Hi Guys,
Firstly thanks to any replies. First time builder here ( Simonds ) so am apprehensive about next weeks signing day. Can anyone advise about the day, what to expect, pitfalls to avoid. Things to say and do to maybe sway things in our favour., how to get more for your buck etc ?? Asistance and productive advise very much appreciated!
Contract signing tips and traps
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Check, check, check, read, read, read or pay for a professional to read the contract. If unsure ask the builder to clarify any clauses or anything you are not sure about. Cause once you sign you are committed and there could be penalties for breaking the Contract.
If your borrowing money to finance the build make sure there is a Finance clause in there that allows you enough time to get the Finance approved.
Have you gotten a quote for Simmonds on what is included in the base specifications and what are the extra costs for things you might like to upgrade to?
If your borrowing money to finance the build make sure there is a Finance clause in there that allows you enough time to get the Finance approved.
Have you gotten a quote for Simmonds on what is included in the base specifications and what are the extra costs for things you might like to upgrade to?
Asistance and productive advise very much appreciated!
Check, check, check, read, read, read or pay for a professional to read the contract.
Absolutely agree: READ and COMPREHEND what you are reading.
Engage both an independent building inspector and a solicitor BEFORE contract signing (get the building inspector sorted first, they're usually able to recommend appropriate solicitors).
The building inspector can do a pre-contract review to make sure that what's in the plans and specifications, in conjunction with the contract, is what you want/expect (there's a few threads around here along the lines of "we agreed with the builder on X, but now they've built Y, which it turns out is what the plans said, but it's not what we thought we agreed to....").
The solicitor can help with any contract changes, if possible (some builders will just go 'take it or leave it' for the contract). Even if no changes are possible, the solicitor can better than anyone else help you fully understand the contract - what you can and can't do, what you need to do and when, what the limitations are upon both you and the builder, etc. Note that this is VERY important - once the contract is signed you lose a lot of power to the builder, and then it's too late.
DON'T get pressured into signing a contract on the day (and pressure most likely will be put on you - even to the point of threats with some builders. Stand your ground - you are legally entitled to resist such tactics, no matter what the builder says!). INSIST on taking it away for review by your inspector and solicitor before you sign. A builder that doesn't let you do that is definitely NOT one you want to be going with, no matter how fancy their display home is or how low their price is. Plenty of stories on these forums about those kinds of builders, and how well those builds turned out....
The building inspector can do a pre-contract review to make sure that what's in the plans and specifications, in conjunction with the contract, is what you want/expect (there's a few threads around here along the lines of "we agreed with the builder on X, but now they've built Y, which it turns out is what the plans said, but it's not what we thought we agreed to....").
The solicitor can help with any contract changes, if possible (some builders will just go 'take it or leave it' for the contract). Even if no changes are possible, the solicitor can better than anyone else help you fully understand the contract - what you can and can't do, what you need to do and when, what the limitations are upon both you and the builder, etc. Note that this is VERY important - once the contract is signed you lose a lot of power to the builder, and then it's too late.
DON'T get pressured into signing a contract on the day (and pressure most likely will be put on you - even to the point of threats with some builders. Stand your ground - you are legally entitled to resist such tactics, no matter what the builder says!). INSIST on taking it away for review by your inspector and solicitor before you sign. A builder that doesn't let you do that is definitely NOT one you want to be going with, no matter how fancy their display home is or how low their price is. Plenty of stories on these forums about those kinds of builders, and how well those builds turned out....
Check, check, check, read, read, read or pay for a professional to read the contract. If unsure ask the builder to clarify any clauses or anything you are not sure about. Cause once you sign you are committed and there could be penalties for breaking the Contract.
If your borrowing money to finance the build make sure there is a Finance clause in there that allows you enough time to get the Finance approved.
Have you gotten a quote for Simmonds on what is included in the base specifications and what are the extra costs for things you might like to upgrade to?
If your borrowing money to finance the build make sure there is a Finance clause in there that allows you enough time to get the Finance approved.
Have you gotten a quote for Simmonds on what is included in the base specifications and what are the extra costs for things you might like to upgrade to?
Have you gotten a quote for Simmonds on what is included in the base specifications and what are the extra costs for things you might like to upgrade to?
I've already gotten the application in for the finance and bank said he has NO issues getting me the amount of money I want so this should be sorted by next tuesday
In regards to extra costs for things to upgrade, all I have is an estimate on the structurals and the base inclusions like tiles, carpet aircon etc when I was working with the sales lady on the final plans submitted for drafting. I have little, to NO idea what they might like to charge if I want to upgrade the finishes or add some zones to aircon for example. Is this something I should request from them before the meeting next tuesday. I want to go in well prepared so I don't get beaten by any tricks etc. This is my first time dealing with these people (builders ) so not awares of shonks they might try and pull. Should I be requyesting further information about things now and what should these things be ??
Thanks for your advise, very friendly people on here!
If you want a landscape that is non AS2870 compliant (i.e. 900mm concrete all around, lawn, shrubs and small trees in that order), give it to your builder before you sign and have their engineers customise the slab to take into consideration of tree effects. Then put that in your contract.
Your contract does not cover slab design, only performance level so if you have a special slab due to landscape/existing vegetation, you may want to include engineering drawings for slab as part of the contract so they can't change it half way through.
Your contract does not cover slab design, only performance level so if you have a special slab due to landscape/existing vegetation, you may want to include engineering drawings for slab as part of the contract so they can't change it half way through.
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