Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 16, 2014 10:00 pm …if there are still outstanding issues. I was meant to have handover on Thursday. However there were a few outstanding issues from the PCI (4.5 weeks prior). The main one being the glass splash back needed to be replaced due to a scratch. The splashback was supposed to go in on Wednesday and the SS was promising it would be put it on Friday, the day after handover. They have already stuffed the splash back up twice. Besides not trusting their trades to turn up when booked, I work and can't spend a week waiting around for their tradies to fix the issues. So while I'm already paying interest on the full loan with the bank cheque in my pocket (I was invoiced 5.5 weeks ago for the final payment), I refused to settle. Today, I rocked up to look in the window at my new splash back….. Yep, that's a blank wall. So much for the promise of a splashback on Friday. NEVER EVER SETTLE EARLY!!! If the builder can't get their trades to do the job before settlement…what makes anyone think they can get them to the job afterwards? Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 3Aug 17, 2014 7:53 am MyH1Login Thanks Ari, great lesson you've shared with me - I see you don't have your stovetop yet either? I will definitely keep this in mind! Appliances don't get installed until after handover so that they don't get stolen. I need the floors to get installed prior to installing the oven/stove as well Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 5Aug 17, 2014 11:56 am Ari MyH1Login Thanks Ari, great lesson you've shared with me - I see you don't have your stovetop yet either? I will definitely keep this in mind! Appliances don't get installed until after handover so that they don't get stolen. I need the floors to get installed prior to installing the oven/stove as well So - you move in and don't have appliances ? We had a few issues after hand-over - they made a list and things were fixed asap. We had a splashback issue - but weren't going to stay out of the house because of it. Surely minor paint work etc can be done after ? Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 6Aug 17, 2014 12:51 pm Or heating or hot water. Pretty much all the builders in Melbourne do it the same way. If it was just painting touch ups I probably would have accepted and fixed it myself but I run my own business. I can't wait around for multiple days waiting for tradies that are just as likely to not show. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 7Aug 17, 2014 4:55 pm Ari Or heating or hot water. Pretty much all the builders in Melbourne do it the same way. If it was just painting touch ups I probably would have accepted and fixed it myself but I run my own business. I can't wait around for multiple days waiting for tradies that are just as likely to not show. Very true. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 8Aug 17, 2014 8:13 pm Never been through this kind of situation myself (probably coming soon ) but I think one should weigh up the potential losses and find a balance. If it is a case of a splashback and few other things, I probably would not wait 4 weeks (interest paid would be more than these items ). I understand the builder would keep playing after getting the money but he will do it one day as it is in the contract. I would write to the higher management, threaten to shame them over internet etc etc and hope they would do it soon. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 9Aug 17, 2014 9:11 pm I'm not sure a lot of home owners are in he position financially to pay rent and pay the full mortgage payment. There has to be an element of trust with your builder, things will always go wrong and even when you get to the end and you don't have a splash back you have to trust the contract will protect you. If you go into a build with the intention to not accept handover untill all pci items have been rectified, maybe you should buy an established house. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 10Aug 17, 2014 9:26 pm mgilla I'm not sure a lot of home owners are in he position financially to pay rent and pay the full mortgage payment. I think that is the bit we are all talking about differently. I can't afford to have 3 days off work to sit around and open the door for tradies that may or may not show up. Those 3 days of work will cover way more than this months interest. I'm sure other people who have vacation days or just don't plain care about their work and can fake sickies are in a different position. As I said above…the splash back is only one issue. There is about 5 trades that need to come back By all means, accept your own handover when your house still needs retiling, splashbacks, cabinetry fixes, plaster fixes etc etc but after being on this site for 6 years I've seen people make this mistake over and over and over thinking the bad things only happen to others. I'm just providing a warning that it doesn't matter how much the SS promises it will be done on a certain day…he really has no control over his trades turning up. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 11Aug 17, 2014 9:43 pm mgilla I'm not sure a lot of home owners are in he position financially to pay rent and pay the full mortgage payment. There has to be an element of trust with your builder, things will always go wrong and even when you get to the end and you don't have a splash back you have to trust the contract will protect you. If you go into a build with the intention to not accept handover untill all pci items have been rectified, maybe you should buy an established house. I agree With Ari. Don't mean to be picky with you mgilla , it's just that you mentioned three points that correspond with my points. I must disagree with your first statement as I am sure that most WILl be financially hurt paying both rent and a mortgage, tho I suspect that is what you meant. There is an element of trust, the contact is signed to protect both parties, and both must abide by it, meaning that handover should be the end, with the exception of any issues that should pop up after , such as the 6 month maintenance period in a lot of contracts. But buying an established house cos one won't except the work completely finished as per the contract, not a chance. I don't pay the lawnmower man prior to him turning up and completing the job to my satisfaction, I don't pay the pool man for same, ditto the house cleaner, the paver for my driveway, the guy that installs the antenna or the air con service guy. My work don't pay in advance, I suspect yours don't either. Do the job as per contract, then you get