Simonds VIC, Melbourne

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

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.

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

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

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

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

I am super satisfied with my experience, from my site manager to my CRC Joanne. She Is absolutely amazing and made the process a breeze, she corresponded very well and ensured I understood everything comfortably. Thank you team ! Show details ·  1

Even though there were some communication issues at the beginning, our Site Supervisor Avtar Bashal managed everything very well and delivered a great result with strong support from the team. We were also looked after by Shaneecee as our CRC, and her experience made the process much smoother. This is our second home built with Simonds, and we’re… Read more ·  1

very happy with the outcome. The house was completed on a fast track, and we truly appreciate the efforts put in by everyone involved.

We’re happy to recommend Simonds to others with full confidence!

We would love to sincerely thank Alex (Site Supervisor) and Emilia (Customer Relationship Coordinator) for making our building journey with Simonds smooth and enjoyable experience. Nothing was ever too hard for them — they handled everything with such professionalism and care. If building a house were always this easy, I would definitely do it… Read more ·  1

again!

A big thank you also to Jen Chua, the sales consultant, for her support with the contracts and paperwork — she was fantastic throughout the process.

What a wonderful team. Thank you all so much!

5-Star Review – Grateful for Simonds Homes & Site Supervisor Avtar Bashal After a very difficult experience with our previous builder, Porter Davis, who left our home incomplete and caused us a great deal of stress, we were fortunate to have Simonds Homes take over the project. From the beginning, Simonds showed professionalism, clear… Read more ·  1

communication, and a genuine commitment to helping us move forward. We’re especially grateful to our Site Supervisor, Avtar Bashal, whose dedication and attention to detail truly stood out. He always made time to keep us informed, answered our questions promptly, and ensured that the work met high-quality standards. His calm and supportive approach gave us confidence during every stage of the build. Thanks to Simonds and Avtar, what started as a stressful and uncertain situation turned into a smooth and successful home completion. We can now enjoy our dream home, and we highly recommend Simonds Homes to anyone looking for a reliable and customer-focused builder. Thank you again to the entire team – especially Avtar – for turning things around for us.

After getting burned by three other builders, we were honestly feeling pretty defeated—until we found Simonds Homes. From the moment we chatted with Brad Kilsby, our sales rep, things finally started falling into place. The whole process, including the gallery appointment, went super smoothly. They were patient while we waited (forever!) for our… Read more ·  1

land to get titled, and as soon as it was, they jumped straight into action. Big shoutout to our lovely CRC, Joanne Murphy—she made everything so much easier. And Nathan Dodemaide, our site supervisor, was just the best—reliable, on top of things, and always kept us in the loop.

I recently built a new house with Simonds Homes and had an excellent experience from start to finish. The entire process was smooth and well-organized, thanks to the professionalism and dedication of the team. A special mention goes to our Construction Supervisor Avtar Bashal, who ensured every stage of the build met high standards and kept us… Read more ·  1

updated throughout the project. Their attention to detail and commitment to quality gave us peace of mind. I’d also like to thank Shaneece from CRC for her outstanding support. She was always responsive, helpful, and made sure all our queries were addressed promptly. Overall, I’m extremely happy with the result and would highly recommend Simonds Homes for anyone looking to build their dream home.

Worst company ever i build a house with simonds from someone recommendations i met a worst salesperson [Name Removed] in sunbury display i did so much upgrade with him he did none update pls stay away from him if you go,with them and we got trouble… Read more

