Wincrest Homes

Awesome house on a difficult block – Our house was completed in May 2016. We had never built a house before, and whilst not everything went smoothly, we sit back a year later after having completed the landscaping; driveway; gardening; pool; etc to an awesome home that we are immensely happy with. We recently had a valuation of our knockdown/rebuild; and real estate agents were… Read more

very impressed with the quality and we were also very happy with the valuation.

[How was the workmanship and build quality of your property?]

Workmanship was great. We had formal inspection report completed before handover which identified a number of defects, but Wincrest addressed everyone one of them. The defects were mostly minor, ranging from painting; a few tiles which were not fully "glued"; minor electrical issues with switches. There were a couple of "big ticket" items, which were also addressed without fuss.

1. During construction, the alfresco sliding door frames were damaged; with big scratches on the frame. They completely replaced it.

2. There was a slight leak in the main bathroom under sink plumbing (joint not quite screwed in fully), which caused some water damage to the cabinetry. Again, the whole unit was fully replaced and plumbing fixed.

We also had 13 week warranty inspection, which identified an additional number of items, and again Wincrest address everyone one of them.

18 months in, and we have not had any issues.

[How well managed was your build?]

Our block was a sloping block (downwards away from street, and slightly downwards from right to left facing the front). There were only a few builders willing to build on it, and Wincrest was one of who was willing to participate in tender.

We ended up selecting a double storey "Windara" design customised to suit the gradient of the block and other personalisations. Effectively, the back half of the ground floor was dropped by around 1m, so the kitchen and living areas have very high ceilings (3.5m), The cost of customising this was not significant.

The Wincrest architect we were assigned was a very helpful chap. We gave him a number of specific requirements and he modified the designs to match.

The only 1 negative we have around the prebuild process was sorting out the hydraulics. We had understood Wincrest would manage this, but found out a few months in that we were responsible to liaise with neighbours and council. If we understood this earlier, we could have started that process a few months prior, so effectively this did delay our approvals and overall build. In reflection, it was really a misunderstanding and a learning curve, and not something which would stop us selecting Wincrest, if we were to build again, or recommending them.

The build was managed well, by our assigned site manager, who was always courteous and willing to listen to any questions or concerns we had.

There were a few of issues we identified during the regular site inspections, which the site manager addressed quickly and satisfactorily.

In terms of momentum, whilst there were periods of inactivity, these were never more than a few days here an there (excluding festive period).

[How was customer service and support?]

At each significant stage were assigned a different liaison. All of them were very pleasant and willing to listen.

There were a couple of times we need to escalate to the GM, and he was also great to deal with and helpful.

The site manager was a nice guy, who also "knew his stuff", he provided regular updates by email also.

[Summary]

In summary, we are very happy with the house built by Wincrest. We would build with them again based on the experience and outcome we had.

Having said that, we also believe that part of the reason for this is that we reviewed all the designs thoroughly, as well as all the inclusions (and exclusions) were had signed up to.

We asked lots of questions and sought clarifications so that we were fully aware of what we were going to get or not get.

We also paid visits to the show rooms multiple times to inspect various fittings and quality of.

We also went in specifically with the goal of having NO variations, once we signed the contract (we ended up with 1 unavoidably).

Do not use! – We built with wincrest homes 3 years ago and are still experiences problems with them. They 'forgot' to do our termite protection treatment, and now are refising to compensate to carry out the procedure in full. These people are unbelievable! No wonder nobody is building with them anymore - they are the worst people to deal with and I am now on a… Read more

mission to ensure other consumers dont make the same mistake we did by building with them. Stay away from wincrest!

Quality build and good service – We moved into our Wincrest Homes built house a couple of months ago and have been very happy with the finished product. Design Wincrest do not have too many designs to choose from but they are very accommodative about making alterations to their designs. We also had a meeting with their inhouse draftsmen to discuss what would work and what… Read more

wouldn't. It was a knock down and rebuild. We went with the Trafalgar design but made some of the rooms larger, changed the kitchen layout considerably (adding walk in pantry, etc), adding a powder room. For additional electrical and air conditioning work we dealt directly with Wincrest's contractors to upgrade the inclusions. We ended up doing the driveway and internal bamboo flooring after handover as this was more economical.