paid. The final payment at handover should be in the form of a chq ( if your bank allows this ) and if your not happy that PCI items aren't to your satisfaction, keep the chq in your wallet/purse and reschedule. And recheck everything else, lots of other stuff gets damaged between PCI and handover. Once turned up for a handover in early morning and the place was still dirty inside, took 60 seconds to walk thru and said to SS , nope we won't be doing handover until this place is cleaned up and I can see the level of finish properly, builder had 25 people there in an hour cleaning for the rest of the day. It's your money people. Good luck and enjoy Timeline Aug 08-Land Mar 09-Demo/Titles Sept 10-Handover No1 Sept 11-Handover No2 April 12-Sold No2 Aug 14-Land/Demo Jan 15-Slabs viewtopic.php?f=31&t=25736 Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 12Aug 17, 2014 9:50 pm Echo Once turned up for a handover in early morning and the place was still dirty inside, took 60 seconds to walk thru and said to SS , nope we won't be doing handover until this place is cleaned up and I can see the level of finish properly, builder had 25 people there in an hour cleaning for the rest of the day. It's your money people. Good luck and enjoy Funny you should mention that. The cleaners also didn't turn up to clean prior to the handover appointment on Thursday We had some cleaners turn up and create a concrete dust storm with their brooms while we did our inspection through the haze. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 13Aug 18, 2014 9:07 am I have read way to many stories like this. I certainly won't be signing off and paying the final installment until everything if fixed to my extremely high satisfaction. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 14Sep 26, 2022 11:46 am Hi all reading this thread, unfortunately, my builder does not allow for cheque payment, so I've already transfered the money to the builder but there are still poending issues and handover is meant to be tomorrow - can i still reject handover if I am not happy with the fixes? Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 15Sep 26, 2022 3:58 pm elloelloelloqwer Hi all reading this thread, unfortunately, my builder does not allow for cheque payment, so I've already transfered the money to the builder but there are still poending issues and handover is meant to be tomorrow - can i still reject handover if I am not happy with the fixes? what would you refuse exactly if you've already paid them? You still have rights post hand over relating to building defects, its just a PITA to have some builders deal with them because there isn't a final payment pending motivating them to sort it out ASAP. But as to ponding, are you refering to ponding against your slab, in the gutters, or just somewhere on your block? Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 16Sep 26, 2022 4:10 pm Think they just mean 'pending issues'. As Noname says, they still have to fix the defects, ensure they are well documented in writing. It is annoying, we have been in for 6 months and there are still a handful of issues outstanding and it is excuse after excuse for delays. In the end it's not worth taking it further, just keep on them until it is fixed. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 17Sep 26, 2022 4:54 pm lKitto Think they just mean 'pending issues'. As Noname says, they still have to fix the defects, ensure they are well documented in writing. It is annoying, we have been in for 6 months and there are still a handful of issues outstanding and it is excuse after excuse for delays. In the end it's not worth taking it further, just keep on them until it is fixed. gotcha. Theres also contract clauses that prevent you from witholding final payment for "minor" issues that can reasonably be expected to be resolved post handover. i.e. if you had a paint starved wall needing to be rerolled, you couldnt withhold final payment, but they still have to reroll the wall. but "refusing handover" isnt really anything in your case. You've paid them, you'd just be gimping yourself by not moving in and dealing with the builder on the remaining stuff. Dark matter scientist, can breathe underwater, mind reader and can freeze matter just by willing it. Trust me, its in my sig. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 18Sep 26, 2022 4:57 pm Noname elloelloelloqwer Hi all reading this thread, unfortunately, my builder does not allow for cheque payment, so I've already transfered the money to the builder but there are still poending issues and handover is meant to be tomorrow - can i still reject handover if I am not happy with the fixes? what would you refuse exactly if you've already paid them? You still have rights post hand over relating to building defects, its just a PITA to have some builders deal with them because there isn't a final payment pending motivating them to sort it out ASAP. But as to ponding, are you refering to ponding against your slab, in the gutters, or just somewhere on your block? Thanks for the prompt response. I meant there are still pending issues for example, grout on tiles, some tiles are chipped, some things not yet fixed from the pci report... so was wondering if it's any better to delay hand over until they get most things sorted first before accepting hand over. Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 19Sep 26, 2022 5:04 pm lKitto Think they just mean 'pending issues'. As Noname says, they still have to fix the defects, ensure they are well documented in writing. It is annoying, we have been in for 6 months and there are still a handful of issues outstanding and it is excuse after excuse for delays. In the end it's not worth taking it further, just keep on them until it is fixed. Thanks for sharing.. my gut tells me to just accept and just ensure the fixes required are put into writing Re: A reminder of why you never take handover…. 20Sep 27, 2022 12:20 pm Can this even be done with many builders? In my contract it states that if I don't pay the builder within 10 days of being handed the progress payment then they charge you interest every day and stop work. So in theory, I would agree to not hand over the final payment unless you're happy with the end product, but in reality it would be hard (depending on the contract you have of course). That sucks! Hope it all works out. Good to move away from steel anyway for all your reasons, but it's also thermally poor. 16 17775 Hi Mofflepop, I would recommend finding a building designer to prepare plans, they should design to your specified budget. The benefit is you can tender the project out… 9 20355 6 11528 |