What Our Clients Say
Dave and Jen
Cobbitty
Harrington Grove
Picton
Camden Park
What truly set them apart was their exceptional customer service
We couldn’t be happier with the experience we had working with Toby and Team Highwater Homes. From start to finish, they exceeded our expectations in every way. The quality of the craftsmanship is outstanding, and the attention to detail in every aspect of the build is clear.
What truly set them apart was their exceptional customer service. They communicated with us every step of the way, patiently answering our questions and making sure we were completely satisfied with every decision. They were always professional, reliable, and went above and beyond to ensure the project stayed on schedule and within budget.
Our new home is everything we dreamed of, thanks to their hard work and dedication. We highly recommend Toby to anyone looking for a builder who is not only skilled but also genuinely cares about their clients.
Charlie & Elle
Gymea Bay
The process from design to build was explained meticulously throughout, and any questions we had were answered efficiently and effectively
It's very hard to know where to start when there are so many positive points along a journey, so we'll start from the beginning.
We had never built a house from scratch before, and the journey of looking for a builder was challenging to say the least. Having received some word-of-mouth feedback from a work colleague, we decided to contact Toby Searle from Highwater Homes. From the first phone call to site visit at one of the nearly completed homes that the Highwater team had built, we felt comfortable that Toby knew his craft very well as evidenced by the quality of the work on display. After deciding to take the plunge Toby guided us through the process of having our home designed, and offered very practical feedback to ensure that we got what we wanted out of the build and that we were able to stay around the budget we had in mind.
The process from design to build was explained meticulously throughout, and any questions we had were answered efficiently and effectively. What was most amazing was how accessible Toby was; it was not difficult to call him directly and when he didn't answer, he would call back very quickly. He was very flexible in his demeanour and his communication was something to remember.
The check-list of suppliers and other professionals that the Highwater team work with were all very professional, responsive, and helpful with suggestions. The process of who to contact, at what point in the build process and why, were all explained clearly and also reinforced by explicit documentation which helped to keep us on track and reduce any anxiety we felt about being out of our depth with a process as complex as having a home built.
As a team, Highwater Homes work amazingly well, all of the team members were all so very responsive and professional. They were accessible and helped with both providing reassurance when it was needed (and it was needed often throughout the process), and guidance when it was sought. Nothing we ever needed clarifying was too much to ask, and they were all proactive in helping us. It was only natural that there would be unexpected design changes throughout the building process, and the feedback we received from the team was on point. It cannot be stressed enough just how critical this was, in helping us go from seeing our house on paper to it evolving into a place we're now glad to call home.
Looking back, we're glad we chose to work with a custom home builder. If you're wanting to build a home that you can be proud of, look no further than Highwater Homes.
Gaul and Gloria
Campbelltown
Toby truly stood out with his understanding, honesty, and communication skills
Building a house can be stressful and daunting for any homeowners. However, our building experience has been stress-free, exciting, and enjoyable with Highwater Homes. During the peak of Covid-19, my family and I came across a beautiful piece of land and decided to make it our new residence. We visited most of the new display homes to gather ideas, inspiration, and quotes for our new home. While some project homes impressed us, they didn't quite offer everything we needed, given that we have a large family of six at different stages of our lives. As a result, everyone's needs were unique. What we discovered with most project homes was that making even slight modifications to their floor plans to suit our needs immediately impacted the pricing.
That's when we decided to explore custom home builders. We reached out to a few builders however, we were disappointed to find that they had poor communication. For instance, we had scheduled a meeting with one custom builder, expecting to receive a quote afterward. Unfortunately, no one called us back to update us on the progress. We left messages and made follow-up calls, unfortunately no one called us back.
While exploring options, we noticed Highwater Homes signs in one of the new estates in Harrington Park. They were simultaneously constructing two homes side by side. Intrigued, we decided to contact them. From the moment we reached out, we spoke to Toby and immediately felt a strong connection. After an extensive phone conversation, Toby fully grasped our vision for our home. He provided a clear explanation of the entire process, managing our expectations and articulating what he could deliver. We scheduled a meeting to visit one of his under-construction homes to evaluate the quality of work and meet his team. The moment we stepped into that home, we knew we had found our builder. The workmanship was remarkable, and it was evident that someone would soon enjoy a beautiful home. We sought a builder who would take full responsibility for our project, understand us personally, and comprehend our home aspirations. We preferred direct communication with the builder rather than intermediaries. Based on our past experiences in reaching out to other builders, Toby truly stood out with his understanding, honesty, and communication skills.
