Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Nov 04, 2009 7:22 pm Hi, I have just built for the fourth time. The builder is a friend of ours and I use to work for him in the past. We are about to have our final inspection tomorrow and I know we are not meant to move in until final payment has been made BUT (without going into all details) I want to know what (if anything) can happen to us if we do move in with the C of O then pay the builder a.s.a.p? We are desperately needing to move from where we currently live and the builder has been dawdling over last month. We are not going to claim there are any defects and will pay the final payment as soon as bank does it, so how could it hurt to move in once we have the C of O? There are currently only flyscreens and roller doors to be put in by builder and we will pay him no problems. Don't think he'd withhold last items as he would want his final payment. Cannot find any info other than it would be a breach of contract and "owner is liable to the builder for any loss or damage resulting from taking possession" which there wouldn't be any that I can see, so don't think could be anything builder could do unless we didn't pay him. I know other people have moved in prior to final payment and as far as I know nothing happened to them. If you know if we would get away with this then I'd love to hear from you. Trying to mainly know the facts of what can happen by law to us and not if it is wrong or right. We realize we aren't really meant to move in. Thanks.
Re: Taking posssession before final payment to builder.. 3Nov 04, 2009 7:39 pm Sounds like a whole lot of potential trouble for the sake of a relatively short amount of time..... I wouldn't do it. And if you do it and p1ss your builder off... what's going to happen if something goes wrong in a few months and you need him to address it and he tells you to shove it? It just doesn't seem worth it. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Taking posssession before final payment to builder.. 4Nov 04, 2009 7:44 pm Agree...its not worth it. Work it out properly with your builder...work towards a solution in a friendly and professional manner. Re: Taking posssession before final payment to builder.. 5Nov 16, 2009 7:40 am Just to let you all know I appreciated your opinions but based on our particular circumstances and the fact that the builder was a long term friend who we believed should allow us to move in with the C of O before final payment, we moved in over a week ago and it has all worked out. The builder is still getting our flyscreens and the garage roller doors went in while we were living here. There are no defects that need fixing and the bank is about to pay the final payment. This is the 4th house we've built so from our previous experiences I thought we'd be o.k and it has all worked out for us and the builder. We are very happy with the house and plan on getting the builder a thank you gift as soon as the flyscreens go in! regardless, your contract stipulates a payments schedule and SOPA doesn't give provision to that scenario. Your contractual terms appear to stand. Hence get a lawyer, it… 4 11959 Thanks. I called VBA today and they said it was a Consumer Affairs issue, the old handball. Seems like the government organisations don't want to do their job at the moment. 2 7614 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 8822 |