Timeline:
1. We purchased a block of land with our builder and agreed to build a double storey house.
2. We paid a fee for the builder to commence site tests, a tender and the house design/floor plan.
3. Once the plans were finalised, we agreed on the terms of the build contract.
4. The builder submitted a variation once the engineering plans were received for additional piering due to a P soil class.
Question:
Under our HIA contract (NSW version) we are not liable for any additional site costs if the builder had known about the site conditions prior to the execution of the contract and provided the site conditions have not changed. Now I believe my builder knew about my site conditions before we signed the build contract. One, he helped us purchase the block of land and knew the land was previously a creek. Two, the soil test we paid for in our fee would of given him a soil classification which he could of discussed or raised with us before we signed the contract. Do you think I am in a position to not pay the additional costs? Had the builder told us before hand we could of adjusted our contract price to include the cost. I feel like our builder roped us in on a low cost and is now looking to do a cash grab on us. How can I resolve this? Should I go to fair trading?