Eight Homes

I’ll start by saying this upfront... if I were rating just the build process, this would probably be a 1-star review. But I’m not. I’m rating the whole experience, the good, the bad, and how they showed up when things went wrong, and that matters. We built at the worst possible time. COVID delays, supply issues, changing supervisors, and then the big one: when Mahercorp, parent company of Eight Homes, went into voluntary administration in 2023. Like thousands of other customers, we were stressed, angry, and completely unsure what was going to happen. We were about 2 weeks away from handover and still had to fork out tens of thousands of dollars just to get the build over the line and help the company exit administration. That part was brutal. The build itself was extremely stressful. Our slab sat there for months with nothing happening. We were passed between 3 different construction supervisors, timelines blew out, and communication was inconsistent for long stretches. Things did eventually come together, but it took far longer than it should have, and the experience took a toll. Honestly, if you’d asked me during the build whether I’d recommend them, I would’ve said no without hesitation. I chose these guys because I’d wanted an Urbanedge home for years. I saw one of their display homes back in 2009 and loved it, that design and that look. In the end, the people are what saved this experience. One thing I do want to clearly acknowledge is the end result. We are genuinely happy with the family home that was designed and built for us. We got exactly what we wanted in terms of layout, design, and overall feel. It’s a beautiful home and it suits our family perfectly. That said, the biggest issues we experienced post-handover were plumbing and waterproofing, and these didn’t all show up straight away. Around 2 years after the build, we started noticing leaks and problems with toilets, showers, and internal piping. Some of these issues were clearly related to waterproofing, and others to plumbing workmanship. These were not small cosmetic problems, they were genuine defects that required inspection and repair. From what we understand, the waterproofing subcontractor used at the time was Aquatap. SALES, LUKE ____________ Luke was excellent. Clear, articulate, helpful, and genuinely easy to deal with. He walked us through everything, helped us design a home that actually fit our block, and made the early process smooth and understandable. No pressure, no nonsense, just good service. CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISORS, ELLIE AND FRANK _______________________________________ Ellie, who is no longer with the company, was outstanding. She knew her stuff, stayed on top of things, kept in touch, and genuinely cared about the build quality. When she left during the voluntary administration period, we were worried, but Frank stepped in and he was also great. He kept us updated, made sure things were done properly, and gave us confidence the house was finished well despite everything that had happened. MAINTENANCE AND WARRANTY, WHERE THEY REALLY REDEEMED THEMSELVES ____________________________________________________________ This is where Mahercorp genuinely deserves credit. No build is perfect. You will find defects. What matters is what happens next. When the plumbing and waterproofing issues came up, the warranty process itself was straightforward. You log issues through the portal and they actually respond. If something is urgent, they act quickly. There’s no deflecting, no handballing, no pretending it’s not their problem. If it’s a legitimate defect, they take responsibility and work through fixing it. Marie from maintenance deserves a shout-out. She’s organised, responsive, and clearly dealing with a huge volume of claims, yet still manages to move things along and keep communication clear. And then there’s [Name Removed], the inspector and all-round fixer. Calm, polite, skilled, and detail-oriented. He inspects issues properly, explains what’s happening, and actually fixes things, not patch jobs or excuses. He’s like a Swiss Army knife of the building world. SO, WOULD I RECOMMEND BUILDING WITH THEM? _______________________________________ Yes, with context. I would recommend them for their home designs, their willingness to honour warranty claims, and most importantly, for the quality of people they have on their team. They do show up when things go wrong, which counts for a lot. It wasn’t an easy build and it wasn’t an easy journey, and the plumbing and waterproofing issues were frustrating, especially appearing years later. But we ended up with a home we genuinely love, backed by people who did step up when it mattered.

We are very satisfied with the service we received! Everyone has been helpful and responded very quickly to our emails and queries. Chloe has been so helpful and patient with us we can’t thank her enough

We are using 8Homes to build an Investment Property and so far we have dealt with 4 people from the company and they have been amazing. We were taken through the entire process very thoroughly. The electrical and compliance appointments were so thorough and they ran us through every single aspect of the plans and the electrical works, which were practical. We felt they understood that this was an investment so they didn't push unnecessary upgrades and understood we wanted to keep costs low. We are still in the initial stages but these first few stages have set the bar and hope that they continue to be as great as they have been as the build starts and finalises.

After what was honestly a bit of a roller coaster of a build, Peter took over as our supervisor and from that moment everything changed for the better. I genuinely can’t fault him. No more run-arounds, no more false promises just clear, honest communication with weekly updates and even daily updates at times. If it wasn’t for Peter, I truly believe we would still be waiting for our house to be completed. He came in, put his head down, and got everything sorted. Now we are finally in our brand new home. We’ve also had a few maintenance items that needed attention since moving in, and once again Peter stepped up straight away, organised everything, and had the issues booked and repaired without any stress for us. Mate, you are honestly a legend. We truly appreciate everything you’ve done for me and my family.