From the moment we signed our contract, Toby, Elizabeth, and their team were right beside us every step of the way. We met with the draftsman separately to articulate precisely what we desired in our dream home. We had the opportunity to discuss and refine our plans until we were entirely satisfied with the layout. Everything was conveniently uploaded to the online platform which proved invaluable. This platform included house plans, selections, and communications, allowing us to track the entire building process. Despite our busy full-time work schedules, we always felt well-informed about the progress through the online platform. Building with Highwater Homes turned the process into an exciting journey, and we cherished every step. Although we faced some delays during construction due to heavy rains and Covid-19 lockdowns, Highwater Homes consistently kept us updated.
During the framing stage, we decided to make alterations and include a lift. We reached out to Toby, who promptly guided us on its placement, arranged a meeting with the lift company, and joined us on-site to discuss options. Toby and his team communicated with the Lift company to ensure everything met the requirements, and the lift was installed within the designated timeline.
The quality of our home is exceptional. Everyone who visits our home is astonished by the craftsmanship, layout, and overall quality. We were fortunate to have an outstanding site supervisor, Ben, who consistently went above and beyond to accommodate our requests. Even to this day, visitors praise the high quality of our home.
I have already recommended Highwater Homes to all my colleagues and anyone considering building their dream home.
We are so grateful to Highwater Homes, Toby, Elizabeth, Ben, and the entire team for making our dream home a reality. Thank you!
The Kumar Family
Gledswood Hills
TRUSTWORTHINESS, GENUINENESS AND EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION.
We highly recommend Toby and Highwater Homes. Toby spent many hours with us answering our questions, specifications back and forth, quote adjustments, etc. We spoke to a few builders during the quoting stage, but we felt most comfortable with Toby.
Throughout the entire build, not just the sales phase, Toby maintained his traits of trustworthiness, genuineness and excellent communication. Toby and the team built a beautiful high quality home for us and we find it extremely easy to recommend them.
We love our home so much, it feels like an Airbnb, it is just beautiful.
Jonathan and Latara
Camden
TOBY'S ATTENTION TO DETAIL WAS UNLIKE ANYONE ELSE'S.
We are so grateful we stumbled across a genuine guy named Toby, the owner of Highwater Homes. Toby's attention to detail was unlike anyone else's. He read through our many documents and drawings and did everything he could to deliver a smooth building process for us.
There are always going to be ups and downs during a build, but Toby always made sure he was across everything and fixed anything along the way that needed to be fixed.
When we had our external building inspection we were told it's one of the best quality builds they have ever inspected.
Every day we feel lucky when we look at our home because we know it's the best quality and we recommend Highwater Homes 100%.
Thank you Toby and the many team members we got to know and fully appreciate their enthusiasm to do a great job. Well done Highwater Homes and Thank you for building our beautiful home.
Matt & Venesa
Harrington Grove
Attention to detail is at the forefront with Highwater Homes
We have built quite a few times and had a really good idea about what we wanted for our forever home. We had learnt to look at the little things as small details matter when building a house. Toby and Elizabeth made sure they looked after the little details as much as they looked after the large pieces of work.
When we first met with Toby and Elizabeth we outlined roughly what we wanted and through the whole process they helped, suggested, guided and then built exactly what we wanted and envisaged.
The online project management system was great, it kept us up to date with what was happening, allowed us to ask questions and review selections that may have been made much earlier than the build. The number of times we looked on the system to remember what tiles, taps, whitegoods etc we selected was too many to count.
Attention to detail is at the forefront with Highwater Homes, suggesting little tweaks before the build, consulting as we built if something didn’t look right, and all the time being involved with their trade partners regarding cabinetry, flooring and colours etc. This really gave us a great feeling that we were in control throughout the whole process, something that building with other builders didn’t give us.
