Home building mistakes costing Aussies tens of thousands

Costly mistakes in new home builds are leaving some Aussie families out of pocket by tens of thousands of dollars, according to new research. The study from iBuildNew analysed more than 1,300 comments across Reddit discussion threads about new builds, spotlighting communication and contractual issues, poor workmanship, and structural and foundational defects as the top three most commonly discussed problems. According to iBuildNew general manager Jake Taylor, some mistakes can cost families as much as $20,000 if discovered too late. “Australians will spend more time researching a car purchase than they will vetting the builder they’re about to hand $500,000 to,” he said. “Most builders are trying to do the right thing, but many buyers are walking into the biggest financial commitment of their lives with almost no preparation.” MORE: ‘God help us’: worst auctions in 30 years Source: iBuildNew/Reddit Communication and contract issues were the most consistently raised problem across the threads analysed (20.9 per cent) relating to poor communication, contractual misunderstandings, and lack of accountability from builders or architects. According to Mr Taylor, a three-month delay can e...