I am building with them in Melbourne, and it's all proceeding as planned.
Had a meeting with the supervisor today, and was told my finishing date is about 12-14 weeks away.
As planned.
what is your liquidated damages in the contract?
You mean penalties for late completion? $250 a week.
Yes, it is about $35(250/7) per day, much better.
So they can be flexible on this liquidated damages.
Quote:
With reference to the Morgan Stanley takeover, they haven't noticed any changes at all around the office. Which is what I expected them to tell me. They did say that what ever happens, you are covered by the home warranty insurance which is through CGU insurance.. still no one wants those legal hassles.
Different story, two of their salesman told me Morgan Stanley’s people are there.
I didn't specifically ask if Morgan Stanley staff were there or not. They just said the operation of Clarendon Homes hasn't changed.
Yes, it is about $35(250/7) per day, much better.
So they can be flexible on this liquidated damages.
Perhaps Clarendon in VIC is more flexible.
I certainly got a categoric NO. They were willing to let me walk out the door.
And I was ready to walk out the door - except:
A)They already have $4k of our money.
2)My wife really likes this design.
iii)There aren't a lot of project builders catering to split level designs - and none of them had split level designs in a size and dimensions that suits our needs.
D)We are living rent free and will be doing so until our home is complete, so we won't suffer any financial stress if they are late.
5)They don't get the last 10% of their money until they finish the house anyway.
What would other people in the same situation have done?
Moral to the story: Don't pay a cent until you know all details regarding the contract. To inform you of effectively no penalty for being late after you've paid $4000 and spent a lot of time, is too late.
I see these project builders in operation. Get you to make payments early, don't show you a contract until later and "forcing" you to sign the same time you get the contract are all methods of getting you to part with more money than you planned. It's an artform.
Some even have post contract variation lined up before you even sign the contract.
Moral to the story: Don't pay a cent until you know all details regarding the contract. To inform you of effectively no penalty for being late after you've paid $4000 and spent a lot of time, is too late.
I see these project builders in operation. Get you to make payments early, don't show you a contract until later and "forcing" you to sign the same time you get the contract are all methods of getting you to part with more money than you planned. It's an artform.
Some even have post contract variation lined up before you even sign the contract.
Alternatively we could go with a small builder, they could go bankrupt and you lose heaps.
Look, you could spend years asking "what if" about a hundred different scenarios. At the end of the day you want a house built well and one that satisfies your needs.
Moral to the story: Don't pay a cent until you know all details regarding the contract. To inform you of effectively no penalty for being late after you've paid $4000 and spent a lot of time, is too late.
I see these project builders in operation. Get you to make payments early, don't show you a contract until later and "forcing" you to sign the same time you get the contract are all methods of getting you to part with more money than you planned. It's an artform.
Some even have post contract variation lined up before you even sign the contract.
The problem with a lot of small buiders is that many have no idea how to build a particular design that you want them to build - yet they won't tell you that. I know of several cases where independent inspectors found soume major faults (structural ones) as the builder basically didn't know how to do something and was just guessing.
And of course the warranty they give you isn't worth the paper it's written on, as they change names regularly, change ownership and when you need to investigate some moisture under the floor boards 3 years later many pretend not to know who you are.
There are pros and cons with this sort of stuff, but I certainly didn't find that anyone hid anything from me. My conrtact was in front of me for 3 weeks before I signed it. And if I didn't check some details in it with a solicitor that would be my problem, not the builder's.
In my case, Clarendon was also very flexible with the design, allowing me to add a room, and change whole lot of other things, including a totally different facade.
It's not all black and white.