- Pre-Construction
- ·
- Mid-Construction
- ·
- Post-Construction
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Jason Chapman from Simonds Homes for his exceptional customer service, professionalism, and dedication throughout my defect inspection process in May 2026. Jason visited my home and carefully went through every item on my defect list, taking the time to inspect each concern thoroughly. What stood… Read more · 1
out was his patience and willingness to determine whether issues could be resolved on the spot or whether a follow-up visit would be required. He listened attentively, remembered every concern I raised, and ensured that nothing was overlooked.
Beyond addressing the defects, Jason generously shared practical advice on home maintenance, including tips on managing minor settlement cracks and understanding normal house movement. As a first-time homeowner, I found his guidance incredibly valuable. He even provided additional documents and resources to help me better understand how to care for and maintain my home in the long term.
Jason's support didn't stop after the inspection. He continued to follow up with the relevant tradespeople/contractor to ensure the repairs were completed. When a replacement part was delayed due to delivery, he kept track of the situation and, once it arrived, personally assist to install it without unnecessary delay. That level of ownership and commitment is something you don't often come across.
Throughout the entire process, Jason was approachable, knowledgeable, responsive, and genuinely invested in making sure every concern was resolved properly. His dedication and willingness to go the extra mile made what could have been a stressful experience smooth and reassuring. Thank you, Jason, for your outstanding service and support. I truly appreciate everything you've done to ensure my home was taken care of.
Over the past few years we have built 4 dual occupancy townhouses with Masterpiece. We were very grateful that we had Darryl Pinto overseeing every step of the build for us. He always made sure of maintaining the highest quality and ensuring that every step of the build was done to perfection. After completion of the properties, all maintenance… Read more · 1
issues were dealt with speedily and efficiently by Jason Fernandez from Masterpiece maintenance division. Such amazing service is really hard to find these days. Having being fortunate to have had two such wonderful and caring individuals , made our experience with Masterpiece something we will forever be grateful.
We’ve been living in our Simonds built home for almost a month and we couldn’t be happier! Simonds took over our job after our second builder went into liquidation, and considering the circumstances, the process has been relatively smooth. A big shoutout to our Construction Supervisor Matt Westlake! He’s always been approachable and helpful, and… Read more · 1
was always happy to meet onsite and walk us through any questions we had with the build. Matt made the whole process seamless and easy, regularly updating us throughout the construction period. I would definitely recommend Simonds for your next build.
Reviews with attachments
- +2
I couldn't be happier with Darryl's performance. His communication has been excellent, the pace of the build has exceeded our expectations while still maintaining a quality finish through all stages. Since Shaneece has taken over our project from an admin point of view, we've felt more up to date with the build and felt at ease with any admin… Read more · 1
processes. Can't thank the team enough for the process so far. I have been actively recommending this team to others who have been thinking of knockdown rebuilding on the back of their performance.
Having built many homes before, my experience throughout my Simonds journey was easy. My supervisor Clint was on top of everything. Between Clint and his management team - our new family home was delivered perfectly. And I admit - I am a very fussy customer. Thank you Masterpiece / thank you Simonds family. Show details · 1
Matt Westlake, our Construction Supervisor at Simonds Homes, was exceptional throughout the entire rebuild process. After our original builder was unable to complete the build, Simonds stepped in, worked closely with our existing house plans and surveyor, managed a complete teardown and rebuild, and made what could have been a very stressful… Read more · 1
experience much easier. Matt was extremely knowledgeable, approachable and very thorough, always keeping us informed and ensuring the build was completed to a very high standard. We wouldn’t hesitate to build with Simonds Homes again.
We are very happy to finally finish building our house with Simonds Homes. A big thank you to Matt Westlake, our supervisor during the build, for managing everything and helping us throughout the process. Also thank you to Emilia Gale for working together with Matt and always assisting us when needed. A special thank you to Ishwar Gupta, who… Read more · 1
patiently encouraged and helped us to start building our home journey. We truly appreciate all the support and guidance provided from the beginning.