he never picked or back call ever and when my build start plumbing gone everywhere wrong and supervisor [Name Removed] or manager never been to site until roof done and when he came to see us on site and he tried a lot to hide his big mistake from us but we ask him question he starts drama like he dont know anything they put my gust bedroom drains in closet and centre of the room and powder room and laundry drains in the lounge and and kitchen drains in the alfresco which given us a lot stress and waste a,lot our time as well than we hire private inspector so many things were out from their first inspection which never done until handover and i got so many surprised until handover like i did so many upgrades with sales person gallery staff and electrical gallery what ever i upgrade they did not upgrade the paperwork they looks so unqualified or unprofessional whenever we said something why this is not only one answer not in our contract and they changed three supervisor until hanover when cones to handover it was very dirty everywhere so much scratched on floor stairs and garage and alfresco instead of pressure wash not broom was happened so much rubbish around the house paint spots every where on windows and doors and all the draws in the kitchen was so uneven stucking each other i dont want take keys but i have no choice my house was on notice and new tenants coming already pls stay away from this company they spoiled my dream house even there is no professional cleaning happened and when they pouring slab in april it was 8pm they doing with their mobile torch their most tradies are very untrained or not qualified tiles work throughout my house was worst when i move furniture its stucks everywhere on tiles and so many tiles very dirty with grouting they did not clean and silicon everywhere on stone and tiles and my kitchen bench top is cracked when i called supervisor to come and have look he said its a joint but i never seen joint in benchtop which we can clean seen with first look i have so much to write but only i can please stay away from this company if u need a dream house

Poor after-sales support for former Dennis Family Homes build We have had a very disappointing experience dealing with Simonds Homes since they took over Dennis Family Homes. During two separate periods of heavy rainfall, we identified water ingress in our front formal living area. This should not occur under normal conditions, as a home is… Read more

expected to be constructed to withstand such weather without leaks. After the second incident, we arranged an independent inspection, which identified that the front porch water channel appears to have been constructed incorrectly. The way the porch gutter feeds back into the main channel causes water overflow during heavy rain.

There are two return channels on either side of the porch, but the leak only occurs on one side, which clearly points to a construction defect rather than general wear and tear. We provided photos and detailed information to Simonds to support this.

Unfortunately, the response we received was very dismissive and impersonal. The reply came from a generic “Maintenance Administrator” with no individual name and appeared to be a standard template response. We were told that water ingress is only covered for 12 months, which is misleading. Under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, statutory warranties can extend and pass the 6 years for major defects, particularly those relating to weatherproofing. This issue may also be considered a latent defect, as it only became apparent during heavy rainfall.

Despite this, Simonds refused to arrange an inspection and instead referred us to a local contractor at our own expense. When we followed up again requesting an inspection, we received the exact same generic response, suggesting that the matter was not properly reviewed. No call or contact person to discuss this with.

While Dennis Family Homes has been acquired, this does not remove responsibility for defects in homes they built. The lack of accountability and unwillingness to even inspect a clearly evidenced issue is extremely concerning.

Overall, this has been a frustrating experience, and I would caution other homeowners with Dennis Family builds to be prepared for a difficult and impersonal process when seeking support.

We had a truly pleasant journey with Simonds while building our first home. Many builders were hesitant to take on our project because it was a knockdown-and-rebuild, but Simonds—especially our consultant, Phil Sadek—accepted it and gave us confidence and reassurance from the very beginning. Phil and the Simonds team were flexible and… Read more ·  1

accommodating with all the modifications we requested. We never felt rushed or pressured to move forward. Instead, Phil was always patient, taking the time to understand our concerns and requirements, and coming back with practical solutions and clear outcomes. We didn’t expect a showroom consultant to be so knowledgeable, but Phil was highly skilled and communicated clearly across design, stages, and costing. More than the process, pricing, or brand, it was the comfort and trust we had in Phil that made us choose Simonds.

In the next stage, we worked with Emilia from CRC and Saff, our site supervisor. Emilia was always approachable, ready to listen, and quick to provide timely clarifications. Saff, our supervisor, was honest, transparent, and reliable. He kept us informed throughout the process and timelines and was consistently accommodating, flexible, and patient with all our requests.

Overall, it was a very positive experience with a wonderful outcome—a beautiful home for our kids to grow up in and create lasting memories. Thank you to Phil, Saff, Emilia, and the entire Simonds team.

