Tapscott Homes

Happy Home Owner – Super happy with our Tapscott home, although we were in the middle of a pandemic and in challenging times for us as a family as well as everyone else, the Tapscott team got us there in the end. We are very grateful for our lovely house and very happy with the workmanship. Unlike some other builders during the pandemic Tapscott's honored the original contract price and we are very thankful for that. Happy to recommend them.

Please. Find a different builder – Well, what an unforgettable experience! The not-so-lovely people at Tapscott Homes were a displeasure to deal with, and bent over backwards to make sure we couldn’t have everything we wanted in what was to be our dream home! If you need more than this to change your mind, please read on. Because of our experience with Tapscott Homes, I genuinely never want to build another house, ever again. Let’s start at the beginning. Our lot had trees on it. Still does actually. Before the build had even commenced, we raised our concerns with these trees being too close to the house and wanting them removed. We were told they were fine, no need to take them down. Still, we insisted and eventually, the owner of Tapscott Homes told us he would do this as part of the site prep and clearing. There were a total of 7 trees. Of those, only one, which we thought would be too large to just topple, so had an arborist remove is no longer standing. It turns out the owner either forgot, or just decided he did not want to do this, so didn’t. Until I questioned him on this, at which point he said it was too late to knock the trees down, as the boxing for the slab was going up the next day.

As a result, we now have 7 trees within 5 metres of our house and gutters that require cleaning at least once a month.

Fast forward a month or so to the electrical fit-out. Now, I had very specific requirements for my electrical and network plan. I drew my own electrical plan using the legend provided, marked everything out, and then supplied this to the builder with an email clarifying heights and locations. Despite this, I was required to attend site on multiple occasions to have plate positions moved, runs altered and added. Even though I attended on so many occasions, there are still at least 10 power points missing from the house.

Another month or so down the track and the real issues began to surface. Following a discussion with our tiler on site (with the site supervisor also present), we had agreed that we would like to cap the edges of all of our tiles, being told on site that the cost was $700. When the variation came through from Tapscott Homes, the price was $910. I calculated this as a 30% mark-up and questioned the validity of this, given our build contract nominates the builders margin at 20% and we had done all of the procurement with the tiler ourselves. The response received was a further mark up of 50% ($350) under the guise of a “standard variation fee”. This fee was not charged with our first variation, and I could not find this in our contract anywhere, despite the owner’s insistence that it was a contractual fee. Interestingly, the two variations we received following the above also omitted this ‘standard’ fee. Naturally, we declined this variation with an 80% mark-up and sought alternative methods to get this tiling treatment done. Requests for disengagement were met with refusal, and no negotiation would be entertained by the owner.

Shortly after we refused this variation, we attended site after hours to view the counter tops that had been installed that day. While on-site, I noticed a safety issue that I was unable to ignore. I photographed this issue and texted it to the site supervisor with the caption “Mate. Not safe.” This was met with a single text response which stated “Why are you even there? Is this how you want to be.” I sent two follow up messages in an attempt to clarify that I wasn’t being a nuisance, but that I had seen this issue and couldn’t walk past, knowing the potential consequences. These texts were ignored. The following morning, I attempted to call the site supervisor to discuss the photo and to request permission to attend site the following day with a solar assessor. My first call was ignored, my second met with a text that just said “Busy atm”. I asked that I receive a call back that day. At 17:30 that evening, after not receiving any contact from Tapscott homes, I sent a text message to the site supervisor expressing my disappointment in their apparent lack of concern for the safety of their site and to advise that we would be on site the following morning with a solar assessor.

Our refusal of this variation and safety-conscious nature obviously ruffled a few feathers, as despite our regular attendance on site without notice to no objection, later that night we received an email from the owner, expressing HIS disappointment in US, and denying us site access on the grounds of the ‘allegations’ I had made and threatening legal action should we make any attempt to gain access to the site. Subsequent research uncovered that this ban was not lawful and in contradiction to the QBCC act. Since this ban, we had received a progress claim, but were unable to attend site to inspect. Requests for a suitable appointment time went unanswered until I touched base and provided a time myself. This then got rescheduled; and rescheduled again. On the second reschedule, I asked if the invoice due date would be a problem in the interim, until we could view the works. The response received from the owner was that this “…invoice is now 1 day overdue and accordingly I have the right to suspend works”. We paid the invoice, but as of 23 April 2021, still have not seen the house.

We were also advised on the 10th February 2021 that our practical completion date would be the 29th March 2021. No update was provided, and in fact, both the office manager and site supervisor quit during this time (on the same day). Our PC date came and passed, with no update from Tapscott Homes. A phone call initiated by me to the site supervisor two days after the date had passed was answered by a new site supervisor, with no word of introduction, or even notice that the previous supervisor was leaving. This request for an updated PC date was dismissed with a text message telling me I will be “updated tomorrow”. As of the 21 April, two days after the contracted building period ended, we still had no PC date, and have still not seen our house.

