on the wall, half a door way, bricks bend with waves, missing major… Read more
parts of the house and asked for full payment even when they failed their inspection by the bank.
When i decised to build with them, i ignored others review of their nightmares, it is my genuine advice, listen to those reviews! i regrate my decision, its one of the worst decision i have made. AHB group, First place homes, they are the same company, there are some true evils that works there! the pope should send exorcist to that company, and this is not a joke.
Hi Ed. Thanks so much for your kind… Read more
Slow start but in by Christmas – My built was a slow journey to start with AHB, delays, mistakes and I believe a lack of commitment by the Sheridan team. Fortunately First Place had taken back control of my built, faults were fixed (or soon to be fixed), promises were kept the new team come though much appreciated! Now I am very happy in my new home. Show details
Hi Paul. Thanks for taking the time… Read more
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Do not waste your money on this Builder! – First-place is one of the worst builders, we are really regretting after building with them. Very poor-quality workmanship and they use incompetent cheap tradies for plumbing, roofing etc. Proper supervision of work would have avoided these issues. We should currently be enjoying ourselves in our new home but it was handed over to us with so many… Read more
defects. We have been embarrassed to invite family and friends over for a housewarming party. They totally ruined our front door, the door frame had a huge gap and list of other maintenance issues still outstanding, disappointed with their maintenance team and their poor response. We had very horrible experiences with them. After 3 months maintenance period they do not care your complaints and do not answer your calls. WE DO NOT recommend to build with them, CHEAP, POOR QUALITY BUILDER!
Hi Mohamed. Thanks for your review.… Read more
Poor service – Not a good company for for building a house. Many mistake from the start. Salesman worst did many mistakes in the contract and they not providing things like shelves in the kitchen which i paid after. Many mistakes in construction which they haven’t fixed yet it’s been 2 years. West warranty. I email them around 12 times no reply. One year I live… Read more
in the house without induct cooling in my master bedroom I called them emailed them no reply after year they fix one thing. Still many things but they don’t bother after handover. They put wrong tiles in my washroom still they didn’t fix it. Guys it’s been 2 years I emailed them many times they don’t care I’m gonna share some pics as well. I have minor cracks on roof the guy they sent for paint touch up after 1 and half year we ask him why this happens he said this wouldn’t happen for new home. But who we call for this no one listening after handover. I gave up now. I done emails calls but nothing works. Be careful guys. Don’t go with this company before contract they very lovely but after that they become real. They didn’t done proper cleaning when the key Hanover tiles were mess. First place homes I had many hopes from u guys this was my first dream home. Not satisfied at all.
Hi Ajay. Thanks for your review. I’m… Read more
Base Stage Done – They have been fantastic so far. Communicating well and construction progress is on time. Hope i will have a smooth ride like this till the end. Would recommend First Place. Show details · 1
Horrible builder, Do not build with them – Quality and finish of house is very poor. Even after almost 12 month house is completed yet. Cheap tradies they use. Really Regretting after building with them. They looks cheap in price but in actual it will cost you even higher than other premium builder. They have disturbed us financially and mentally. Please do not build with this horrible… Read more
builder. Really upset. It seems all five star reviews are fake, Becuse I know few other people who built with them. They all are struggling too.
There are few fake 5 star reviews which were added by this builder to increase their rating so do not get trapped
Hi GS. If you could please email us… Read more (+1 reply)
Worst Builder to build your home – This is the worst builder to build the home. Worst communication, and to get anything sorted is a headache and stress. We started building back in Sept 2021 and still waiting for handover. Over this period - More than 3 site supervisors changed -No communication until I followed up. - 2 Building managers got involved to sort lot of building… Read more
defects and issues which took over 3 months to sort- Poor communication, they mever responded until you followed up 50times.
- Charged interest fees for late payment for the stage when it wasnt even complete.
- Cancelled numerous appointments, i attended stage completion appointment multiple times only to find out nothing was fixed. Wasted my time and again all lack of communication.
- Crc stopped responding to emails and messages and i had to deal with 50 Other people to get things moving and resolved.
- The quality and workmanship has been extremely poor so far and would not recommmend this builder to anyone.
- Got put incorrect splashback tiles, mortar color with defects and numerous other issues causing months delays and stress.
- Over these 13 months it has been nothing but extreme emotional and financial stress dealing with First place with no sense of accountability.
Save yourself from these nightmares, stress and anxiety Do not build with this builder. I would never recommend them to anyone.
