McDonald Jones Homes

Fantastic experience, McDonald Jones have been bybfar the best builder I have built with. Once all decisions were made about colour choices and ineterior/exterior choices, which was a great help using their studio interior designers etc. the rest was taken care if, the build was effortless from our end it was all looked after by our building supervisor, and I was kept informed along the way as to what is happening next.

Update 17/01: The General Manager called me personally to try and rectify the issues and will be in contact to try and get this sorted. Will update review accordingly and have increased the rating to a 4 star as the level as I received an excellent level understanding and customer service from the General Manager during this conversation.

-------------------------------

I'm building the Tulloch 31 with Mcdonald Jones and like many other reviews out there, my initial approval of their service has completely changed.

The hard product is fantastic: the design of the houses and the quality of the finish and products are outstanding. However, their service can really improve, let me explain...

The house is currently under construction and I'm organising for hardwood floors to go in to the first floor with my own subcontractor, who isn't allowed to go onto site before handover due to liability issues. Fair enough, this is a general rule in the industry even though many builders allow it. The problem is McDonald Jones are going to install the skirting boards BEFORE the hardwood flooring goes in, it's just ludicrous - I don't know how Mcdonald Jones can overlook or can't communicate this issue in the construction process: they give you the option of doing the hardwood floors yourself but are going to install the skirting boards beforehand!

I approached McDonald Jones with a few possible solutions to ensure the skirting boards go on after the floorboards do. The first was to allow my hardwood subcontractor on site to install the hardwood before the skirting boards go in being the simplest and easiest remedy. The response was absolutely not again citing liability reasons.

I then suggested two other options:

1. McDonald Jones leave the skirting boards and pay for my timber flooring contractor to install the skirting boards. I'm already paying for the skirting boards to be installed and found a very reasonable price to do so, so McDonald Jones isn't going to be out of pocket at all, they're simply going to pay my contractor to do a job that has already been paid for, or
2. Arrange for the McDonald Jones contractor to come back after my hardwood flooring contractor has installed the floorboards to install and paint the skirting boards.

Their response was very black and white: we either install the skirting boards before hand or we leave it for you to do. It's as if, in my opinion, they're not willing to do anything outside the box.

It's interesting how Mcdonald Jones raises a variation for more money to be paid to them whenever additional work is required, but a variation to pay out for something suddenly isn't possible when work (necessarily) can't/won't be carried out (when alternatives are being provided).

However, just a shout out to my Construction Supervisor [name removed] who has been amazing throughout the whole process so far, he just has to follow the rules of McDonald Jones.

Our process from Dep paid to building commencement has been 12 months and full of stress, anxiety and disappointment, BUT we are now about to start construction and I have high hopes for a good build now that senior staff (construction side) are involved. [name removed] has been assisting us all the way along, shared our frustrations, pushed on our behalf where possible and answered every question and email we've had. In all honesty, we would have walked away from Mac Jones if it had not been for her support.
Hoping that we can now move forward and enjoy the same support from our building team and move into a beautiful home this year.

Throughout our time with Sandy, we knew exactly where in the process we stood, and knew that she was taking care of our process as if it were her own home.
Not only is Sandy professional and efficient with the work she does at McDonald Jones, she is also a lovely and easy going person to talk to about anything and everything!
Will definitely recommend anyone who is building with McDonald Jones to be dealt with her!

When building a home , small problems can pop up , but it helps when higher management are there to solve these little problems if they ever pop up. I've had a few small issues but all steam ahead .
McDonald jones homes higher management even rang me on a Saturday afternoon to fix and sort it out.
That's why we choose McDonald jones homes.
Thanks MDJ.

Our overall experience with McDonald Jones Homes from start to finish was a positive and mostly smooth process.

PRE-CONSTRUCTION:
During the pre-construction phase, we had a few hiccups with a new CLO being appointed due to our old one leaving MJH. Our new CLO Brett Chorley went above and beyond to keep us up to date and informed of what was happening at each stage of the process. Despite the huge number of clients that Brett had taken on and the challenges he faced, Brett remained positive, helpful and friendly throughout.