We also want to thank Danielle Russell for all her help before we started building our house.
Building a home can be stressful at times, but we are grateful for all the support and assistance from the team. We are really grateful to meet such wonderful people during our journey.
Wishing all of you the very best for the future and thank you again for helping us complete our new home.
- +3
House Design: Weatherly 35_324 Completion Date: 30/3/2026 Supervisor: Tom McDean Onsite CRC: Emilia Gale Sales: Daniella Adrien I would like to commend the extraordinary commitment and dedication of my Building Manager, Tom McDean, as well as to acknowledge the support provided by Sale, Daniella Adrien and Contruction-CRC Emilia Gale. My journey… Read more · 1
with Tom and Emilia once they took over was incredibly easy and smooth; its pole apart from the working relationship I had with my postsale-CRC.
Where I once felt constant uncertainty, Tom provided absolute confidence. He stepped in during a time when I genuinely feared the project would fail, potentially leaving me homeless. Tom’s diligent follow-through and empathy for my situation were what ultimately saved this build.
Tom kept me grounded with regular updates and clear communication, ensuring I was never left in the dark. It is a direct testament to his personal high standards that I have now taken over a house with nil defects. Without Tom’s intervention and his unwavering drive to see this through, this project would not be what it is today. He is a credit to his profession, and I cannot appreciate his hard work enough. It is rare to see such dedication, and I believe his efforts deserve special recognition.
I also want to acknowledge Sale, Daniella who's support did not stop at Post Sale. Daniella kept assisting me whenever I have difficulties commuication with post-sale CRC. Enuring that I was properly handed over to the construction team.
After handover, Tom and Emilia constanly helping me with questions and making sure I settle into my new home. Together, they demonstrated professionalism, empathy, and commitment to ensuring the project’s success.
I am proud to have Tom, Emilia and Daniella manging my project. Their service and dedication went above and beyond, and I am truly grateful for everything they have done
We recently completed the construction of our two-storey home with Simmonds Homes, and this is actually not our first experience with them — some 20 years ago, Simmonds also built our first home in Keysborough. Having returned to Simmonds as a repeat client, we would like to share an honest account of our experience, highlighting both the… Read more · 1
strengths of the team and a few areas where we feel improvements could be made. From the very beginning, our sales consultant went above and beyond to help us navigate the initial challenges we faced when proposing to build on our lot in Chadstone. His guidance and professionalism gave us the confidence to move forward with the project. Throughout the process, our customer consultant was a pleasure to deal with. She was prompt, responsive, and always on hand to answer our queries and provide the information we needed — making the entire journey feel well-supported and stress-free. Special mention must go to our building supervisor, who truly stood out. He managed the project with exceptional skill and professionalism. Tom was approachable, knowledgeable, and genuinely listened to our needs. He was accommodating at every step, making thoughtful adjustments where he could to ensure the finished product met our expectations — and he delivered everything well ahead of the target completion date. However, we did encounter a few shortcomings that we feel are worth raising for the benefit of future clients. During our colour selection session at the city office, we chose our preferred colours but were not provided with physical samples to take home. Having samples would have allowed us to view them in our own environment and lighting conditions before making a final confirmation — something we feel is an important step in the process that should be offered as standard. We were also disappointed that the design team declined our request to extend the garage to the boundary fence. Our intention was to create a wider entry door. The decision to leave a 200mm gap between the garage wall and the boundary not only rendered that strip of land unusable but also cost us the opportunity to have an entry door up to 1.2 metres wider — a significant loss in both functionality and liveability. Finally, the original plan we reviewed clearly showed an eave on the right-hand side of the roof, and we naturally expected this feature to be included in the final construction. Unfortunately, this eave was absent in the completed build. We feel the design team had an obligation to specifically draw our attention to this change before the plans were finalised, as it is an important architectural detail that affects both the appearance and the weather protection of the home. As returning clients of over two decades, we have a genuine appreciation for what Simmonds Homes can deliver, and we acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the individuals mentioned above. We hope Simmonds Homes will take this feedback constructively and use it to further improve the experience for future clients. We would still recommend Simmonds Homes, with the suggestion that greater attention be given to client communication and design transparency throughout the process.
