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Ownit Homes Review 2023

by | Mar 25, 2021 | builder review, Building new, Choosing a builder

Pete and Paul Ganim founded Ownit Homes in 1972. They’re a residential building business that creates upmarket, customizable homes. This review will take a close look at Ownit Homes to give you an idea of how they operate. We will look at their strengths and weaknesses, analyse some user reviews and check out one of their display homes. We’ll also summarise their build process so you have a better idea of what to expect. Let’s start with location…

The Ganim’s build in Brisbane. The map below shows where Ownit is happy to build your home:

Top 5 Things we Like about Ownit Homes

  • ✅Ownit has a clean QBCC license. This means the government hasn’t told them to fix any building mistakes in at least 15 years.
  • ✅They have been around for 50 years, so they know their tradespeople well.
  • ✅When you walk through their display homes, some of what you see is included.
  • ✅Their homes are customisable.
  • ✅Specilise in roof terraces and balconies.

Top 5 Things we Dislike about Ownit Homes

  • ⛔️They only have 5 display homes, and they are all 2 stories.
  • ⛔️During the 2017/2018 financial year, they built 85 homes. Last financial year they built 33.
  • ⛔️Being a smaller builder they have smaller buying power
  • ⛔️Reviewers have been uncertain about inclusions.
  • ⛔️Their clients have said build times are longer than usual for Ownit.

What’s the Process?

We spoke to a sales representative from Ownit Homes who is also a draftsperson. The business has its head office in Upper Mount Gravatt. They encourage you to visit the office in person or meet at a display home. This first meeting is free. Here’s what you will talk about:

First Contact

While discussing your build for the first time, Ownit will give you a quick estimate of your build price. This is called a provisional sum. It’s important to know that this is NOT your official quote. It is only a rough estimate before you get your proper quote.

Deposits and Fees

After this first step, you’ll pay a $2,500 deposit. This is for a full set of plans, a contour survey report and a soil test. Ownit will then draw up a fixed-price tender for you with an official quote of your estimated build costs. You can also pay $1,400 for only the plans, but we advise you get it all done at once if you decide to build.

Ownit homes will give your $2,500 back to you once your house has been built. It will be subtracted from the total cost of your house.

For your plans to go to the council, Ownit will then charge you $7,500. This money will get your home to the slab stage of construction. It is common for other builders to charge this fee a percentage of the total build cost. Instead, Ownit has fixed the amount at $7,500 (you won’t get this money back like your deposit).

Who’s Looking after Me?

A sales representative/draftsperson will help you plan your home. They will then get a customer service representative to help hand over your build to a Site Supervisor. You will get the Site Supervisor’s number, and they will call you every week or so to give you updates on your build.

Build Times

At the time of writing, Ownit is experiencing high demand (like many other builders). They have decided not to hire extra tradespeople to help, so they reckon it will take 2 weeks longer than usual to build your home. They say their average house takes 6 months to build.

Looking to Build in Brisbane?

At Buildi, we have the advice you need to build your home correctly. We’ll help you understand the paperwork and choose the right builder to build a beautiful new home.

  1. Free Consultation – We speak with you about what you’re looking to build.
  2. Due Diligence – We team up with you to make sure you buy the right block of land at the right price without hidden problems.
  3. Builders tender – We take your demands to the market of builders and they bid to win your business.
  4. Present solutions – We compile the top 3 options and present you with a thorough proposal on builders’ strengths & weaknesses, as well as prices and specifications.
  5. Contract Signing – We work with you and your chosen builder to ensure there is full transparency about what you are buying.
  6. Building your home – We work closely with the builder to ensure everything is up to standard and your project is on schedule.

Don’t put it off any longer! Contact us for a free consultation.

Ownit Homes’ Reviews

From: https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ownit-homes

Ownit has a limited number of reviews online, but they are mostly positive. Customers say Ownit’s staff are good with communication and prompt with timing. On the downside, homeowners report being surprised by costs. Let’s take a look at a few of them:

From: https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ownit-homes

The customer above was satisfied by Ownit’s many customizable options. Patience when it comes to specific requests is often a strength of small building companies.