We are now two days past what should have been our practical completion date, with subsequent works booked with other contractors now having to be rescheduled because of the poor construction management by this company. It is now 14 days since our supposed PC date, with no word on a new date. The last information received (by text message) was that concreters needed to be booked for the driveway. This was 5 days after PC date. To my knowledge, this booking has still not occurred.

On the 21st April, fed up with the lack of communication from Tapscott homes and the owner, I called three different phone numbers, only achieving contact by calling the office number. I spoke to the administration assistant, who, while on the phone advised me that concreting would commence the following week and that our handover date would be 7 May 2021. This conversation was very specifically worded, and as such I remember it quite clearly. Further, within 15 minutes of this phone conversation ending, I emailed my consultant, broker, and solicitor to advise that I had been given a date and to ‘call off the dogs’.

Later that afternoon after receiving no correspondence from Tapscott Homes, I emailed the administration officer that had phoned me, repeating my request for the handover date and concrete works in writing. The reply to this request was that I had misunderstood and that this member of staff was not able to give out handover dates. There was no dispute over the concrete works commencing the following week. Naturally, the ‘dogs’ have been re-engaged.

On the 22 April 2021, we received an email form Tapscott Homes, advising of an error in the commencement letter and that the commencement date was 5 days later than stated. Conveniently, this meant that the contracted building completion date was no longer passed. In the same email, a request for extension of time was made, requesting an additional 20 days on the basis that it has been difficult to find a trade. If this company had engaged a trade when they advised they tried, they would have known then and there that the works would not have been completed in time and requested an Extension of Time then. This is fraudulent, gaslighting behaviour and I intend on pursuing this matter to the fullest extent allowed under the law.

We attended the site on 20th May to complete our handover/defect inspection. Many items were raised, including, but not limited to overflowing gutters, moisture in the carpet in one room, uneven ground surface where fill was dumped but not compacted before turf was laid, resulting in a ‘waterbed’ effect. The above items, amongst many others were denied by the builder. As of 29th June 2021, we are still awaiting crucial defect maintenance, such as the repair/replacement of a light that does not function. When the final claim came around we attempted, via our lawyer, to claim liquidated damages from the builder. This claim was refused and, as it turns out, unless all parties agree, we cannot claim them during the standard build process – another one for the courts, I guess.

We finally received our keys on the 7th June. I was required to attend the builder’s office in Maryborough, where I was handed a B&D garage doors box and told all the keys were inside. When I asked about a handover, I was told this should have happened at the inspection. So, while we are now in our new home, I find it far from lovely; the experience with this builder was such a nightmare and has tainted what was once a dream coming true. We’re not the only ones, I have met a couple of people now who had similar issues (some worse!). I beg of you, DO NOT build with Tapscott Homes.

In The End Justice Was Served – Tapscott Homes built my dream home in 2017. In short there were no issues with the house itself - long story short there was a major issue with the driveway which Tapscott Homes had a small portion of it sitting in the property next door. This all came about when I had rural fencing erected as the property was on 2 acres. A new survey was undertaken and it clearly showed that a portion of the driveway was sitting in next door's vacant block. Attempted to have Tapscott Homes rectify this but was met with total disregard from the owner [Name Removed]. Lodged a complaint with QBCC and had a mediation at my home with the QBCC Inspector, the owners and myself. Owner said during the mediation "that as no-one had complained we should just all forget about it". QBCC Inspector advised that a complaint had been made by another neighbour who brought it to the attention of the Body Corp Committee (all the small acreage lots are under a Body Corp status). Owner still refused to do anything to rectify the issue. Lodged a complaint with QCAT against Tapscott Homes and after a long drawn out process of Tapscott Homes not being available without notice to attend the hearings via phone set up and delaying the proceedings the QBCC found in my favour as they found that Tapscott Homes had breached their own contract and awarded me full costs as I had to have 1/3 of the driveway removed and a secondary driveway installed to allow access to the garage. The costs involved including the application with QCAT totalled just over $7,000. Here is the link for the judgement in full https://www.queenslandjudgments.com.au/caselaw/qcat/2020/416 Tapscott Homes again refused to pay the judgement costs to me. I engaged a Bailiff who was advised by the owners that I would never see a penny from them. Lodged the judgement with QBCC and 10 demerit points were issued against Tapscott Homes for "Outstanding Debt". Then had to engage a solicitor to seek the judgement costs and end result of that was that I ended up instructing my solicitor to lodge the matter with the Supreme Court and seek to have the company Tapscott Homes dissolved. Tapscott Homes finally paid the judgement costs on the last day before lodgement with the Supreme Court. The owner submitted mistruths about the engagements between himself and me during the construction of my house and this all came to light in his responses to the QCAT Tribunal