- +2
Ref Job No. 77352 Chandradeep has been a very resourceful and helpful during the whole journey starting from finding the right plan to the end of journey of completing the construction of my new house in Kalkallo, VIC Show details · 1
From the moment we stepped into the display house and met with sales consultant Jen Chua, contract negotiation with Laura and and the colour gallery team; and now mid-construction with our CRC Emilia Gale and Site Supervisor Shane Kelly - we have nothing by full faith that our new double story home will be exactly what we dream of. The Simonds… Read more · 1
team have been able to accommodate layout changes to the Armidale 38-352 floorplan to meet our needs, and provide regular updates on the build. Any queries we have are met with nothing but a sense of wanting help; and both Emilia and Shane are easily contactable and responsive. So far we are loving the way our home is coming together and can't recommend this Simonds team highly enough.
Excellent customer service by our supervisor supo. Build quality is also very good. Highly recommended to choose simond in bulk builders. Totally satisfied with outcome of the product delivered by company. Show details · 1
- +1
We had an amazing experience building our first home with Simonds. Our site coordinator Fletch was exceptional—accommodating, transparent, and consistently going above and beyond expectations. Admin Shaneece was always easy to reach, friendly, and willing to help, making the entire process smooth and stress-free. Overall, we would definitely build again with Simonds. Show details · 1
Find out how Simonds VIC, Melbourne compares to other Project Home Builders
Know better, choose better.
Just moved into our incredible new home. My family is stoked. It is a 60 square home in Chadstone, built to a high spec. The Simonds team have been nothing short of absolutely exceptional and amazing. Our designer, Brad really listened to what we wanted to achieve. I found the process a lot more open than the other builders - in that they were… Read more · 1
really interested in seeing what they could do to modify the design to meet our needs. Brad had a lot of design knowledge, a lot of which now that I'm in the home, I can see the brilliance of - this includes simple things, that aren't so obvious, like the framing of rooms, or the use of bulk heads to create interest etc. He also remained interested throughout the whole build and was a pleasure to deal with. Then we worked with Alanah in colours, who held our hand through some big decisions - and was just a pleasure to work with. She really put as at ease. Then came the build. Starting a new home build is always a bit nerve wracking, but the team of Stephanie and Tom (supervisor) really made us feel confident at every step. Tom is a really passionate builder. He's the best builder I've worked with. It's clear that he's excited by building, and he's passionate about doing things well, right and on time. He was advocating the whole time for us, in getting the right standards achieved at every stage. He was open, honest, and I could see despite how busy he was, he was always trying to make sure he got a good result for us. That often meant on his own accord, he was pushing the trades to achieve high standards, even before we brought things up. This gave us a lot of confidence. In the end the quality is very good. The costs did not differ from the estimated costs - which was also reassuring. We couldn't be happier with that team, and I would be very keen to have the same team again on a future house. There are some things at handover still to be done, but I'm confident the team is making those things happen. Overall, we couldn't be happier with our new home, and hope the post hand over maintenance team is just as strong.
Subject: Recognition of Excellent Work - TOM Mc Dean Dear Mr Rhett Simonds, I'm writing to express my sincere appreciation for your employees outstanding work and leadership as our building supervisor (TOM Mc Dean) during new home build in Vermont South. His exceptional communication skills / proactive management made a significant difference.… Read more · 1
He ensured the project ran smoothly and efficiently, keeping everyone on track and positive.
I particularly value his kindness, professionalism and prompt update, "clear instructions that helped me understand the process, "
Also our onsite CRC Emilia Gale. She kept me updated every week as promised. Very positive and lovely voice too :)
I hope TOM McDean and Emilia Gale will be praised and rewarded for being a great asset to your company - Simonds group.
