Anyone built with Platinum Homes Taranaki/New Plymouth

Not built with them but more than 5 years ago I popped into their office picked up a few drawings and a copy of the contract. His parting words were we don’t change our contract. Due to the time lapse it may be owned by someone else now. In any event with builders in demand they tend to have the whip hand so other franchises and builders may well be the same and not be prepared to change their contract. Contracts are always in favour of the builder. A friend built with GJ in NP and was reasonably happy with them. I reiterated a number of times to him and his wife about reading the contract before signing. His wife was fairly meticulous and I think she spent more time in going over the contract. One does not need a lawyer to get a feel for the clauses. You might need to use one for a finer interpretation of a particular clause or where clauses are cross referenced By the way did I mention read the contract and understand it before signing and don’t sign in a meeting with the builder or franchisee. Pressure tactics.

Hi Regan, I know the franchises are owned by different people BUT there appears to be a culture of grabbing money and not giving a damn at Platinum Homes that I would be very wary of. I entered into a contract with Platinum Homes it the Central North Island to build a home 31 months ago and it is still thwart with problems from shoddy building practices. It took 18 months to actually get possession of the home. I was initially told that he would have the home up in 6 months. My wife had metastatic breast cancer and the house was to be her sanctuary for the cancer battle. Our battle was less with cancer and more with the builder who allegedly took on 25 builds in the year ( fine if he had the trades to do so but he didn’t so he would just do a little work here; a little work there and not care about the deadlines and experiences of his clients). He allegedly was late for many of his clients. My wife became despondent …..with the build, with our hope, with cancer and then with life. She killed herself in May of last year; the house was ” finished” in July. Too late for her and nightmare for me. The builder was well aware of her illness when he took the build on. He promised me that he would pull out all stops to get it finished ASAP. He would even “put on his own tool belt”. They are the most despicable, disrespectful people. I wrote to their head office and received NOTHING back. Not a thing. If you have another builder option where you live I would recommend you take your business there. In my experience, this group of builders have no respect for their clients. I am going to provide media with the story as I think people need to know what they may be getting into with these builders. People need to know what to look for in their contracts; the warning signs of builder deceit. More importantly, we need to help fellow kiwi’s weed out the cowboys from this problematic trade. Good luck

Hi D, please can you provide me with your email as I would like to have a discussion with you. Very sorry to hear about your situation and the difficulties you and your late wife went through. I am currently going through a battle with Platinum Homes and it may be beneficial for us both to have a discussion. Regards.

Oh that’s horrible, sorry to hear about your wife. Who owns the central franchise? Can’t believe you received no communication back from platinum homes considering all you’ve been through.

Platinum in the naki are ok if you are into a bit a diy. they will bild a house with a pile of problems so that looks like it is 20 years old so you can spend your weekends fixing it up like a diy show. Its kind of fun as it is double glazed and insulated so you dont have to wurry about that stuff but most other things will need to be redun. Weve restored a lot of classic cars so we enjoy it. The franchise supports us in our efforts by not returning phone calls emails and cross the street when they spot us so we are wholeheartedly alone to do our diy without interruptions. Platinum homes. Building new homes just like the old one you grew up in.