Had a terrible experience with Simon’s home as one of the dodgy Bulder and crap site supervisor. Our main swear was block on the day first. We are around 5 months in the house now all the doors are loose and The cap boards are bending by 30mm the front door is keep dropping and not closing all the good reviews are fake they remove the genuine reviews and leave the fake They are terrible Show details

This is for Geelong build. A big shout out to Simonds for the wonderful build. Then inspection guy was very happy with the build and so is my family. It’s a new house for us so a long term review yet to come but I am very happy with the well coordinated process that the CRC and site supervisor followed. A big Thank you to Dave McDonald whom was… Read more ·  1

our site supervisor and did his job very well. He actually did it in time as was the speculation for the build job.

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.

We trusted Simonds Homes to build a safe, compliant house. Instead, we discovered fundamental construction failures hidden behind a "finished" facade. The Compliance Issue: > Simonds engaged an inspector for our build who, upon our own verification with the surveyor association, was not a registered building surveyor and VBA(BPC). This lack of… Read more

qualified oversight manifested in dangerous ways (the person has moved to NSW).

The Failure: > A major storm revealed the truth. Our garage ceiling partially collapsed, and our alfresco ceiling was destroyed by water ingress. An investigation by Silver Wolf Engineering and independent roofers uncovered:

- Severely damaged sarking (installed defective from day one).

- Non-compliant plasterboard installation in the garage.

- Systemic failure to seal: Almost all windows were missing both silicone sealing and critical flashings.

The Verdict: > These are not "settling" issues; they are fundamental breaches of building standards. Simonds’ internal quality control failed completely. We only discovered these structural shortcuts because of a natural disaster and an insurance investigation.

A Warning on Simonds' "Independent" Oversight – Verified Facts

I am writing this as a warning to others based on long-term issues stemming from my 2009 Simonds build. While the work was done years ago, my recent investigation into the "independent" oversight provided during the construction has revealed deeply concerning facts regarding the practitioners Simonds relies on.

1. Lack of Statutory Qualification: Please be aware that the inspector used for my property, Philip Wood, is not a Registered Building Surveyor (BS-U/L) or a Registered Building Inspector (IN-U/L). Under the Building Act 1993, he has no legal authority to perform mandatory stage inspections or provide statutory sign-offs for building permits.

2. Current Registration Status: Current Victorian Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC/VBA) records indicate that his Domestic Builder (DB-U) registration is currently suspended. According to the BPC, "The practitioner is [only] authorised to carry out building work falling within the scope of the practitioner’s registration."

The Takeaway: > Do not trust the "independent" labels Simonds places on their inspectors. If your inspector is not a registered Surveyor or Inspector, their findings may hold no legal weight in a dispute. Always verify a practitioner's current registration status on the VBA/BPC website before trusting their "aesthetic" or structural sign-offs. I have attached screenshots from the VBA website as proof of these findings.

If you must build with them, hire your own private, registered surveyor for every stage. We cannot recommend Simonds Homes.

We built our home with Dennis Family Homes who were excellent to deal with on warranty issues, even after the formal time frames had lapsed. The porcelain hand basin in the powder room had started to craze. When we emailed DFH warranty area we received an automated response but no follow up, we therefore approached Simonds as DFH new owners and… Read more

made them aware of the problem in November 2025. After two months and chasing them for a third time we were informed that we would have to approach Caroma directly even though they were not amongst the suppliers listed by DFH that we needed to approach directly on warranty issues. Caroma were excellent to deal with and the same day agreed to provide a replacement hand basin. Once we received the basin we approached Simonds to have it installed, after three days we received an email stating that due to the age of our home (7 years) and that it is outside the warranty period they were unable to cover the cost of installing the new basin or reimbursing us for the plumbing works. Whilst we have recommended Dennis Family Homes to several people over the years we would not do the same for Simonds given the different attitude to customer service. It would be a small cost to Simonds in the overall scheme of things to keep a customer happy and retain their long term recommendation for their homes.