Building management

Our site supervisor was a good communicator and gave us a call every week to provide with updates. Our build time was about 8 months but that included a three week shut down over Christmas and a few weeks of wet weather. There were no major issues during the build

Workmanship

We are very happy with the end product home that Wincrest have built. The included Westinghouse (made by Electrolux) appliances are performing well. The gas instantaneous hot water system works well and our showers get hot water at good pressure even if all bathrooms are in use.

We did spend a bit extra to upgrade the inclusions like tiling all bathrooms to the ceilings, getting a glass splashback in the kitchen and considerable electrical upgrades but feel this was money well spent.

We have had many compliments from friends on how professional the house looks.

Aftercare

There were some minor issues to to fix after the build but no noticeable structural or major quality problems. Wincrest have been responsive in fixing these minor issues.

We never regret to have Wincrest to build our new house, which is excellent all around – When we decided to build a new home we considered a few property options including looking at the home designs of a few major builders including Wincrest Homes. This gave us a chance to meet builders' sales consultants and gain a few first impressions. We were not happy with the attitude of some of the consultants we met as they were not very… Read more

helpful and seemed disinterested!

However when we went to the Wincrest display home it was a different story. They were very frank with us and really "educated" us in a way. They had a range of fresh ideas and put us on the right track for a new home to suit our lifestyle when we were ready.

We had established a good relationship with the sales consultant so went back to him as we were now ready to get started and he gave us the confidence to take on our new project.

He was as helpful as ever and we were very impressed with the flexibility that Wincrest offered with their designs. It all seemed to run smoothly with everyone we dealt with at Wincrest.

We wanted a large home. Knowing we had a lot of flexibility we started out with the popular Opal two storey design and arranged for the Wincrest designers to turn it into a much larger home.

Everyone in the Wincrest team was so helpful and we are delighted with the standard of workmanship and the attention to detail throughout our lovely home.

We are very proud of our new home and in fact a local real estate agent told us we had the best home in the area. We would have no hesitation in recommending Wincrest Homes to anyone thinking of building a new home.

They were a pleasure to deal with throughout the whole process which really started when we first met the sales consultant at the display home.

Our Custom Build Worked Well For Us – We were determined to get the design we wanted for their new home. We were knocking down an old home to replace it with a new design so we wanted to make sure we chose the right builder to build their home on Sydney's North Shore. We had, as most home buyers do, considered renovating but realised that we really needed to replace the old home… Read more

entirely to achieve the space and overall accommodation we desired.

We found searching for the right builder frustrating and as "most of the builders, some of them big names, didn't seem to have any idea of what we were trying to achieve with our new home".

Then we visited the Wincrest display homes and felt we had at last found a home builder who really understood what we wanted.

"The answer for us was to custom design build and the Wincrest people were excellent, especially their Chief Estimator who helped us greatly with the project. The Supervisor assigned to our project was the best. He made sure all our concerns were addressed in a timely manner and never forgot to ring back with updates taking place at construction site. We found all the Wincrest people we dealt with very helpful and understanding.

"We liked the way we could incorporate different design elements and it was great to have a fixed price contract so that we couldn't go over budget. We felt very comfortable working with Wincrest,".

"Getting away to a quick start was great and Wincrest dealt with Kuringai Council to overcome any issues that may arise from building a new home in an established area.

"We found Wincrest very flexible with the design and that meant we got what we wanted without any real fuss.

"It was a good experience for us and we love everything about our new home. From start to finish the builder was good and the workmanship and attention to detail was excellent. The only thing we felt could be improved was the selection of taps, tiles and appliances. We would like to see more flexibility there and perhaps more to select from.

"The only real problem we had was a cracked bath which took a little while to get fixed but we got increased warranty on it.”

We would have no hesitation in recommending Wincrest Homes to other home buyers particularly if you are looking for design flexibility, a fixed priced contract and a quick start on your home.

Review wardrobe design carefully – You get a wardrobe shell with a wire shelf and rail as party of standard package. We have just obtained quotes for fitting out the wardrobes. We cannot get drawers into any of the 6 built ins we have because of the crazy way Wincrest includes a wide nib at the end of each wardrobe. The only way we can get drawers now is to recut the giprock at… Read more

each end to get rid of the nibs and that would mean new doors and runners etc - $$$. We are going to have to make do with open shelves - tacky and not easy to use.

Responsible and Excellent Service – It was right decision to build our new home with Wincrest Homes because of their superior customer service, reasonable price, quality design and responsible work. … Read more

They have great team to work together to meet the customer needs and make us happy all the time in the entire process. Everyone there is so helpful. They solved all problems as possible as they can whenever it is before or after building.

