Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Aug 09, 2008 12:11 pm PD want to charge us a price increase due to our site start being delayed from July 08. Has anyone else had these charges and if so, have you had success in getting them reversed?
We have a capped increase allowance in our contract which I understood to mean it covered us for ALL price increases. Apparently not, explained our PD contact when I asked for an explanation of the cost increase. I'm thinking of using the following reasons to argue with PD why they can't charge us the price increase. Do they sound reasonable? - initial $600 deposit locked in the price - we have a fixed price contract - we have a house and land package and therefore it's the land developer/builder's responsibility to provide accurate site start dates and therefore responsible for any additional costs due to their own incorrect information (i think we have a house and land package because when we chose the house and picked an estate PD showed us which lots we could choose from the stage release available) - there is nothing in the contract to say we need to pay extra if site start is delayed I'm feeling quite angry about this but want to deal with it reasonably so we can have a good outcome. I really appreciate any advice or experience you'd like to share if you've been in a similar situation. Oh, and this hasn't even taken into account the $250pw we'll be charged for the delayed site start (as per the HIA contract). Does PD really charge this? Winnie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Built PD Regent 23 in Brimbank Gardens Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 2Aug 09, 2008 1:28 pm Yes, we were charged extra b/c we didn't start in December. Different situation to you , though,as we were waiting on council approval. We were ready to go mid-Jan (moved out & demolished) then PD held US up until MID MARCH , which REALLY annoyed us, as we'd had to pay extra, and we'd been paying rent for 2 months while they stuffed around and gave us several site start dates before they got their act together!!! Did they then pay us for THEIR delay? NO!!!
We weren't charged an extra $250p/w , though - I was unaware of that! I think the fact that it's a house and land package should mean that you are not liable for any costs such as "delayed start" - but who knows if that will wash!?! Good luck! Solidarity, not solidity.......The Lexicon of Life Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 3Aug 09, 2008 2:33 pm Hi Winniey, can't comment re the price increase as we are in a different state with a different builder but I don't think you need to worry about the $250/week for the delayed site start. I think you may have misread that part of the contract.
The $250/week is given to you as liquidated damages if the builder fails to complete the building within a specified number of days (allowing for weather delays, etc) from the start date. Not exactly a windfall but better than a kick up the b*m I suppose 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.' - Winston Churchill Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 4Aug 09, 2008 2:54 pm enigma_brennan Hi Winniey, can't comment re the price increase as we are in a different state with a different builder but I don't think you need to worry about the $250/week for the delayed site start. I think you may have misread that part of the contract. The $250/week is given to you as liquidated damages if the builder fails to complete the building within a specified number of days (allowing for weather delays, etc) from the start date. Not exactly a windfall but better than a kick up the b*m I suppose I'm in Vic and building with M. they use a standard HIA contract and the $250 works both ways. They pay $250 in liquidated damages if they go over time, BUT we also have to pay them $250 a week in damages if we hold up their construction. Jo I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 5Aug 09, 2008 3:23 pm Wow, sorry about that didn't mean to mislead. So they can charge you $250/week AND increase their price - this is double-dipping taken to the extreme - how can they justify both?
As customers we can justify the $250/week liquidated damages for delayed completion as many of us are in rentals and paying off interest only loans while awaiting the completion of our homes. What what are the holding costs for the builders? None that I can think of other than the increased costs of materials which they have already recovered through the increased contract price. Doesn't sound fair, I fully inderstand your anger Winniey 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.' - Winston Churchill Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 6Aug 09, 2008 9:02 pm Thanks guys. I feel a bit better after reading your outraged responses!
