Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 21, 2015 12:26 am Hi Everyone, Appreciate if you can give an advice or share you experience about the following: My builder gave me a contract to sign, but I'm a little hesitant to do so, since they haven't delivered few reports as promised. In particular, contour plan, Geotech, BAL assessment, and they also mentioned that there are some issues with BASIX. I have moderately sloping block, thus over the past couple months I was reminding them about the contour, which in my view is critical for producing the accurate plan and knowing the site costs. They say it can all be done after the sign off and treated as free of charge post contract variations. Earlier I provided them with the contour plan and Geotech reports supplied by a vendor, but they still say they have to do their own, so it seems that they haven't factored those into the version of the plan attached to the contract. They have a time limit of 14 days to sign the contract or all of the included discounts and promotions are gone, which sounds like a sales trick, nevertheless, this puts a bit of pressure on me. Is it common approach or should I insist that all of the reports to be delivered and factored into the plan and the total prior to signing it? Has anyone been in a similar situation? Thanks. Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 2May 21, 2015 9:03 am In my experiance builders that have special offers alaways have them just they regularly change them. See http://www.anewhouse.com.au/2012/09/bui ... al-offers/ I haven't let any special offer rush me in signing up. 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: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 3May 21, 2015 1:49 pm Have they factored in the contour plan etc. you have given into your site costs? How much deposit are you paying when you sign up and what happens if you need to back out of the contract if the site costs suddenly increase? Yes they use these sales tricks and those 'special promotions' often seem to magically get extended or reintroduced a couple of months later, still it does put you under some uncertainty as to what position you would be in if you waited. Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 4May 21, 2015 2:58 pm Prof123 Hi Everyone, Appreciate if you can give an advice or share you experience about the following: My builder gave me a contract to sign, but I'm a little hesitant to do so, since they haven't delivered few reports as promised. Your answer is in your post "since they haven't delivered few reports as promised" Contract is essentially a promise to build for a promise to pay, this is very early in your journey and you have already hit a snag. What makes you think any other promises will be kept? Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 5May 21, 2015 3:11 pm Promotions can be just that promotions but all to often they are just a tool to bait you and then create artificial urgency to sign or you will miss out.(gets them every time, hook line and sinker) I have lost count of how many otherwise sane people fell for it. Signing before you are ready could cost you dearly, remember, urgency is not for your benefit. Do your research, think it through, compare, decide, review contract (get help) then sign when you are comfortable with it. Just this week I had a request for pre contract review (a day before he had to deliver signed set to the builder) I said I could do it but not without sitting down with him and going through issues. He booked then in the morning cancelled, didn't have time to see me( and just had to deliver contracts by 4PM) I wish him luck, he may need it more than he knows. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 6May 21, 2015 3:52 pm ajansen Have they factored in the contour plan etc. you have given into your site costs? How much deposit are you paying when you sign up and what happens if you need to back out of the contract if the site costs suddenly increase? Yes they use these sales tricks and those 'special promotions' often seem to magically get extended or reintroduced a couple of months later, still it does put you under some uncertainty as to what position you would be in if you waited. I believe they have not. The Geotech report that I've provided indicates that a layer of sandstone sits at the depth of 180-190 cm, so my question to them was - how much cut do you need to do?, so I can understand if they require to cut the stone or not. They couldn't answer, and replied that it will be clear once they produce their own reports, which takes annoyingly long. Also the drawings do not indicate the levels. To me they just provide a generic view of the home, so if I want to understand what sort of retaining walls I need to put in, I won't be able to. Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 7May 21, 2015 4:08 pm building-expert Promotions can be just that promotions but all to often they are just a tool to bait you and then create artificial urgency to sign or you will miss out.