Contract in my favour?

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has come across conditions in their favour by alot?

I spotted a fine detail which is most likely a typo , it says my build time is 16 days , instead of 16 weeks.

They do have a penalty of 50$ per day over their allocated build time with 10 days allowable for weather.

Realistically speaking though I have been told this most likely will be unenforceable ?

What does everyone think ? Has anyone has a similar experience ?

Thanks

I wouldnt say anything if its signed put in a claim at the end of the build.

see more at
hoffmangoldwithporterdavis.wordpress.com

I’d imagine they would ask you to take legal action if you tried to claim it. If it were put in front of the building commission they would most likely dismiss it as a 16 day build time is unrealistic by any means. You may receive some form of compensation, but even still I don’t think it would be worth it if you had any legal fees. Besides there will be small things along the way that the builder may not charge you for (mine has been super kind with variations made after prestart) so they may turn around and ask for more from you.

Plainly 16 days build time is a mistake, you know it's a mistake. To try to capitalize on the mistake is plainly dishonest and if you try it you won't succeed legally and the builder will make sure he will give you hell and I will be cheering him on.
Haven't you got better things to do? Maybe read up on self-development.

You assume I'm asking for financial gain. Jumping the gun aren't we. In any case I wanted to compare to similar situation. If this was the other way around which I'm sure with the things I've read on this forum , would you be to quick argue for the home owner?

I am sure in your line of work , you've definitely meant builders trying to capitalise on mistakes for their gain.

In any case it seems like a great way to keep my builder honest if they manage to try one on me.

If all builders were deadly honest I think you would much less work.

Im not assuming that, im assuming the builder will screw with you during the build and have thier hand out for more $ and you have a free kick

see more at
hoffmangoldwithporterdavis.wordpress.com

yeah I'm probably going to do what you suggest, being my first home hopefully my builders are somewhat honest !

Don't worry if there is an error in their favor, they'd never tell you and they'd take full advantage of it. I've seen builders take advantage of a line in a plan that assumed was the end of stairs, but wasn't and wasn't picked up by the buyer. They love their post contract change charges.

But yeah, 16 days is a little too quick for a 'plan language' understanding of the contract.

Never assume they will be honest or fair. They will be as per the contract

see more at
hoffmangoldwithporterdavis.wordpress.com

You are right narbe, many builders are dishonest and I spend my time mostly looking after owners who have been wronged by the builder but also occasionally there are predatory owners who want to take advantage of the builder, get something for nothing or ask for the level of quality they have not paid for. However if a dispute develops and you are 5% wrong, the other party will make it look like you are 95% wrong (and probably succeed). Nothing beats doing the right thing even if the other party isn't.
This is why I said before, forget about playing games, just play it straight.

In my first build, I recieved our tender which stipulated "landcaping to landscape architect's design" as a single line in the tender. The plans for the house came with a full landscaping plan. I signed the contract knowing that this was an oversight by the builder, and held this up my sleeve should things go pearshaped. And boy did i take great delight at the end of the build that ran 5 months over, with countless issues and errors through no fault of my own. The builder asked me how i would like to spend my $4k allowance on landscaping, and to be fair, if throughout the build process they were in any way reasonable, i would have gone with it and paid the extra over, but in this case, I politley told the builder that he could spend the $4k however he liked, but my block was going to be finished off as per the landscape plan, at their expense! It took 4 months, but it was done.

Thanks for you constructive comment.

I'm definitely not trying to win one over on the builder. Just a first time builder whose anxious about building.

Probably rightly so, Just found 8cm of overhang on my frame the other day. The builder wants to boost it with hardwood screwed into the concrete.

Thanks to this forum regardless of how they fix the overhang of 8cm, I'm going to tell them to have documentation of a engineer' fix to make sure the structure is safe after fix. (QBCC indicates maximum of 1.5cm overhang over a 90mm stud)

I wish that I didn't need to pay extra to make sure my builder does a right job. Certainly in my line of work (health industry) patients don't need to pay extra to make sure we do the right thing ! =)

Yeah that's crazy 5 months over ?

Do you mean ontop of your designated build time? How long was your build in total?
I'm definitely allowing 1-2 months for "delays" but wow , 5 months !

=/
Did you have an penalty per day ? over build time ?

I would keep quite. Would use to ask more money but use as a leverage when things comes up in contract in their favour. Because it will.

Just called the construction administrator , wouldn't let me sight the Form 16's that supposedly passed the form work and slab.

That 8cm overhang had to come from somewhere my best guess is the slab.

Building permit is in your name and Building Surveyor is independent. You should be able to obtain a copy of the inspection certificate from their office.

Yeah, they weren't too organised with my build, and yes it was 5 months over build time. Not much in the way of liquidated damages in the contract, from memory is was $100 a week, and I had to fight to get that much written into the contract. In my case, I came out on top, but many, many others don't.

Narbe says
"I wish that I didn't need to pay extra to make sure my builder does a right job. Certainly in my line of work (health industry) patients don't need to pay extra to make sure we do the right thing ! "

Yes, in the ideal world you would not have to but the world has never been ideal.
So where does this leave homeowners?

It is simple, we simply do not have a basic QA system when we build our housing stock. Yes, we do have building control and that will only look after safety, health and amenity but nothing else. Here we are a first world country rubbing shoulders with a third world country.

If you are waiting for a government to give you basic QA during your build you will grow old and die, waiting.

Fortunately, however, there is established independent inspection industry with many good operators in all states that can do the basic stage inspections. Yes, it will add 2-3 K to your build but it's less than hair replacement. And there is a very good chance any issues will be resolved before they are built in or before they escalate into a dispute.
You are far better off than paying the government to do it, for you will get nothing back.

So, instead of wishing you did not have to pay more consider your fortune that an alternative and viable inspections are available which will give you value for your money.

That is non compliant ask for the engineering details and fixes
They should be certified by the engineer
BTW let me tell you how common this problem is
"Builders now hand out standard engineering details for this type of fix...LOL no need for $2000 building inspector"
The builders will teach you a valuable lesson in cost and time management at your expense.

There is absolutely nothing unrealistic about a 16 day build plus a very generous weather allowance of 10 days.

In fact, I think that I know who your builder is!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwvmru5JmXk