We are so happy with our new house and were very lucky to build our new home with them.

We have a home as we wanted – Updating our home was our most challenging task, we did our research thoroughly. The first decision, should we renovate the old home rather than rebuild, after talking to a number of architects, finding out the difficulties, cost and limitations of extensions, it became clear to us that we will rebuild. We spoke to over five different builders as… Read more

well as some architects before deciding on the Wincrest Homes Newhaven design. It is a nice split level home that suited our land contours as well as the open plans lifestyle that we like.

We went with Wincrest because the home was just right, the price with the inclusions was attractive and we liked their forthcoming and flexible attitude and their customer service. [Personal Name Removed] is certainly very knowledgeable of the whole process, we built before and we often lost interest with other builders when their sales staff did not know the details of the building and approval process.

Although we didn't make any changes to the exterior facade we did make lots of internal changes thanks to Wincrest's flexibility. We included a raked ceiling, relocated the laundry and bathroom and then redesigned the ensuite and the kitchen, built a fantastic marine fish tank as kitchen splash back, arched doors and antique beamed ceiling. It was great to have just what we wanted.

We were very pleased with Wincrest's marketing team including [Personal Name Removed] and found their supervisor Harry very cooperative and responsive. Eddie was able to resolve a number of our concerns, helped guiding the Wincrest team in best fitting for antique decorative beams and in wall fish tank. Martin was also very responsive to any issues after we moved in. Wincrest flexibility was really important to achieve the result we wanted it and to maximise our enjoyment with our new home.

The contract process took longer than expected, we made some suggestions regarding the contract department that might improve Wincrest's efficiency.

As for how long after that? It took just 4 months from after the demolition of the old house to build the new house, we were lucky with the weather and did not have any nasty land or connections surprise.

Generally we were very happy with the work. There were some minor issues but they were attended to with no hassles and were fixed within a short time frame. They took care of any issues when they came up so everything was fixed quickly and to our satisfaction.

During the process, there were times when we needed to draw their attention of difficulties in the contracting process, or when we needed to change few things after signing the contract. All and all, good relationship building with the supervisor and the building manager allowed us to enjoy the experience and the final results.

We would absolutely recommend Wincrest Homes to any other families looking to build a new home. We have already given out [Personal Name Removed] to a few friends who were so impressed with the speed of construction and quality of the home," Flexibility to give us what we wanted which made our hone unique Contacrting took longer than it should be

Wincrest are fantastic! – When we decided to knock down an old home to build a new one we needed a design that would fit a narrow block and meet the growing accommodation needs of our family. So, the search for a builder with a suitable design and also within our budget, began. After a lot of searching around display villages we hadn't found many builders who… Read more

accommodated narrow blocks, until we came across the Wincrest Homes Opal design. It was the best we had come across because it didn't feel narrow and the layout was well designed.

We liked the home's style and they allowed changes to the floor plan. It was actually custom designed and built for us. We could also see very clearly what was included in the base price and what wasn't, so budgeting for the project was much simpler.

We made three main changes to the original design. Firstly, we extended it because although we had a narrow block it is very long so we were able to make our rooms longer. Secondly, we flipped the kitchen location because we had added the extra rumpus.

Finally we added an additional balcony so that both our master bedroom and living room had balconies. We took up the option of the open plan design flat roof and we love it. We have a gorgeous wooden staircase with a glass railing with storage under the stairs which we thought was very clever. We were able to do all this thanks to Wincrest's custom design service.

We didn't live in their original home on the block because it was not suitable as we had a one year old child at the time. We were able to live with family and thanks to Wincrest the build took just over six months. We we're very lucky on both counts..

We had renovated an old home before but with the amount of work required to make it suitable for our family we made a wise decision to start from scratch and build a new home.

We were able to able to make appointments with [name removed], our supervisor, and tour the site with him on a regular basis to check the progress of our home.

It was very exciting to watch it all come together and [name removed] was very helpful all the way through.

The Wincrest people were fantastic. They were very helpful, reliable and patient. [name removed] was great at managing the trades and overseeing their work. He would often be onto them about things we wouldn't even know to question!

Not much went wrong thankfully. The brick we chose wasn't in stock at the brick company so, not wanting to delay the project, we chose another and it ended up being perfect!