During the build, we faced challenges. Delays in build and the numerous site supervisor changes. In one ocasssion, we were not made aware when the site supervisor was changed. This was very disappointing and unprofessional.  Once Peter, site supervisor came on board, things started to change. Better communication, he kept us updated with the build evey week. If there was a delay or any challenge, he made us aware. He was excellent.

The biggest mistake of our life was choosing a company that turned out to be completely incompatible in every possible way to build our home. Construction began in August 2024 in Officer South, and more than fifteen months later, it’s still dragging on — filled with stress, false promises, and total incompetence. The project started well under the first supervisor, but he left in December 2024, and from that moment everything fell apart. Since then, supervisors have come and gone — I honestly lost count. Every few months, 8 Homes would introduce a “new supervisor” and ask for patience while they “learned the project.” Before they even understood what was happening, they disappeared, leaving the site abandoned again. Some supervisors never even set foot on the property. One of them, [Name Removed], stayed for about four or five months but did very little — just fixed a few door locks and did some minor waterproofing — then he left, along with the senior supervisor. The current supervisor has been on the job for about six months. He showed some initiative at the beginning but soon fell into the same pattern of delays, excuses, and complete silence. Communication with the company is virtually non-existent. Calls and emails are ignored for weeks. When I finally managed to speak with the client manager, [Name Removed], a few months ago, when I tried to explain the issues, she hung up on me mid-conversation, saying she “couldn’t listen anymore.” possibily with the intention to avoid any further calls. During long periods with no supervisor, the site was completely abandoned. The front yard became a dumping ground where people threw rubbish. The fence was often left open, exposing the property to anyone passing by. Rainwater leaked through the roof, soaking plaster and creating visible mould in the bedroom and garage. The inspection reports and complaints went unanswered. When I met [Name Removed] onsite,as he agreed to meet me,he even pretended to fix the mold by cutting out a small patch of plaster in front of me and brushed it off as a “very minor issue.” The current supervisor, [Name Removed], later claimed that he had replaced all the wet walls and resolved the problem, but I was never given any inspection completion report, so I have no idea whether the work was properly done or simply painted over. The contract completion date passed about four months ago, yet there has been no official communication from the company about the cause of the delay or when the house will finally be finished. My emails to their office are often ignored, and the few responses I do get simply say, “Talk to your supervisor.” But the supervisors are nowhere to be found. For the last six months, my house has supposedly been on their “priority list” — what a joke. The current supervisor once promised me a handover date towards end of September(18th) and told me to plan accordingly. He even said that while he was on holiday, his team would arrange the handover. We cancelled our kids’ holidays and took annual leave to prepare. Then, that same week, he went on a preplanned holiday himself without saying a word about the arrangements. All my calls that week were ignored. After he returned, he still didn’t answer my calls. Weeks later, when I finally reached him, he claimed, “I didn’t get any call from you.” When I asked why he made such promises, he coldly replied, “That’s your problem — I never promised anything.” Since then, nothing has changed — just more silence, more lies, and more frustration. It’s beyond belief that a company like this is still licensed to operate. 8 Homes is greedy, dishonest, and utterly unprofessional. They treat paying customers with no respect, leaving them with broken promises, mounting stress, and half-finished homes. If I could give them zero stars, I would. Avoid 8 Homes at all costs.

After experiencing extreme delays during construction (2 years since build contract signed), I’m now absolutely furious with how this company handles post-settlement defects. What an absolute waste of everyone’s time. It’s been over two months since I submitted a detailed defect report, and despite their website promising contact within a week — not a single person has reached out trying to resolve any of the issues. To make things worse, there’s no way to speak to an actual human being. The only response I received was an automated “no-reply” email, and when I tried to contact them through their service portal, I was met with a useless AI chatbot spewing canned answers. Apparently, we’ve reached the stage where robots are supposed to fix defects now? Out of desperation, I even emailed their managing director — no response. The site manager eventually reached out asking for details; I provided photos and videos immediately, and then… silence. Nothing since. How can a company selling properties of this scale provide zero genuine after-service support? My tenant is still living with unresolved issues that directly affect their comfort and wellbeing, and the complete lack of accountability from their so-called “service team” is appalling. If you’re thinking of buying from them, think twice. Their build process demands extreme patience and will easily drain any interest you’re paying to the bank during the endless delays. And once they’ve taken your money — you’re completely on your own.

We strongly urge prospective clients to exercise extreme caution before entering into any contractual agreement with this company. Despite taking possession of our home nearly two months ago, we continue to follow up without resolution on multiple outstanding items that were either not installed and not properly completed. This level of post-handover service is wholly unacceptable, particularly given the company’s insistence on timely payments from clients. The disparity between the service promised and the service delivered is deeply disappointing and reflects poorly on their overall professionalism. Furthermore, their slogan “we make it easy” is grossly misleading and does not reflect our experience throughout the build process. Documenting the number of delays, oversights, and ongoing issues would be an extensive task, as problems began early and have continued well beyond the completion date. Clients deserve transparency, accountability, and reliable follow through all of which have been severely lacking in our dealings with this company.