Poen Niemandt
I am looking for a builder in the Mangonui/Cable Bay area that WANTS to build a new house and take a large sum of my money, without expecting me to enter into contracts that are draconian and for the sole benefit of the builder. Someone who will listen to me when I talk about my budget, my requirements, and provide an honest and earnest service that does not charge fees and prices on materials that border on theft, who will not disappear when I ask the difficult questions that all the building guides and people with experience advise you to ask, especially around transparency, duration and cost/variations.
I am now more than 20k in the hole with an expensive design for a house that the architect assured me can come in on my budget but the builder priced 180K over budget, that I can not do much with apart from framing it and hanging it on the wall… after 2 years and talking with many local builders (Masterbuilders too, mind you) and national franchise builders it seems that builders are either cherry picking or trying to get you to enter into a contract that WILL cause you grief. Kudos to Advance build in Kaitaia though who was very quick off the mark with a design and pricing, but unfortunately have the limitation of maximum size that can be transported resulting in a number of deliveries and other difficulties with more complex designs.
So, is there anyone on here that can make recommendations for a reliable, honest, trustworthy masterbuilder or NZCB builder anywhere between KeriKeri, Mangonui and Kaitaia that will not ask me for a 10-18% builders deposit before they even start with final working drawings? Or at least tell me who I should NOT use and why? Or am I asking for the impossible?