We wanted floor boards but didn't tell Wincrest early enough of our choice so there were some hiccups with carpentry sizing. But this was corrected as soon as it was identified. Also having floorboards is a two part process so Wincrest had to amend their trades schedule to allow for this which they did without fuss.

Wincrest were onto the fact that the tiler had become very unreliable near the end and was delaying the project. They quickly appointed another tiler. We moved in two weeks before Christmas so it was the busiest time of the year for tradespeople all over committing to finish people's homes.

We feel we would like to see more choice with appliances with Wincrest.

We are now a family of four enjoying our beautiful new home. Three months after moving in we had our second baby and we loved being able to bring him back to the home that he will grow up in with his sister.

I would absolutely recommend Wincrest Homes and in fact we have been doing that already. We would also build with them again because it was a good experience and we achieved everything we wanted in our new home on our narrow block.

We made right choice to go with wincrest – We were looking for a custom designed home for our sloping block and found Wincrest Homes had everything we wanted. We were convinced by my friend, who also built with Wincrest, to go with the company. There were not many custom design builders on the market who could deliver the house that we wanted at a suitable price so we settled on… Read more

Wincrest and we are glad we did.

They were very flexible and the custom design really suited our block. Everyone we dealt with was very helpful especially the general manager Eddie who was great and always helping us out.

Our site manager was fabulous, giving us regular updates and following up on our issues promptly. The admin and sales staff were also very helpful.

The house has a really smart split level design with the garage half a level down and two ensuite bedrooms on top of the garage. The design is a perfect fit for our sloping block.

There were some minor issues but no major problems and Wincrest Fixed these promptly.

We have been living in the house for over 6 months already. It has been very pleasure to have such nice house.

Shocking!!!!!! – We engaged Wincrest and it has been shocking experience from start to finish.....if you could call it finished. Defects have prevented us moving in and everytime we take this up with Wincrest they either dodge the issues or ignore our requests or issue a variation for shoddy workmanship. We have built 3 times before and never ever had such a bad… Read more

experience with any builder.

I think they are dishonest and lack any integrity. Customer service is a joke. We had [name removed] as the site foreman and he was rude, crude and totally arrogant when we even questioned the slightest issue.

We took this up with Wincrest and basically got the same treatment.

They are not a cheap builder.

The omit items from their standard contract and then pick up their profit through variation after variation.

They pitch their initial price low to sign you up then the gloves come off and they argue with you until they wear you down to the point you would rather pay the extras just to get them out of your life.

Very Happy with the Final Result as well as the entire process – We received the keys to our new Wincrest home in late December 2013, and overall have been extremely happy with the end result plus the service provided throughout the process. On a sloping, narrow bock in Sydney, we found renovating too expensive along with the approval process too difficult. Wincrest were more than accommodating in changing… Read more

the floor plan to suit our requirements. The approval process took less than a month and from signing contracts in March we were moving out in late April.

Throughout the process we were assigned staff to guide us through the process, including the design and variation phase, as well as the building phase. Our onsite supervisor would contact us each week to update us on progress and any potential issues.

It has now been 6 months since taking ownership of our home and the after build service has been just as reliable as during the building phase. I have to say that all up this was a painless and relatively stress free process.

Our new home is a joy – We thought about renovating the old home we lived in. But when we started the process and could see that no matter how much money we poured into it, it would never be a 'forever home', that's when we started searching for a knock down rebuild solution. So very interestingly, I read a lot of the product reviews on sites and saw some not great… Read more

reviews about Wincrest. However, they had a home we liked so I needed to explore that option.

After dealing with Wincrest and three other builders we did choose the Wincrest Trafalgar design - a two storey, five bedroom home with three bathrooms and a double garage.

We also chose the Wincrest team as they were by far the best, most helpful and most upfront people we came across. I spent so much time with them even before we had requested our tender. That time spent was worth its weight in gold as we were completely happy with the design and ready to go.

We changed the design slightly by walling in the formal dining and knocked out the walls where the fifth bedroom was meant to be. Now we love everything about our new home! The house is a complete joy to live in. Sunny or rainy, doesn't matter - we have this amazing view coupled with a sense of space and light whatever the weather.

We love the inside/outside feel of a relaxed and spacious family kitchen/diner/living room and all we have to do is open the doors to add the space of the entire deck!

