Poor /no communication - except for the bills of course!
It all started well, then came the huge variations that we weren't told about for 5 months of planning. After buying a flat block with a compaction certificate we were given a 12k variation to dig it out. That was march. The variation was dated the previous October and no one shared that information. We raced through selections all of January so not to hold anything up. We only got our selections pack half way through Dec so I think we did well considering the Xmas break. We had been told that if we did our part, it would happen quickly. That obviously changed when someone tried to bill us the extra costs. We tried to pull out of the contract but were told something could be arranged. That was soil removal for 700 tonne! After that was paid, at a much higher rate than agreed we are left with 25k of retaining which wasn't in the original budget or plan. Trying to communicate is impossible, the only contact we get is invoices. Now we will be homeless at Christmas because the build is tracking far behind and the supervisor won't make contact. Our landlord tried to be as flexible as they could but are having to sell and after 3 month extension they can't extend any longer. So we now have Christmas with four children and nowhere to live. So far, it's been terrible.
Construction End DateFeb 2018
4 comments
Dear Bianca,
We’re sorry to hear about your concerns regarding the building of your new home. We pride ourselves on our customer service and will look into the situation regarding your build.
If you could please contact customerservice@oakfordhomes.com.au with your contact details, and we can then work with you to resolve any issues.
Thank you
Oakford HomesDear Bianca
It has been a few weeks since you posted your review and while I have corresponded with you and have tried to meet with you to discuss your concerns, this has not yet happened. It is now necessary to respond to this review to correct the misleading information that you have posted.
I agree the variation for the siteworks was sent out too late. I have taken steps to ensure that this does not happen again.
The block of land that you bought was never flat. While a partial platform was provided on your block, the fall across it still created a substantial fall of 3.85m. The design and orientation of your house has resulted in the bench level being lower than the partial bench provided. The level was set by the engineers to accommodate the correct driveway gradients. This resulted in excess material being removed from site. Provision for this was made in your contract.
When you queried the costs, we did our best to help you by arranging for you to use our earthworks sub-contractor to assist by doing it as cost effectively as possible, with no financial gain to ourselves.
The delay in starting the build was caused in part by a delay in us receiving your final documents and poor weather at the start of the build.
On the day that you posted your review, you were advised by the Administration Manager that handover would be early December at the latest. You were never going to be homeless over Christmas.
It is our company policy that I am always available to meet with clients who have an issue.
As always, I take these matters very seriously and as promised, you will have a new home to move into in early December.
Kind regards
Tom Craven
Managing Director, Oakford HomesTom, we have suggested times to meet to only be told our emails went to spam. Hard to believe after all of the correspondence that preceded that. We were also told of one week that was available (which didn't suit owing to shifts and commitments) and told you were busy after that. The block of land was sold to us as flat and we were assured by your agent that it was prior to signing. While it was unfortunate that it ended up being not flat, we would have worked with this information had we known in October when you did. We didn't know until march and had to assess whether an extra 35k of costs was worth it. We were estimated 5 k in soil costs, to be billed 12 which we had to fight to reduce to 8. We have been threatened with slander and delays on our build if we don't remove this review. All we want is to have our house delivered as agreed. We won't even go in issues around quality yet as I'm hoping the process will allow for those to be remedied before handover.
Tommy
Their finish quality was bad.
Their paint finish was terrible. Paint runs and spatter from the paint spraying causing rough surface finish. Some areas looked like it had only one coat. Spent the week sanding all the skirting and cleaning paint specks off the door handles and chrome balustrade. They should not have accepted a poor paint job like what we got. On the plus side the cabinetry was excellent. [name removed] did a great job and their process was fantastic.
2 comments
Dear Tommy,
We’re sorry to hear you’re not happy with the quality of finish on your new home. We take quality very seriously, and make every effort to ensure the finish of our homes is of an high standard. Please contact customerservice@oakfordhomes.com.au with your contact details, and we’ll work with you to resolve any issues.
Many thanks,
Oakford HomesOakford home are true to their commitment to provide customer satisfaction and quality . After meeting with the general manager, construction manager and site supervisor to check all quality concerns. They were on to the issues and organized required trades to come and fix majority of the major quality issues promptly. 5stars for that. Hopefully this is a lesson learnt so Oakford homes do not hand over a house in a condition like mine was in to their other clients.
Questions & Answers
How can I obtain a ball park price on an Oakford design so that I will have some idea of what I can spend on a block of land..?
No answers
First time home builders and we are looking into Oakford homes but the quotes we are getting seem to be a lot cheaper than other companies which seems to worry me slightly. I was wondering if anyone has built with them and could give a rough idea of how much the final cost was compared to the starting quote? we are not looking for fancy high class products as we are young and would rather build within budget and upgrade latter where possible. Any help or advice would be very welcome. Thanks
2 answers
I wouldn't be too concerned with the price. We found oakford to be exceptional value and having built before understood all the different specs. They're specs are in most cases better than the others for a lot less. I'm not sure why, maybe ask them, but I suspect their margins are smaller and therefore you save.
The quality wasn't compromised either.
I think you will find building with them and very easy process.Who did you end up building with? And what was your experience like?
4 comments