The Collins Family
The Collins Family
Every one of our clients has a different build story, and this is especially true for Dominic and Rebecca Collins, who have never actually lived in their Webb & Brown-Neaves home.
Dominic and Rebecca bought an old house in East Perth in 2006, which Dominic described as “the worst house in the best location.” But, not being ready to build just yet, they cleaned the house up and lived in it for 10 years, all the while considering whether to renovate or demolish and rebuild.
Through their research they found that they would end up investing the same amount in renovating the house as they would to build new, due to the condition of the existing home.
They started talking to builders about their options, making sure to think of the future when deciding on certain elements of the home. “This was going to be a place specifically designed for us to live in for many years, including a free-standing granny flat to provide flexibility in the future,” Dominic said.
Building in East Perth, location was a major factor for the couple. “We wanted to live close to the Perth CBD for work and close to the river for lifestyle,” Dominic said.
This was Dominic and Rebecca’s third build, having built with the ABN Group before in Singleton Beach.
“After approaching three building companies, it didn’t take us long to realise that Webb & Brown-Neaves was the right choice for us and we signed up.”
But in early 2017, Dominic and Rebecca were granted the opportunity to live and work in Argentina for 6 months. More than two years later, they still haven’t returned to Perth, and are currently living in Santiago, Chile, while having tenants in their Webb & Brown-Neaves home.
Dominic and Rebecca were overseas for the entirety of their build, which can often make the building process difficult, but Dominic maintains they had no issues.
“We had a great set-up between Webb & Brown-Neaves, our building inspector, and our sister-in-law, Rebecca, who represented us in any local decisions that arose.”
“Our Client Liaison, Fiona Douglas, was great with communication, providing us photos approximately every two weeks and updates of the upcoming work ahead.”
Dominic and Rebecca didn’t have much time to complete their pre-start and other pre-construction aspects of their build before they moved overseas.
“We found out in early December 2016 about the Argentina opportunity and had to be in country and ready to work by 2nd January 2017,” Dominic said. “This meant we had to do our pre-start well before schedule while we cleared our entire lives out of the house ready for demolition, secure finance, get our visas, do Christmas and say our goodbyes before we flew out on 27th December.”
“The pre-start team and our sister-in-law, Rebecca, were great and made sure this all happened seamlessly. The whole process was a blur, but it got done and they did a great job considering we could only give them a few hours!”
Now living in Santiago, Chile, with their two sons, Dominic and Rebecca couldn’t be happier with how things worked out for them during their build; they will always have a home to return to in Perth if they decide to do so.
Dominic and Rebecca’s Top Building Tips:
1. Firstly, put your focus on the builder’s capability and processes. If you get this wrong, it can be a painful and highly frustrating process.
2. Spend time understanding how you will engage with the builder during the build. At Webb & Brown-Neaves, they have a dedicated Client Liaison Officer for your build, who is your main point of contact and documents everything.
3. Look at the warranty repair time. Many builders only offer 3 or 6 months, while Webb & Brown-Neaves offers 1 year. Things like settling cracks are normal, but can take many months to occur, so you want these properly rectified under warranty.
4. If you require multiple companies to complete the build (we used different companies for the demolition, pool, landscaping, and the build itself), be clear about expectations up front and get this in writing between the relevant parties.
5. Spend time thinking about how you will live in the house in the near and longer term to help with your design. It is expensive to change later!
6. Be clear on your non-negotiable items and what is not important, for us this was having all the bedrooms for the family upstairs, high ceilings and a free-standing bath in the main ensuite, while we didn’t care for things like a theatre room or a kitchen scullery. It can be easy to be sold on feature you may ever use.
7. Go to Display Homes to get a good feel for the finishes. Try and visit them when they are busy to get a feel for how noise travels through the house.
8. Focus on infrastructure at the build stage; will your power meter be designed for solar panel installation? Does the house have smart wiring to give maximum flexibility as technology changes? Where will your reticulation run from/to; do you have access pipes running under the driveways/paths to avoid digging these up in the future? How many outdoor taps do you need and where should they be located? You can never have enough power-points!