Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 01, 2008 7:24 pm Hoping you all can help !
Our building company has advised that our contract will be ready for signing in 3 weeks. But before that happens, we've been advised by friends to weave into the contract, certain provisos ie items that are important to us. For example : inspections by us prior to slab pour, prior to gyprocking, prior to laying of upstairs flooring, etc.. At the moment, there's so much going on ( in addition to this building business) that my brain is on overload - we're moving house in 2 days & my husband is leaving for 4 weeks o/seas the morning after our move.......what great timing. HELP So, looks like the details of the contract are on my shoulders !! That's pretty daunting. So........ If any of you had to do it over again, what would you have included in your contract? All suggestions would be great at this point Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 2Apr 01, 2008 7:37 pm One of the things I did, and I'm glad of it, was change the payment terms for invoices to 14 days. Standard payment terms are 7 days and that doesn't leave you/your lender a lot of time to get payment organised. My invoices generally seem to come on a Friday afternoon (between 4-6 pm) so that means, if I'd stayed on 7 day terms, I'd already have lost half of the payment time before Monday came around and I could send it to the bank. Received keys to my new home on 16/5/08 Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 3Apr 01, 2008 7:45 pm Make sure your liquidated damages amount is realistic. It should be whatever your new house could be rented out for. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Quick legal check 6Apr 02, 2008 12:30 am Hi Radds
It may pay for you to visit a lawyer familiar with disputes on building contracts. I'd say for a few hundred dollars you might avoid potential problems during the process and ensure you are covered if things go wrong. Especially things like liquidated damages - such as if there is a delay and they pay you for an amount in compensation to cover your rent etc during that time. Sometimes the contract amount is less than your rent, so you'd be out of pocket etc. Hopefully though, all will go well. Best regards Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 7Apr 02, 2008 5:27 am Casa2 & Bestbuild :
I can insist on a reasonable amount but that doesn't guarantee they'd accept it. Upto this point, negotiations have been TOTALLY one-sided & I don't see this builder coming to the party on this one - just as it hasn't come to the party on ANY other pionts. I can try though. THanks Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 8Apr 02, 2008 7:39 am Liquidated damages is basically a "late payment". That is, for every day they are late, there is a payment. this shoudl be equal to the rental value of the house being built. However, if you've gone ot a project builder and ;ike thier plan and they present you with a very unfavourable contract, what can you do.
The only way to get a favourable contract is to have two builders in under consideration. I guess if the terms are really nfavourable, you could always go to a small builder that is recommended by someone you know. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 9Apr 02, 2008 8:10 am Reading many post in this forum will tell you that building with project/big builder can be stressful, as the builder is handling so many clients.
Read your contract carefully if it is NOT INDUSTRY STANDARD (such as contracts from HIA or MBA). As casa has advised me several months before, put down what items you want. for appliances it is imperative you add the name/number of model you like, or you may endup having the cheapies. For furniture finishing, just be reasonable by mentioning the "appearance" for example for cornice: cove or square, no need to look for manufacture etc., as they are quite standard in the industry. Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 10Apr 02, 2008 11:49 am radds Casa2 & Bestbuild : Upto this point, negotiations have been TOTALLY one-sided & I don't see this builder coming to the party on this one - just as it hasn't come to the party on ANY other pionts. My personal feeling is that if they are not willing to negotiate with you then maybe they aren't the right builder for you. It sounds to me like they are treating you like they're doing you a favour building your house which they are not. They are performing a service that you are going to pay for. If they are not being at all flexible now before they've got your business, I can't imagine they're going to improve once you sign the contract and you can't easily walk away. Received keys to my new home on 16/5/08 Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 12Apr 02, 2008 12:38 pm Colleen My personal feeling is that if they are not willing to negotiate with you then maybe they aren't the right builder for you. It sounds to me like they are treating you like they're doing you a favour building your house which they are not. the statement is REALLY true. Can you imagine their attitude to you after you paid the deposit and building process commence? It is because of this reason, i switch to my current builder at the last minute. The previous one reject to have independent inspector to the site. Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 13Apr 02, 2008 12:46 pm Colleen My personal feeling is that if they are not willing to negotiate with you then maybe they aren't the right builder for you. It sounds to me like they are treating you like they're doing you a favour building your house which they are not. They are performing a service that you are going to pay for. If they are not being at all flexible now before they've got your business, I can't imagine they're going to improve once you sign the contract and you can't easily walk away. That may be fair enough but if your builder is $50 000 to $100 000 cheaper than the competition, than you have to deciede which is more important to you. Similarly, if your builder has the exact layout that you want and others don't provide plans that you like - again you are stuck. Finally if your builder is one of a very small group that will build on your block, you are stuck. My point is that in many cases, walking away over something which really is quite trivial is not well thought out logic. Most builders are probably afraid to change the contract in case it opens them to liabilitys they did not forsee. That doesn't mean that they will be a bad builder. Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 14Apr 02, 2008 4:11 pm I was in a rush when I posted last (had a boss standing behind me making noises about the fact I was actually having a lunch break). Had I had more time I would've made the above point - if this is your dream house (or any of the other issues 3Xbuilder has raised) then accepting clauses you don't like is the price you pay for the dream house. However I wouldn't say that the contract is trivial - it is your protection if things go bad so make sure it is actually going to protect you. But yes, you might have to compromise on what things you really want changed in the contract and what you can live with. If they refuse your requests, maybe ask them why and see if you think their reason is a good one.