(gets them every time, hook line and sinker) I have lost count of how many otherwise sane people fell for it. Signing before you are ready could cost you dearly, remember, urgency is not for your benefit. Do your research, think it through, compare, decide, review contract (get help) then sign when you are comfortable with it. Just this week I had a request for pre contract review (a day before he had to deliver signed set to the builder) I said I could do it but not without sitting down with him and going through issues. He booked then in the morning cancelled, didn't have time to see me( and just had to deliver contracts by 4PM) I wish him luck, he may need it more than he knows. Thanks building-expert, I've done some research before diving deeper with this particular builder. Its rating is relatively OK, and it is not a small one, has well known name. I already progressed quite a lot, i.e. pre-colour selection, pre-planning, colour selection, and just had the contract presentation and signing appointment. The contract price seems adequate compare to the other builders' tenders. Everything related to the colours went perfect, but I still struggle with these reports to be delivered and factored into the plan. As I just explained in my message above, my major concern is site costs. To me it is better to have it done beforehand rather then do a number of post contract variations, which also may result in a price increase. It also puts a doubt in my head that if they make such problem of such small thing at this stage of engagement, what to expect from them when we move to the actual build. Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 8May 21, 2015 5:11 pm "As I just explained in my message above, my major concern is site costs". - Spot on! "To me it is better to have it done beforehand rather then do a number of post contract variations, which also may result in a price increase".- Yes, but not for the builder, that's why he is not doing it and keeping the door open on costs. "It also puts a doubt in my head that if they make such problem of such small thing at this stage of engagement, what to expect from them when we move to the actual build".- Yes spot on! Recently one of my clients who was in exactly the same situation walked away, he lost trust in the way he was treated. You have both invested time into this. Who is going to blink first? 1 get good professional advice 2 think it through 3 Follow you gut 4 DON'T BE RUSHED 5 Make a business decision Building contracts are not like wine, they seldom get better with time, but can turn into vinegar very quickly. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 9May 24, 2015 11:03 pm I walked away from a builder at the contract stage, they kept on putting on the pressure about 14 days and costs, plus we can price things later at prestart etc etc.. It just didn't feel right and if I signed and it turned out alright then bonus, but if I signed and it went pear shaped then I would of been kicking myself for not walking away, so I found another builded where the service has been good all the way and all costings have been provided and all requests have been answered. Basically a builder that has been treating me as a customer and not a signature to get on a contract. Now I haven't started building yet, but if it does go pear shaped there weren't warning bells that I ignored, I hope that makes sense. Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 10May 25, 2015 10:05 am Decka I walked away from a builder at the contract stage, they kept on putting on the pressure about 14 days and costs, plus we can price things later at prestart etc etc.. It just didn't feel right and if I signed and it turned out alright then bonus, but if I signed and it went pear shaped then I would of been kicking myself for not walking away, so I found another builded where the service has been good all the way and all costings have been provided and all requests have been answered. Basically a builder that has been treating me as a customer and not a signature to get on a contract. Now I haven't started building yet, but if it does go pear shaped there weren't warning bells that I ignored, I hope that makes sense. Well done! Three things you need to follow up. 1 make sure builder knows you are on the ball and that you have expert support to assist you during the build. 2 monitor your build and act early if required 3 Invest in at least 4 stage inspections: pre slab, frame, pre plaster and pre final I have been assisting my clients with building stage inspections for over a decade now and have been able to get from a-z with minimum of dramas and where we had significant issues crop up they have been managed. Good luck with your build Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 11Jun 03, 2015 11:12 pm Thanks for the tips, we made sure we could have an independent inspector for the stages and of course it wasn't a problem with them. Re: Building contract: to sign or not to sign 12Jul 13, 2015 9:49 am The contour lines should be shown on the site plan and they are important in that sense, of course. You use them to show location, extent, and depth of excavation. From that comes Finished Floor Levels, Wall heights, and Overall height. if you dont have the site data, you cannot show this and no-one can see how things are "going to be". I don't understand why they haven't used your data. cheers anyway You talk about deletions, are they variations or PS and PC adjustments? pleas list them 1 12041 1) I had requested R6 ceiling insualtion batts, however I noticed that on some areas there are huge gaps which will allow hot air to sweep in, and also noticed black/grey… 0 923 1 1346 |