Definitely will build my next new home with Simonds - Subject to having TOM MCDEAN & Emilia gale :)
Thank you once again. Wish your all the best ahead
- +6
I chose Simonds Homes because their display homes offered layouts that suited my needs perfectly, and their pricing was transparent and competitive. Communication throughout the build was generally very good. Chandra and Julia were extremely helpful from my first visit to the display homes, taking the time to answer all my questions. Later in the… Read more · 1
process, the site supervisors, Steve and Zac, were consistently responsive to my calls and emails and provided clear updates whenever I had enquiries. Joanne, the customer relations coordinator, kept me informed at every stage, and any changes I requested were explained clearly, including costs and how they would affect the schedule.
The overall craftsmanship of the home is solid. The cabinetry, tiling, and plasterwork were all completed to a high standard, and the materials used feel durable and well-made.
Overall, I’m very happy with my new home and would recommend Simonds Homes to families looking for an affordable, well-designed build. They offer great value, quality finishes, and reliable customer service.
Excellent service, very quick, chandra deep has taken care of each and every requirement. Handed over the property before time Very good communication we had throughout our building journey They were quick on queries Show details · 1
My husband and I are first time home buyers and you could imagine our worries and anxiety in building our dream home. But big thanks to Brad and Bella who exerted extra effort in guiding and explaining the whole process. Initially we were building with another builder and we had so many questions unanswered, we always requested for update and… Read more · 1
when we had the professional inspector for the first, they didn't offer rectification and didn't want to answer our questions.
But when we moved to Simmonds, I could compare the professionalism and expertise of the people especially Brad and Bella. Bella always gives immediate response to our emails and questions, she is patient in answering our confusions. She is accommodating and informative in guiding us with the steps that we were expecting during the stages of our build.
Brad as our Site Supervisor, is one of the bests and we are very grateful to him with all of his help to us. We had experience being passed to about 2-3 site supervisors from the previous builder company and when we moved to Simmonds I could say that Brad is the best site supervisor we ever had during our build. Brad is approachable and with genuine care to his clients. When we had our PCI or Practical Completion Inspection, we have witnessed professionalism and with great attention to details. He made sure we understand the process and things we have to keep in mind as we move to our home.
Moving to our new home became smooth and perfect, deepest gratitude to Simonds Homes especially to Brad and Bella. We regret not getting your services in the very beginning. But we are very grateful that we have completed our build with you. If in the future we will be building another home, I will make sure I will ask Simonds Homes in the very beginning. Thank you very much D85992
Latest follow-ups
My son built a house in the northern suburbs and, long story short, his original builder went into liquidation. The project was then taken over by Simonds Homes. His site supervisor, Ohan, has been excellent throughout the entire process. He is… Read more · 1
always well organised, communicates clearly, and genuinely follows through on what he promises, doing his best to ensure everything is completed on time.
If you are lucky enough to have Ohan as your site supervisor, you will be in very good hands. Highly recommended.
A big thank you to Simonds Homes for the amazing work and support during a very stressful situation.
Follow-up · NOTE WE STARTED WITH SIMONDS HALFWAY BUILD HOUSE, ALSO THROUGH THE INSURANCE COMPANY ONLY. VERY LEAST NUMBER OF DEFECTS SPECIALLY THE PAINTING AND A ONE ISSUE WITH CARPET IN MASTER BEDROOM. BUT SUPERVISOR FIXED EVERYTHING. NO DEPECTS AT ALL FOR THE 6 MONTHS INSPECTION. NOW ALMOST NEARLY ONE YEAR, WE HAVE NOTICE NO WINDOW MESHES INSTALLED.BUT SIMONDS FIXED IT EVEN AFTER SO MANY MONTHS.OVERALL ALL THE STAFF ARE GOOD.
