4 January 2011

Building query

| jennybel75
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Hi all, I’m wondering if any of you have had experience with either of two companies, Chateau Investments or Urban Design Architects/ Builders.

My partner and I are currently looking at building a place in Bonner and have noticed these guys have some properties on AllHomes which seem to fit into the “too good to be true” category.

I’ve tried Googling them and came up with very little for Chateau and a webpage for Urban Design that has little information and doesn’t seem to have been updated in quite a while.

Thus I’m asking the hivemind for their knowledge and experience of both/ either companies.

Cheers!

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beejay76 said :

I’m a bit late on this, but we recently built with Renaissance. We found them fantastic. House was completed on time, on budget and to the standard they said it would be. Staff were great as well. Also, a chap I spoke to socially from a governing body said that they get very few complaints about Renaissance, so that seemed encouraging.

I have heard a dreadful story from a friend about their appalling experience with Gold Ruby.

Hi Beejay, totoally agree with you. Built with renaissance in Bonner, and have seen them build houses for 2 of my mates over the last 2 years and they have been great. No complaints and highly recommended.

re Ram constructions, actually meant to write Customer care and satisfaction is certainly NOT a high priority, wouldnt want to give the impression they actually care about their clients!

I used Ram constructions too and had the same experience as Bones #3. Customer care and satisfaction is certainly a high priority. I agree with you about the lack of communication. I actually did as much research as I could on the internet, and could not find anything detrimental about the company, even on the ASIC website. The only thing i didnt do was speak with prior customers, although i did look at what they had built before, and as they looked good, i went for it. Didnt know then what the people must have endured in having their homes built. (i have spoken with other clients since, and they have had similar experiences to myself when dealing with this company). Certainly would not recommend them and will let LDA know of my experiences

I’m a bit late on this, but we recently built with Renaissance. We found them fantastic. House was completed on time, on budget and to the standard they said it would be. Staff were great as well. Also, a chap I spoke to socially from a governing body said that they get very few complaints about Renaissance, so that seemed encouraging.

I have heard a dreadful story from a friend about their appalling experience with Gold Ruby.

kitty_cat said :

I have to agree with far_northact, avoid metro constructions. I have built with them and moved in Easter 2010 and I am still waiting for things to be fixed!!!

I built with Metro too, I agree it did take a while for their ONE maintenance man at the end, but all the problems finally got fixed a couple of weeks ago.

I will say that their price was defiantly the best, their team were always courteous and they built my beautiful home in Bonner on time. They were actually some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

I probably would build with them againand they must be doing something right. They build most of the houses in Gungahlin so they must have heaps of experience.

I have to agree with far_northact, avoid metro constructions. I have built with them and moved in Easter 2010 and I am still waiting for things to be fixed!!!

Thanks p1!

Some quick searches of the Business.gov.au ABN Lookup…

Chateau Investments

Urban Design

Some further searching using the names associated with those registered business tend to turn up other businesses run by the same people. This seems to be something especially common in the constructing industry (and used cars…).

Stuart Marshall has a good reputation, his company is in google.

Jamie from Urban Design is a good guy, down to earth. … I was looking at having built one of his designs a year or so ago, but ended up buying something established

I used a company called Ram Constructions. They also trade under the name Briarwood

A good thing to do is ask contractors such as kitchen renovators, roofers, plumbers, septic tank suppliers etc as they have dealt with plenty of builders during the building process and can generally give you feedback about the builders and their standard of work. They are a useful point of contact as they are in the industry.

3 post nutbag. Should have been, thanks for the info Bazz and sorry about your experience Cranky.

*Bazz, sorry!

Yep, Urban Design in Griffith. Looking at the Allhomes listing the plans are already drafted.

Sorry about your experience Buzz and thanks for letting us know.

Oh dear cranky!! Very sad to hear that. We had all extras priced, agreed to and invoiced along the way. Sorry to hear your experience was woeful. I guess it does show that no matter what recommendations you get, everyone will have a different experience.

Bazz @ #9.

Same builder, diferent experience.

Generally OK, but a couple of dodgy subbies.

Worst was the invoice at the end of the job for ‘additionals’. These were supposed to have been priced and signed off as the job progressed. We were constantly assured that the ‘swings and roundabouts’ resulted in a fairly level cost. Not so.

First a massive final invoice, followed by a solicitors letter, and finally a Sherrif at the door.

Absolutely no attempt at justification or mediation. You may note the similarities between one of the partners names and a local solicitors office. Not coincidental. The HIA were absolutely useless as an intermediary. We discovered that this was not an isolated event.

Their business model sucks!!

If you mean Urban Design in Griffith, take your large bulging wallet (and endless amounts of patience) with you. I had the distinct impression that they are more used to clients who want very large homes or unit developments (along with an endless line of credit). If you have your own ideas and want to save money, make some sketches yourself and get a draftsman to draw them up professionally instead. Many building companies can point you in the right direction in that regard. Some insist you use their own draftsman from the very beginning!

Builder wise, we have used Aspect Building based in Hall. We could not fault any part of the workmanship and sub contractors were all excellent. Best of luck!

Holden Caulfield6:28 pm 04 Jan 11

@vg: Erm, wouldn’t that rule out building a new home anywhere in Canberra, then, haha!

Be careful not to confuse Urban Design as architects.

You will find that these companies are owned and run by people that own and run other building companies. You may find more reviews and feedback online for the other building companies even though they are run by the same builder. If you do not know who the builder is get your lawyer to do a company search and find out who the director(s) is (or are) of the company.

The companies you have suggested (Chateau, Urban Design and Pavilion) are well known to experienced people in the game (eg agents, lawyers, builders) so keep asking around and don’t go with anyone until you have received a number of good reviews/feedback or you will have headaches.

Bones, who is your builder? We’re looking at a few options and it’s always good to get first-hand feedback. Is it Pavillion? They’re another mob we’re looking at.

georgesgenitals4:33 pm 04 Jan 11

“No doubt I will be pilloried for this, but, through experience, avoid them like the plagie if their principals are of eastern European extraction. Corners cut, shoddy workmanship, avoidance of liability”

Pilloried? I thought it was spot on. Not all such builders in Canberra are shonks, but enough that you wouldn’t take the risk.

A little off topic, but I just built in Bonner, and while the suburb and area are lovely, I’m continuing to have terrible trouble with my builder – I had a hard time getting any information on them before we started and went for it anyway. Now I’m paying for it with massive problems.
I recommend doing as much research as possible!

No doubt I will be pilloried for this, but, through experience, avoid them like the plagie if their principals are of eastern European extraction. Corners cut, shoddy workmanship, avoidance of liability

far_northact4:13 pm 04 Jan 11

Probably a subsidiary (sub-contractor) of Metro Constructions, or another bulk-building company in Bonner/Casey.

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