The biggest hiccup we had during pre-construction was with the changes to the Housing Code. Although this was completely out of the hands of MJH, we had a very positive experience in dealing with Phil Haigh who was keeping us up to date with changes and progress. As soon as he heard an update on the changes he personally sent me an email to inform me just 5 minutes after he sent an email out to his staff (after hours). Another great example of a staff member dedicated to their clients.

CONSTRUCTION:
The positive experience continued on to construction, and we had Luke Swannell appointed as our SS. Our build timeline far exceeded our expectations - we had our slab poured in mid-January 2017 and we recieved keys in June 2017. We believe this is a huge credit to Luke, his professionalism and ability to manage the site, trades and most importantly us, the owners.

Luke updated us every Friday throughout the build via phone, he was extremely responsive to all of our questions and concerns, always willing to meet with us on site if needed, he was honest and transparent about things throughout the build process and best of all he has delivered a high quality home for us to enjoy for many years to come.

As customers and first home owners investing so much time and money, it can be so daunting embarking on this journey and with so many negative stories around for building in general, it is hard to know what to expect. However the level of service, expertise and professionalism from Luke is so greatly appreciated and certainly did not unnoticed from us!

Each of the key people we dealt with, particularly Luke and Brett, are assets to MJH and should be highly credited for their service and dedication to the business. We would not hesitate in recommending MJH to friends and family looking to build, and if we are to build again in the future we would absolutely go back to MJH!

From the day 1, the experience with Mcjones was very good. They accommodated all changes many times and without much of an overhead. Once the construction started, Luke Swannel, site supervisor was very helpful, courtesies and very professional and cooperated with all changes. The best part of the construction was, it was completed 2 months ahead of schedule with just 3 minor defects. I would build with Macjones anyday, who I think have one of the best single storey designs.

Chose our home at the Thornton Display Village with Michael Squires who was very helpful. Vanessa Lynch was our Project Coordinator until we went on to the Construction List. I cannot say enough about Vanessa, she was absolutely brilliant throughout the pre build phase, always available to answer any questions and extremely helpful and reassuring as our land took some time to register. It was an absolute pleasure to have her as our Project Coordinator. Michelle Odgers assisted us in the Design Studio, we could not have made our colour choices so well without her expertise and we loved the whole concept of the Design Studio. The tour and our subsequent visit before making our choices was extremely helpful. Adam Rademaker was our Site Supervisor for the build and he was amazing, the weekly update phone calls from Adam were so helpful together with the McDonald Jones portal which we viewed regularly and Adam's photos on the portal were excellent! We could not have got a better Site Supervisor, thank you so much Adam. The workmanship was extremely good, apart from a few very minor details which were always fixed immediately. Our contract price from inception to finish was a little more than we expected due to some necessary variations but this is only a minor detail as we are more than happy with the build from start to finish. I would highly recommend McDonald Jones if anyone wants a quality build.

I note that this is our second time building (first time was not with MJH) so we have had experience with construction. We have had a positive experience with MJH overall and I would recommend them to friends and family. We had a few administrative hiccups which is simply the nature of making the decision to (1) build a house, (2) build with a high volume builder. I genuinely think our experience was made positive by two key people:

Brett Chorley - our CLO

Brett took over our original CLO Eleanor. He called us to introduce himself and advised us he was taking over, after not even knowing that Eleanor had even left. Taking on someone else's client base not easy but throughout the time he managed our pre-construction, he always went above and beyond. He provided us with constant updates and help get the file over the line in time before the tender expiry. In addition to this, he also continued to assist us with matters behind the scenes.

Luke Swannell

Luke Swannell is an amazing site supervisor. He is quite obviously an expert in his field. His communication was exceptional as he always provided us with a weekly status update over the phone, always responded to queries via email and phone in a timely manner.

One example of proving how Luke goes above and beyond is that he fell ill on our handover day. After having a hectic week of running around to ensure the last progress payment hit MJHs bank account in time, we were expecting the handover to occur on the Friday. I had not heard at all - it turns out we were never notified that he was ill and would not make it (this message was meant to be passed onto us by someone in the office). We had trades scheduled in on the weekend so it was critical for us to have the keys handed to us that day (otherwise we would have had to push them back, and could have been at least 2 weeks without flooring).

Luke met with us on a Saturday (still not feeling 100%) to ensure handover occurred. In addition to this, he has been helping us with issues that have popped up during the short time we have been in our home.

