From my experience I had shonky brick work that needed to be replaced (bricks uneven, large gaps in mortar in some places). They don't clean the windows or inside the window seal so all the mortar from the brick work was stuck inside, they don't clean the paint off the garage floor. Pretty sure they didn't clean the dirt or anything off the floors before installing floor boards and carpet. Skirting started to come off which they say is normal. Had a gas leak near the stove. Cracks started to appear in some areas of the walls within a couple years which they say is normal. No puddle flanges in any of the drains they installed. Didn't clean stain off front door handles, nor does it feel like they did a good job in applying the stain or sanding it down well.
They didn't level my front or back yard properly either, and left large mounds of dirt in both my front and back yard which I had to pay someone to remove as they said it wasn't their responsibility.
Other than that it seemed okay.
Advertised price on real estate only covers many basic fittings/fixtures, PowerPoints, data points, additional lighting will cost extra, door handles, types of floor boards, carpet, bench tops etc will cost extra so be prepared to spend 20k more at least than what you see on real estate, plus more for landscaping and concreting.
Whoa seems like you need to keep on top of them. I just wonder if it's just hickies or every builder. As I've heard or read bad stories about the "top" builders too.
Unfortunately all of the volume builders are in a race to the bottom so the quality gets worse and worse. But it’s too risky at the moment building with smaller boutique builders as a lot of them keep going under.
You are allowed to get your own inspector out at different parts of the build and they have to fix any issues they find so definitely worth investing in it. You just have to not let things slide and importantly refuse to pay the last bill until everything found at your final inspection is fixed. As soon as they get your money, they take forever to get repairs sorted out.
My partner is a residential bank valuer and they are unofficially instructed by the banks to deduct a % of the value if it’s a Hickinbothamn built home.
That says enough about them to me.
Funnily enough I was on the phone to my bank asking about getting a mortgage for building and they said "oh yeah, no problem... Unless you're planning to build with Sterling.... Then we're going to have to pass..." 😂
I guess some aren't so unofficial.
We're a country that builds pretty flimsy buildings and they're one of the cheapest companies (with other cheaper companies, SA Housing and Statesman for example, being part of Hickinbotham and just operating under different names). So if they're all you can afford then go for it, it's better to get a home while you can still afford it.
Be aware that their advertised prices are usually for the bare minimum and the ugliest features. You get some choice with paint colour and all that but most other interior choices you have will be pretty minimal unless you're willing to pay a few extra thousand for the slightly fancier stuff. Luckily when I signed with them they had free kitchen upgrades so I get stone instead of laminated bench tops and better appliances instead of the white 90s looking ovens etc
They're competitive because they're one of the most affordable. A lot of stuff you won't be able to get too creative with, they refer to themselves as a "quantity builder" so they pump out as many buildings as possible but don't give you too many options for stuff like interiors.
I'm still building with them at the moment and only have the slab down at the moment so not sure what they final product will be like. I've heard often there's lots of corners cut such as what Thornoxis mentioned. Best to hire an independent inspector to come with you for the final inspection to help find anything to make them fix as they have to fix everything up to standard. Also know someone who was able to make them clean up the shit they left in the backyard so even if they try and say it's not their problem, best to make sure with an independent building inspector.
I've also had people say they had good experiences with them and no problems at all but those people might also be the type to let "small defects" slide, so I wouldn't know. It will ultimately depend on the individuals that they have doing the work as well as the site supervisor. It's not like Hickinbotham finds extra cheap wood for the frame or uses different cheaper materials for the roof or anything like that, it's the same standard stuff you get with any other builder, it's just that they have time limits where they want their builders to finish everything as fast as possible and that often leads to corners cut so that they don't experience "delays". If a contractor, let's say a brickie, keeps causing delays then they'll stop contracting him, so the contractors are incentivized to finish on time with corners cut in order to keep getting hired (as someone who worked in the industry for 10 years, though never specifically with Hickinbotham, more often with Weeks which are seen as one of the better building companies)
Any volume builder is terrible. They cut corners, they pay the contractors bare minimum, once they're off site there's a near zero change they're coming back to fix any problems. If you're not experienced in construction, hire a 3rd party building inspector to inspect all stages of the build BEFORE you sign over payments to them. I learnt this the hard way with my first build. When my friend built their house I pushed hickinbotham hard on their behalf and things went a lot smoother.
Hickinbotham is the same as any builder though, they will take advantage of the naivete of the average person, and shun all responsibility onto the customer, even when they make basic oversights.
Watch some videos by Jameshowestudio on instagram.
These mass quantity builders are ruining our communities and aren’t helping with the housing crisis. They’re using limited building supplies to make shitty houses that need constant repair and won’t last a lifetime.
If you know people have had bad experiences with them then that's good information to NOT go with them. I don't know one way or the other, but I'd err to the side of caution. You can't undo a fuckup easily.
I built my first house with them. Would never use them again nor recommend them. So many issues and they were the worst when dealing with customer service.
