Builder

Horror Builder Stories You Need To Know About

Looking for a builder? Read this first!

Are you planning on jumping into a relationship with a builder for your next home build or renovation?

Before you do that, have a read of these horror builder stories that we’ve come across that stress the importance of taking the time to find a good recommended builder.

The builder out to rob you

There’s nothing much worse than a builder out to rob you. As many victims will tell you, this type of builder is all about getting as much money from you upfront.

They will be super nice to you when you meet and will promise you “everything” you want – in fact it may look too good to be true and probably a lot cheaper than other quotes.

In an article from the Herald Sun, several people fell victim to a builder who aimed to get as much money from them upfront by rushing the job and doing poor quality work.

According to “Anthony” (one of the victims): “His business model is to do it fast and rough and get the progress payments for the first half of the job then to go very slow and never actually finish the job — and start another one.”

Watch out for this builder especially if he/she is asking for large upfront cash payments. You can end up with poor quality and/or unfinished work.

The builder that avoid contracts

In this article (Source: www.dreambuilder-nightmare.com), Dave shares his own horror story about coming across a builder who seems professional and principled upon first meet but turned out otherwise.

The concrete work done on his home was far from what the expert assessment suggested but the builder refuses to accept the assessment or that his work was not good.

According to Dave, it is best to: “Have everything, and I mean everything, spelled out in great detail in the contract. There are builders association and other websites that give suggestions for what to include in a contract.”

The builders that doesn’t pay his/her contractors

Many builders sub-contract parts of a renovation or building project to other trades like plumbers, tilers, landscapers etc. Bad builders may not pay their trades on time (or ever) which could result in these trades not returning to finish your job. Consequently, you, the home owner ends up suffering the consequences.

That’s why it’s important to work with a reputable builder that has been using the same team of trade subcontractors for years as it would highly likely indicate he/she is a great payer.

Need help finding tradespeople for your place?

Here at Tradebusters®, our FREE and local tradesmen concierge service can help you connect with highly recommended electricians and other trade businesses.

Simply complete our easy job request form and a member from our team will call you back shortly to help you get started.

More useful links:

Home Renovations Sydney

Melbourne Renovations

Perth Renovations

Brisbane Renovations

Meet a Top 3 Local Choice near you:

Whether you are renovating, buying, selling, or moving, The Sydney Top 3 Local Choice directory can help connect you with vetted and reputable local businesses with confidence.

From local tradies, to real estate services providers, property and finance services we have you covered.

See who got a Top 3 spot near you.

Plumbers Sydney

Builders Sydney

Carpenters Sydney

Electricians Sydney

Painters Sydney

Conveyancers Sydney

Mortgage Brokers Sydney

home loan

Self Employed Tradies: How To Get a Home Loan

The banks are hard on tradies which is why….

Financial institutions seem to want more and more proof of income these days, which can make it tough on self-employed tradespeople who haven’t been in business by themselves for very long, or their financial records are a little out of date. Read more

Housekeeping

How to Develop Your Housekeeping Skills

Spending more time at home? You may need this

A lot of home owners claim they don’t have much in the way of housekeeping skills, and they are probably telling the truth. The problem with such claims, however, is that they are far too often used as an excuse to not do anything around the house anymore.

Whether you like it or not, your home needs to be put in order. So what if you aren’t really any good at cleaning and organisation? Every single skill can be developed over time with practice, and housekeeping skills are no exception.

Housekeeping is very much like our own muscles: we need to work them out to become bigger and stronger. That being said, here are some tips that may just help you develop your housekeeping skills.

Read more

Building a House in Sydney – Custom Build or Project Home?

Project builder or private home builder? Which is better?

Building a new home is one of the most significant decisions you will make in your life. One of the first choices you will face will be whether to build a unique home or go with a project build.

You probably already have a good idea about the sort of home you want to create, but here are a few of the pros and cons to help you decide either way. Read more

SEO for tradies

SEO for Tradies – 4 Quick and Smart Strategies

SEO for growing trade businesses

With just about everybody using their smartphones to source new businesses these days, every tradie should have a website and good SEO for tradies practices to promote their business and services.

Having a website is one thing but getting it to show up in the search results is another thing entirely, and this is where good SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) practices come in handy.

SEO refers to the practice of optimising a website, so it has the best chance at being shown as the first result in the search results pages (SERPs). Given that 33% of all traffic goes to the top search result for any given query, it’s a result worth achieving.

Here are a few SEO tips you can use to help your site beat out the competition:
Read more

Plumber Parramatta

Don’t Risk a Dodgy Plumber

Don’t Risk Your Pipes!

Over the years, Aussie plumbers have earned a bad rap.

It’s a profession known for ripping off customers or simply doing shonky work.

At Tradebusters, we know there are many great plumbers out there and we believe these are the businesses we should all be supporting.

So, what are the signs of a dodgy plumber and how can you avoid them?

Here are some tips:

Read more

The Dodgy Tradie… Are You Keeping Him Alive?

Get rid of that dodgy tradie

Would I be wrong in saying that the tradie profession suffers from some bad publicity?  Has anyone else noticed how current affair programs just love their “dodgy” tradie stories and even create set-ups just to “catch them out”?   I have watched a few and find it interesting how they all have the same storyline – the homeowner admits the tradie offered them a price well below other comparable quotes, then AGREES to pay cash with no contract, and also AGREES to hand over a 50% upfront payment!

Now does that look and feel all above board to you? That conversation alone should have had the homeowner running for cover.

Read more

Local electrician in Sydney

Find a Local Electrician in Sydney: 7 Questions To Ask

Tips in finding the best local electricians in Sydney

Everyone wants to hire tradespeople that are good, but if there is one trade that we all should be absolutely sure about, it would have to be a Sydney electrician. It is one of the riskiest trades around and we could be putting ourselves and our families in danger by selecting an inexperienced or uninsured electrician with accidents like wire tripping, electrocutions, and worse. 

Safety is key in finding and selecting the right electrician in Australia for your home and so you do need to know the right questions to ask.

Here are some questions that we use at Tradebusters when meeting and screening recommended electricians across Australia to join our network. Hope they may help you!

Read more

Building new home

A Home Renovations Guide – Eastern Suburbs Sydney

Planning to renovate your Sydney Eastern Suburbs home?

When you consider that the Eastern Suburbs stretches through some of Sydney’s most iconic locations such as Bondi Beach, Randwick, Double Bay, South Head, and Maroubra, it’s not hard to see why people are eager to live in this area; it’s like owning a piece of heaven. Read more

What Insurance Cover Should My Builder Have?

Insurance is a must

Constructing a new house or making renovations on an existing one requires the services of a good builder. However, you can’t just pull the name of a builder out of a hat or just hire the first builder you meet on the street. When searching for a good builder, there are a lot of factors that you have to take into consideration. One of the most important factors that you have to be very clear about is whether or not the builder you’re thinking of hiring has the proper insurance cover.

For builders in Australia, there are certain types of insurance that they should have as mandated by law, while there are insurance types that are completely optional. So what insurance cover should your builder have?

builders in Australia

Read more