Browse Forums Home Finance 1 Sep 16, 2013 7:55 pm Just went to sign the final building contract... They have tried to increase the house price by $10,000 from signing the preliminary works contract (deposits are on both the land and house). We didnt sign and have taken it home to think about... Our contract states "the prices nominated within this contract are fixed for a period of 180 days". Is this allowed?! Re: Different house price in final building contract 2Sep 16, 2013 9:23 pm Have they explained the reaso for the increase? Our contract pice went up by about $10,000 after we signed the PPA as when they did the site survey it was identified we would need retaining which also meant additional safety requirements.... But the cost of the house itself didn't change.... Re: Different house price in final building contract 3Sep 16, 2013 9:51 pm They just said they underestimated how much the build would cost! They justified that they could make the total price only about $7,000 more by halving the cost of the site works?! Re: Different house price in final building contract 4Sep 16, 2013 9:53 pm Sounds strange.... Though the house price shouldn't have increased the only unknown should have been site works and associated costs Re: Different house price in final building contract 5Sep 16, 2013 10:01 pm Haha it does sound strange doesn't it... When that is the thing they are willing to compromise on... Fingers crossed we have a good case to fight on tomorrow. We have so many emails verifying what the total house cost was - BECAUSE I was so scared of the price going up! Re: Different house price in final building contract 6Sep 16, 2013 10:15 pm Sounds like a dirty tactic. Get you emotionally hooked and then squeeze you for an extra ten. I'd be screaming. Re: Different house price in final building contract 8Sep 17, 2013 8:01 am Casellmai Yeah I sure will be tomorrow... I found an email confirming that "the preliminary works contract is a fixed price contract so the price won't change". That's terrible, sorry to hear that. It does happen occasionally that builders do things like this, however most builders are excellent. Normally builders squeeze people with any changes to the specifications during construction. So if you do go with this builder then be careful to make sure that they don't do this to you as well. Re: Different house price in final building contract 9Sep 17, 2013 11:03 am Thanks jb_money. I probably will go with the builder still if we can get the price back to the original ... we have been so involved in this, we have even made pre-start selections at the tile and carpet companies etc. It just seems really wrong! I will keep an eye out about any variations on spec's - thank you for that tip. I will let you know how we go when we speak to them! Re: Different house price in final building contract 10Oct 02, 2013 10:57 am Casellmai Thanks jb_money. I probably will go with the builder still if we can get the price back to the original ... we have been so involved in this, we have even made pre-start selections at the tile and carpet companies etc. It just seems really wrong! I will keep an eye out about any variations on spec's - thank you for that tip. I will let you know how we go when we speak to them! Hi Casellmai, just checking to see how your discussion with the builder went, and what reason they gave for the 10K increase? --- Re: Different house price in final building contract 11Oct 02, 2013 11:03 am MyH1Login Casellmai Thanks jb_money. I probably will go with the builder still if we can get the price back to the original ... we have been so involved in this, we have even made pre-start selections at the tile and carpet companies etc. It just seems really wrong! I will keep an eye out about any variations on spec's - thank you for that tip. I will let you know how we go when we speak to them! Hi Casellmai, just checking to see how your discussion with the builder went, and what reason they gave for the 10K increase? Hi! There is a loophole in the HIA building contract where builders can actually increase the house price even after signing the final building contract (it's just that most building companies don't do this). And yeah, they were pretty much saying either way it was going to increase... We ended up signing the final building contract with a bit of a fight, got some things reduced so the total increase was about ~$6,500. We also wrote in clauses in our contract where the price can't increase etc... Not the best outcome but certainly not the worst either Re: Different house price in final building contract 13Oct 02, 2013 11:17 am MyH1Login What? How would one avoid such a loophole?... Doesn't seem fair! write that the price won't increase in the preliminary contract, maybe?! Most building companies probably wouldn't increase the price on someone... but legally they can. Re: Different house price in final building contract 14Oct 02, 2013 11:24 am Well I'm glad you were able to lower the 10K down! On my estimate it says the price is valid for a site start prior to next year. I hope this means if site begins before that mentioned date, then base price won't change. Thanks for sharing --- Hi All, This is our second home build and first time with a custom builder. They are small builder and have built some houses with good quality. They tender and color… 0 309 Thank you so much everyone. This all makes a lot of sense. I guess when you talk to a builder who butters up everything to look very polished, you get to start believing… 7 17602 So AFAIk the outcomes of the BAL ratings form part of a clause that allows them to pass these costs on to you. However the more relevant detail is how did it go from 19… 1 9164 |