Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 12, 2015 12:25 am So I was going back and forth to the sales guy with my house plans - making changes, finding out prices. Was still in the process of doing this when one afternoon I went in to make some more changes when he told me he had already sent off the plans to head office to get the final quote and plans drawn up. I wasn't impressed because I still wasn't 100% happy with the plans and still wanted to find out the cost of things. I had already paid a $2000 deposit but thought I'd only proceed to the next stage with my say so. Wait 6 weeks to get plans and quote back. Have 21 days to make changes to quote and plan. Still annoyed with sales guy and plans not how I left the, knew this would take more than 3 weeks. I mean I do work full time and want to take my time to get things right. Now the pressure is on. Threats of 'can't guanatee house price if you don't return signed authority to proceed', 'will have to pay an additional 1% fine if return after the 21 days '(this started as may be a fine, to will be a fine after I paid the initial deposit and the amount unknown to now being told its 1% of house price) and 'just send the plan and changes in before the due date but you will pay a fee for any changes you want to make.' Either way I'm paying fees. If only the sales guy didn't send off the plans before I was ready for him to do so. I'm annoyed now. The fact the sales guy sent the plans off before telling me or asking me if I was happy to do so just gets on my nerves. And now all the pressure to sign the authority to proceed with the threats of extra fees just tops it off. And to make it even better, I am expected to return the signed authority to proceed without a final quote and finished plans for my bank manager. I am expected to pay another deposit before I even know the final cost and without seeing the final plans. Which makes my bank manager happy. Anyone else had to endure this type of pressure? If so, did you walk or stick with the builder? Re: Too much pressure from builder to sign - walk or stay? 2May 12, 2015 12:38 am A fine? Wtf, last time I checked a building co has no legal position to fine anyone It's a bluff and the worst of pressure selling preying on the vulnerable. Tell them, in writing of course, that you will not sign when you are placed under duress to do so by their salesperson. Then I'd request my deposit back. Re: Too much pressure from builder to sign - walk or stay? 3May 12, 2015 12:57 am Hi jokeke , Silly sales rep you have there
One of our friend had a similar issue you had but things are looking positive for them now . They have now re-signed their contract 2 months ago and now about to start on site. I think they also got their deposit back from the other builder. I think you either tell your sales rep to sharpen their pencil or tell them you will go to other builders. At the end of the day client is the most important and especially when your building a home. Re: Too much pressure from builder to sign - walk or stay? 4May 12, 2015 1:02 am Thanks for your reply. Trust me, I am seriously considering doing this. We're off to such a bad start and we haven't even started building. They cannot justify these fines/fees they threaten with. I'm slowing finding out things about this builder that are putting me off more and more each day. Isn't it an offence under fair trading laws to pressure people to sign contracts? Re: Too much pressure from builder to sign - walk or stay? 5May 12, 2015 1:06 am I was always concerned with paying any money to get the official quote and plan drawn up. The plan is basic, it's really just the basic plan that I made changes to. I knew I had to pay for the soil test and contour survey but how much do these cost? Re: Too much pressure from builder to sign - walk or stay? 6May 12, 2015 4:50 pm If you have concerns like this at the very beginning, it's only likely to get worse down the track. Unless you really like the plan and want to stick with it. Otherwise start your process again with someone else. At least you are more prepared next round. 2k gone now better than 20k+ down the drain later. Re: Too much pressure from builder to sign - walk or stay? 7May 12, 2015 4:57 pm You can get a soil test done independently of any builder. Contour plan- was included in our build. Also our sales rep spent hundreds of hours with us making changes and it was all free. She knows that she can do that and ppl still walk, but it's part of her job. Don't go for the hard sell. Could be trouble down the track as it sounds like this rep only wants to sign you up and not necessarily help you throughout the build. Ours did. Re: Too much pressure from builder to sign - walk or stay? 8May 19, 2015 9:56 pm Hi Jojeke, Wow, I can't believe they've been stuffing you around for so long! Did you sign a pre-lim agreement stating the $2000 is non-refundable? I'm pretty sure if you haven't signed anything that says the $2000 is non-refundable then they should still be able to refund it as we paid our pre-lim deposit in Dec to secure the promo at the time and also the base house price but didn't actually sign the pre-lim agreement making the money non-refundable until end of January... so if they've sent your paperwork through without your consent and/or signed agreement to move forward, then surely they can't do anything with it.. I also agree with Treeseachanger in that the sales rep we dealt with has had ZIP ZERO NADA to do with us since he sent the paperwork and basic plans off to his head office... he also wasn't clear on the plans he actually sent... I had done a rough sketch up of one of their plans, because the shape of our lot is funny I had to flip their plan over and rotate the garage/master bedroom 90degrees so that it could fit sideways on the lot rather than length ways... he didnt specify when sending it through that it wasn't to scale so when their draftsmen drew it up properly it came back 20sm larger! which would have cost an extra 20K not to mention it wouldn't have actually fit on the lot! so I had to explain it was the plan they had online with all the same dimensions aside from the rotation of the garage etc.. delayed the next stage of contract signing by 3 weeks which in turn meant we didn't meet the finance clause of the land contract so had to request an extension.. all is good now and that was our only hiccup, thus far we have been very pleased and the builder has been very accommodating with us changing our minds and adding variations.. I think unfortunately the sales reps are a bit like car salesmen... pushy.. good luck and I hope you can find a solution soon! First time building 2 storey home, is under construction (in Framing stage) in NSW. I have 3 toilets and need bidet spray in… 0 16857 1 2990 |