Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 04, 2012 2:30 pm OK Guys, I need some HELP. We are first home buyers and building in a regional area qualify for $26,500 FHOG (provided we sign the contracts by 30 June) So, we paid our initial deposit of $1,000 to our builder in February this year and assured (repeatedly) the contracts would be ready in 8-10 weeks. So 10 weeks has come and gone and we have been informed (after following them up) the contracts should now be ready at the end of May. I have no faith in this date btw as our sales consultant assured us over and over again we would wait max 10 weeks until contract, now she tells us end of May. What I need help with is this. Do we sit around and wait and hope the contract comes at end of May (and with no errors so that it does not have to go back for amendment cos who knows how long that will take) Or Do we keep waiting for builder 1 but also pay the $1,000 deposit to our second choice builder who have put in writing that they guarantee the contract will be ready before June 30 if we sign up before end of next week. If we do put a deposit down with the second builder we will either way lose $1,000 but isnt $1,000 a small cost compared to the $26,500 we could loose if the contracts are delayed and FHOG is cut back as I am hearing everywhere will happen. I really dont want to miss out on this $26,500. We have scrimped and saved for over a year even moving in with MIL to get a good deposit to build our beautiful house and this $26,500 has been factored in to our budget and would really set us back if we missed out on it. I am really having an attack of conscience here. I dont want to pay $1,000 to the second builder knowing that if builder 1 comes back on time we will pull out with builder 2 but at the same time we need to look after ourselves. Any advice would be appreciated. What would others do in this situation? Thanks All P.S We would have gone with builder 2 but we just loved builder 1's floor plan so much more Re: Build contract delay. What would you do? 2May 04, 2012 3:31 pm You need to weigh it all up The way i see it if builder 1 is already giving you the run around, how is the rest of the build going to go. My guess is it will be more of a headache than it is now and you may regret satying with them even more. Is builder 2 well known and do they have a reputation that will back up their claims of getting things done on time? Can or will builder 2 do a custom home? you may be able to adjust the floor plan you like enough to get you away from copyright laws and get the house you like built in a realistic time frame Thats how i looked at it when we jumped ship on our initial builder. Re: Build contract delay. What would you do? 3May 04, 2012 3:55 pm Builder 1 has a good reputation in terms of their build and quality but they just cant get their act together regarding the paperwork side of things. If its going to be longer then 10 weeks tell us, they dont have to go quiet on us and think we wont notice the delay. A phone call weeks ago when they knew they were going to be delayed would have worked wonders for our confidence in them. If its delayed so be it, just be straight up, apologise for the delay and work to get it done by the new promised date, not just tell us a new date they hope to get it done by after we have to enquire whats going on. Builder 2 has probably an even better reputation though the base house price is about 10k more but they have a better list of inclusions. While they are flexible to a degree in changing their plans we wouldnt be able to change any of the houses enough to get them as we would need them to be to love the design as much as builder 1's plan. So torn up about what to do and need to make a decision in the next week if we go ahead sign up with builder 2. Re: Build contract delay. What would you do? 4May 04, 2012 4:48 pm Personally it sounds like you would be happier sticking with builder 1 as they have the design that is going to keep you happy. If you were to build with builder 2 do you think you will forever be saying that you wished you had built the home that builder 1 has? If you are always going to be making comments that you should have built the other home then i think you have your answer. It sounds to me that you have just hit a rough patch that you will hopefully get through quickly. Re: Build contract delay. What would you do? 6May 05, 2012 1:33 am Tell them that losing the 19.5k is a deal breaker and they will get off their backside fairly quickly I suspect... Some people apparently have nothing better to do than comment on other people's sigs. Re: Build contract delay. What would you do? 7May 07, 2012 3:05 pm Thanks for the responses all, we have sent an email to our sales consutant yesterday advising that we need a writen guarantee that we will have the contracts signed within the June 30 cut off and if they cannot do this will they compensate for the FHOG we will miss out on. If we do not get a satisfactory response within the next day or two then we will be paying a deposit with Builder 2 this coming weekend to ensure someone can get us a contract by June 30. Re: Build contract delay. What would you do? 8May 07, 2012 3:17 pm I would give them an earlier cutoff than 30 June as that gives you no room at all. I would give them to the end of May - and agree with cmhamilton and tell them its a dealbreaker. Good luck! Hi, My home construction is complete, and the handover is scheduled next week. However the construction has been delayed and I have raised this to the builder. The… 0 5327 1 7941 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17601 |