. The main thing that is appreciated from a consumer point of view is regular updates of what's happening and where things are at. Brett Chorley and Luke Swannell did this and they understand what customer service is all about.

They are both assets to McDonald Jones and for those who are fortune to be allocated to either of these gentlemen will no doubt have a great experience too.

It has been a nightmare building with McDonald Jones Home. It’s now 2 years since contract was signed in July 2016 and there are outstanding items still waiting to be completed. We’ve been through most distressing times as it has taken so long and we’ve tried again and again to chase up the remaining items to be completed. Building supervisor hardly ever reply to our emails or phone calls. Project coordinator is really useless as she never gives us any answers to our questions or solves any of our problems. All she ever did was to forward our emails to other departments or other groups within McDonald Jones Home. She never cared about whether we do actually get a reply from the people she forwarded our email to or whether our problem gets solved. We’ve asked for contact details of managers for lodging our concerns and complaints a few times, but we were never given such information.

We built our home in 2014-2015. We decided on McDonald Jones after going through many display homes from various builders. Our build was managed very well by our foreman and was ahead of schedule by 1week. Our home has had no issues since our initial build and we are very happy with the workmanship. We had a few minor defects which were fixed by the foreman within 1week of moving in. We had no changes to our contract price.

We had an excellent experience with Rick Harrison, our Sales Consultant, and because we were traveling, he was very flexible in slowing down and speeding up parts of the initial process. The flexibility we had in rearranging the floor plan was considerable, and the cost of doing so very reasonable. We benefitted in the Choices part of the process by the sensible advice of the coordinator there. We had one small disagreement about what was to be included in the base price for the kitchen, and this was resolved quickly and satisfactorily with the support of our Sales Consultant. The only surprise in the process was in the additional site preparation costs. It would be better to be told about these likely costs (retaining walls, extra fill, tiger tails, etc) before the stage of Consolidated Tender.
The Slab Supervisor was excellent and got it poured in good time, despite rainy weather. The first Site Supervisor, Steve, was excellent- but when he had to leave, we had two other Site Supervisors- Clarke- who filled in- and Scott Hamburger who took on the job and has brought it to completion. We were concerned that the change in supervision would slow down the process, but each new supervisor was keen to keep to the original schedule, and in fact, the practical completion- which takes place tomorrow- is five weeks ahead of the date notified for completion at the start. We are delighted, and would recommend McDonald Jones Homes.

Our build really became enjoyable from the time we dealt with Kate Murace at our Colours meeting. Robert Wernicke, our site supervisor, promised to deliver us a home in quality that he would live in himself. To this end he delivered! I would recommend McDonald Jones, remembering that building a home is a complex, challenge riddled exercise to which I feel the company has delivered a strong result. Expect difficulties along the way - that's house building. But we are very thankful for our home.

The build of my home went close to five months over time. During this time hardly any trades were on site and communication with both office staff and site staff was terrible. They did not answer emails even after following up and were rude and condescending in their approach.

The defects I have now in my home total over 300 ... some of which are major. The dwelling is not water tight ... in fact I can see the steel frame through some of the cladding. The workmanship is abysmal. If you are considering building with MJH, please reconsider. This was the worse mistake I have made.

We signed a consolidated tender with MJH 27th September last year. We had requested the full price of the display home as it stood with all inclusions and made this very clear. We were assured that the price given included coffered ceilings,downlights,the same kitchen,bathrooms,etc. We signed the tender and handed over our $5000 deposit then the price began to change. The base price was $264,000 but to build as per the display home at Homeworld Thornton the price had gone up to $330,000 we were ok with this. Then came additional site costs taking the total to $343,520. Add to this downlights @ $195 each a total of around $7,800, door handles $52 each over $500, TV Antenna $999, flyscreens starting at $55 each. And the list just went on and on. Not to mention the ridiculous prices to upgrade the kitchen and bathrooms,garage door, bricks and the poor selection of tiles and carpet. It was at the My Choice Studio Appointment which took 35 minutes instead of the allocated 90 minutes, when questions were not allowed to be asked, I realized just how expensive this home would become.Before any work had commenced I requested our deposit back as a quick calculation showed this home was going to cost in excess of $100,000 over the price quoted which we would not be able to afford. I was told in no uncertain terms that the deposit would not be refunded and that I should have read the very,very small print on the back page of the contract, which had not been given to me or signed. Then came endless rude and insulting emails from a [name removed] from MJH who stated we should have spent more time reading fine print and that we would not be getting our deposit back. We decided to go with another builder who was excellent, no extra site cost.Our neighbour who commenced building their home with MJH about a month after us still has not moved in, we have been in our new home now for 4 months. Days and weeks have gone by without a tradie in sight and they have advised us of never ending problems with MJH including no drain pipes in their ensuite. If your looking to sign with MJH be very aware of how much your really going to have to pay for your new home and what it does NOT include.