We have been in our home for 6 weeks and still walk around the house saying how much we love it, and what a great experience it was building with Highwater Homes.
Toby, Elizabeth and the team are great to deal with and we can’t stop thanking them for making our concept of our forever home come to reality.
Glenn and Sharron
Bingara Gorge
Even through the challenges of COVID, Toby and the Team went above and beyond.
Our experience with Highwater Homes, was totally inspiring and enjoyable. We had a specific layout and features in mind that no project builder could deliver.
Our short search for a professional custom home builder landed with Highwater when we were greeted with Toby’s professionalism, friendly approach and demonstrated quality of work.
The design process was a pleasure. The selection process was a breeze. And with our piece of the “hard work” behind us, the build process was enjoyable and exciting!
The online portal kept us up to date and informed at every stage. With an up to date project timeline, progress photos, selections and costings we always felt involved in our project and confident in the quality and timeliness the team would deliver.
Even through the challenges of Covid, weather and other unforeseen circumstances, Toby and his team went above and beyond to ensure we got the keys to our dream home in time for Christmas.
We love our new home in our lovely community. As the seasons change and we experience the changing light and warmth of our home, we look forward to continuing to settle in to our beautiful space.
Thank you SO much for all you have done for us and for all you continue to do for other families with fabulous architectural taste.
Shayne and Nicole
Calderwood
We are so thankful that Highwater Homes made building our home so smooth and enjoyable from beginning to end.
It’s been 6 months since we moved into our Highwater Home and every day we are reminded about what a great decision we made to build with them.
Our first meeting with Toby was on a worksite in Appin. It wasn’t a show home or a glossy brochure, but a build that was still a month or more from handover.
We were new to building so to have the builder/owner walk us through an actual project that was halfway through meant that he was confident in the work of his team. Our confidence in them only grew from here.
We had taken our designs to a few builders, but we appreciated the process that Toby and Elizabeth took with the initial estimate and then with helping us work out a detailed and fixed final quote. Which never changed.
As a custom builder, Toby knew our building design like the back of his hand, which allowed us to work in tandem with our architect to make minor and practical adjustments. His expertise in this area was terrific.
In a lot of ways, the contractors have a massive influence over the final build from interior design to electricians and painters. The local contractors were each fantastic to work as they are all experts in their field and were all generous with their time.
The number of decisions to make during a new custom build is both overwhelming and unavoidable. Highwater helped us navigate this in the following ways:
– At every turn, the Highwater approach was to find, if not a solution, then a range of options for us to choose from. We were never rushed and were always made to feel in control of our decisions (relying on their expertise of course).
– The team working on site, each time we visited were so excited to show us around as they took such pride in their work. Also as things popped up and decisions needed to be made, they had done all of the thinking about pros and cons.
– The online project management system was the linchpin for our whole building experience. From variations we wanted to general questions, or accessing every document we needed, it was easy to use from my phone or computer. We had a direct line to contractors and because we couldn’t get out to the site very often we loved being able to enjoy the uploaded photos of the progress every few days.
Most importantly, there wasn’t a single occasion where a question was not answered or a piece of information lost or put down to ‘miscommunication’. That is remarkable when you think about the literally hundreds of decisions and conversations that take place over months.
Building a new home was (and probably will be) the biggest project our family will take on. To watch a piece of land turn into a construction site and then into a home was an amazing experience and we are so thankful that Highwater made it so smooth and enjoyable from beginning to end.
Jay and Natasha
Tahmoor
We loved the whole building experience.
Highwater Homes are a fantastic custom builder.
They re-built our home and were very personable and professional throughout the whole experience.
The process and involvement was fantastic from start to finish and I loved that they have you visit the site to confirm details throughout the process.
Their online system meant that you could see what stage the build was at and what was next to be done.
We loved the whole experience. Thank you Highwater Homes….
Julie and Ray Perkins
Belimbla Park
Highwater Homes certainly over-delivered on my expectations.
Highwater Homes have certainly over-delivered on my expectations for a great building experience. Particularly pleasing were: the ease with which my design requirements were integrated into the build; excellent cost containment with no surprise cost additions over the entire build period, and; the welcoming attitude of the building and trades people on site when I visited.