- +7
writing this review after 18 month of build – Really regret for house build by Simonds as i put my review before as well this is my 2nd review after living in house for 18 month. 1) The house quality is to low if I close any door …house other wall fill vibrate 2) All internal door specially… Read more
bathroom door start swelling off 3) All door push button lock and handle start playing up 4) The patches and colour shades start showing off in wall and doors 5) colour start peeling off on the corner and in middle of wall 6) Sliding door and window make noise while sliding 7) Every single join of the house start making gap in between,( this happening even after filling up them couple of times) 8) Gas stove spark not responding from 4th month of handover ( low quality gas stove) 9) look like only 1 cote of colour on wall, even minor cloth touch show colour peeling off. 10) kitchen/ bathroom benchtop formican start coming off.
too many things to list,,,stay away from low quality builder.
Follow-up · review from1st till today do not build with Simonds builder
Be aware of this builder! They took over where Dennis Homes had left off after chasing them to fix issues with the house at the handover and after more than 3 yrs Simonds home has come back saying “it’s out of warranty”. This is excuse they have… Read more
used after taking months and years to come out to fix which shouldn’t be there at the start. Be very careful with Simonds
Follow-up · Still no action and all silent from a prominent builder
In-depth reviews
We started our build journey with Dennis Family Homes which then transferred over to Simonds pre construction. Joanne Murphy was our Customer Relationship Coordinator and she was wonderful. Always provided updates in a timely manner and answered any queries promptly. I always loved receiving Joanne's updates, she was always upbeat and cheerful. … Read more · 1
Our build started with Brenton Reaby as the Construction Supervisor and he was fantastic. He regularly kept us updated, answered all queries in a timely manner. Brenton did an amazing job in managing trades and progressing the job well. Another Construction Supervisor took over our job and we were disappointed that Brenton was unable to finish our job.
The changeover of supervisors seemed to delay our job by 6-8 weeks. The new supervisor was good, however there were communication issues, unmet timeframes (as advised by himself) and items not being following through. He was a nice guy in person, however perhaps had too many jobs on his schedule to give ours the attention it needed. A lot of items identified during PCI was not addressed prior to handover, which then rolled into 3 month maintenance, with many trades having to revisit. It would have been nice to have this completed pre-handover.
Our 3 month maintenance was managed by Harry Penesis. Harry did a stellar job in reviewing our maintenance items and was diligent in getting these items completed efficiently. Harry followed through with everything he said he would and kept us well informed along the way. He made the maintenance process very easy for us, the homeowners.
There were delays with our build due to the handover from Dennis Family Homes and then the change in Construction Supervisor which perhaps took half a star off this review. I would definitely build again with Simonds Homes as the quality is very good and there were no major defects or deviations from our contract and plans. However I believe there is room for improvement. There are a lot of things that were picked up as "within tolerance" and deemed acceptable, however we invest so much time and money into a house build that Simonds (and other builders) should strive for better than "tolerance". Overall, it was a good build, albeit slightly longer than we had hoped
Thankyou to everyone at Simonds and Dennis Family Homes involved with building our forever home!
Contact signed - September 2024 Essential info - November 2024 Site start - April 2025 Handover - December 2025
Find out how Simonds VIC, Melbourne compares to other Project Home Builders
Know better, choose better.
I would like to sincerely thank Jason Chapman from Simonds Homes for his outstanding support and professionalism. Last year, I raised several concerns regarding my home, which is still under warranty. One of the major issues was a significant crack in an internal wall. Jason visited my property, thoroughly inspected the issue, and explained that… Read more · 1
the crack was likely caused by land settlement. He recommended that I have the caulking completed immediately to help prevent further movement, which proved to be very effective.
A year later, Jason returned to reassess the situation. After carefully inspecting the crack, he confirmed that it had not deteriorated further, giving me confidence that the land had fully settled. During this visit, he also took the time to patiently listen to and document several other concerns around the home.
What impressed me most was Jason’s commitment to resolving the issues. Following our discussion, he promptly organised the necessary tradespeople, and all the repairs were completed within 10 days.
Jason was professional, knowledgeable, responsive, and genuinely cared about ensuring that all concerns were properly addressed. I greatly appreciate the time and effort he invested in understanding our situation and delivering effective solutions. Thank you, Jason, for your excellent customer service and support.
