Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 23, 2010 12:44 am Hi guys first time poster obviously - have a question regarding paying a deposit ($1500) with a builder. I'm in a position to do the house/land thing with my Hubby. Currently he's finishing a course and I am working and supporting both of us. We have found an area we like, blocks of the appropriate size in Byford. We have found a builder we like (HBC) and had a couple of discussions on a house design and approx costings to put together a house and land package. Now although we could currently commit without hubby having a job, we've told the builder that right now we will wait making the final commitment until the Hubby finds a job. It's about financial security for us. We don't want to over extend ourselves. Deposit isn't an issue, we have the money set aside. He's fine with this, but he's made an offer where we could pay a deposit for the house and keep the price fixed for 6 months. When Hubby has a job, we can go back to the builder regarding land and if it's within the 6 months, the price freeze will be extended 6 months whilst plans are submitted / approved etc. I feel that obviously he wants some kind of sale from us, we don't need to commit to going into a loan just yet, so figure a $1500 is a small price to pay. I would like some feedback where possible from experienced people! Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 2Aug 23, 2010 3:54 am Removing anything with any information about our build. If I was to win Lotto, I would build with a different builder, now to win lotto Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 3Aug 23, 2010 12:38 pm We paid $1000 to builder & $1000 for land. We did this as we were waiting to sell our other property in QLD (which sold couple weeks later) and because titles arent available on land til Sept/Oct. So paying deposit locks the price so once everything is ready to go paperwork is ready and no price increases The deposits are kept in trustee account - so if you decide not to build you get your money back anyways Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 4Aug 23, 2010 1:49 pm You won't get the money back if they have done a soil test and contour survey of the block which they are likely to do so that they are ready to go as soon as you give the ok. I'd still go ahead though and risk losing the money to lock in the price. The house price will go up by a lot more than that in 6 months. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 5Aug 23, 2010 3:24 pm Oh joles I didn't know that. But that's fine we won't be pulling out. Just for rough idea our land sales guy said our land we prob be up $5k by titles (2months) so I imagine fair bit in 6 months Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 6Aug 23, 2010 3:27 pm Quote: I'd still go ahead though and risk losing the money to lock in the price. The house price will go up by a lot more than that in 6 months. Agree with this Worse case scenario if hubby doesn't get a job you lose $1500 If you don't lock it in, and he does get a job you could be out by $10,000 or more my new build thread- Ben Trager https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89826 my switch build thread (2011) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36569 Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 7Aug 23, 2010 9:11 pm tinkster Quote: I'd still go ahead though and risk losing the money to lock in the price. The house price will go up by a lot more than that in 6 months. Agree with this Worse case scenario if hubby doesn't get a job you lose $1500 If you don't lock it in, and he does get a job you could be out by $10,000 or more This is what we figured too. I am happy with the design of the home, there's a couple of minor changes we've made adding some doors, removing some walls etc. That makes it much easier for us to make a commitment. Thanks! Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 8Aug 23, 2010 9:30 pm We regreted agreeing to go ahead with this with HBC. We lost our money because the builder HBC decided they were tired of waiting. Got a call and the guy said HBC can't wait. He had promised we would get our money back when we put deposit. We got money back from land but not from builder. Our home was on the market, still is cos of slow market. So now we've decided to sit on things and follow the right procedure. If we still like the house, we can build that same one, at least we've done all adjustments with adding and substracting bits and pieces. But never again will I trust an agent who tries to rush you through for a quick commission. Hoping to build in Settlers Hill, Baldivis, WA. Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 9Aug 23, 2010 9:36 pm rbonnelame We regreted agreeing to go ahead with this with HBC. We lost our money because the builder HBC decided they were tired of waiting. Got a call and the guy said HBC can't wait. He had promised we would get our money back when we put deposit. We got money back from land but not from builder. Our home was on the market, still is cos of slow market. So now we've decided to sit on things and follow the right procedure. If we still like the house, we can build that same one, at least we've done all adjustments with adding and substracting bits and pieces. But never again will I trust an agent who tries to rush you through for a quick commission. I work in customer service, so I get everything in writing first, once it's in writing it's hard to go back on it. He knows that he will get a sale from us, it's in his best interest not to push. Plus, Hubby and I are renting, we're first homebuyers and we're not in a rush to build, so if they push, they can push. We'll push back. To our way of thinking, $1500 is not much money to lose if we do need to forfeit. We're not committing to the plot of land at this point as that would be too much to deal with. We know where we are building, it's just a matter of when we can commit. Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 10Aug 23, 2010 10:16 pm RussStephens What is the $1500 securing for you? You mentioned that you 'had a couple of discussions on a house design and approx costings' which suggests the contract will not be locked in to any specific pricing. I would recomend using the time available to lock down the exact specifications for your home along with the exact price before haning over any money. I agree Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 11Aug 23, 2010 10:20 pm As others have said - request in writing that the $1500 is refundable should you change your mind, and exactly what that buys you (house specs and prices) - and then go for it. I secured a $1500 deposit on a house with Bold Properties (QLD) while they were running a free ducted airconditioning offer. The offer ended shortly after, but they kept it for me because I had placed the deposit. That saved me a bucketload! I've then recently paid another $8500 on the home so all the planning, testing, prep etc can proceed even before the land settles. The land, by the way, was a $10,000 up-front deposit and waiver of finance clause. That's how scarce land is at the estate. Building at Warner Lakes in sunny Queensland. Building with Bold Properties. Building thread is here! - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38957 Blog is here! - http://campoutforland.blogspot.com Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 12Aug 23, 2010 10:28 pm He did put things in writing. It said that we would only lose the money if we pull out when they have started work on the land. They had not started anything except adjust the plan as per our demands. We thought we'd best let the $1000 go instead of trying to fight a giant. Not worth our time. Mistake learned, won't do it again. Hoping to build in Settlers Hill, Baldivis, WA. Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 13Aug 23, 2010 11:41 pm RussStephens What is the $1500 securing for you? You mentioned that you 'had a couple of discussions on a house design and approx costings' which suggests the contract will not be locked in to any specific pricing. I would recomend using the time available to lock down the exact specifications for your home along with the exact price before haning over any money. If we sign a piece of paper, it will have detail. I'll know more when I get the costings sent to me what it will contain then then we will make any adjustments, but we need a starting point for negotiations. rbonnelame He did put things in writing. It said that we would only lose the money if we pull out when they have started work on the land. They had not started anything except adjust the plan as per our demands. We thought we'd best let the $1000 go instead of trying to fight a giant. Not worth our time. Mistake learned, won't do it again. See, I would still have fought it if that was the case. The only reason why I would think they kept the money, is if the time limit had expired on the offer. Re: Paying a holding deposit for a housedesign / price 14Aug 24, 2010 8:37 am Hi, I believe some builders will not lock in the price if after paying the initial holding deposit you decide to change house designs. Make sure you take this into account, as when you do find a block and place a deposit on it, the house may not be able to be situated correctly to maximise northern sun into the main living areas and you may end up changing the designs. Michelle House - Lockup completed 23rd December 2011 - Painters are in!!! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37261&start=0&hilit=Blaxland In NSW the maximum deposit for building work is 5% until the builder provides HBCF insurance 1 4831 Wow I hadn't realised things had gotten that pricey in just a couple of years since I built, that is crazy with how much land is now costing if you aren't lucky enough to… 3 7136 Hi, you've probably already resolved this, however, Commbank will probably pay the funds to you after you send evidence the work is done regardless the change in the quotes. 1 35332 |