Markcon Homes
 

Morning all,

We are just about to sign on the dotted line with Markcon homes, for them to design and build us a palace!

Have just tried a search - nothing came up, but was wondering if anyone had any experience of Markcon - good or bad would be appreciated!


Cheers

Jon

Re: Markcon Homes
 

get from builder a list of houses they have recently built in your area, then go knocking on the doors & ask the owners. We have, & this has given us reasurrances and a few things to watch out for when we eventually get some land.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

If you can't find ANYTHING on this lot then there are two syllables in their name that would kinda worry me.

Being, "Mark" and "Con".....

Parted with any spondos yet? :D

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Comes straight up on my Google

http://markconhomes.com.au/

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Thanks for that but we were more after actual experiences than their website, thanks for looking though!

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hi Jon,

Can't tell you anything about Markcon Homes, but it seems we are going to be neighbours soon. We are also going to built a house in Bridgehaven... once the section has been settled... :-)

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Obvisously someone with great taste! ;)

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hiya

We're looking to build with Markcon - just over the road at Nicklaus Parade. They've designed us a gorgeous two storey five bedroom home, just need to find the money to pay for it :p ;)

Mark & Ali

Re: Markcon Homes
 

We also have a block in Nicklaus Parade, what block are you on?:D.

We live in Bridgehaven at the moment :thumbsup:

To original poster, I haven't heard anything about Markcon but going by the number of their signs placed on blocks at the moment, they must be doing something right :D.

All the best with your build.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hiya

We've bought block 51, how about you?

Ali

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hi Ali,

Pleased to meet you, we're your new next door neighbours :D Block 50 is ours.

How weird is this :rofl:

Sandra

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Wow, that's so strange :eek:

Is 50 the corner block? We fell in love with the block as soon as we saw it - the views are fantastic. Have you decided who you want to build with yet?

Have you been on North Lakes long?

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Yes we are on the corner:D. To be honest we are having a bit of a rubbish time trying to get a builder to build our dream home for a realistic price:eek::eek:. I think costs are crazy :thumbdown:

Markcon is actually one of the few that we haven't been to yet :confused:

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Totally agree the prices are definitely scary. :blink: They don't match the starting prices in the brochures :(

We're looking at Markcon because they design the house from scratch in line with your plans whereas other builders charged a fortune to change things and then were restricted in what they could do.

My brother and sister-in-law have just bought land in Bridgeman Downs and they've asked Markcon to come up with a home design for them too.

The house design they've come up with for us is perfect - unfortunately I need to get the price down by about $50K!!!! :blink: Think we'll just buy a tent and camp there :p

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Markcon have designed us a 4 bed (could be converted to 5 easy) house with study, theatre etc - for not a bad price - happy to show you the plans if you like.... PM me for more details.

Cheers

Jon

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Thanks Jon,

I've PM'd you.

Sorry to highjack your thread:o, I hope you get some info on Markcon soon:thumbsup:.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hi there

Have been looking at Markcon Homes to build our house (had plans drawn up and were just negotiating on changes and price) however have been advised today that the company has gone bust!! :blink:

Can anyone confirm whether this is true?

Ali

Re: Markcon Homes
 

OMG:eek:, That's awful to hear of that possibility:eek:. I haven't heard about it but I did go to them almost 5weeks ago now with my detailed wish list and they said they'd be back to me in two weeks with plans..............and I haven't heard from them since:confused::confused:.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hi Eltoro

Afraid it's been confirmed by their architect/designer. Apparently the owners never told the staff. Lots of people have paid deposits and the only way they can get their money back is to make a claim through the company's insurers which apparently could take months :blink: So pleased I hadn't paid my deposit. Their HO closed and staff only found out when they went to the office and found it locked up and empty. Their website has closed down too.:blink:

Re: Markcon Homes
 

This is very sad news and a lot of people will suffer through this as Markcon have got a lot of signs on blocks around here:mad:. I did say to hubby the other day that I noticed one house in particular seemed to come to a standstill:ohmy:.
We were advised two weeks ago though, from a smaller builder that one of the salesmen in Markcon's office had gone bust a few years back with his own building company and left a lot of people in the s**t then :eek:
We should consider ourselves one of the lucky few:ohmy:.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

markcon have gone under for sure i know this cause they owe me a small fortune. yes they design nice homes but are a very disorganized bunch. lots of people would have been taken by them already its over 1 million in suppliers alone.In recent weeks whey have been taking all the deposits they can get their hands on and sending out work orders.I think the staff know more than their letting on

Re: Markcon Homes
 

I'm sorry to hear that your are one of the ones that will loose out on this:mad:. The sad thing is that they will just walk away and start up again under another name:curse::curse:.
Is there any way that you will be able to recup some of your money back through builders association or insurance:confused:.
I really feel for you:(.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

no chance !!!! gone gone gone. Slept like a baby last night (yea cried myself to sleep) Brisbane is a small place. they can't start up again I hope. although the last time i took a hit they started up 2 days later same building same phone number same fax slightly different name. I guess its just part of the game .