petal - how unfair of PD to charge you for the delay caused by them! Really, why enter into a contract earlier than necessary if we then have to pay the increased price by the time building is ready to start?? Everything seems to be in the builder's advantage. So, has anyone NOT had to pay extra because of the increased base price? Winnie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Built PD Regent 23 in Brimbank Gardens Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 7Aug 09, 2008 9:41 pm winniey PD want to charge us a price increase due to our site start being delayed from July 08. Has anyone else had these charges and if so, have you had success in getting them reversed? We have a capped increase allowance in our contract which I understood to mean it covered us for ALL price increases. Apparently not, explained our PD contact when I asked for an explanation of the cost increase. I'm thinking of using the following reasons to argue with PD why they can't charge us the price increase. Do they sound reasonable? - initial $600 deposit locked in the price - we have a fixed price contract - we have a house and land package and therefore it's the land developer/builder's responsibility to provide accurate site start dates and therefore responsible for any additional costs due to their own incorrect information (i think we have a house and land package because when we chose the house and picked an estate PD showed us which lots we could choose from the stage release available) - there is nothing in the contract to say we need to pay extra if site start is delayed I'm feeling quite angry about this but want to deal with it reasonably so we can have a good outcome. I really appreciate any advice or experience you'd like to share if you've been in a similar situation. Oh, and this hasn't even taken into account the $250pw we'll be charged for the delayed site start (as per the HIA contract). Does PD really charge this? I'm a little confused, sorry, why was the start date put back? was it their fault or yours? Sorry I can fell your pain, I just cant get my head around this one. Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 8Aug 09, 2008 10:51 pm hi mikkyG, the start date for building has been pushed back because the land settlement has been delayed. so it's really neither PD's nor my fault. Winnie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Built PD Regent 23 in Brimbank Gardens Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 9Aug 10, 2008 10:23 am winniey hi mikkyG, the start date for building has been pushed back because the land settlement has been delayed. so it's really neither PD's nor my fault. Right, sorry I must have been out of it, reading back now it seems pretty clear what you were saying. I'd be miffed at that also especially since they land and house were packaged so to speak. Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 10Aug 10, 2008 10:56 am So did you have a price cap allowance for delays. For example PD have told us that if our land doesnt settle in May 09 as proposed and building is delayed we are up $2500 for a Jun Jul or Aug start and that was the only additional amount we had to pay. Is that what they are charging you? Or are you being charged something in addition to that? Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 11Aug 10, 2008 11:50 am penny73 So did you have a price cap allowance for delays. For example PD have told us that if our land doesnt settle in May 09 as proposed and building is delayed we are up $2500 for a Jun Jul or Aug start and that was the only additional amount we had to pay. Is that what they are charging you? Or are you being charged something in addition to that? As per the contract, we have a price cap allowance of $2k for a July site start. There was nothing about extra charges for delays. They now want to charge an extra $4k for: - August price increase of $4k, but we pay only $2k because of the cap - September price increase of $2k - No increase in October The latest advice from the developer is that the land will be ready by the end of August so I expect PD can then start in Sept or Oct. Winnie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Built PD Regent 23 in Brimbank Gardens Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 12Aug 10, 2008 12:34 pm winniey penny73 So did you have a price cap allowance for delays. For example PD have told us that if our land doesnt settle in May 09 as proposed and building is delayed we are up $2500 for a Jun Jul or Aug start and that was the only additional amount we had to pay. Is that what they are charging you? Or are you being charged something in addition to that? As per the contract, we have a price cap allowance of $2k for a July site start. There was nothing about extra charges for delays. They now want to charge an extra $4k for: - August price increase of $4k, but we pay only $2k because of the cap - September price increase of $2k - No increase in October The latest advice from the developer is that the land will be ready by the end of August so I expect PD can then start in Sept or Oct. I would have thought you should sign another price cap allowance for Jul/Aug/Sep like Penny ? We are in the same situation. Our land was supposed to title in Apr and PD start in Jun but due to land delayed to Aug (now possibly Sep), we have been charged $2k which cover us till end of Oct 08 Site start. Hopefully the land will not be delayed any more than that. Cheers Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 14Aug 10, 2008 6:56 pm JoBen PD actually reversed our charge of 3K. Cool....what happened ? Cheers Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 15Aug 10, 2008 7:00 pm enigma_brennan Wow, sorry about that didn't mean to mislead. So they can charge you $250/week AND increase their price - this is double-dipping taken to the extreme - how can they justify both? As customers we can justify the $250/week liquidated damages for delayed completion as many of us are in rentals and paying off interest only loans while awaiting the completion of our homes. What what are the holding costs for the builders? None that I can think of other than the increased costs of materials which they have already recovered through the increased contract price. Doesn't sound fair, I fully inderstand your anger Winniey Sorry to say this, but builders DO have holding costs. The holding costs for a project builder and a small custom builder varies greatly. In addition if you are holding up the build with getting people in or making variations pre handover, well thats going to affect the time and wages that need to be paid to others. I mean, my partner so some stupid reason has stated he has no problem with the client getting in people to do things pre handover however he does expect that if it is not done within the time frame as agreed he would be compensated for holding up the build. If it doesn't go both ways, then you will see an even greater decline of builders allowing the client to get stuff done on their own during the build. Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 16Aug 11, 2008 12:44 am Minx, Winniey was saying that she was up for $250/week for a delayed start (with a project builder) as well as the contract increase! If you would be happy to pay this good luck to you but I wouldn't be.
