Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 07, 2011 2:07 pm Our house is almost finished being built by a well known, reputable builder. It's been a great experience the whole way pretty much and we're 7 weeks ahead of schedule! I know, unheard of. There are only a handful of items yet to have ready before we would technically be ready to sign off: Clean some of the brickwork around the front & on porch Fill in some of the gaps between cladding & brickwork at the front WIP & WIR shelving (only partially done) Shower door in our ensuite (door should be opening the other way) Fix the tiling in our ensuite and where the towel rail has been removed in main bathroom Install a shower head in bathroom Privacy lock in bathroom Silicone in bathrooms Touch catches in kitchen not working properly Internal Garage step missing Manhole cover missing Light & fan in our bedroom isn't working Roof service (cracked tile) Door service (timber bi-folds & french doors) Fix dented window frame Our SS has been great on the whole but sometimes a little hard to pin down. He is trying to get the main things ready so we can settle and collect our keys ASAP (which you've gotta love) but with certain things like the pantry shelving, WIR shelving & shower door - there's up to a 6 week wait for Stegbar as they're so busy (we're probably 2 weeks into that wait). Our SS mentioned this morning that our builder will not release our keys unless we sign off on everything. He suggested to avoid having to wait another few weeks to a month that we sign off and he'll just arrange for the installation once the order comes in (materials have been ordered apparently). Of course, alarm bells are going off in the back of my mind because if we sign off and then things don't go as planned, we have no recourse. On top of the shelving / shower door issues - there may be a few minor other things that he may just plan on doing after handover. For example, I wouldn't let a missing privacy lock hold up moving in if you know what I mean?! So what would you do? Or if you have already moved in to your house - were there still things to do after handover? If so, did you sign off subject to those things (that's not an option for us apparently - it's sign off or don't) or was there just a verbal agreement in place. I know the most obvious answer is to wait until it's all done but when your paying for 90% of the mortgage plus rental / storage and other fees, we want to be in ASAP so we don't start going backwards financially. Re: What would you do? 2Jul 07, 2011 2:14 pm Hi, Thats a difficult situation. I would get everything in writing if you are wanting to sign off to say that you are wanting these things to be fixed by x date or you will not be signing off or paying final payment. It sounds like a bit of a loose loose situation to me. You either put everything in your builders court and move in early or keep the power and wait a few more weeks. I would suggest writing an email directly to the building highlighting your concerns (have you done PCI?) and tell them that you are willing to sign off if xxx if completed within x period. Do you have a 3 month maintainance that some things such as privacy lock you can do then? Re: What would you do? 3Jul 07, 2011 2:33 pm Yes, we did our PCI a week or so ago. At the time, a fair bit still needed to be done, for example we didn't even have carpets at the time. We're yet to do our final walk through and sign off on the PCI check list. We really only have 2 options. Sign off now and hope he delivers on the 'verbal' agreement. Or wait for possibly another month and only sign off once everything has been done. Yes there is 3 month maintenance & again at 12 months I believe. Building an Eden Brae Saville 27 http://karry327.blogspot.com/ Building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=44247 Re: What would you do? 4Jul 07, 2011 2:46 pm I had a similar situation. I had 6 things on my PCI outstanding, but I wanted in. So I settled and moved in, and have had the builder come back and fix up the little things (some I just did myself). All turned out ok. Re: What would you do? 5Jul 07, 2011 3:00 pm karry, there is no 12 month inspection with our builder (we built with the same builder), and we had our 3 month inspection 5 days before we had been in for 6 months, so if you wait for maintenance, you will be waiting a long time Re: What would you do? 6Jul 07, 2011 3:11 pm My 2c worth ... If you don't move in until everything is done you will avoid the pain of waiting god knows how long for the tradies to turn up to do each job (and there are a few on your list) which you will probably need to take time off work for and this could be a bit of a saga from what we read on this site. The other thing of course is if they do the work and it's not up to scratch you may have to wait till your 3 month maintenance check to get them fixed. I would rather get them to do everything to your satisfaction and then you sign when you are happy - it's not a good thing for them to have you under pressure - you should be in control. I'm sure some builders play on the fact that we can't wait to be in .... Understand the extra cost but as you say you are 7 weeks ahead of schedule so you are not losing anything by waiting. For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: What would you do? 7Jul 07, 2011 9:14 pm Hi, I quite agree with Mclaren , it's always better to get things done before you move in. You see once you get the keys, it means you have settled everything & paid the final amount, so there is really no incentive for the builder to come back. Plus the fact that after moving in, the builder has to pull tradesmen from incompleted jobs to come to completed jobs, which to most is not a high priority, your dream home may be so near yet so far, but be patient, it'll all be worth it in the end...I hope this helps, good luck. Re: What would you do? 8Jul 08, 2011 7:34 am If it was me, I would get them to sign off on a document that states that maintenance period to start 3 weeks after signed handover document. Explain that this will give the SS time to have the thing done that he has already ordered. Making sure this document overrides the standard procedures. The 'maintenance' period is meant to be for minor things you come across while you are living in the home and while the house is settling. Not for job they have complete or finish. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All new built homes look like display homes... until the furniture goes in. 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