Wincrest also won on price, hands down, and on all the additional extras thrown in, it made it excellent value in our eyes - but also realistic. The total variation on the provisional sums was less than 2% of the build price. It was a huge relief to know that they knew how to estimate correctly and not like some builders who drag you in with an attractive price and then sting you later.

Our friends cannot believe the standard of the finished product. Personally, I like the dimensions of the spaces. The design very cleverly ekes out the maximum space of each room. Secondly, the kitchen with the massive storage space, walk-in pantry and the fact that it looks a million dollars with the window above the stove top and third, the laundry chute – I cannot tell you how useful this is!

What I have learnt though is that you have to do your own homework and accept the fact that there are a lot of decisions you need to think about and to make - but no other builder was as helpful. Everyone was a pleasure to deal with - very professional and always made time. The colour selection process added a beautiful finish (and was really fun!). The Site Supervisor, was terrific, no nonsense, just get the job done was his attitude. The finished product is excellent so the supervision throughout the build obviously paid off.

We would absolutely recommend Wincrest Homes to other families looking for a builder. For cost, personal attention and for build time we really could not have picked better.

This little fact may also tell you something - in our street, the same week we demolished our house, another house was demolished. We were back living in our new Wincrest home when the builder down the road had only just poured the slab. Says it all, really. Upfront, build time, helpful and a pleasure to deal with

The process of Building a Home was a Pleasure – We moved in to our new home last October. The process of building with Wincrest has, from go-to-woe, been a pleasurable experience. Unlike many others we hear of, Wincrest has kept ahead of schedule, kept us well informed and dealt with any issues immediately. All Wincrest employees were amazing throughout the journey that is constructing a… Read more

new home. No one seemed to begrudge going that extra yard (or do I say ‘metre’ ?) to keep us satisfied.

This is the third house I have built. There was never a problem, never an issue that Wincrest did not resolve quickly, easily and amicably. I kept waiting for the moment when I needed to steel myself for a fight – but it never, never eventuated.

I never thought I would say that the process of building a home was a pleasure, but the Wincrest crew have managed to achieve just that.

We thank Wincrest for their assistance at every turn.

We would be happy to recommend Wincrest Homes to anyone building a new home. support from staff and willingness to help and be flexible. Painters were crook - but Wincrest followed up and resolved issues.

Wincrest Provided Old Style Customer Service at Every Point – We recently built with Wincrest Homes and we couldn't be happier. They were up front with their dealings with us with no hidden extras making the decision easier as we had a certain price range to stay within. Wincrest provided old style customer service at every point when making a decision, a payment or in general communication. They gave… Read more

a nice family feel assurance.

Our emails were answered within 24 hours so we never had to chase anything. Our site supervisor, [name removed], was unreal and straight to the point. At our request he called us every two weeks to give us an update on how things were going and what stage was coming up next.

We only had two minor issues which were sorted out onsite. Again, the open communication we enjoyed with Wincrest was a major factor in the smoothness of the project.

The workmanship and attention to detail was exactly as we were told it would be. If there was even slight confusion a single call was made and our minds put to rest.

We have already recommended Wincrest. Great customer satisfaction Subcontractor communication could be improved

Wincrest - just don"t go there!!!!!!!! – At first wincrest appeared the cheapest but after variation upon variation and claims upon claims without supporting documentation the final build was anything but cheap. What ever you do don't ask for any back up supporting document unless you want to be threatened with legal action and stop work threats. Wincrest - turned our dream into a… Read more

nightmare and then our nightmare into reality!!!!

All very polite and helpful until the ink is drying on the contract and then look out - caviat emptor - (let the buyer beware) !!!

From the day the contract was signed the whole experience which we were so excited about went down the toilet.

Heavy handed, rude, full of weak excuses, abusive and generally terrible to deal with at every level from management to the site manager.

God help anyone that signs up with wincrest and then gets harry the site foreman on their job. After we copped half an hour of 4 lettered verbal abuse for questioning the finish we left the site, my wife in tears and physically shaken by the whole experience, we left wondering what we had gotten ourselves into.

Do not be fooled by this mob!!!!!!

Build quality is less than average, customer service is non existent, not built to plan when it suited wincrest and then try on after try on!!!!

