I was initially quite pleased with the quality of workmanship on my first inspection of a unit in December 2016 built by Ian Zande (Budfield Pty Ltd) and signed a contract to purchase it.
During my cooling off period I inspected the unit again and found quite a few issues I was not happy with:
1. The second bedroom faced the western sun, was quite small, but did not have a ceiling fan or air-conditioning.
2. Even though the main bedroom did have a ceiling fan, I asked if the builder would consider installing air-conditioning. The reply was that a unit equal to the one downstairs (5KW) would be installed. I later learnt that only the smallest unit was going to be installed.
3. The power points in the main bedroom were on the opposite wall to where the bed head would go.
4. Items that I considered should be part of the standard build were not there. (Towel rails in the second bathroom, hand towel rails in the bathrooms, shelving or similar in the showers to hold soap, shampoo etc).
5. I decided to cancel the contract within the cooling off period but was then advised that my deposit would not be fully refunded. Even though the seller has the right to retain 0.25% of the holding deposit during the cooling-off period, generally this is not done as a courtesy to the buyer. This action even surprised the real estate agent.
Overall the quality of the workmanship was quite good, but I feel some items should have been included with the build.
I feel the ethics of the seller fall well below average, especially after changing the size of the air-conditioner that was to be installed and then not refunding the full deposit.
I would certainly think twice before recommending Ian Zande (Budfield Pty Ltd).