As for after the build has begun well thats a different story. 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.' - Winston Churchill Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 17Aug 11, 2008 9:31 am Hi There We are not in a house land package situtation but PD tried to charge us delays supposedly because of our independent inspectors report being delayed getting to them. Problem is for PD the main issue for them is the front feature wall which has been stuffed for seven months and at the time still hadn't been rectified so getting the report had no baring what so ever on work flow and they even stuffed up the date they were trying to start the delay charge from. Tried to charge from a week prior to the end of the contract days at the beginning of June.
Have you seeked legal advise on all of this. I know it is an extra expense but you need to keep them on their toes. They could be trying to pull a shifty on you just as they did on us. Good Luck !!!! Building with Porter Davis since October 2007 - what a nightmare!!! Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 18Aug 11, 2008 7:24 pm hysterical1144 JoBen PD actually reversed our charge of 3K. Cool....what happened ? Cheers JoBen, I'm also curious to know what happened. Winnie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Built PD Regent 23 in Brimbank Gardens Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 19Aug 11, 2008 7:36 pm Minx Sorry to say this, but builders DO have holding costs. The holding costs for a project builder and a small custom builder varies greatly. In addition if you are holding up the build with getting people in or making variations pre handover, well thats going to affect the time and wages that need to be paid to others. I mean, my partner so some stupid reason has stated he has no problem with the client getting in people to do things pre handover however he does expect that if it is not done within the time frame as agreed he would be compensated for holding up the build. If it doesn't go both ways, then you will see an even greater decline of builders allowing the client to get stuff done on their own during the build. Agreed, that neither party should have the best of both worlds. The $250pw penalty for delays I understand and I suppose kind of fair because it applies to both parties. However, charges because of the increased base price which they set themselves?? That sounds to me like builders protecting their profit margin - making money from doing nothing extra in return. Anyway, in our case, we haven't made any changes to our plans or colour selections since January when we finalised it all. Winnie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Built PD Regent 23 in Brimbank Gardens Re: PD additional charges due to land settlement delay 20Aug 11, 2008 7:44 pm bubaloo Have you seeked legal advise on all of this. I know it is an extra expense but you need to keep them on their toes. They could be trying to pull a shifty on you just as they did on us. Good Luck !!!! Haven't sought legal advice yet. Am trying to reason/negotiate with PD first to see if we can get a good outcome before I seek legal advice. Mainly because I don't want to incur the extra expense unless I absolutely have to. I suppose I've got a bit of time while waiting for land settlement... Winnie ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Built PD Regent 23 in Brimbank Gardens Unless there were unforeseeable issues with the site, I dont think you should have to pay for contractors errors or poor planning. I'd probably try and be reasonable and… 5 4513 Hi, My home construction is complete, and the handover is scheduled next week. However the construction has been delayed and I have raised this to the builder. The… 0 5320 1 7926 |