Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Initial Deposit Dispute 23Sep 10, 2021 7:31 pm 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: Initial Deposit Dispute 25Sep 11, 2021 10:20 am 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: Initial Deposit Dispute 34Sep 16, 2021 8:53 am I think the builder offering you half your deposit back is reasonable. The builder is entitled to recover any costs they have spent to date on your build out of the deposit. Even though you didn't sign any documentation the fact that you committed and paid a deposit is reflects IMHO that you agreed to what had been discussed even if it was verbally but you transacted on that verbal agreement by paying money. Like Building Expert stated above you can go to VCAT or engage a solicitor but your likely to spend way more than the $1000. I'm of the view if you don't want to continue with this builder take the $1000 hit. Learn your lesson and move on. Re: Initial Deposit Dispute 35Sep 20, 2021 10:12 am Ozshaz sparshrohatgi Ozshaz How do I sign the contract without a loan approval from bank ? I need to have unconditional approval from bank to be sure of the finances before I pay 5% deposit to sign the contract.. right ? And for getting the bank approval I need to have a complete drawing which wasn’t yet ready by the builder ! For getting a pre approval from bank you don’t need a signed contract. In fact they will tell you the borrowing limit and then you decide how much you can spend on build. Signed contracts are required for final approval of loan. Your bank or mortgage broker should have mentioned this. Did they ? Also when you paid the deposit what terms and conditions did you sign ? When I paid the deposit it was based on a verbal agreement with the builder about the inclusions list and the initial contract price . I didn’t sign any documents as everything was done online over phone in this lockdown. I expected that the base price would freeze once I have paid the deposit and then when the pre approval from bank comes in I would have signed the HIA contract with 5% payment. I knew that the contract price could rise when I do any upgrade or due to additional site cost, but wasn’t expecting the base price to rise all of a sudden. So just to clarify, you just paid the builder $2K on a verbal agreement without signing any documents or without getting any receipts form them stating what is for and what is included ? Do you know if your builder is following HIA or MBA guidelines ? When we signed for our initial deposit we signed a lot of documents including the quote, inclusions, shopping list etc and also there was a disclaimer that the quote is valid for only 14days and needs to be signed to hold the pricing. We did this online and they emailed back with signed documents. Did you sign anything ?[/quote] Can you guide me as what documents did you sign and check before transferring the initial deposit ? Something I will keep in mind for the next time I engage with a builder. Re: Initial Deposit Dispute 36Sep 20, 2021 5:51 pm icat2000 I think the builder offering you half your deposit back is reasonable. The builder is entitled to recover any costs they have spent to date on your build out of the deposit. Even though you didn't sign any documentation the fact that you committed and paid a deposit is reflects IMHO that you agreed to what had been discussed even if it was verbally but you transacted on that verbal agreement by paying money. Like Building Expert stated above you can go to VCAT or engage a solicitor but your likely to spend way more than the $1000. I'm of the view if you don't want to continue with this builder take the $1000 hit. Learn your lesson and move on. Building journey can be very emotional at times. From what i have learnt so far nothing goes according to plan. Better take the $1000 and negotiate the discounts in build package. If the builders don't increase their prices, some will go bankrupt before build completion and which case everybody looses bigly!. Re: Initial Deposit Dispute 37Sep 28, 2021 1:06 pm sparshrohatgi Hi Guys, Need some advice about a scenario I am facing. I had paid a builder initial deposit (says non refundable) of 2000$ based on there initial quote and inclusions list we discussed verbally. They then gave me an HIA contract with the same contract price as discussed and even a draft drawing. However within 2 weeks before I could sign and send the HIA contract they came back saying that they would not be able to build at the same price and are now asking for 15000$ extra for the same inclusions. This new contract price is above my budget and hence I have asked for my deposit back as it was paid on a verbal agreement of initial contract price. The builder is not willing to give me a full refund. What can I do in this situation ? No contract is signed yet. Hi sparshrohatgi It is possible that the Builder is breaching or repudiating the original agreement. If there is no Contract because the Owner did not “accept” the HIA contract, then it seems logical you would be entitled to recover your deposit. A deposit is not payment for works performed but rather as intended, a deposit. Much will depend on the facts of your case. You might speak with the Office of Fair Trading for advice. You might escalate this to the NCAT if the Builder is not willing to refund the payment. It will likely cost more than $2k to get legal representation so you might spend the time to study the Contract and get assistance from Fair Trading and the Tribunal. Cheers, John Get sound legal advice. We manage Building Disputes, Construction Contracts, Security of Payment. PM for queries. https://www.contractsspecialist.com.au/articles/ yes it does, you've just not understood it. theres a difference. 4 5322 In NSW the maximum deposit for building work is 5% until the builder provides HBCF insurance 1 4821 |