How is Jennian, David Reid, Sentinel, Jalcon, Stonewood, DW, Generation Homes,...

Hi there. I have recently signed with Jennian Homes to build my house in South Auckland. I have communicated with many of the other builders that you have listed. I found Jennian Homes to be most accommodating and helpful. The sales consultant, Sarah Jane, is a very hard working lady with a can-do attitude. The owner and director of the company, Emma, seems to be a lady with integrity. Be wise and cautious when you make your choice who builds your home.

Hi Sanketh, if you can and your bank or money will allow, it may also be very prudent to include the costings for getting your own plans drawn up by an architect and then putting them out to tender to builders, not necessarily a building company but you can try them too. I know it looks a lot more attractive, better value for money and less stress to go with a big building company with existing plans etc but the one thing I learned from this website very early on is that the majority of complaints on here are targeted at the building companies, how they mismanage their tradies, quality of workmanship, budget and variation blow outs and heavy sales tactics that a lot on here quote as bullying behaviour. Whoever you decide to use, make sure you have a good lawyer to really pick apart your contract, DO NOT hand over any money for work that hasn’t been done to your satisfaction or for the agreed price, and never be afraid to walk away even if you’ve spent 12 weeks in negotiations because once the merry go round starts, and you are committed heart, soul and wallet you have very little negotiating power left and if you haven’t got the very basics sorted properly first, you’re pretty much at their mercy. Spending time and money during researching will always save you time and money later. Good luck, let us all know how you get on!

Hi All We went to South Auckland home show yesterday and talked to a few builders. I thought our experience could help some. Below is our impressions, could be wrong GJ Garder Manukau – The guy didn’t seem to be very helpful. They could not give us any details on what we could expect from them for a budget on 300-350K. One thing that we liked was warranty backed by Lloyds Bank. Most builders only offer Master Builder Warranty, which is not very extensive. The guy was stuck at 1 Million plus number for a house in AKL. DW Homes – They seem to have a quite a few designs. But what worried me was she saying insurance companies would only payout claim if the work was a registered master builder? I thought it was an LBP. Felt like a false claim? Maybe someone can validate this. Navigation Homes – The sales consultant from Pukekohe was interesting, apparently, the franchise owner is a builder himself and is involved in the day to day operations. Latitude Homes Manukau – These guys were interesting. Unlike other places, they were actual owners and LBPs. They had some good plans and also provide price expectations. In terms of pricing, seemed to be the lower end of the scale and could pay extra for upgrades. Landmark Manukau – We actually met the franchisee owner. He is an engineer and worked in a number of corporate jobs before starting the franchise couple years ago. He seemed to be a very genuine person. He justed a good ballpark number to work building costs will be 2500/ sqm for a good house that will last. Z500 – Architectural designer company. They had some very good designs. Currently based on Christchurch but looking at opening offices in Auckland. He said we can have basic architecturally designed and consented plans for 8-10K. And still be able to build with 2500 per sqm cost. He seemed to support prefab and using other non-traditional building materials like he suggested formace – structurally insulated panels. Also, they had some box modular designs for house. Capital Homes – Got to meet the franchise owner. He seemed a bit interesting. Never heard of them before. He said GJ Gardner builds are rubbish for the price. He has some good plans for under 400K but I guess the devil is in details. Would be keen to listen to others experiences. Cheers Sanketh

If you decide to go with Jalcon, your experience may not be pleasant, it may more expensive than you think it should have been, and you may find it very difficult to get answers to questions or straight solutions to problems. You could also find the contractor always saying things like, I have no record of that conversation so it didn’t happen. So uhh, maybe you might want to find someone different to that.

Id go mike greer

Hi Ashcroft Homes have been amazing for our build the whole process from start to finish has been amazing nothing has been to hard and their support has been amazing.

Hi we went with Ashcroft Homes and our experiences was so good we would build with them again. they are so approachable give them a call and get a feel for the professionalism.

Thanks Neville. Have you u started ur build ?

Thanks Mtelanie. I like the idea, only concern is if I will have project manage the build. Would you know how much an architect would charge? Thanks Sanketh

Thanks Al. Did you build with Jalcon ? or is it based on people you know?

I completely agree with the comment about Sarah Jane!! She is wonderful! She goes above and beyond for her clients, was really pleased in my interactions with her.

Hi Sanketh, I have checked with our Home Consultants who were on the stand at the Auckland South Home Show and it seems you may have misunderstood. The building work has to be overseen and signed off by an LBP. Not every builder is a registered master builder, so the idea that they would have to be for insurance purposes is incorrect and not something we would claim. Maybe the person you spoke to was referring to the Master Build Guarantee (which obviously only applies to RMB’s)? Glad you liked our plans and thanks for taking the time to say hi and visit our stand. All the best with your build project. Kind regards, Emma

Hi we went with Ashcroft Homes and our experiences was so good we would build with them again. they are so approachable give them a call and get a feel for the professionalism. – if you get the chance attend one of their seminars so informative

Be careful – this might be a fake review as they have spammed the site with reviews, saying barely anything except positive shining accolades.