Toby, Elizabeth and the Highwater team ran a first-class operation in interpreting what I wanted, then delivering 100% plus on a beautifully crafted, very solid, new home. I highly recommend Highwater Homes to anyone who may be apprehensive about building with a firm that might not have their best interests at heart.
Wayne
Milperra
A quality build with zero stress.
We are so in love with our beautiful new Highwater Home!
Toby, Elizabeth and the entire Highwater Homes team were sensational to work with. Nothing was ever too much to ask and they were easy to get in touch with every step of the way. Whether we called or emailed, Toby or Elizabeth were always available to answer our questions. Our messages were always responded to within 24 hours, we felt so at ease.
We loved the personal approach and watching the building schedule through the online project management system.
Our boys are loving having their own space and we all enjoy to spend time as a family in the beautiful alfresco area.
The quality of our home is spot on, we can’t recommend Highwater Homes enough. If you’re looking for a quality build with zero stress, you can’t go past Highwater Homes.
Andrew and Amanda Coles
Picton
The process of building our home was easy and enjoyable.
Highwater homes came recommended to us as a premium customer builder. From our initial phone call and meeting we had a good feeling. Toby showed us a home that he was building for another family and we were “wowed”. The workmanship and quality of home was exactly what we were looking for.
Highwater was different in every way than a regular builder. The online portal gave a visibility on the progress of our home build and what was happening and when. The trades we met throughout the build were all friendly and helpful every step of the way. The workmanship was of great quality across all trades. Nothing was an issue or problem and where we could make changes and be accommodated, Toby and the team made it happen.
The process of building our home was easy and enjoyable. Our friends and family can’t believe we had no issues or drama.
Our beautiful new home is everything we imagined it would be like. We are still wowed driving into the driveway, it is an amazing home to be living in.
Toby, Elizabeth and the Highwater team will not disappoint when building your dream home. We wouldn’t build with anyone else after our experience.
You can feel confident that you will get the home you want matched with the quality to make it amazing.
Jen and Dave
Harrington Grove
Toby returned our calls straight away, and answered our many questions.
When we purchased our block of land we knew we wanted a local, custom home builder to build our family home. We had built previously, and spent a lot of time in display homes, piecing together the elements of the home we wanted.
We needed a builder who was organised, a good communicator and could work with our less than flexible schedules.
We had previously built with a large project builder. The building experience was fine, but we felt locked into their standard features. Their customer service after the build was a complete let down. There were several issues with finishes that we would have liked rectified, however we were no longer a priority once we had our keys.
After this experience we were concerned that we would have another disappointing building experience, but hopeful that we had learnt from our last build.
Once we found Highwater Homes, Toby provided us with several resources to guide us through the process. Toby returned our calls straight away, and answered our many questions.
Toby arranged to meet us in person, and always came to us which was helpful with the kids.
The fixed price tender was extremely detailed and we felt like Toby had listened to exactly what we wanted included or excluded in the tender.
We were assisted with our colour and tile selections which allowed us to achieve the look we wanted but never would have been able to achieve if we were left to our own devices.
We felt more involved with the whole building process with Highwater Homes. We were able to be onsite more and keep up to date with the progress. Toby was always present in the early stages, and then once he handed over to the site supervisor, he continued the same level of communication and involvement.
All of the trades we encountered spoke very highly of Toby in his absence. They all clearly enjoy working with him and have a great deal of respect for his work ethic.
Suppliers and trades provided a great deal more detail than we had previously experienced. We never felt rushed to make decisions, and felt guided by experts rather than left to make decisions with insufficient information.
The online project management system meant that we could look ahead at when selections needed to be made to ensure we could schedule meetings when David was home.
The whole process felt so personal. We loved that everyone from Toby through to apprentices took pride in what was delivered to us.
We love that our home is perfectly suited to exactly how we use our space. It is unlike anyone else’s home.
Not only do we recommend Highwater Homes but the workmanship speaks for itself. Our neighbours saw how smooth our building process was, and the quality of the finishes, and have already said that if they build again it would be with Highwater. We had an independent inspector visit our home and he was extremely complimentary regarding the quality throughout. He said he has inspected a number of custom built homes in the area, and the quality does not compare to what he saw in our home.
