You’ve made the decision to build your dream home and have bought a block of land but what now? Your next step is choosing your builder.
Choosing the right builder is the most important decision you will make when building your home. Your builder influences every aspect of your building journey from the look and feel of your home, the timing of the build and most importantly your stress levels during this pivotal time!
So how do you find a builder to build your home and what should you look out for?
Here are our top four tips to finding the best builder.
Find a builder that has a team of great communicators
At Geelong Homes, we believe communication is the absolute key to building a home.
The very first person you’ll meet is one of our new home consultants. Geelong Homes new home consultants are friendly, approachable, knowledgeable and most importantly passionate about what they do. They offer you one-on-one service and will be your only contact during the first part of your building journey. Part of their job is to get to know you and find out what your exact needs are to match you with the right home. There’s no way they could achieve this without great communication.
Your second point of contact will be your Geelong Homes site manager. Before construction starts, you’ll meet your site manager and discuss all aspects of the build. This is an important meeting that opens up the dialogue between you and your site manager.
Once construction of your home begins, your site manager will also provide you with weekly updates on how your new home is progressing. They also provide you with regular emails and access to our client portal so that you can keep track of the progress. And once each stage is completed, your site manager will invite you to the site to see the progress!
Learn more about a builder’s suppliers and trades
We know many people consider supporting local business as an important factor when choosing your builder. For us, we want to stay true to the Geelong part of our name by only using local trades and suppliers. Geelong Homes has worked with some of our trades and suppliers for more than 20 years! Backed by this local team, you can feel confident that the Geelong Homes’ supply chain will get the right products and materials to their home.
“I personally know every one of our subbies, which is one of the biggest advantages of our business compared to volume builders,” Geelong Homes Building and Operations Manager Josh Liston says.
“It means that I can give a 100 percent commitment to our clients that we only employ trades that will work on our client’s homes like it’s their own.
“Our trades know that if you wouldn’t want it in your own home, you wouldn’t construct it in someone else’s.
“One of the value adds to building a home with us, is that we only put good quality products in our homes, and these products are supplied by local businesses.”
“We understand the investment, both emotionally and financially, our clients put into building a new home.
“That is why quality is one thing we won’t compromise on. We actively source the very best quality products and materials at an affordable price, so you can enjoy your home for years to come.”
A home built by Geelong Homes comes standard with: Colorbond Steel roof; Haymes paint; Gainsborough hardware; Artusi appliances; GWA taps and bathware; designer tiles; Godfrey Hirst carpet and underlay; and a professional colour consultation.
Find a builder who has a clear process
At Geelong Homes, we’re committed to creating a seamless, stress-free experience for our clients. And we believe it starts with keeping our clients informed at every step of the building journey. The Geelong Homes’ seven steps of the building journey serves as a clear guideline on what to expect at each stage of the build of your home — with no surprises.
We also strictly follow our Quality Assurance checklists at every step of the construction process. This means a build is required to pass a number of checks before it can progress to the next stage.
Our seven steps in order are:
1. Choosing your home. Your new home consultant will help you decide on the perfect home for your lifestyle and will provide you with a proposal.
2. Deposit. A $2000 commitment will get you on your way and finalise your plans.
3. Preliminary plans. A set of working drawings will be presented to you to check over before we prepare your contract plans.
4. Style studio. At Geelong Homes, our expert colour consultants are on hand to help you select all your internal and external colour, fixtures and finishes selections.
5. Contract. Your new home consultant will guide you through the MBVA contract details before you sign your new home contract on that day.
6. Construction. Prior to construction commencing you will meet with your Geelong Homes site manager. The site manager is your main point of contact throughout the construction process. At this meeting, you’ll go over your plans in detail. This is a great opportunity to discuss all aspects of your build.If you have any questions during the construction – your site manager is just a phone call away.
7. Move in! Once your home is complete, your site manager will meet you at your new address, take you through your lovely new home and present you with your keys.
It doesn’t get any simpler!
Speak to those who have already used the builder
We’ve been building homes across the Geelong region for more than 30 years – so we have many clients that can attest to our service and processes! When looking for a builder it’s best to speak to people who have used that builder before to really understand what it is like to work with them. There are many Geelong Homes clients who have expressed how much they enjoyed their building experience with Geelong Homes.
First home buyers Alysha and Matthew couldn’t look past Geelong Homes when they were shopping around for a builder to build their home. Alysha is a conveyancer and the skills she uses on a daily basis ended up being skills well-suited to finding the right builder to build her home.
Alysha says she is always speaking to people selling or buying multiple properties.
“Clients of mine mentioned they had built multiple properties with Geelong Homes and that their standard was phenomenal and they hadn’t had any issues with the builder,” she says.
“We had already made the decision to build with Geelong Homes, but their comments reaffirmed that we had made the right decision.
“We didn’t want any surprises, we wanted a fixed price that was right down to the bone.
“Geelong Homes gave us that, and it really made the building process so much more comfortable.”
At 22, first home buyer Olivia began living in her brand-new Geelong Homes home in Torquay. As a young professional, she surrounded herself with people who understood finance and property investment, and learnt that building provided great savings for first home buyers.
“What I really liked about Geelong Homes was that my new home consultant was able to give me a ballpark figure on the spot for the whole build and for little extras,” she says.
“Also with the other builders, it wasn’t a very personalised experience. With my Geelong Homes new home consultant he really understood me. Secondly, I felt like Geelong Homes wasn’t wasting my time; everything was seamless. And thirdly, they only hire local tradies and suppliers and I really wanted to support local.”
Summary
Building a home can be a minefield – but armed with the right information it can be one of the most enjoyable experiences of your life. If you have already bought a block of land, your next step is finding a builder.
For more than 30 years Geelong Homes has built local homes for local people across the greater Geelong region. In that time, we have developed an expert team of local suppliers and trusted trades to build many homes across the region.
We believe there are four pieces of advice you should follow when choosing a builder:
1. Look for a builder that has a team of great communicators
2. Learn more about a builder’s suppliers and trades
3. Understand the builder’s processes
4. Speak to people who have built a home with the builder
At Geelong Homes, we believe we have all the qualities you need to experience an enjoyable, stress-free building experience. Our approach is simple—we treat every home like it’s our own. When you build your home with us you’ll experience expert advice and craftsmanship, upfront costings, quality standard inclusions, and friendly service from a passionate local team who truly understands our region.