Very happy with Wincrest – We signed the contract with Wincrest in August last year and just moved into our new house in Chatswood 2 weeks ago, very happy with Wincrest. Yes there were issues along the way, but the best thing is we could always talk to the GM of Wincrest and he was willing to help us as much as possible. Very efficient process, and good value for money. I… Read more

changed my design so many times before submitting the application, they were patient and accommodating. We signed the fixed price contract upfront, and there were only little costs for some minor upgraded we needed to pay. I am very happy with Wincrest and if I need to build another house, I will definitely go with Wincrest again! The fact that I could talk to their GM any time, as well as their own Architect, Estimation Manager and Project Manager. They were extremely helpful through out the whole process. The colour selection process was a bit different from other building companies I dealt with before, I was a bit confused, but it was okay in the end.

Building My House – Just have had plans lodged into council and after signing a deposit tender some eight weeks ago, we are eargerly waiting for an approved DA. The process with Wincrest from the Sales people to the actual quotations and consultation and communication has been excellent and in "Customer Service" world I would descibre it as nothing short of high… Read more ·  1

calibre.

Having bought our parcel of land in March 2012 we went through eight different builders in the Tender/Quotation process. Wincrest was the last to provide a Tender and after initially rejecting them based on price, I few things happended with our other Tender and forced me back to Wincrest.

So glad that it turned out that way as their whole approach to our house build has been nothing short of Highly Profressions. Prompt, Reliable, Quick, Decisive and helpfull Color selection process was a little bit different but after the initial few hiccups things went OK

Possibly the worst builder in history – This builder promises everything - delivers nothing. Once the houseplan is sold, nothing gets done, and it is stuff up, after stuff up, after stuff up. Building with Wincrest was the worst decision of my life! The colour selection team were absolutely useless, so bad, we had to do the process twice. They were basically admin clerks who noted… Read more

down your selection from a catalogue. Why did you make me drive 3 hours to sit with a rep and browse catalogues with no advice from the rep???

9 months to get a contract (almost 20 versions!), blatant mistakes throughout the process.

We went through 3 consultants from the head office, probably contributing to the confusion.

3 months to start building and then blamed weather on delays! (I live 3 blocks away, it was sunshine every day!)

3 years later, our roof line is sagging and they wont do a thing about it.

Do not build with Wincrest. You will regret it. Great looking displays The entire administration team and quality of the build.

My experience with Wincrest – All in all a very average to mediocre result. We had very high hopes in choosing Wincrest based on the quality of the display home (Kensington 7) and the salesmans recommendations. In reality, the outcome was quite stressful with plans being rejected by Council due to shadowing over neighbours property - something Wincrest should have known… Read more

about in advance. Many delays, many defects picked up by us as owners and communicated to the project supervisor who failed to act when the issues were raised.

Poor paint quality, brick quality, frames out of square. Windows not fitting openings, cement on bricks not cleaned, control joints not filled with mastic, bathtubs not sealed from water penetration.

We paid in excess of $150,000 over and above the base house price to get upgrades. We felt Wincrest would be proud of building a home that bears their name and is part of their reputation.

We were very very wrong. We had many assurances for Wincrest management but in the end, only the simple items were fixed.

We have now unfortunately been forced to take the outstanding defects to Fair Trading. If I had my time over, I would never build with Wincrest and probably would never build a new home again. It simply is not worth the cost and stress. Design and size of house Poor quality finishes in paint, brick, frame (cheapest possible timber and spaced too far apart). Items not finished

Apartment Keneally St Dandenong – We purchased a 2 bedroom apartment as an investment at Stage 1 in Metro Village 3175 Dandenong in OCT 2006. It took years for the building to even get off the ground. We paid $218K off the plan signed a contract of sale in Oct 2006. The company went into Administration but someone came along and bailed them out. In Dec 2009 (week before… Read more

Christmas) they asked for a contract variation to be singed for a new price rise to $258K cos building costs had gone up. We took our contract to a solicitor who advised they can rescind the contract if we dont pay the extra $40K cos of 1 small clause relating to plan of subdivision not being submitted.

We agreed to pay $40K extra cos the place had gone up in value by about $90K. Other builders has finished homes and apartments in stage 5 by now.

We finally settled once bulding was finished in March 2011. We had a list of over 30 defects some of which are still not fixed.

My advise do not go with Wincrest Homes. Look elsewhere

Poor workmanship. Unreasonable delays.