From: https://www.productreview.com.au/listings/ownit-homes

In this next example, unexpected “site costs” ruined a client’s experience. This goes to show why clear communication is so important.

From: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=99078&sid=7a9831cfb61ce6bc12f2cdef4046fc51

In this last example, someone makes an interesting point about roof terraces. They were afraid their terrace would go unused, or that it would leak. As we will discover in the next section, roof terraces are one of Ownit’s favourite design features. When deciding on luxury options, it’s clever to think about practicality too.

Ownit Homes’ Range

Skyview Display Home

These guys have many different home designs on their website. Most are high-end, 2 story homes. They feature sharp, modern lines and lots of glass. Their colour schemes are quite light, too. One thing many of the home designs have in common are their doorways. Their grand reception areas often have big windows and balconies.

Balconies… terraces… big windows… it seems like Ownit enjoy the fresh air. Let’s take a closer look at Skyview, a display home that combines all these elements.

Virtual Tour: Skyview

In the city or suburbs, a rooftop terrace can maximise the amount of outdoor space you have. This can be practical if you don’t have a big backyard.

Skyview’s Roof Terrace

Traditional, pointy roofs do a great job of getting hot air out of your house. They’re also good at keeping you dry. So what will happen to your heating and cooling costs if you get a terrace? Will your house stay watertight? The views may be great, but Queensland has some of the wildest weather in the country. Will your terrace be comfortable all year round? What about your heating and cooling costs?

The main bedroom’s balcony in Skyview

A balcony like this might provide a great place to relax. It is also great at keeping the sun away from your walls. Even though your balcony may be included in your build contract, that doesn’t mean it’s free. Remember that the money to create a nice outdoor space has to come from somewhere, even if it isn’t listed as an extra.

Inclusions and Upgrades

Ownit Homes says about 90% of their customers opt for “Dream Inclusions”. Their “Classic Inclusions” are more affordable, but Ownit’s display homes all show the Dream range. This building company prides itself on a “what you see is what you get approach”. There are very few fixtures in their display homes that are not included in the Dream range. Despite this, you’ll notice some very nice wallpaper in Skyview’s living room below.

Skyview’s Livingroom

What You’ll Get with Ownit

  • A balcony with clear glass balustrades.
  • A Colorbond garage door, gutters and roof.
  • A 2700mm ceiling for the lower floor and 2400mm ceiling for the upper floor.
  • A Video intercom and security system.
  • Flyscreens to sliding windows.
  • Smartstone benchtops for the kitchen, laundry and vanities.
  • Glass shower screens (semi framed).

What’s NOT Included

  • Wallpaper.
  • Tiles on your balcony.
  • Any siteworks like tree removal, rock levelling or grass slashing.
  • Floor coverings.
  • Light fittings.
  • Driveways.
  • Paths, fencing and landscaping.

Display Villages

Here are the locations of Ownit’s display villages:

188 SPLENDOUR STREET, ROCHEDALE QLD, AUSTRALIA

2 CARDINAL CRESCENT, NEWPORT QLD, AUSTRALIA

188 SPLENDOUR STREET, ROCHEDALE QLD, AUSTRALIA

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Check out our list of builders we’ve reviewed here
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4 Comments

  1. Sarah

    You need to be very careful about pricing and communication with Ownit Homes. We have experienced several errors and if not picked up we would have been charged incorrectly. Honesty and Integrity should be something that is displayed from management down however this is t always the case.

    Reply
    • Nelvin Das

      Hi Sarah,

      Thank you for sharing your experiance. We hope the rest of your build journy is more plesent that what you’ve outlined above.

      Reply
    • Sam

      Hi Sarah,we are drafting plans and price just keeps changing.Any advice or warnings for us at this stage while building with ownit?
      Thanks.

      Reply
      • Nelvin Das

        Hi Sarah,

        Unfortunately if you’ve already committed to Ownit there is no real way to keep them properly incentivised to offer you the best price.

        Reply

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