Hi. Completed concept designs and in the process of doing drawings for Council Submission. I have a limited budget and was very specific about building within this budget without compromising the quality and integrity of the build. Jennian Homes was the only company that could work with me to achieve this. I hope it all goes well for you, but reading through all the comments people have placed on their experiences with big Building Companies, is shocking. I am grateful to this website for all the honest feedback and experiences people have shared. The whole contract is so heavily in favor of the Building companies and this website provides us with the platform to share our experiences and helps with making informed decisions.

Hi Sanketh. I would definitely recommend looking into a design company whether it be an architect or draughtsman and builder option. I want a specific look for my home and felt none of the housing companies could or were able to achieve this so am probably going with a qualified architect though not registered and his fee is $70 per hour. Probably will be about 200 hours of work. I’m sure the prices vary. Builders will offer fix priced quotes and will project manage the build themselves. My budget is modest yet by choosing an architect I will hopefully have a home with some wow factor.

Sanketh – I would recommend not using an architect – use an architectural technician (Architetural Designer) for your plans – an architect will charge a lot more (usually a percentage of the build cost) whereas an AT will usually charge between 3-5K for fully consented plans. By tendering out your build you wouldn’t have to project manage yourself necessarily – usually the builder you engage would do this for you – they usually have a PM or if a solo builder they usually PM themselves. If you go to ADNZ.org.nz (Architectural Designers New Zealand) you can look up a Designer in your area. 🙂

Be careful – this might be a fake review as they have spammed the site with reviews, saying barely anything except positive shining accolades.

I smell a rat here. An Ashcroft Homes stakeholder using the website for business devolvement purposes? The comments don’t seem genuine to me. Consensus from my industry network on Ashcroft is that they are good for developers who are solely focused on the financials. Low cost but questionable quality (get what you pay for). Good option to make a quick dollar in a heated market. I have seen only a few of their properties and personally was quite appalled by the rough workmanship.

Hi all I’ve gone back to both June and Ashcroft Homes and I’m confident June is genuine. It really does seem there’s a good client experience here.

Tania – when you say your architect is not registered, he’s got an LBP though right? And insurance?

Thabks Sarah. Any recommendations from your exp? I could use them as a starting point. Thanks Sanketh

Make sure you get the Building Guide and visit the website – http://www.buildingguide.co.nz. It’s essential to understand what your project entails – do yourself a favour!

This is definitely fake, none of the names used have ever shown up on this blog before (and between you and I Chris, we would know the majority of the regulars on here) and the reviews come in at such quick succession of each other, no other housing company or builders mentioned on here have ever had so many positive reviews back to back and all saying the same thing. When you build a house there are always certain aspects of it that stand out, whether in a good or a bad way, and honest replies generally always mention something specific about their build and the experience of it, these don’t mention anything specific at all. Even the best recommendations from bloggers on here have at least one negative they comment about, these are all just far too vague and nice and fluffy as to be believable. If Ashcroft Homes weren’t well known to many on this blog before I bet they sure as hell are now and not in a good way either. Well done Ashcroft! Excellent marketing strategy! I hope trustworthy and honest isn’t in any of your marketing material, that’ll cost a bit to remove lol………..(I’m still laughing)………lol……….(seriously, I am still laughing)…….. By the way, good spotting Chris! I haven’t had a good laugh in ages!

Hi all I’ve gone back to both June and Ashcroft Homes and I’m confident June is genuine. It really does seem there’s a good client experience here.

Hi all I’ve gone back to both June and Ashcroft Homes and I’m confident June is genuine. It really does seem there’s a good client experience here.

Mark, I got your message in my inbox 6 times. Not sure if I am alone here but there is possibly some technical issue with the site?

My advice here is simple. If you are considering Ashcroft ensure you visit and assess at least 3 recent finished constructions to decide whether the quality standard is acceptable to you. It definitely wasn’t to me. I also checked in on the current leadership team and I can see that the current GM is a personality well known in the industry for being below par on the honesty and integrity front (an extreme understatement but I am trying to keep my language civil).

Sanketh, yes he is a LBP and has insurances etc, i think it just means by not registering (and meeting registration requirements and probably paying fees) you cannot call yourself an architect and I suppose charge like an “architect”. Basically just need to look at all options not just assume that a building company is the best and only option. You might be surprised with what can be achieved by going with a designer of some form and independent builder.

Hi Sanketh. I would get your own Project Manager who is qualified and totally independent of the building company you choose. Someone you can trust.

Hi all I’ve gone back to both June and Ashcroft Homes and I’m confident June is genuine. It really does seem there’s a good client experience here.

Everything’s ok. I posted it several times on the various threads. Unfortunately, I guess you were in them all 😛

Thanks Tania. Would be keen to know how you progress.