The competence of the Senior Project Administrator and Estimating Simonds Masterpiecehomes team was underwhelming. The processes applied demonstrated either a poor understanding of the building process or a lack of due care. We felt approximately $100,000 of a $1.3–1.4 million build was attributed to costs for works that were either unnecessary or… Read more
would not be undertaken in practice. I will highlight only two of the more significant issues, noting that there were numerous other less substantive concerns. First, we were quoted approximately $48,000 for an H-slab, screw piles, and additional footing reinforcement, despite engineering drawings specifying an M-slab as a standard inclusion. When this discrepancy was raised, the price was reduced by only $1,111, which we did not consider reflective of the true cost differential. Second, we were quoted approximately $55,000 for a detention pit and associated stormwater works, which we were told were required by council. We subsequently confirmed this was not the case. While Simonds’ engineers later identified a level-related stormwater issue requiring at least a pumped system, this could have been avoided through modest level adjustments or an application for dispensation to raise site levels, at significantly lower cost. Instead, we were pushed to proceed quickly, with the additional cost borne entirely by us. We acknowledge that the issues we raised were not straightforward and required careful consideration. However, this is precisely what we expected when planning to invest $1.3–1.4 million in a build. Rather than addressing these issues upfront, they were largely ignored, and we were instead pressured to commit to the next stages with additional deposit. Despite this, the Kinane display home is an appealing product with a well-considered floor plan. Sales and the Design teams were professional, capable, and positive to deal with. However, these positives were insufficient to address our overall dissatisfaction with Simonds.
Hi Adrian, Thank you for taking the time to provide your… Read more
Positive reviews
The Maintenance/ Warranty Team and Stefan were really supportive and promptly organized repair work needed. A contractor was called out and was completed without delay. I was kept informed with at all stages and overall i have been really pleased with the process and quick turn-around. Show details · 1
We initially had issues with our bathroom mirrors. Due to warranty issues the supplier did not want to rectify the issue. Jason Chapman went over and above to provide us with new mirrors. He was easily contactable and updated us frequently. Thank you Jason for your excellence service. Show details · 1
After a rocky start with Masterpiece and a few changes in site supervisors in our initial days, Clint Leighton took over our project earlier this year and completely changed our supervior experience for the better. From day one, Clint has been organised, professional, and incredibly calm throughout the entire build process. His attention to detail… Read more · 1
has given us real confidence that our build is in good hands. Having experienced different site supervisors throughout our journey, I can honestly say that having the right supervisor makes all the difference. Clint has made the process smooth, stress free, and given us genuine peace of mind during what can often be a challenging experience. If you're building with Masterpiece in the Melbourne area, I highly recommend requesting Clint Leighton as your site supervisor. He is honestly just a really good guy! Also shout out to our lovely CRC, Shaneece. She has been wonderful to deal with.
Negative reviews
My experience with Simonds’ post‑handover service has been consistently poor. Defects identified at PCI and again at the 3‑month inspection remain unresolved more than five months later. The pattern is clear: issues that require costly fixes are delayed, ignored, or endlessly “under review,” with no meaningful progress. A good example is the… Read more
bathroom vanity lights. The construction plan clearly shows their correct location, yet the supervisor and electrician installed them incorrectly. Fixing this requires removing tiles, relocating the lights, and re‑tiling — a more expensive job. I raised this at PCI, but Simonds did nothing. At the 3‑month inspection, the maintenance supervisor said he would escalate it. Another month passed with no update. When I contacted the “customer success” line, I was promised a response within two days. No one followed up. When I called again, the representative simply repeated that the issue had been escalated — something I already knew — and admitted he didn’t even know who the manager was. This level of disorganisation and lack of ownership is unacceptable for a company of this size. The staircase coating is another example. We explicitly requested a water‑based clear coat and confirmed this in writing. Simonds used an oil‑based clear coat instead, which has a brown tint we specifically asked them to avoid. This issue has been “under review” for more than two months with no action taken. There is also the drainage assessment report, which the contract charges $610 for. Despite multiple requests over several months, Simonds has still not provided the report. At this point, it is reasonable to question whether the assessment was ever completed. These are not isolated incidents. Simonds even sent a maintenance person who arrived late, had not read the list of items he was supposed to fix, and showed up without the materials needed. One task involved replacing several faulty door locks. He left to buy locks and returned saying the nearby stores were out of stock. It was clear he was unprepared and the visit was a waste of time. Across every interaction, the same issues appear: poor communication, no follow‑through, lack of accountability, and an unwillingness to resolve defects unless pushed repeatedly. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Simonds to anyone expecting reliable post‑handover service or basic professionalism.
