Browse Forums Building A New House Re: At contract stage, need help 8Apr 26, 2017 9:46 pm Don't trust them, they do this so you can't change the builder friendly HIA contract, your solicitor would make your contract back to favour you, HIA contract is better for the builder, the standard line is salesman talk, hold your ground and I would walk away with the contract and do what you want, if they refuse, tell them to, ggf. Re: At contract stage, need help 9Apr 27, 2017 4:23 pm Thanks for the replies. I contacted their head office this morning and explained my concerns. They explained that they don't give out the complete contract as people use this to misrepresent themselves to their financial lenders, which I wasn't buying. My brother is my financial lender and he said it's the first time he's seen this happen. They have assured me in writing that the contract I will sign on the day is identical to the one I have been emailed, minus the personal details and financial figures. They have sent me this in an email. I contacted my solicitor today about the situation, gave them the generic contract to review and they got back to me saying that they can't do anything with that as it's just a generic contract, and they need the full contract to review including tender, plans, specs, engineering and soil report. I now have to go back to the builder and tell them I will not sign until I get all this. This is incredibly stressful. It's my first home, I was incredibly excited to start building and began this process 4 months ago. I would hate to have to start again from scratch, but I will if I have to. Re: At contract stage, need help 10Apr 27, 2017 8:00 pm Is the contract just for land or both with build? Our developer gave us standard land contract without any details filled in to review before we signed the contract. Then our builder emailed us draft build contract with all the specs to review before signing. Hope that makes sense. Re: At contract stage, need help 11Apr 27, 2017 8:06 pm We get our contracts to take away but we had to pay our deposit pre them been drawn up for them to asses the block and draw the house plans Re: At contract stage, need help 12Apr 27, 2017 8:13 pm Zee05 Is the contract just for land or both with build? Our developer gave us standard land contract without any details filled in to review before we signed the contract. Then our builder emailed us draft build contract with all the specs to review before signing. Hope that makes sense. Just build. I've had the land for over a year. Needamoneytree We get our contracts to take away but we had to pay our deposit pre them been drawn up for them to asses the block and draw the house plans I paid an initial deposit of 2k when I first made the decision to build. This locks in the price at the time and is generally used to cover the cost of admin fees (drawing up your plans etc...). I would assume this is what you're referring to also. What the builder is now asking for is 5% of the total house build to be paid the day I sign the contract in order to take the contract away. I just want my solicitor to review it, but I am not being given that option. Re: At contract stage, need help 13Apr 27, 2017 8:17 pm Nuri Zee05 Is the contract just for land or both with build? Our developer gave us standard land contract without any details filled in to review before we signed the contract. Then our builder emailed us draft build contract with all the specs to review before signing. Hope that makes sense. Just build. I've had the land for over a year. Needamoneytree We get our contracts to take away but we had to pay our deposit pre them been drawn up for them to asses the block and draw the house plans I paid an initial deposit of 2k when I first made the decision to build. This locks in the price at the time and is generally used to cover the cost of admin fees (drawing up your plans etc...). I would assume this is what you're referring to also. What the builder is now asking for is 5% of the total house build to be paid the day I sign the contract in order to take the contract away. I just want my solicitor to review it, but I am not being given that option. Hrmm we must get ours sorry I'm no help because the builder we have had always been open about having a solicitor read the contract and even tells us "if you plan to have a solicitor read the contract that's fine". You do always have the right to change your mind if anything comes up the the solicitor but you would have to fight for your money back through fair trading which can be a nightmare Re: At contract stage, need help 16Apr 28, 2017 7:04 am Nuri, you mention that your private inspector does pre contract review, he then would be the best to advise you. In signing a building contract there is no room for trust, its about checking and verifying. A builder must give you a full set to take home and read at your leisure, if not walk. How will you understand the implications of special conditions? I often find that builder's risk is shoved on owners. There is a lot to look at and know not only the contract but also the plans, specifications,levels, provisional sums and exclusions. A lawyer specialising in building contracts is a good choice but a review from a building consultant with extensive experience in contract administration is also good because not only will they know problem hot spots but will also be able to forewarn you about the steps ahead. A good review may lead to renegotiation of some terms, may pick up errors in documents or drawings and should always be educational and give you confidence. 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: At contract stage, need help 17Apr 28, 2017 2:20 pm All good, I have spoken to my inspector and have forwarded their email onto my builder requesting the full contract to review otherwise I can't sign. The builder has now agreed to send me the full contract once the design has been approved. Happy days You talk about deletions, are they variations or PS and PC adjustments? pleas list them 1 16903 Not unless you have managed to put it as a special condition into the contract somehow. 1 6424 The fastest thing a builder will do is bank your cheque, those systems work perfectly with lightning speed, everything else is slow burn. Just the way it is. 1 9017 |