Finding a Builder

This has been the hardest part of it all so far. Before we picked a block we had been casually looking at builders for up to six months. We've changed our minds 4 times I think. So far.  Our "must haves" were an alfresco, home theatre, walk in pantry (being vego I have a few appliances that need to find a home!).

 

After an hour or two, all the houses look the same. You remember things you liked, but where were they? For me (Kristen), and this might sound silly to some, but part of the difficulty had to do with finding a salesperson that:

a) knew their stuff

b) was not an arrogant douchebag who refused to make eye contact with the female (me) in the room.

There was one who topped them all. We met him twice. The first time 3 months ago. After we viewed the homes, we sat down to chat. We were there for maybe an hour. From the start you could almost see the arrogance ooze from him. He referred to me as the missus; implied that Stephen had to do whatever made me happy (I took it that he was getting me a house?) and I was demanding, needing a wardrobe for all my shopping purchases, and a decent sized kitchen. It was painful. I don't know how you reveal that you are sexist and racist to strangers so quickly, but this guy did it. "Nah you don't want to live out that way. Too many Indians. And what about all the Asians!". Just because we have 'aussie' accents, doesn't mean we are bogan racists. 

We saw him again a few weeks ago-he did not remember us. This time around I was referred to as the little lady who would get up early to make Stephen his bacon and eggs. At this point I could have put on my best houso and told him to 'get f*****d'. He also made the assumption this is our first home and after we told him we had bought land in OP he scrunched his face up and proceeded to tell us another nearby suburb was the place to buy. He told us OP would be too big, and that works on Camden Valley Way hadn't begun yet (then why are there trees cut down all along the side of the road?). Pray tell, what would be the difference between living in OP, or anywhere else nearby, if you STILL have to use that road to get to work?! Sometimes you have to wonder how people get their job - and keep it. All other staff we have come across from this company have been a great help and very professional.

Anyway this is who we were looking at:

1. Beechwood. Beautiful houses!
2. Allworth (awesome sales rep who worked for them/Package Central! He taught us a lot but then had to leave the company. We are still in touch with him occasionally). When you're at the early stages of looking at homes, these guys give you a good idea of how much you'd need to pay for upgrades to take the house from the base model, to the one on display.
3. ProCorp. They have some lovely and very practical houses. We were going to go with Monash Caprice. We got to the point of drafting up a tender but at the last minute we panicked a little and bailed.The best thing about ProCorp, other than having stunning and unusual looking houses (raked ceiling) and them taking care of everything from the fences to the letterbox, turf and clothesline...was their sales team. The team at Oran Park were absolutely brilliant. Nothing was too much trouble and they kept in touch with us all along even if only to touch base.
4. Eden Brae. All along Eden Brae have probably had some of the most well finished homes. They were all very impressive, but our concern was that they had too many living spaces (especially for two people!). The gentleman we are dealing with has been very helpful to date. We have our eye on one of them and I hope we stick with them!