Hi Wniroshan, we're very sorry to hear that this has been… Read more
Simonds took over our build from PDH after liquidation - at Frame/Lock up stage. We signed Nov/2023. They did not do anything until Mar/2024. There was little to no comms on updates unless we initiate to ask for updates. Had we not forced them to finish the house we would not have moved in end of Nov/2024. Our superviso made a lot of promises… Read more
to fix the issues before handover including sloppy paint jobs, broken doors, missing toilet and very loose towel rails. All part of inspection reports. We even reached an agreement for them to fix the issues that are mainly not within the acceptable limits. None of it happened. We had to raise it as maintenance request for those inspection reports/sloppy jobs to be fixed.
While I’m appreciative of Simonds for taking over the house, it felt like we owed them for the work, but we don’t! They were literally paid to do the job.
Overall, we won’t build with Simonds ever again.
Hi Prue, Thank you for taking the time to share your… Read more
We originally signed with Dennis Family Homes exactly two years ago, before Simonds took over the company. What followed was an incredibly frustrating 15-month delay in the paperwork and pre-construction stage, largely due to the transition and internal processes during the Simonds acquisition of Dennis Family Homes. During this time we were… Read more
repeatedly told things were progressing and that everything would be smooth once construction started.
After 15 months of unnecessary delays just to get through paperwork, we were reassured that the build itself would be efficient and straightforward, with an expected construction timeframe of around 4–6 months.
We are now 10 months into construction and still do not have a home we can move into.
The financial and personal toll this has taken on our family has been enormous. For three quarters of the duration of this process we have been paying both a mortgage and rent, which has drained us financially. During this time our rental property was sold and we were forced to move again, and we are now staying in a friend’s investment property which they are also wanting to sell, overstaying our welcome. We have effectively been left in limbo, unable to plan our lives or even organise basic things like furniture deliveries because we still have no clarity on when we will actually be able to move into our home.
Beyond the delays, the most upsetting part of this experience has been the way we have been treated. I have been the primary person dealing with the build because my partner’s business does not allow him the flexibility to make calls, stay on top of emails, and attend most site meetings and inspections. Throughout the entire process I have repeatedly been dismissed, talked down to and treated as though I don’t understand what I am looking at. On numerous occasions I identified issues that were brushed off or minimised initially, only to later be proven correct. Not once was there an apology – in fact the opposite, with our site supervisor insinuating we are ‘looking for issues’ and that we are the cause of the delays.
The level of gaslighting, deflection and dismissal we have experienced when raising legitimate concerns has been unbelievable. We have been pressured to accept incorrect work or poor workmanship and made to feel as though we were being unreasonable simply for expecting our home to be built correctly to Australian standards.
Our first site supervisor was openly disrespectful and on multiple occasions raised his voice at us, which ultimately resulted in us requesting he be removed from our build. Unfortunately the replacement supervisor has not been much better. We are frequently told one thing, only for it to be denied the following day.
Communication has been inconsistent at best and non-existent at worst. No updates unless we ask for them.
What has made this even more concerning is the number of serious defects and non-compliant items that have been identified through our independent inspections. Multiple private inspector reports have flagged issues throughout the build, many of which were meant to be rectified but have continued to reappear or remain unresolved.