Great Experience with Wincrest – I am very surprised at some of the negative comments about Wincrest that have been posted here. We have had a very pleasant experience with Wincrest Homes. Some of our friends have had bad experiences during the building process (with other builders), so we went into this with some apprehension. But the sales person at Wincrest Homes was most… Read more

helpful. He worked with us in selecting a plan which would suit our budget and size of the land. The Wincrest team then helped us through the selection process – colours, basix and other fittings, and answered all our questions via phone and email promptly. And after the contract was signed, and building had commenced, the site supervisor called us every Friday to give an update on the progress of the house. Another friend who was also building, at the same time as us was very surprised because she never received any updates from her builder. We really appreciated these weekly updates. And then to the surprise of all, the house was completed and we were given the keys 5 months after construction had commenced.

The warranty process was also carried out in the typical “Wincrest” way, very efficiently. We have been living in our new house for the last 10 months and are very happy with the quality and workmanship. Keep up the good work Wincrest! Efficient & reliable, weekly updates throughout construction and warranty

Terrible – I paid my deposit of $1000 to build a home in my price range. Two weeks later while producing the tender they tell me that the land was no longer available as well as the other 3 lots left. This news was devastating so close to the end of the FHOG. Then I went to the site 2 weeks later and there was fresh signs advertising home and land packages… Read more

on the lot i was going to buy! I am speculating that they wanted to build a more expensive home on the lot kicking me out. But after reading other reviews about wincrest, I am glad that I never built with them. The price was affordable Finding out the deal was off after my deposit to secure the house and land.

Bad – The initial discussions, design and pricing went very well. The house was built in accordance with the plans / contract. However, the actual work was very questionable. The slab was built so high that the rear of the property is about 50 cm higher than the ground level of surrounding properties. The mortar in the brickwork is coming off very… Read more

easily, looks very sandy. Some areas of the house weren't finished painting. The worst of all the problems was the plumbing. The bathroom wasn't installed correctly and as such after using the bath we flooded a bedroom. Then a toilet was blocked with water pooring out into the toilet room floor. After an inspection it was found to have rocks. It took 12 months of arguing to get them to fix the problem. After doing this they said it was all fixed. Only for us to find out that we had more rocks in the same pipe. Good designs and flexible arrangements Poor workmanship

Excellent – As a developer with a few homes i came across Wincrest by chance thru a friend.I will have my new home in 2 weeks.How good are they.My block was difficult so a designer and estimator met me and fixed all my concerns.Harry my supervisor gave me his mobile no. to call him if i was unsure of anything and Helen and Lisa in admin are GEMS.They got the… Read more

home to suit Comply and Development which saved me heaps of $$ and how much quicker is it.I have my my next design meeting next week for my second home a Trafalgar this time.I cant recommend them highly enough.I will let you no in 18wks how my next one goes. The knowledge of staff and how they overcome problems that come up when building They dont do landscaping

Worst "finished product" one could expect – Wincrest Homes failed to fully complete our home and blamed everyone else for their poor building practices. They failed to finish elements of the house blaming contractors, but at the end of the day they hire the contractors and are responsible for the finish product, not everyone else. I will never use their services, I will never use any of the… Read more

contractors and I will ensure every person I talk to and anyone that visits us see how bad a products Wincrest Homes are happy to sign off. I wis this site allow photo's to be attached, then I could show you all. My advise is to steer clear of Wincrest Homes and Di Lorenzo Pty Ltd. By the end of the whole experience, nothing. Bad customer service, second rate contractors and total lack of responsibility of the final product.

Bad – We built with wincrest in 2006. Ready 3 months after the promised finish date. We knew little of building but have learnt a lot. Brick work finish is not top quality but you get what you pay for. Mortar is crumbs when touched, to much sand. Generally poor brick work. happy with inside finish, painting good. Standard tap fixure not recommended,… Read more

upgrade in this area. Standard doors, robes and bathrooms still look great today. Biggest issue is the roof leaks and we are about to get it fixed for the second time. Builders have poor no knowledge of standard building codes. Ee.g. Rain tank rests on house, meant to be a foot away? Not good when dealing with termites. Also we paid thousands for a termite barrier that was made useless by it not being added to the edge of cemented area around our house. It was added to edge of the house slab. Made several errors with council submissions. This wasted time. We are about to build again and are not looking at wincrest. great design, excellent insulation, poor quality external finish

Terrible – Hi all My partner and I had bought a block of land in the Hunter approx 12 months ago. We decided to go with Wincrest for our home to be built after getting treated badly else where - I think its becasue we are only 21! However when we receive our approval from Council for the house, we also found out from the news that Wincrest went into… Read more

administration. We were lucky that we had not signed the contract, but still we lost $3500 for approved plans which are copyrighted to Wincrest. One week before the administration we were down in Parramatta for the colour selection meeting and were treated very poorly by the staff. The colour selection lady got angry with us when we told her we did not want Wincrest to do the flooring and fencing - she couldn't help us and just told us that all she wanted to do was pick colours!!!!!