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hi everyone

I am new to the forum but felt I had to post for a couple of reasons

1) Yes I am a salesperson for a rival company to Markcon - in fact I represent 3 separate builders depending upon what budgets you have and type of house investment property you are looking to build :D

but more importantly

2) Whilst I cannot assist with any of the legal technicalities of what has happened with Markcon Homes I am more than happy to help anyone re their plans to build and any questions they may have re the costs, the traps that are easy to fall into and the hidden costs that can make building a nightmare if you get caught ;)

I am happy to help with advice how & where I can WITHOUT always expecting a sale - as mentioned in 1) above though - it is how I earn my living :)

It's a great place to live :thumbsup: but the Aussies do seem to have different values to the rest of us which can be frustrating at times :curse:

Cheers

Re: Markcon Homes
 

We have just bought a block of land and are now looking around for a builder after reading this thread we will definalty be asking them what insurance they have to protect us in case they go bust.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

But if you click on it, it comes up with a "website cannot be displayed" message...

Gina

Re: Markcon Homes
 

They've probably closed it down.......

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hi Simba

All builders must provide full insurance through the QBSA or equivalent and there is also a pre-set progress payment system in place to ensure there are sufficient funds held in reserve with the Bank to complete the project (ie you only pay a deposit of 5% of the price as agreed & signed in the Builders Contract (some builders split the deposit into 2 - 3 smaller payments to help get things moving and confirm costs before asking you to commit to signing the actual contract), 10% of Contract Price after floor slab is complete, 15% when frame is complete, 35% when fully enclosed etc, etc, etc) but all of this can still be a slow and beurocratic nightmare to work through when a problem has to resolved or claim made.

Having said this the building industry in Qld is still quite bouyant at present so a builder going bust shouldn't become too much of a common occurence.

You prob need to be more careful with sales people under estimating the preliminary sum allowances for things like site costs etc instead. I had friend's who signed up to build a house with a builder and when I checked their contract I warned them that it would cost around $100k more than they had signed up for because everything was under estimated. Unfortunately for them my comments were fairly accurate....

Re: Markcon Homes
 

We had an interview with the building services authority yesterday about getting our money back. Cutting a long story short as we had only just signed the contract and no work was completed then the process should take in the region of 6 weeks (we’ll see J). If work has commenced then this is where the time span gets a ‘little’ longer.

From what we were told it appears that Markcon were hard up for cash, and they were stitching people up, saying things along the lines of whilst laying your slab and preparing the footings we noticed XXXXX, which to rectify will cost an additional $XXXXXX.

I hope everyone else out there who got caught manages to get their money back/their house finished.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Hi folks,

I'm not a British Expat, but came across your thread while searching for Markcon's website to confirm their phone number, and well, NOW I know why they aren't returning my emails!

We are now living in a Markcon home. Signed our contract Jun 2006 and began construction Dec 2006 ... moved in 2 months ago on 17th July. Lovely house with a fabulous floorplan that we designed with the Salesperson. But, BOY were as disorganised as anything! No communication. very little documentation other than a string of emails that I've kept (thankfully!). Ultimately, I project Managed this house more than they did! But this post wasn't mean to be a builder bash so I will stop. (Unless I'm asked to continue, of course he he)

I think the main issue with Markcon is, that possibly lead to them being cash-strapped, is that they didn't charge enough for thier homes and therefore weren't covering the costs associated with building. We built a 300sqm house and compared to others on the market, we should have paid LOADS more than we did. Also, because they were so disorganised, they had to get tradies back 2, 3 and even 4 times at our house, so I imagine they were paying through the services that should have been right in the first place.

Anyway, I will be ringing QBSA tomorrow morning as we are in the 6 Month Defects Period and have been chasing Markcon to complete and fix the list of defects with have the place since Practical Completion. Nothing major, though a few little things that need doing!

Good luck to those who have money in Markcon> I hope you get it back with the help of the QSBA.

Regards
Kylie

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Unfortunately I think it is all going to be a bit frustrating to those who have been caught, just remember - "The squeaky wheel gets the oil...."

Dont rely on people calling you back (they dont...), keep on top of it yourselves to speed the process up

Re: Markcon Homes
 

markcon have hit the wall in a big way the Administrators have been appointed and the bill is over 2 million its probably going to go up as this is just suppliers and im in there for 11 grand but my bill totals 24 grand and get this the director /damager(owner) whos name is marco Zago has his greedy little hand up for 49 grand

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Unbelievable that Zago has his hand up to, considering its his company that went bust! ggrrrrr Sending in our application to QBSA today to getour defects sorted out ... :blink:

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Out of interest where are you getting your information from? Feel free to PM me if you prefer.

Ta

Re: Markcon Homes
 

i went to your web address and left you a message you should get it if not give me a shout

Re: Markcon Homes
 

I'd also like to know more about the story of Markcon's demise, if you have time. Thanks, Kylie.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

ive sent that email with a bunch of attachments did it go through did you get the gist of it.

jimbo

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Just for any interested you can look at any builder on www.qbsa.qld.gov.au and Markcon have a suspended licence....

Its also a useful tool for looking at any directives to repair faulty work in the past and complaint numbers.

I certainly would check my builder out and want detailed explanations. Any decent company isnt going to mind.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

Link seems dead.

Re: Markcon Homes
 

remove the first 'q'