Our PCI report identified a long list of worrying items, including drainage and guttering that are not compliant, waterproofing concerns, and other construction issues that should never be present at this stage of a build. We had been promised these issues had been rectified after first being raised, however we had been lied to yet again.
We have experienced numerous workmanship and installation problems throughout the home, including but not only: • Non-compliant water stops in both bathrooms • Incorrect shower installed • Incorrect bath installed – twice! Still not correct • Many, many cabinetry issues – final fix has resulted in Hamptons style cabinetry that is now visibly not square and gappy • Driveway that is only 70mm thick in many places, which is not suitable for a car to drive on • Gutters and drainage that are not compliant and terminate underground, no one can explain why • Extremely poor construction of our cladding • Extremely poor installation of all fixing items, including bowed windows, water damaged window reveals, doors and door jambs, handles etc • Extremely poor internal and external paintwork • Carpet that has been short-laid at doorways • Numerous areas of visible damage throughout the home that do not present as new including our very expensive water tanks
At this point we have been left completely in the dark. Our PCI report identified many significant issues that were meant to have been addressed earlier in the build, yet we are still waiting for answers and do not know when - or if – Simonds plan to have these items properly rectified.
What should have been an exciting time building our family home has instead been two years of intense stress, financial strain, and constant fighting simply to have basic issues acknowledged. It has been heartbreaking for our family.
We have tried repeatedly to work with Simonds to resolve these problems, but the experience has left us feeling completely unsupported and exhausted. This includes attempting to contact their head office to speak to customer service, and being told you are not able to speak to someone more senior – then being hung up on after questioning the validity of this statement.
If you are considering building with Simonds, our advice would be to proceed with extreme caution, document absolutely everything, and engage independent inspectors from the very beginning. Unfortunately, based on our experience, we would never recommend Simonds to anyone.
Hi Bianca, We’re very sorry to hear about your… Read more (+2 replies)
Recent reviews
Had few miner issues with 3yr old house. Stefan (Maintenance Supervisor) inspected, explained and got everything fixed timely. Also Admin team handled it well so overall experience was good. Thanks simonds Team Show details · 1
Simonds contacted us to undertake. the stipulated 3 month inspection and rectifications where required. Our initial contact was with Monica from the maintenance team, who was very professional and scheduled our inspection. Jim Talevski the Maintenance & Warranty Supervisor, attended our home, Jim was fantastic and took the time to explain the… Read more · 1
rectification process and followed through on all aspects rectifications. I will comment that rectifications were minor, which shows the quality of the build is exceptional. All the trades that attended to undertake the rectifications were timely, polite and clean.
Many thanks to Jim and the maintenance team at Simonds.
I am happy that the supervisor who took care of repairing the concern that I raised took it seriously and professionally. He replaced the damaged roof sheet as required as the first supervisor who was incharge keeps repairing it and repainting it resulting to poor appearance. The roofing company did an execellent and clean work. The carpenter who… Read more · 1
installed the eaves did good too. The paint touch up needs extra coating to cover marks from the repair. Overall I am satisfied.
The job was completed well upon walk-in. Matt Westlake has been an amazing supervisor who managed the house from start to finish with no problems. Usually you would expect some, but Matt made sure the house was perfect through every stage of the build. We are so lucky to have gotten him, thanks to him. The house was built in less than a year! … Read more · 1
Thank you so much Matt and Simonds (especially Skie Luke & Bethany Charles for their admin work) for their involvement in this job at Aquarevo Estate, Lyndhurst!!
- Mahinda & Ruwani
It was an absolute delight having Emilia Gale and Matt Westlake on my team. They really put me at ease at every stage and responded so quickly, always putting my mind at ease. Thank you for making it as cruisy as possible. Bless you both!! Show details · 1
ProductReview.com.au has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence our content moderation policies in any way, though ProductReview.com.au may earn commissions for products/services purchased via affiliate links.
Hi Vince, We are sorry to hear you have had an… Read more (+5 replies)