I know that there ate alot more people worse off than us, but now we dont have another $3500 just to risk with someone else to start all over again. This has really hurt us and set us back along way - we are to be married in November and the house was going to be built then but now it wont be.

Just wanted to briefly share my experience with everyone - I really could go on with more but wont!

The staff - escpecially in Parramatta!

Terrible – We built with Wincrest almost 3 years ago - anyone who thinks they have problems with their newly built Wincret Houses, wait until they've had a few years to 'settle'. Our house has major structural problems - cracks in the walls about an inch wide, cracks in ALL skirting boards and window frames. When we moved in bricks literally fell out of the… Read more

wall due to poor brickwork, they had overlooked installing things properly... the list goes on. Then there are the cosmetic issues; shabby paintwork, poor carpet laying and cheap products. Getting them to come out to fix the problems is next to impossible. It's no wonder that they are under voluntary administration - I would be running from my problems too. House Designs The service, the products.

Terrible – they need to get rid of some lazy people in parramatta. they do not know anything when it comes to servicing customers at all. no wonder they are going down. i heard they just came back from administration. if any one from wincrest is reading this: THANKS FOR THE DEAD GRASS! i am sure that the ceo of the company did not intend for his company to be this way. location of property Dead grass poor comms through the building process

Bad – We built our home in 2006 , the saga began in Aug 2005, we signed off in Jan 06 ,construction plans were wrong and if we had not noticed would have the windows all wrong, had threateneing calls from the supervisor when we complained to the Management about the shoddy work. House was finished on time because we were practically breathing down on… Read more

them but even after final payment were not handed over the keys. Would never recommend them After reading all the reviews just hope now that atleast their construction is sturdy after all we have our life's saving in there. Lord help us! Construction seems sturdy and good designs for homes. None that we can applaud them for.Finish very poor, Shoddy customer service and arrogant overworked underpaid staff I guess but still that doesn`t justify their rude behaviour especially at Parramatta.

OK – Our house finished construction in March 2007 in a little over 8 months. Workmanship good and problems fixed as soon as they were pointed out by us during the construction phase. We moved in and discovered water was leaking into the garage when there is rain. This is due to poor planning on the concrete pour and poor oversight on the building… Read more

manager who should have picked this up. Has since fixed the problem but took alot on constant nagging & emails to the warranty section. Also, it's the luck of the draw on who the sub-contractors are too! Flexibilty in changing floorplan. The contstant battle with the administration staff at Parramatta. Totally useless and that's being polite!

Terrible – What can I say. A Company like this should not be in business to start off with. They have no respect for their customers, no communication whatsoever as well as everyone is in the wrong except THEM! I don't know where to begin with problems. Lets just say in the last 5 months nothing good came from it. They are [Word Removed] in drawing up plans… Read more

let alone tell you what options you have with your house plan as well as apparently it takes months to submit you with proper plans without any errors. Every plan we received was always incorrect. BE WARNED: they are the biggest [Word Removed] and will take money from you at any cost. I don't recommend these builders to anyone looking to build a stress free home and I have learnt the hard way that you get what you pay for. There is a reason why they are CHEAP! For anyone who has said that they are good builders you should see what they have done to us and I pray every day that they are out of business VERY SOON! Thanks for all the stress and waste of time WINCREST!!!!!!!

Everything!

Terrible – Where do I start? We received fantastic customer service until we paid our initial $3000 then we were treated like dirt. We were very specific with the changes we wanted made in our house plans but it was obviously too hard for them to make those changes correctly. We received numerous plans over a short period of time and all of them were… Read more

incorrect. Because of plans being sent back and forth lots of time was wasted. They wanted to charge us a huge penalty fee if we wanted to go ahead with the building. We told them we no longer wanted them to build our house. We have now completed our house built by a "professional company" and we do not regret making the decision to pull out 1 year ago. We have learnt the hard way that you get what you pay for.

Everything!