Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 25, 2007 1:49 pm Hi all,
If the land is not settled (new development), is it usual practice to put in a building tender/contarct condition like subject to satisfactory land settlement until certain date? What if a developer go broke and for some other reason cannot release the land? Has anyone been in a situation when a land had not been settled before building start? Thanks Re: Subject to land settlement 2Sep 25, 2007 3:39 pm I would say you can't and won't be allowed to build unless the land is settled. [sneakersss] Re: Subject to land settlement 4Sep 25, 2007 3:52 pm If I understand you correctly (and you're wondering if you should/can sign the building contract before land settlement) then I'm not the best person to answer as I haven't been in your situation.
But...there have been other people(on this forum) who have signed up with a builder even before their land was settled. Some people (and their builders) just waited until the titles were released. Others were facing extra fees/charges if their land wasn't settled at the expected time. And I don't know which boat you are in so best check with your preferred builder what their policy is regarding locking in a site start date and how you will be affected if land settlement is delayed. I stand to be corrected...but if a land developer goes bankrupt then something in the economy is definitely going wrong! [sneakersss] Re: Subject to land settlement 5Sep 25, 2007 8:34 pm My understanding of the process is that you can have your tender meeting but you cannot finalise contracts until the land is released. That is why some people get charged extra if their land titles have not been released or some might be vulnerable to builders price rises before title release and settlement. With H*enl*ey you cannot enter into a contract without proof of ownership of the land. Re: Subject to land settlement 6Sep 27, 2007 2:30 pm I don't understand, if the land wasn't settled why would you want to commit to any contract?
If the settlement failed for whatever reason and you already signed the contract, then you will be in deep ****! Re: Subject to land settlement 7Sep 28, 2007 8:02 am Yeah - we signed a building contract and paid the 5% deposit before we were approved finance on a block of land (which I guess is technically before settlement) - finance got denied and we are in danger of losing a substantial amount of money - don't do it unless the contract specifically states it!!
Or go talk to your solicitor... After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: Subject to land settlement 8Oct 05, 2007 12:31 am hi guys, my 1st post. i'm finding myself in the same situation.
building with sim...in vic. We have pretty much done everything(colour selection etc) except sign the house contract, but we've been reluctant to sign as the land settlement is estimated to be nov/dec 2007 and we have 30 days after the contract date to allow the builder to start construction. We asked to have a clause inserted to put the contract date to the released date of the land, but instead we got an extension to Feb 2008 before penalties apply for late construction or delays by us. We got to sign the contract next week and i'm still a bit worried. I've read the forum here and it seems settlement dates are never confirmed for new estates. Has anyone experienced delays in the release of the land titles? What do you guys think of an extension to Feb08? would that be enough? that would mean we need to have the land titles released by end of january. I've spoken with the sales consultant of the land developer and they are saying they are waiting on the council to approve a major road construction(which in fact dont affect us as our street has already been built, everything else seems to be ready) which is part of the land contract we signed. In a way, i am prepared to sign the house contract so that we can 'fix' the price but it all depends on the release titles dates which is out of our hands. I have been getting frequent calls to sign the contract by the builder asap and i've managed to hold them off for about a month. Any advice would be appreciated!! Re: Subject to land settlement 9Oct 05, 2007 11:22 am We bought a block of land in Canberra in a new estate. We were told settlement would be between May-Aug. We then received a letter saying it would be delayed till Sept. We finally settled just this week (2nd Oct)
Not sure if it is the same in other new estates, but, it is something you should consider. Re: Subject to land settlement 10Oct 05, 2007 1:16 pm Hey thesunchaser, where about are you buying land? See if you can ask the developer or someone who already has had their title released about previous title releases (if there have been any) and see if they have been on time or as estimated?
Be careful, don't let the builder pressure you into signing anything!!! Weigh up your options, if you wait and the price of the house goes up by say $1000 to $3000 on average as they do with our builder "H", is it more or less than what you would have to pay in the late start fees... Do the sums and see what you are comfortable with. It needn't be too stressful, try to relax and tell the builder you will sign when YOU are ready.... Welcome to the forum by the way!!!!! Re: Subject to land settlement 11Oct 08, 2007 1:14 pm Thx guys,
Appreciated your support. It's been a few stressful nights for the past month. Had a few problems earlier regarding the contract with the builder. They quoted us different prices to the one we signed on earlier. They were saying the base price of the house has gone up by $2,000 and when we signed we were supposed to get charged the new base price but due to a system error(their fault), we signed on the old price. however, we managed to get them to put the contract base price back to the one we signed, after much discussion with them. We then managed to get the extension to the contract date. We are due to sign the contract on Thursday. And since we got the old base price, i am thinking that it's better to sign it to 'fix' the price and hopefully the land will be released before Feb 08. We are building in Lyndhurst VIC. We already have our street completed with all the necessary amenities. The only thing they are still to finish is the main road (at the moment, there is a farm and cows) which connects the highway to the estate (which in my opinion does not matter to us or our land as there is another street to get into the estate). If they do get the necessary permits, hopefully building that main road does not take longer than 1 month!! From what i have seen from the land developer, they do release land as soon as they can but i'm not always that optimistic. We haven't received any letter or notification from the developer saying the land release will be delayed. So fingers crossed, they will release as when they said they would. Nov/Dec -> So will this be a gamble if i sign the contract now and hope the land title is released before end of february?? If that does not happen, hopefully we can ask for another extension... or if not, then expect to pay some penalty fees which hopefully dont exceed the normal price increase... Re: Subject to land settlement 12Oct 08, 2007 1:18 pm Hey there sunchaser.... Lyndurst, wouldn't be the same place as ours by chance would it??? Check the blog..... looks like at the least we will be neighbors of the same suburb if not, estate.... Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Yeah I don't know why I came to a forum. Place is full of wierdos/pedos thought internet may help but I suppose I'll try my luck with someone in person. Cheers. I tried… 0 6389 Need advice on the backyard plan above. Should I excavate and cut all of the dirt to level with the house slab or semi-excavate as per photo above? Both left and right… 0 24783 13 6578 |