Ask for Jason Zen to be your site manager – Just recently moved in to our new house. We’ve had a very bad experience with the builder First Place during mid-construction. It was a nightmare. No one picked up our phone calls or responded to our emails at all when we had problems. Until First place introduce us to one of their Best site manager Jason Zen during our handover stage. He is… Read more
very responsive and tried his very best to deal with problems we had with the build during the handover stage. Jason had excellent communication with me and kept me update with how and when issues were going to be fixed. Discussed in detail how he would fix the issue prior to house sign off. Anything and everything he got it all sorted out.
I’d like to say thankyou to Jason for all your help and you definitely deserve promotion or a pay rise cause my partner and I are both very happy with your service.
Diggers Rest – The hose is amazing. Attention to detail is exceptional. House well designed and user friendly. Sayed the manager was the best. Friendly and extremely helpful. This build went without any issues. The brick work is amazing and the internal paint job was flawless. I have had the best experience with this my first build. All the fittings were of good… Read more
quality. I can recommend First Place as a great company to work with. Moving in this week. Cant wait. Happy days
Great builders! – Phillip was our site manager and he was extremely thorough and easy to get in contact with. Seemed to always go above and beyound and was so accommodating when we wanted to check on progress of the build. Any questions or adjustments we had he was quick onto it and if there were any issues he got them resolved quickly. We are so grateful that he… Read more
was in charge and looking after everything!
The build ended up being so much faster than expected (amidst Christmas, builders strikes and material shortages) which meant we could move in sooner than we thought which was amazing. The actual quality of the buid was very good. The materials are basic quality but good for the price.
Our handover was amazing, we got to walk through everything with explanations of how to use or work everything. The paper work was thorough and easy to understand.
We have spoken to many people in our estate who have but with other builders and had so many issue so we are so glad that we went with First Place! Smooth sailing for us and no added pressure to an already stressful part of life (building a home).
Thank you to the team and Phil! You made our experience a great one!
So far all okay – So far my new house is going okay a couple of small problems but they can easily be fixed I’m up to frame stage and so far everything is okay I’m waiting for the next lock up See what happens next the supervisor [Name Removed] said it’s getting hard to get materials but so far it’s been okay Show details
PATHETIC! – Over a year on and I am being ignored with the remaining repairs required at my property!! Do not build with this company. They promised through email to come back and fix a water damaged shelf and cracks throughout the house STILL HAVENT ATTENDED AND I AM BEING IGNORED. my front door is still warped and a new dead lock was promised to be… Read more
installed STILL HASNT HAPPENED. This company uses cheap tradesman and the work is disgusting. For a dmall build this house has had nothing but issues. The bricks arw cracked on the side of the house the list goes on !!!
- +2
Keep Calm & Let First Place build your First Home & all your other homes too :) – Guy Aldrich, my site manager. As I sit in my new home & type this review, I cannot praise Guy enough. I reckon he is on a mission to lift the construction industry service standards. Available, knowledgeable & humble. Even with COVID & restrictions & 2 weeks construction shutdown. He managed to deliver the project with little or no trouble without… Read more
compromising on any finishes. All site inspections & handover seemed like a formality to tick boxes off.
Amanda Seaborne, pre-site manager. Simply genius. The building cost did not exceed what was quoted at tender & contract signing. Quality & finishes in the house are genuinely priced. Would definitely recommend savvy first home buyers or INVESTORS to get in touch with Amanda.
Sales Team, post purchase I realized the sales team could've offered me a few more upgrades like sliding doors for wardrobe. I opted for silver upgrade package but with my additions was pretty close to gold package. Still wasn't sold the gold package. Perhaps, because it was my first home so the sales team were just happy for me to sign up with basic stuff. Yes, I could've added new items as variations but who wants to grovel at the banks feet again.
Overall, I'm quite happy with my built & couldn't have asked for a better builder. You will get what you paid for albeit with a few bells & whistles. And that I think is the First Place difference.
ps. Will update again in 3 months time.
Amazing site manager for the build, poor customer service from First Place themselves – Mark is a phenomenal site manager! He kept me in the loop throughout the whole build and helped me narrow down who to talk to when issues with the build arose. Mark and his team have build an amazing house and I am so happy with my first home! First Place customer service though is a different story. They are slow to respond and resolve issues. Show details
A job well done!!! – Our Site Manager, Mark was simply amazing. This was our first house and being first home owners we made some errors in selections but Mark gave us some valuable advice and treated this house as if he was building his own. There were some hiccups like tradie strike but he kept us in the loop unlike their corporate team. I hope they work on their… Read more
skills.
Our interaction with the sales team was very bad but Mark built an excellent home and just because of him we would give them a five ⭐️ rating.
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Hi Don We want to process this… Read more