Browse Forums Home Finance 1 May 28, 2009 9:53 am Hi all, I'm confused (again ) My lender has given me a checklist to work from regarding necessary paperwork required for final loan application. All good, however, where it mentions Builders Contract and deposits, in brackets the 'usual amount' is referred to as $1500. Seems reasonable to me. What I can't understand is the amounts my choosen (project) builder has asked for. $2000 first up - This is spend on soil report, contour report etc (really don't know what the etc is???) $2500 upon signing contract - guessing some of this goes towards council approval fees, conveyancing etc. Why so bloody much? Do all builders charge in this way? I don't like the idea of handing over $2k with nothing in writing yk? I thought project builders were amongst the cheaper end of the market, these figures just don't sound justified to me. Can anyone enlighten me please? TIA Re: Builders deposit? 2May 28, 2009 10:19 am Quote: I don't like the idea of handing over $2k with nothing in writing yk? I'm not sure about the norms for these things - we did a house / land package so most of these did not apply to us - but I would be getting it in writing !!! And itemised!!! Any costs in the itemised account that you do not understand what they are exactly for - ask them You dont want to assume, for example, that some of he money is for council approval fee, only to then get charged for this later Re: Builders deposit? 3May 28, 2009 10:22 am From memory we paid $2.5k when we decided to go ahead with our builder and have contracts drawn up. Then when we signed contracts and signed off on the plans etc we then had to pay $16k. But this was a private builder. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Builders deposit? 4May 28, 2009 1:07 pm My builder is happy with $1.00 that is 100 cents,at least that's what he said the first time. He's very popular and by sheer word of mouth he's doing the most houses in the new area. He's got an excellent record. I'm sure he'll charge fees for soil report,etc. But the signing amount is a dollar as far as i remember. Re: Builders deposit? 5May 28, 2009 1:48 pm i think builders charge deposit of minimum 5% of contract price. that's what is stated in the standard HIA contract... Re: Builders deposit? 6May 28, 2009 1:50 pm GreenNooby, it's hard doing this on your own. Why don't you choose a solicitor now so that they can do all the inquiries for you? Re: Builders deposit? 7May 28, 2009 2:06 pm Also you aren't just paying it with no receipt. The builder will give you a written receipt confirming that this deposit will then come off the end costing of your home. Of course should you pull out from the deal after paying it then you do stand to lose some if not all of the deposit. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Builders deposit? 8May 28, 2009 2:42 pm thlo GreenNooby, it's hard doing this on your own. Why don't you choose a solicitor now so that they can do all the inquiries for you? Honestly? Coz I really don't think I could afford it! Seriously though, read your reply and made a call. Then did more website studying and have started to think perhaps the cost of these sort of services can be paid for within the total loan? If so then I'd feel much better going into this whole thing with someone far more experienced to take care of lots of the details. Re: Builders deposit? 9May 28, 2009 6:59 pm GreenNooby Seriously though, read your reply and made a call. Then did more website studying and have started to think perhaps the cost of these sort of services can be paid for within the total loan? If so then I'd feel much better going into this whole thing with someone far more experienced to take care of lots of the details. Hi GreenNooby Yes, it is pretty confusing. The problem you will find is that some (like ours) builders do require a deposit - in our experience initial deposit was for 2% (approx 7k). After signing etc we were then required to pay another 3% (approx 11k). Everything was then drawn for Council requirements and submitted. Basically if we walked away at this stage we would have lost the entire deposit. The builder used our money to get us to this stage and would not have proceeded if we had not paid. This kind of sounds similar to what your builder is requesting I think. Keep in mind that whatever you pay is deducted from your total contract price - it is not money for nothing. Phew - it is hard...... JL Re: Builders deposit? 11May 28, 2009 7:43 pm I paid $1k and my contract is due to be ready tomorrow. This is with a large volume builder. They have done soil test and site survey. I'm also buying land from them, so that might make a difference. Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover In NSW the maximum deposit for building work is 5% until the builder provides HBCF insurance 1 4786 Look at your bill from the electricity company. It should detail the charges. You will need to do some estimating and some calculations. Then charge the… 8 4141 Site works are just about to start on our build with Blueprint in Midvale. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=106894 2 3898 |