Browse Forums Building A New House Re: anyone built/building with *? 15Apr 11, 2010 11:50 pm Don't quite follow - the amount of days to build on your contract doesn't mean that's how long it will actually take to build. It's actually quite rare for a builder to go beyond that time, and if they do they start paying you money for every working day they go over. cheetah I decided not to build with them, was told by my sales consultant build time is 5-6 months, then when I get my contract it says 350 working days to build, when i asked them they said it was a standard HIA contract, bullcrap that build time for a standard single story is crap. So now Im out $1500!!! Re: anyone built/building with *? 17Apr 12, 2010 12:40 am Fair enough. Keep in mind most builders operate under this contract and that same number of days. But each to their own. From a builders perspective, I've always found it interesting that if we go over the contracted time we pay liquidated damages, but we don't receive any monetary fee if we come in under it by a number of days? Re: anyone built/building with *? 18Apr 12, 2010 12:59 am jayw Don't quite follow - the amount of days to build on your contract doesn't mean that's how long it will actually take to build. It's actually quite rare for a builder to go beyond that time, and if they do they start paying you money for every working day they go over. not every contract has a penalty clause. Our builder refused to allow a contract with a penalty - if you want to build a house with them you don't get the penalty clause. Our contract has a 240 day build time (this ends in about 26 days). We're still a good 8 weeks from completion, I'd say. If the SS has problems getting the subbies in on time we could be significantly more. I've heard that our builder pretty consistently takes about a year for completion of a house - all with no penalties. I wish to god we had more incentive to make them finish our house sooner, but we don't. Most builders who do have a penalty payment clause like to add a significant buffer just in case they go over. Re: anyone built/building with *? 19Apr 12, 2010 10:25 am Bit of a sidetrack, but just wanted to say in our case the contract stated 365 working days (2 storey home, with project builder). We questioned the length of time, but were verbally assured it would not take anywhere near this length of time, blah, blah, blah. We are just about at the end of this time now .. they are probably going to go over. I can't believe how slow our build has been. Weeks, and at the beginning even months went by with no action, and we have built during one of the quietest building times, so the "building boom" excuse goes out the window. So in Cheetah's defence, I too wished we had questioned this time frame a lot more and got the verbal assurances in writing or at least in to the contract. We have just been so fortunate to have a very understanding landlord. One big learning curve for us. Re: anyone built/building with *? 20Apr 12, 2010 11:17 am Some interesting feedback - which I will definitely look at putting into good practice with my business. We tend to see a lot of people sign the contract but not actually read it or understand just exactly what it means. Though we prepare it, I see the contract as a two way agreement on building a home. The same way you would negotiate anything - for example you have a kid come around to do some gardening. You have the conversation about what they will do for you, and what you will do for them - from there you have an agreement. The same can be applied to a building contract. When you come to us to build your home, we see it as two people deciding on what each person will do for each other. In this case, we say we will build you this home at this place in x amount of time. If we do that, you will pay us x amount when we reach these various stages. In the 2 years I have been managing this building company, i've seen about three homes go over out of around 90 homes built. The reasons we went over were more or less from having issues on site where something wasn't done right, so we had to spend time undoing and fixing it. For all of them we have paid liquidated damages and in one case, paid for someone's moving costs as a good will gesture. Also be aware that as a builder, we can send out a letter requesting an extension of the contract. A lot of people won't think about it when they receive this but it allows the builder to extend the contracted time to build without paying any penalties. To be blatantly honest, whilst I think items such as Liquidated Damages are a good idea, I think it's also worth looking at replacing these with upgrades. For instance the price a builder pays for paving is less than retail, so if they say they will pave your alfresco instead of paying you this, I think it's a much better deal. Hi All, we are starting to think of building with Masterpiece Builders in Victoria, has anyone had any feedback or experience with them 0 13928 I haven’t. But have a Lowe Design home. Not only did I find Matt Lowe patronising and a bully, but the home is NOT TO CODE. I have water coming through the bricks… 1 14679 Hi we are looking to talk to people who have built with them recently. We have signed mid range built contract but identified that a lot of things are not included.… 0 771 |