David and Stacey Bradshaw
Harrington Grove
Toby was transparent from the very beginning and had nothing to hide.
We had built homes previously with other builders but this time we were looking for a personal and enjoyable experience. From our very first meeting with Highwater Homes, Toby was upfront with all costs and was very flexible with any changes that we wanted. The ongoing site meetings were extremely helpful which we did not have with our previous builds.
Toby mentioned from the initial meeting that he builds only a small number of homes each year which assured us that he will deliver us a quality home and personal building experience.
From initially meeting Toby, he offered to show us one of the houses which was under construction. We could not fault anything with the house. We viewed another house with a different builder, that builder hesitantly agreed to show us and we could see that the house was very poorly built.
Toby was transparent from the very beginning and had nothing to hide, we trusted Toby and felt very comfortable with his approachable manner.
Building a house can be quite stressful from previous experience, but choosing the right builder is the first step to a stress free building experience, Highwater Homes definitely delivered this for us.
Mark and Nargis
Harrington Park
Everything we could have hoped for and more.
Thank you for building our dream home! It is everything we could have hoped for and more.
You have ensured the process ran smoothly and stress free. We could not be happier with the quality and final outcome.
This is a true reflection of your professionalism and quality of service.
Sam and Kirsten McKendry
Wallacia
Our dream home is now a reality.
We have just built our new home with Highwater Homes and could not be happier. Toby and Elizabeth Searle conduct a first-class business and although we had never built before our experience was totally positive. We were involved and kept well informed during every step of the process from planning to completion. The unique online project management system that Highwater uses makes it easy to track progress, manage selections, costs and so on and Toby or our supervisor regularly met us on-site to show us how things were progressing and to talk through any of our queries.
Our Dream Home is now a reality. We have a beautiful, quality home that meets our needs and satisfied our two criteria of ‘low maintenance and no steps’ Toby’s attention to detail is meticulous and commitment to quality excellent. He takes the time to look at the whole picture and gives exceptional guidance and advice. Highwater Homes uses trades people of the highest quality who are always very pleasant to deal with and produce results of the highest standards.
We would choose Highwater Homes if we were to build again and would highly recommend them to anyone considering building.
We are more than happy with our home, the workmanship, quality and overall experience.
Phillip and Elizabeth Coleman
Camden Park
Our house build is beautiful due to the wonderful job Highwater Homes has done.
We appreciate all that Toby and Elizabeth have done for our house build.
The process has been done very professionally and without any drama along the way. This has been due to the way in which Highwater Homes is run along with the great program of Co-construct. I have lost count how many times I have logged onto the on-line program. This made a huge difference in communication and making choices so much easier.
Our house build is beautiful and will continue to grow over the years due to the wonderful job Highwater Homes has done.
Karen Jenkins
The Oaks
It is truly a pleasure to be a Highwater Homes client!
We are so delighted with our new home. Toby and Elizabeth’s intrinsic attention to detail, client focus, professionalism, organisational skills and affable personalities set them apart. Notably, Highwater Homes use of the award-winning Online Project Management software package to provide clientele and contractor(s) with “24/7” visibility of every aspect of the building process. Living interstate at the time, this facilitated any questions or anxieties that arose to be rapidly nullified on-line or by phone.
It was particularly pleasing to observe Toby employs only the very best tradesmen; their standard of work is excellent!
In a nutshell, Highwater Homes deliver exceptional craftsmanship, the highest standard of customer care and professional integrity.
Central to Highwater Homes operations, their online system aptly complements Toby and Elizabeth Searle’s attention to detail, exemplary professionalism and integrity.
It is truly a pleasure to be a Highwater Homes client!
Jim and Jill Button
Wilton
Would we build again? Absolutely, but only with Toby!
We have recently moved into our amazing home built by Highwater Homes. The whole building process was fantastic and everything flowed nicely and organised.
The online program is so helpful and we could access our job anytime from our phones or computer to check selections, budget and the schedule for trades. The program is so easy to use and I especially loved the updates we received when trades had completed a job and photos of the progress. I’m personally not a fan of copious amounts of paper that I could lose, so having everything in one place is so helpful.
