Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 25, 2014 10:16 pm Pardon my ignorance, being a first timer. Can one actually bring the tender or contract documents home to study them in detail prior to signing or it has to be signed off on the day of appointment? Anything important to look out for before signing? Thanks. Re: Tender and Contract appointment. Any pointers? 2Aug 26, 2014 5:53 am Never forget you are the customer! If you say you won't sign until you have looked at it overnight what can they do? There is some more advice here: http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2013/05/contract-meeting/ The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Tender and Contract appointment. Any pointers? 3Aug 26, 2014 7:51 am I know some builders now are offering some strong financial incentives if you sign on the day but I would never go for that. I know my first tender had a few mistakes in it and when I took it home I found more and more. Its a big decision, no matter what incentive they offer, take it home and ensure that the tender everything that has been discussed and advertised in the brochures etc. For the contract, personally I still had a solicitor look at a standard HIA contract, they managed to pick out quite a few things. Some the builder changed others I just need to be wary of but at least I'm going in with eyes open. http://camdenbuild.blogspot.com.au/ by invite only please pm me Re: Tender and Contract appointment. Any pointers? 4Aug 26, 2014 9:13 am If you want an independent inspector to check over the work, ensure you get it in the contract - it would be something I'd want to check before signing, if you're going that way. Re: Tender and Contract appointment. Any pointers? 5Aug 26, 2014 9:17 am Know the product. Know everything you want, need and have been promised inside out because 9 times out of 10 the admin you are dealing with won't! If their answers sound illogical or don't make sense, keep pushing. Re: Tender and Contract appointment. Any pointers? 6Aug 26, 2014 9:31 am Hi suntec, Same here.....don't listen to the ba*tards, take the contract home and go thru it with a magnifying glass. I took 6 weeks before I handed them back my signed contract and my builder was just fine with it. I think it was BE who has mentioned before, the builders offer incentive throughout the year. Good Luck!!! Re: Tender and Contract appointment. Any pointers? 7Aug 26, 2014 11:28 am My builder offered to email me the tender/contract a week before presentation if i wished, which i had them do. I used this time to go over it, find the faults and then went down in person and had them go over it for sanity sake then presented the issues i found. I felt lucky though - my tender was almost perfect! The only issues were small things that i was happy for them to fix when we went to Contract stage. At contract the only issues were some mistakes to positioning of items and one item that went up in cost (from $38 to $338 - was a typo). Sales agent filled out a variation form and submitted it when i signed the contract and the items were updated whilst i was waiting for council approval etc (as they were very small changes) at no cost. Make sure the sales agent puts on the variation form a no cost mark otherwise they might try and hit you with a variation charge. BUT - before this builder i was working with another builder (before pulling out). They did not send me the tender/contract before hand and i always took it home to read before doing anything. They made many mistakes and you really need to sit down and look at it over a few nights, focus on different areas of the house/plans each night and try and always take a fresh look at it (don't remember previous night issues, it might distract you). Finally my pointers based on what i saw wrong with my contracts: - Look closely at where they will be placing the tapware and showers. Does it make sense where they put it? Do you need to reach into the stream to turn the shower on? (if your like me the last thing you want is to get a nice cold stream of water on you in winter). Both builders were happy to move some tapware at no cost, within reason. - Check the placement of the dwelling on the land closely and make sure nothing is missed. Ask every question you can and be wary of council/estate covenant requirements for set backs and so forth. If you pickup issues now, you save weeks when it goes to council, only to be rejected. - Check window sizes and make sure they are not back to front in terms of measurements! (so a 2109 doesn't become a 0921...) - Be wary of front facade details in your tender. If it doesn't make sense or unsure, make sure you ask! Also compare what is in the contract (text wise) with the elevation views to make sure it matches. - If getting bricks instead of FC infill above windows, make sure the elevation documents mention it and it is on all windows unless you/builder specified otherwise. - Talk with the bank once you receive your contract. Some banks recommend valuations before signing to make sure you can lend what is needed. Don't be fooled by the builder stating that the bank will only take a signed contract, that is incorrect. - If you have small changes you may be able to ask the builder to do a variation with no charge at the same time as signing the contract. Be wary of the pro's and con's of doing so, and if in doubt, ask them to update the plans/contract before you sign. - Ask the question why the tender price is different to the contract, if it is. There should rarely be any reason why this would be so and it may be a mistake when writing up the contract. You can also use this as a bargaining chip. If the tender says $300 but the contract says $500 then you can dispute it; "Well the tender was only $300 and i signed the tender understanding that it was only $300, $500 is not acceptable". May or may not work in getting a reduced fee depending on the builder. That is for legit charges, mistakes should be fixed. - Spend a lot of time thinking on the kitchen. Ideally you should have made your decisions by the contract stage as to what you want in the kitchen (draws etc), but sometimes until you actually get the plans, you don't realize how small/weird/wrong something this. Check all door sizes to make sure they are even (where appropriate) and all appliances are installed in the correct location or centered or whatever you want. Good luck. My Noosa 23 Build - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=72782 Re: Tender and Contract appointment. Any pointers? 8Aug 27, 2014 9:23 pm Thank you everyone for your input. I am much wiser and better informed after reading through all your suggestions and tips. Certainly will not be fooled into signing the tender/ contract on the appointment day. Hey. Head to a metal and decide on which profile you will use first. Profiles with larger corrugations can greatly change the appearance of the color in different… 0 3380 You talk about deletions, are they variations or PS and PC adjustments? pleas list them 1 16542 Hi, We are looking for a builder that can build a small home (smaller length) on a sloping site. We came across Mojo's Zephyr design 10.6 m wide and 11.5 m length. Does… 0 22925 |