The point I was trying to make was not so much walk away now because they won't bend. But do consider the level of customer service you are getting now, and how willing they are to discuss your issues and concerns, and if they really aren't listening I think it's a good idea to ask yourself how they will be at negotiating if something goes wrong during your build and you have to come to a mutual decision on how to fix it. And whether you're prepared to accept that they may have the same attitude about building issues as they do about these admin/legal ones. Having said all that, I'm a person who is prepared to pay more for good customer service - so the level of service is really important to me and was a deciding factor when I chose my builder. That is probably why it would worry me if I felt they weren't willing to negotiate with me. But it might not worry you at all Received keys to my new home on 16/5/08 Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 15Apr 02, 2008 4:22 pm Colleen,
Fair enough. Just sounded a bit rigid. Know what you mean about boss. Colleen However I wouldn't say that the contract is trivial I wasn't saying the contract is trivial, just some of the suggested changes. They are certainly nice to haves but for eg if your house is built in the contract period, then penalty rates are not so important. It would be a shame to have walked away. I see that you are at the same stage as us, we started painting about a day before you. Still going and likely to be until the end of the week. One man and his excessivly loud radio. Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 16Apr 03, 2008 2:52 pm I think large project builders are less likely to change their contract just for you. Considering most people would build once or maybe twice in their life, they know they have you in the hook because it is already approved in the council.
If it is a small builder and you have the plans drawn up yourself, you may have a better chance negotiating the contract. Because at the end of the day, if you are not happy, you can take the plans and DA away and choose another builder! Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 17Apr 03, 2008 3:07 pm Yes sammy, I'm starting to see it that way, too.
We really feel that ABSOLUTELY ALL details relating to our building negotiations have been in the builder's court. They have not moved one iota towards meeting us 1/2 way on ANY aspect. So I can just imagine that altering or adding anything to the contract to suit us, won't interest them in the least - they can just drop us ! It really feels like we & everybody else are held to ransom - dare I say blackmail ? We feel that our hands are tied & I can tell you that if I could, I would cut my losses & RUUUUNNNN. Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 18Apr 03, 2008 5:53 pm Something for all to think about would be the inclusion of the wording, "or as per display". For any standard fittings. That way if they up graded to anything that is not standard in the display home, you would be able to follow suit....
We did..... yippeee.... Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Re: CONTRACT INCLUSIONS - ADVICE PLEASE 20Apr 03, 2008 9:52 pm Some builders, may jazz up there display homes and use better quality products for instance. And say that all this is standard inclusions, however when it comes to the contract and schedules they can use a lesser grade product as there standard base compared to what was actually in the display home.
For instance, tiling and carpets are included ( yes but not the porcelin tiles you loved in the display home ), when you see the display home, the tiles and carpets you get to choose from are from their grade 3 or 4 bracket and costs additional for you to upgrade... However, if you stipulate or as per display re the inclusions, it will allow you to upgrade at no cost... Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Thanks. There are plenty of builders around my suburb. I'll make sure to do some door-to-door knocking, or note their building details on the temp fence. 4 4751 You talk about deletions, are they variations or PS and PC adjustments? pleas list them 1 16565 There is no reason why building contract reconciliation cannot be done prior to handover, if the builder won't do it get someone to do it for you. Why would you pay for… 3 6688 |