My husband and I are first new home owners currently building with McDonald Jones home. Our dream home is close to finish but I wanted to stop in to thank the people that made it all happened. Our Sales representative Daniel King we met Daniel in the showroom in Jordan Springs but hes now based in Kellyville. We live in Penrith but we go all the way to Kellyville just to visit Daniel. My husband and I are so proud of the work hes done from the start for us. He is an extremely amazing person, very helpful, and very good at the role he's in. The second and the third people my husband and I would like to thank are our slab supervisors Michael Stewart and our site supervisor Brent Reid (West supervisors) Both of these men have worked extremely hard to build our dream home to our expectations and we are so grateful for all the work they have done. We would've prob changed our minds to go with another builder if it wasnt for All x3 of them. Brent would have called us every Friday of the week to give us an update of where they are at with building. My husband and I are extremely busy with work and no time to make it to our site but we didnt have to worry because Brent would stay in contact he was great at communications and organisations. Please pass these messages to Daniel, Michael and Brent on our behalf esp to their managers and we do hope that these men will be rewarded for their hard work because they are the reasons why we chose to build with McDonald Jones Homes.

We have had a very good experience building with Mcdonald Jones. Many thanks to Nathan, our Sales Consultant who handled the Tender Phase professionally and his attention to detail was outstanding.

Vicki our Colours Consultant was extremely helpful in assisting us with our design palette. We included the flooring in the build and we were very happy with the finished product.

Project Co-ordinator Sandy, ably guided us through the pre build and contract management phase in a professional manner, keeping us in the loop and our paperwork in order.

Unfortunately, during construction we had a number of Building Supervisors.

However, Paul Andriske, came on board and reassured us that everything was on track. Paul was always professional, knowledgeable & approachable throughout the process.

The "construction clean" was adequate and the handover paperwork folder could have been a lot clearer and more professionally presented.

Overall, we had a very good experience building with Mcdonald Jones. There will be some items addressed during the 13 week warranty period, but these are not show stoppers.

Thank you to Mcdonald Jones and especially Karla and Jacinda the Customer Service receptionists, as they always made us feel very welcome and answered any queries promptly.

MJH truly lived up to their slogan and have built our dream family home.
Our whole experience has been wonderful throughout the whole journey from the initial contact and design with Xavier, to the colour choice selections with Kiara and the contract process with Brett. It has all gone so seamlessly due to the professionalism and friendliness of the staff, with the house being simply wonderful and amazing in every way.
We owe a great deal to our building supervisor, Dean Thompson who is a real asset to MJH. His approachability, clear articulation of the process and knowledge have been exemplary since we first established contact. He has helped us along the way seamlessly removing any potential stress, answered our queries, provided regular progress reports and has continued to help us since we moved in to help us to get settled.
We would recommend MJH to anyone wanting to build there own home and will take great delight in all our friends and family enjoying our new home as much as we are.

Cassandra was very prompt and professional in responding to questions.
Occasionally a call would have been ideal instead of an email when critical response was required but other than that she was onto everything.
We had non-compliance issues with building and landscape plans which caused us to lose around 3 weeks in progress. We probably placed too much reliance that MJH would pick these up and we missed them too. A lesson learnt for us to take more ownership.

Customer service is very good. We got quick response from the team whenever we have query regarding our build.Awesome Project coordinator by explaining all the preconstruction process in detail and by replying all our emails promptly.she is very helpful and friendly.Management team is quick in all the preconstruction steps.Amazing sales consultant too. He has given more useful suggestions for our build. we had positive experience so far.