Hi Emily,

Have a look at this thread whilst i recount our experience, not that you'll need to hear it after you read this.

https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/storybook-designer-homes-review-dsvw-vd~4592513

We decide to go with Storybook in Feb 2016 We paid our 1% "pre decision package" fee, being for $12,000. You really don't have a choice but to pay this otherwise they wont even put pen to paper. After this we received our very basic layout which any kid with a computer could muster up. But we were blinded by all the BS they were feeding us, also we were told all this money would come off the kit price if we go ahead. it wasn't until July 2016 that they would start on our project, Next we had to pay $37,214 Plans stage. We received a more in detail package in August 2016, though based on our Wishlist which was provided prior to paying the $12,000 the design was way off. Half of our Wishlist was missing.

We then contested the design and constantly referred to the Wishlist this took until December to even get close to our wish list, as they were very hard to get a hold of and each time they sent back a draft they still had things missing. They closed in December 2016 for a month, in January we started to loose our patients, it was nearing a year since we put our 12k down and still our house was missing major elements of our Wishlist. At this stage they would never return my calls or emails. I even booked flight to go and meet Phil to get it sorted but was told he was unavailable. It was at this stage i knew they were avoiding me and the house was never going to be what was promised. Even if the house eventually come together i couldn't trust to give them anymore of my money or rely on them to provide any kind of service or materials. I decide to pull out of the contract and i lost my $49,214.

I contacted an architect (iDraft) in March 2017 and designed new house exactly the way i wanted, engineered and approved council by September 2017.

The cost was $6,000 to have they exact same services and documents provided by the architect compared to the $86,428 Storybook were trying to extort me for, which was never coming off the kit price.

This is just a very very brief outline of one issue with them. When i get more time more detail will follow. I had put a comprehensive outline on here 4 days ago and it was deleted.

Hi Emily,

I operate in Geelong. I'm guessing that your block is in the newer Highton subdivision or similar.......my advice is be realistic and understanding/accepting of the costs involved with negotiating those particular site conditions and that you need to source a design that works effectively to your particular site. The issue with these estates is that for that realistically, for a large family home on a steep site, budgets of 700/750K will struggle to include land. Realistically you'll need all of that for the build alone, not to mention site/landscaping aspects. The value of pursuing a kit home is debatable and varied depending upon various elements/balancing of circumstances/industry contacts/site/budget etc.....my advice is see what design you can possibly find that meets your needs with one of the more reputable off the shelf options such as hotondo or possibly even look at one of the design & construct builders like mark gleeson. Be warned: false economy, misunderstood/hidden/embedded costs and consequential cost blowouts are significant risks and highly likely on a "kit approach" for any project, however this will be further exacerbated on a site like yours..........Take your time to consider your options and remember that you always have full control of your own project "needs' and more often than not this is the most effective and powerful way (as in making some hard/realistic decisions and adjusting expectations on what you ultimately need/want/prioritise etc) to maximise the value of your project's end result. Just make sure you spend your budget wisely and consider long term goals and the notion of quality over quantity...best of luck! PD

They should do a story on 'A Current Affair' on Storybook Homes!

jessica p, it's a terrible shame that you were mistreated like that, but i'm glad to hear that it all worked out in the end. Storybook are certainly trying to sweep all the truthful reviews under the carpet (and they're succeeding). My advice is that you share you story on more platforms / discussion forums offered on other sites (that's what i've done). I'm not out to get them or anything, just want to try to protect unsuspecting, hardworking ppl that they're about to take advantage of. If you're a business, you should welcome feedback and reviews!

Paul would you be able to design their home and help with choosing a builder?, and what it would cost cheers

Hi siriuskey, of course I could, BUT the issue as always is appropriately matching budget to brief, and I only take on projects are appropriately/reasonably aligned in this regard. In this particular case Emily's indicated under 500K (ideally lower/closer to low $400K's) for a 32sq home that on that particular block (that clearly has a certain degree of site grade/difficulty) , which is practically pushing the limit and is realistically only achievable with a carefully selected volume product, or with a significantly reduced project brief/building program. I honestly just wouldn't be comfortable unless the construction budget for this proposed type/scale of residence, (3 living areas, negotiating topography etc) was $750K+ for a custom design, which is still basing the m2 rates on only $2500/m2 which is practically just a starting point and likely to hike up from there by the time we're done.....in regards to design costs etc, well they as always are calibrated/tailored to the individual project depending upon the level of complexity and scale and extent of services required. It's unfortunately not easy/straightforward to answer that as sometimes we need to do some preliminary analysis on an hourly rate basis just to clarify/quantify the project scope from which service fees are then calibrated too and packaged up appropriately, usually based on a percentage of the project budget relative to specific service stages. To answer the question ultimately I need more detailed information from and a preliminary professional discussion with the potential client :) PD