We loved the process and couldn’t imagine building with anyone else! When asked if we would build again: Absolutely, but only with Toby!
Josh and Kate March
Kirkham Rise
Attention to detail and commitment to quality.
Toby and the team at Highwater Homes have created our beautiful home on budget, on time and of exceptional quality.
People often look at us with disbelief when we say we have loved every moment of the building process, but it’s true!
We were kept well informed throughout the build and Toby’s excellent communication and the fantastic online project management system allowed us to keep track of the building schedule, costs, selections etc. From the time we first met with Toby we felt involved at every stage and seeing our dream home become a reality has been fun and exciting.
Attention to detail and a genuine commitment to quality are obvious priorities for the entire team at Highwater Homes.
We definitely made the right decision in choosing Highwater Homes and could not be happier with our new home.
Brendon and Merilyn Dobbs
Werombi
A great experience due to the professional processes of Highwater Homes.
From the time we signed our contracts with Highwater Homes it was always a pleasure to deal with Toby and his staff.
The construction program “Co-construct” set up for each client’s home and accessible on Highwater Homes webpage was fantastic. It kept us all up to date regarding costing, selections and any other changes, whether required or simply changes that we decided to make along the way.
Attention to detail was always in the forefront. We were impressed with the fact that before anything major was done a walkthrough was organised to make sure we were happy with the final outcome. The whole building process was a great experience.
Here we are 12 months down the track and we are still pleased with our choice of Highwater Homes as our builders We are often asked who we built with and are always happy to recommend them. All we can say is it was a great experience and we know this is due to the professional processes of Highwater Homes.
Col and Jan Morris
Spring Farm
Extremely happy with our experience.
We were extremely happy with our experience of building a home with Highwater Homes. Toby, as our builder, had a friendly, approachable manner; his acute attention to detail ensured that our home was built to the highest quality. Toby cares for his clients and his product. We enjoyed the personal experience of building our home. Toby was always willing to let us view the house at various stages so that we could be involved and enjoy the experience.
We would be very happy to highly recommend Toby and the team at Highwater Homes to anyone who was wanting to build a quality home finished to very high standards.
Doug and Julianne Ball
Camden Park
Our building experience has been amazing and absolutely stress free.
We originally purchased our house with the intention of doing a knock down rebuild some time in the future. Over the years we looked at a lot of floor plans with many companies but nothing ever quite suited our block and the style we wanted for our family.
We were recommended to Highwater Homes based purely on the quality of the build a family member had seen in another client’s house. From our first enquiry with Elizabeth and initial meeting with Toby, to the handover of our beautiful new family home, our building experience with Highwater Homes has been truly amazing and absolutely stress free, despite building
during COVID.
Toby was so helpful through the design stages and accommodating in so many areas, nothing was ever too much trouble. All our dealings with their office staff, tradesmen and contractors were great, and thanks to John and Kevin for overseeing our build.
The online system and app is fabulous and made the whole process smooth and transparent. Everything is in one place and if there was ever a variation cost, a question about an item or what was to be done next, it was easy to find. Toby and Elizabeth are professional and genuinely lovely people. It has been a pleasure to have them build our family home and the kids can’t wait to finally move in! We would definitely recommend them to anyone who was looking for a personal experience and a quality home.
Steven and Kezia Wolstencroft
Milperra
Building our home was so much fun.
Once Highwater Homes finished building our house and handed over the keys, Rob said to me, “I want to build another one”. While we were more than happy to move into our brand-new house that we had been planning for 18 years, we were sorry to say goodbye to the building experience, because it was so much fun.
It was the first house that we have built, and we expected that it would be painful because that’s what your regularly hear from people who have contracted builders to build their new home. But it was nothing but a pleasurable experience for us.
The online client portal meant that we always knew what was going on and where the build was up to. It made all the financial side of things transparent and all modifications we made along the way were accounted for.
Toby is a calm person who is regularly present on the build and he is always contactable. As we lived on the property, we saw how punctual, professional and hardworking all the trades were.
We would recommend Highwater Homes to anyone and everyone.