When Mel and Darran Quade took over Hotondo Homes Sunshine Coast, they were not looking for volume, awards, or a quick win. They were looking for a way to build the kind of homes they would be proud to drive past for the rest of their lives.
The couple, who run the Caloundra based Hotondo Homes franchise, joined The Good Builder podcast to talk about why honesty, education, and old-fashioned care are at the centre of their business model and why they refuse to treat clients as “just another job” in a busy market.
It is the kind of story The Good Builder was created to tell. At a time when headlines often focus on insolvencies and disputes, our mission is to spotlight builders who are lifting standards and rebuilding trust in the industry.
From local builder to national franchise
Both Mel and Darran are Sunshine Coast locals. Before joining Hotondo, they had already been building on the Coast for around 15 years, delivering residential projects and project management work under their own brand.
The work was steady and the business was successful, but behind the scenes they could see the cracks forming. The systems were not strong enough to scale, visibility over the numbers was not where it needed to be, and too much of the business relied on grit rather than structure.
“We were good honest people who just did things for people to help them out,” Darran explained. “But the systems were not quite in place to let us scale properly and keep a good track of where we were actually at.”
That was the tipping point. They started looking at franchise models that could give them a national backbone without forcing them to abandon their values. Hotondo’s long running family ownership, Australian base, and culture of support made the decision “a bit of a no brainer”.
The attraction was simple: keep their own morals and hands on approach, but plug into proven systems, national branding and a network of other franchisees who were facing the same issues.
A teacher steps out of the classroom
One of the most interesting parts of the story is Mel’s career change.
A primary school teacher for twenty five years, she left the classroom when the couple decided to buy the Hotondo Caloundra franchise. They sat down and mapped out what kind of client experience they wanted to deliver, and quickly realised that the first “salesperson” needed to be them.
“We decided we had to experience every step of the client journey ourselves,” Mel said.
Her teaching background has turned out to be a key asset. The same structure that worked in a school environment now underpins how she guides clients through the build process, particularly on more complex jobs such as sloping sites where earthworks and engineering can quickly overwhelm budgets.
A lot of what they do in those early meetings is education. They walk clients through basic mud maps, explain the cost of earthworks on a five metre fall, and make it clear that money spent in the ground is money that will not show up in finishes.
“There is a lot of educational work,” Darran said. “You might have someone fall off their chair when they see the cost of retaining, but they need to hear it before they sign for a seven hundred thousand dollar block they cannot afford to build on.”
Low volume, high touch
From day one, Mel and Darran made a deliberate choice not to chase high volume.
They are clear about it. They do not want to be the builder turning over hundreds of homes per year. They want to know every client, be involved in every stage, and keep control of what is happening on every site.
“We have decided we want to be in every part of the business,” Darran said. “Clients might talk to a supervisor day to day, but they know they can always walk into the office, pick up the phone, and speak to us. If we do not answer, we will call them back.”
It is a demanding way to run a business, but it is also what builds trust. The couple are realistic about the trade off. The volume will never “go through the roof” but that is the point. Managing the pipeline allows them to deliver the type of service they believe a new home deserves.
Mel describes their non negotiables simply: honesty, integrity, and delivering on promises. If they say they will do something for a client or a trade, they follow through. If a client gives them a firm budget and tells them it is all they have, they work as hard as possible to deliver the best product they can without cutting corners.
The hidden work clients never see
One of the strongest themes in the conversation is the amount of invisible work in a modern build.
On a recent handover, Darran counted twenty five separate reports required as part of the approval process. Planning, engineering, soil tests, bushfire assessments, energy assessments all of it sits in the background, running through multiple consultants long before a slab is poured.
“Clients are worrying about things I should be worrying about,” he said. “If they are worrying about that stuff, I am not doing my job properly.”
This is where clear expectations matter. The team at Hotondo Caloundra make a point of separating pre construction from construction when they talk to clients. The first stage involves councils, certifiers and regulators that are outside the builder’s direct control. The second stage is where the builder can commit to dates, milestones and practical completion.
Mel and Darran are honest about timeframes. They are upfront about four to six week windows, about delays caused by external approvals, and about the fact that the most heavily regulated country in the world is not going to move at the pace of a marketing brochure.
Once the slab is down though, they know they can own the schedule. With a strong internal team and loyal sub trades, they can plan around birthdays, Christmas and life events that matter to families.
Trades, loyalty and community
Because they have been building on the Coast for 15 years, most of their key trades have grown with them.
Plumbers, electricians, plasterers and carpenters are chosen on values first, not price. Many of them have ten to fifteen years of history with the business and understand the standards expected around safety, cleanliness and communication on site.
“We say to our trades that whilst you might have your own business, while you are on site you are working for Hotondo,” Darran said. “We expect you to hold Hotondo values and our personal values. If you do not, you will not be working for us.”
The couple are also committed to keeping work local. They want people who know the Coast, understand the land, and are invested in the same community their clients are building in.
Word of mouth is still their main filter. They ask trusted partners which trades they use, who they respect, and who they would want on their own jobs. It is a simple way to protect quality in a market where everyone is busy and shortcuts are easy to miss.
What makes a good builder?
Towards the end of the podcast, Mel and Darran answer the question that sits at the heart of The Good Builder brand: what actually makes a good builder?
For Darran, it starts with honesty and trust. Clients need to trust that you will deliver the home you say you will, and they need to see that you are steady even when things go wrong in the background.
For Mel, it is about listening and communication.
“A good builder listens, communicates clearly and makes the process smooth and enjoyable for their client,” she said. “It is leading your team with respect, being accountable, treating each build like it matters and giving clients confidence every step of the way.”
It is a definition that aligns closely with The Good Builder’s own vision for the industry: restoring trust by highlighting operators who are raising the bar, not cutting corners.
On the Sunshine Coast, Mel and Darran are already showing what that looks like in practice. Low volume, high care, and homes built as if they were their own.
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