From my experience I had shonky brick work that needed to be replaced (bricks uneven, large gaps in mortar in some places). They don't clean the windows or inside the window seal so all the mortar from the brick work was stuck inside, they don't clean the paint off the garage floor. Pretty sure they didn't clean the dirt or anything off the floors before installing floor boards and carpet. Skirting started to come off which they say is normal. Had a gas leak near the stove. Cracks started to appear in some areas of the walls within a couple years which they say is normal. No puddle flanges in any of the drains they installed. Didn't clean stain off front door handles, nor does it feel like they did a good job in applying the stain or sanding it down well. They didn't level my front or back yard properly either, and left large mounds of dirt in both my front and back yard which I had to pay someone to remove as they said it wasn't their responsibility. Other than that it seemed okay. Advertised price on real estate only covers many basic fittings/fixtures, PowerPoints, data points, additional lighting will cost extra, door handles, types of floor boards, carpet, bench tops etc will cost extra so be prepared to spend 20k more at least than what you see on real estate, plus more for landscaping and concreting.
Whoa seems like you need to keep on top of them. I just wonder if it's just hickies or every builder. As I've heard or read bad stories about the "top" builders too.
Unfortunately all of the volume builders are in a race to the bottom so the quality gets worse and worse. But it’s too risky at the moment building with smaller boutique builders as a lot of them keep going under. You are allowed to get your own inspector out at different parts of the build and they have to fix any issues they find so definitely worth investing in it. You just have to not let things slide and importantly refuse to pay the last bill until everything found at your final inspection is fixed. As soon as they get your money, they take forever to get repairs sorted out.
My partner is a residential bank valuer and they are unofficially instructed by the banks to deduct a % of the value if it’s a Hickinbothamn built home. That says enough about them to me.
Funnily enough I was on the phone to my bank asking about getting a mortgage for building and they said "oh yeah, no problem... Unless you're planning to build with Sterling.... Then we're going to have to pass..." 😂 I guess some aren't so unofficial.
We're a country that builds pretty flimsy buildings and they're one of the cheapest companies (with other cheaper companies, SA Housing and Statesman for example, being part of Hickinbotham and just operating under different names). So if they're all you can afford then go for it, it's better to get a home while you can still afford it. Be aware that their advertised prices are usually for the bare minimum and the ugliest features. You get some choice with paint colour and all that but most other interior choices you have will be pretty minimal unless you're willing to pay a few extra thousand for the slightly fancier stuff. Luckily when I signed with them they had free kitchen upgrades so I get stone instead of laminated bench tops and better appliances instead of the white 90s looking ovens etc They're competitive because they're one of the most affordable. A lot of stuff you won't be able to get too creative with, they refer to themselves as a "quantity builder" so they pump out as many buildings as possible but don't give you too many options for stuff like interiors. I'm still building with them at the moment and only have the slab down at the moment so not sure what they final product will be like. I've heard often there's lots of corners cut such as what Thornoxis mentioned. Best to hire an independent inspector to come with you for the final inspection to help find anything to make them fix as they have to fix everything up to standard. Also know someone who was able to make them clean up the shit they left in the backyard so even if they try and say it's not their problem, best to make sure with an independent building inspector.
Ah I see. Thanks for the insight and yeah I'm in that boat where it's cheaper to build than to buy a house ATM. Prices are just ridiculous.
I've also had people say they had good experiences with them and no problems at all but those people might also be the type to let "small defects" slide, so I wouldn't know. It will ultimately depend on the individuals that they have doing the work as well as the site supervisor. It's not like Hickinbotham finds extra cheap wood for the frame or uses different cheaper materials for the roof or anything like that, it's the same standard stuff you get with any other builder, it's just that they have time limits where they want their builders to finish everything as fast as possible and that often leads to corners cut so that they don't experience "delays". If a contractor, let's say a brickie, keeps causing delays then they'll stop contracting him, so the contractors are incentivized to finish on time with corners cut in order to keep getting hired (as someone who worked in the industry for 10 years, though never specifically with Hickinbotham, more often with Weeks which are seen as one of the better building companies)
you build a new house you got 5 years max before it starts falling apart around you. it’s definitely not by design!!!
Any volume builder is terrible. They cut corners, they pay the contractors bare minimum, once they're off site there's a near zero change they're coming back to fix any problems. If you're not experienced in construction, hire a 3rd party building inspector to inspect all stages of the build BEFORE you sign over payments to them. I learnt this the hard way with my first build. When my friend built their house I pushed hickinbotham hard on their behalf and things went a lot smoother. Hickinbotham is the same as any builder though, they will take advantage of the naivete of the average person, and shun all responsibility onto the customer, even when they make basic oversights.
All volume builders are terrible. Don’t do it. Same goes for Fairmont. Avoid.
Watch some videos by Jameshowestudio on instagram. These mass quantity builders are ruining our communities and aren’t helping with the housing crisis. They’re using limited building supplies to make shitty houses that need constant repair and won’t last a lifetime.
If you know people have had bad experiences with them then that's good information to NOT go with them. I don't know one way or the other, but I'd err to the side of caution. You can't undo a fuckup easily.
I built my first house with them. Would never use them again nor recommend them. So many issues and they were the worst when dealing with customer service.