Thanks Paul it's great to hear from the Pro's on this platform, most of us have very little knowledge of Building so your input is appreciated and helps to inform cheers

Hi guys,

We are using Storybook homes now. The customer service as been appalling. There are hidden costs for the build that they do not add to their estimates. This makes the estimate price they present you with look enticing, but then you have the hard work of pulling the build off when the additional prices arise. Examples would be retaining walls - displayed on the plans, cost not factored into the Estimates. Looks like our wall will be an additional $25K. Given Storybook say they specialise in sloping blocks they should offer more support around retaining walls. Setting out and re-establishment surveys: Storybook told us these were 'very important' to do when I stumbled upon these requirements and rang them up about them (all very retrospective). They do not appear on the Estimates costing. They add another $3500.

We were in told October 2017 by Phil the owner that a project takes 12 - 14 months from start to finish. In April 2018, Phil said 'Everything will start moving very quickly now.' As of mid Jan 2019 still no shovel in the ground to start the build. Allow yourself 2 years.

I've rung up and explained my customer frustrations to them before and only received counter arguments; dispelling my issues. They simply don't listen and take feedback on. They ride on the coat tails of their pricing only - which, as stated above, is murky anyway.

The long and short of it for us; the house looks like it will look lovely. You just have to suck in breath and wear the lousy customer service.

Also had a bad experience with Storybook. Stole our deposit, provided no drawings. Would not respond to calls or messages. Avoid!!

HU-756666530

Hi how is your built progressing?..... I built a storybook in 2007 and looking at building again there estimates were a fair bit out but this also depends if you go for budget or higher end finish. I learnt a lot of lessons the first time.

I would strongly recommend not using Storybook. Our estimates were $310K but with $0 factored in for heating/cooling (actual: $3k), $0 facto in for digging (actual $8K), $0 factored in for retaining wall (actual $52K), carpentry was $40k more, stairs $1500 more, electrical $4K more, plumbing $5K more, etc etc.

our final cost will be $450Kosh before floors and painting and landscapinG.

Despite all this they didn’t even reimburse $200 for missing screws.

We are nearly finished our home, we are broke, I’m working 3 jobs and since they got their last payment there has been no contact to check on us.

These guys reduce their estimates so their houses appear cheaper than they are. Who seriously budgets $0 for heating and cooling? Storybook sell lies.

Kit homes don't take into account site costs.

Whether it’s a production home or kit home, site costs are always a potential blow out. Usually builders will order a soil test to determine foundation class , soil could be reactive and might need bored piers.

Here is a pretty detailed guide on site costs that might help: https://www.pivothomes.com.au/building/building-site-costs/

I signed their Design Agreement in June which includes a non-refundable 1% deposit. I've had to walk away with nothing to show for it except the wasted money and time. From payment it took three weeks to get a consultation. I was talked through a concept, but they refused to provide even a rough sketch. In three weeks they promised a floor plan, 3D render and costing estimate would be mailed, a follow up Zoom meeting a week later. Three weeks later, no communication from Storybook, I rang and they said two more weeks. Two weeks later, no contact, I rang and they said one more week. One week later, they rang to say the 3D artist's computer monitor was broken, so it would be another week. I asked for the floor plan, but was denied. One week later I had a Zoom call with the concept and costing sent via email after. Their was very little reference to the design direction form I'd filled out, but was presented with a concept that looks lovely, but with decking and glazing along both the western and eastern sides would make for a very uncomfortable home - they don’t think so - just get a lovely umbrella! The concept was $50K outside my budget, due to increase in materials cost, and their costing under-estimate put it about $55K over budget. But their estimate to finish the build is not based on any evidence of local trades research and the reality pushed the project well beyond their estimate to complete. However, they have offered, if I pay them 50% more they will give me a new design within my budget. No thank you!

Their biggest whinge is that Storybook has done all this design at a considerable loss. Not true, the “Services” vaguely referred to in the Design Agreement was more than 12.5% of my build budget. Then there’s the cost for the Kit. Turns out my custom design was a pre-exisiting design on their website. Along with that, they don’t guarantee the design won’t change or be passed by Council, nor meet bushfire and engineering standards. They are not giving back the deposit.

I honestly can’t believe these people are still in business.
We, like several others on here, ended up using the services of a draftsman and an engineer, then took on the job ourselves. We hired all the trades, sourced and negotiated all the materials and ended up with the home of our dreams.
It really isn’t that hard if you put in the time to research it, oh, and find yourself a decent Quantity Surveyor.

I see they have gone broke. Couldn’t be less surprised, bunch of crooks.