Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 2Aug 26, 2016 4:06 pm Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 5Sep 11, 2016 7:55 pm Hi. We were looking for a lawyer too in Melbourne due to having a troublesome builder. Unfortunately when we started to look into it more we had no idea of how much they charge per hour!! A couple of firms were coming out at $600 per hour! Sadly being normal people with everyday jobs we could not afford to hire them to go after the builder as we would like to. I don't know your exact situation but you can get a free half hour with some firms if you are after some general advise to point you in a direction. It is a moral injustice when you have done nothing wrong and yet a builder remains untouchable because justice costs too much for the everyday person to achieve. Re: Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 6Sep 12, 2016 10:09 am I know of a reputable lawyer. However, I am in the same boat with you. They charge $500/hour + GST. A bit of better than $600. However, I still can not afford it. Let alone every time how many hours they are going to charge me. It is totally at their discretion. I am contemplating from time to time it is hard for normal people to fight with big builder. I called kind of supervision organization, they are not interested looking into the details. They just want to refer you to other institution or ask you to hire private lawyer at your own cost. What is the point having theses useless government institution. Re: Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 8Sep 15, 2016 5:19 pm I'd go against the grain and say it's not needed if your builder uses a standard HIA / MBA contract with no amendments/additional clauses. It's a very standard contract, and although it clearly favours the builder, it's as fair as what you'll realistically get. No need to waste $500 for nothing. Re: Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 9Sep 15, 2016 9:37 pm Thanks for that but our builder has us in a HIA contract and is acting out of it. We've been to the HIA and they were toothless tigers. The staff their told us they could speak to the builder for us and raise our concerns but had no powers to do anything else other than that. We were amazed! When we asked about two of their clause and could they define what it meant we were blatantly told "We don't get into contractual matters. You'll have to consult a lawyer for legal advise". So it seems that they can write legal documents but can slope their shoulders to not clarify or own any part of it. All we wanted to clarify was if the provisional sums table should have been completed and what a couple of their definitions would cover. Our builder will not allow us an inspector on site to check any work as they say it's a variation to the contract. They are simply making rules up as they go to suit. This builder does not respond to emails, letters or requests to talk amicably and it's hard to talk when only one part is ever willing. VBA have also had complaint after complaint about this particular builder and to our amazement he is still operating with a license. Myself and numerous other customers of his are all scratching our heads as to why the authorities that are there to protect us will not act or help enforce anything. Instead we are all advised to just take Civil action against him (VCAT), spending thousands and thousands that we just don't have, in order to get any hint of justice and a contract fulfilled. I wish it was as clear cut as having a contract that works but sadly we have exhausted all avenues. I do appreciate you taking the time to comment though. Re: Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 10Sep 15, 2016 11:47 pm It goes to show a builder's reputation is far more important than 20 pieces of paper in a contract. If they don't follow the contract or if there are disputes you'll be in for a huge legal battle. Re: Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 11Apr 29, 2018 9:27 am ![]() Hi. We were looking for a lawyer too in Melbourne due to having a troublesome builder. Unfortunately when we started to look into it more we had no idea of how much they charge per hour!! A couple of firms were coming out at $600 per hour! Sadly being normal people with everyday jobs we could not afford to hire them to go after the builder as we would like to. I don't know your exact situation but you can get a free half hour with some firms if you are after some general advise to point you in a direction. It is a moral injustice when you have done nothing wrong and yet a builder remains untouchable because justice costs too much for the everyday person to achieve. Hi Snowball, I am also experiencing the same problem and wondering if you can provide some advice. Appreciate if you can email me to discuss furthrr. My email address is issyltl@gmail.com Recommendation of Construction Lawyer in Melbourne 12May 02, 2018 8:59 am VBA may be able to advise you on your rights with regards to using an inspector and wording to use with builder. In my experience VBA was not very helpful for clients in 2016-7. In contact over the last year they have been more helpful. I would be surprised if your contract prohibits you from having a private building consultant to attend site with you and the builder. Most inspectors understand HIA contracts well enough to know if there is anything that could prohibit them. Reasonable access to you must be provided. Your contract should state build to standard and standards referenced in engineering drawing etc. that is all an experience inspector will point out in their list of defects. VCAT- I think as of Jan 2017 you need to go through DBDRV mediation before VCAT application will be considered. DBDRV have very very long waits and did within few months of starting up in January. Another option is to see if you can have the registered building surveyor come out for additional visit, that you pay for, but Iād only do that if I had inspection by private consultant so that had a list to discuss with them and have them to respond to each one. Hi guys, We are in the planning stage pre: final approval for our build. Now, we opted to have the AC unit out so we can place the rainwater tank closer to the house… 0 8384 5 4253 |