Frequently Asked Questions

Three things stand out consistently. First, continuity. The same team stays with you from the first meeting through to key handover, with no transfer between teams. Second, quality assurance. Every Latitude 37 build follows a structured, peer-reviewed quality assurance process throughout construction, creating multiple layers of review before each phase proceeds. Third, post-handover care. A dedicated aftercare team remains in regular contact as you settle into your home, providing ongoing guidance and support because the relationship does not end when the keys are handed over.

Neither in the traditional sense. Latitude 37 is a fully integrated design-and-build firm, with its own design team and construction management capability working together under one roof. You do not need to separately engage a designer and then a builder. Latitude 37 holds the entire journey.

Latitude 37 was founded in 2006 by Doug MacLeod and has been designing and building premium custom homes across Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula for twenty years. The business has grown substantially on the strength of client referrals.

Yes. Latitude 37 holds Builder’s Registration CDB-U 48977 with the Victorian Building Authority / Building and Plumbing Commission and is a member of both the Housing Industry Association and the Master Builders Association. The business has been recognised in more than forty HIA and Master Builders award categories since 2006, including six wins in the HIA Professional Medium Builder category, which assesses business governance, ethics and financial management.

The best starting point is an introductory conversation that is unhurried and comes with no obligation. We will discuss your site, or the site you are considering, what you are planning to build, and your budget. Our goal in that first conversation is to be helpful rather than persuasive. We will honestly explain where the fit is strong and where it might not be.

That is what a feasibility assessment is for, and at Latitude 37 it comes before any major financial commitment. It looks at the site, the budget, the scope, the planning requirements and the likely disruption, and tells you whether the project you have in mind is realistic. If the honest answer is that it is not, we would rather say so early than discover it three stages in.

Less than most people expect. A sense of the site, a sense of the budget range, and some idea of how you want to live in the home is enough to have a useful conversation. You do not need plans, a finalised brief, or answers to questions you have not been asked yet.

Latitude 37 works through six stages. Concept Design Stage 1 covers discovery, the design brief and a concept presentation with indicative cost. Stage 2 covers design development, a 3D model and the Custom Home Proposal. Stage 3 is design approval and sign-off to proceed. Project Documentation covers working drawings, interior design, quality control review and contract. Construction runs through Base, Frame, Lockup, Fix and Completion, each with a QA inspection. Handover and Aftercare follows, with regular check-ins as you settle into your home.

Typically two to three years in total, depending on the complexity of the project and how quickly you move through the design stages. Concept design is usually four months. Project documentation is usually eight to twelve months. Construction is usually twelve to eighteen months.

Yes, and this is something Latitude 37 is deliberate about. The same team works with you from the first brief meeting through to handover. This approach reflects what our clients value most: clear communication, familiar faces and one team that remains accountable from beginning to completion.

Yes. Interior design is integrated into the Latitude 37 process rather than outsourced or offered as an optional extra. Your interior brief forms part of the overall project brief and is guided by the same Client Experience Lead and Designer. It means the interiors and the built form are resolved together rather than one after the other.

Latitude 37 builds custom homes from approximately $1.5 million through to $5 million and above. Within that range, cost is a function of size, complexity, site conditions, specification and the choices made during design. We will give you an honest assessment of what is realistic at your budget in the first conversation rather than at the end of the process.

Earlier than is typical. Latitude 37 provides an indicative build cost alongside the first concept design, before you have committed to anything beyond the initial design fee. In the next stage, your Custom Home Proposal sets out a detailed line-by-line breakdown. Prior to construction, you will receive a final fixed-price contract that confirms the final cost of your home. We do not believe in leaving cost uncertainty until the end.

There are, and we are direct about them before you engage us rather than after. External site costs such as surveys, soil tests and heritage reports may be required. Town planning, where your site needs it, adds both time and cost. Demolition of an existing structure is separate. Before construction begins, you will receive a final fixed-price contract confirming the cost of your home, so there are no pricing surprises later.

We communicate early and directly. If a site condition, a supplier delay or a variation requirement arises, we discuss it with you before acting rather than presenting it afterwards. Our preference is always a hard conversation early over a harder one later. The detailed costing work done before contract is designed to keep the number of these conversations as low as possible.

Quality assurance at Latitude 37 is built on repeated verification. Every quality control check is peer reviewed before construction progresses, creating multiple layers of review throughout the build and helping ensure our quality standards are consistently achieved.

Every Latitude 37 home is built in accordance with all applicable Victorian Building Regulations and Australian Standards. Our structured quality assurance process provides ongoing verification throughout construction to help ensure those standards are consistently achieved.

We tell you. If something unexpected occurs on site, we discuss it with you before acting, explain the options and the cost implications, and agree the way forward together. Building a custom home over eighteen months will always involve some surprises. What matters is whether your builder raises them early or hopes you will not notice.

Handover isn’t the end of the journey. Our dedicated Maintenance and Warranty team provides ongoing support after you’ve moved in, ensuring you always have a trusted team to turn to. You submit a maintenance list within 90 days, agreed items are completed within 28 days, and we stay in regular contact across your first year, with check-ins at around the three, six and twelve-month marks. We’re here for the long term, providing support well beyond the day you receive your keys.

Latitude 37 provides warranty coverage in line with Victoria’s domestic building legislation, and our process is built to make sure warranty items are handled promptly rather than chased. Your Client Experience Lead will walk you through the specific terms at contract stage.

Yes, and many clients do, whether for a future build or a project for a family member. The relationship is designed to continue well beyond the original project.

Latitude 37 builds across six regions: Bayside, including Brighton, St Kilda, Sandringham, Hampton, Beaumaris and Sandhurst; Inner South East, including Malvern, Toorak, South Yarra, Glen Waverley and Hawthorn; East Melbourne, including Camberwell, Kew, Doncaster and Balwyn; South East Melbourne, including Lysterfield, Narre Warren and Belgrave; the Mornington Peninsula, including Portsea, Sorrento, Mt Eliza, Mt Martha, Cape Schanck, Mornington and Red Hill; and Inner North, including Ivanhoe, Northcote, Moonee Ponds, Essendon and Keilor East.

It matters more than most people expect. Site constraints, council requirements, overlays and neighbourhood character differ considerably between a Bayside block and a Mornington Peninsula one. Latitude 37 has built extensively across all six regions, and that familiarity shapes what we recommend at feasibility and how we plan the build.

Yes. A knockdown rebuild suits clients who are settled in a location, whether because of the street, the school, or the outlook, but whose existing home no longer works for how they live. Latitude 37 handles the full process, and the feasibility assessment at the outset covers whether rebuilding or renovating is the better path for your site and budget.