Contracts.. Who did you have review and anything you would add...

9 years ago

So this is a two part question..

1) For your contract with your builder/general contractor.. Who, if anyone, did you have review the contract prior to signing?

2) What would you have specifically added to the contract?

We just got our contract and it looks straight forward.. The contract states a specific price and refers to a separate document for specific allowances and/or work to be done and just says it is all to be done in accordance with codes and laws.. It also states things that are not included in the price like landscaping, permits, engineering fees,etc.. Gives a payment schedule, however builder said they give this as banks require it but they will do it according to the banks payouts.. The only area I see where it talks about more money is if there are items encountered that are concealed or uknown.. For example hitting rock when digging..

The only responsibilities on my end (as per the contract) are to have property insurance for value of the project..

I am trying to see if there is anything specific I should have added in to the contract.. It looks pretty straight forward.. I am going to have a lawyer review it that deals with these types of things, but just wanted to see if there was any advice from those who have gone through this..

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Comments (5)

millworkman
9 years ago
Have it reviewed by your attorney.
njbuilding143
Original Author
9 years ago
Yes.. I will have it reviewed.. Just wondering if those who had it reviewed went to lawyers who specialize in construction/ real estate or your general lawyer will do the same..
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crhbobby1
9 years ago
I have considered having our contract reviewed...but I am not sure how receptive the builder would be to a change in the contract.

I am in a bit of a catch 22. I have signed a design agreement( doing design build)...which I paid 2500 down. The design contract doesn't allow me to take the design elsewhere. After design...I can walk away...but I cannot walk away with the plans. This definitely puts the builder in the better position. If I want to alter the construction contract...he may just say tough luck knowing I would have wasted 2500 and 4 to 5 months of planning.

In hindsight...I would be more hesitant to do a design build contract like I have done.
njbuilding143
Original Author
9 years ago
CRHBobby - We were originally going to go that route but I wanted the flexibility to have the drawings bid out.. We ended up paying about 1000 more then you did but the plans are ours.. Your builder should be receptive to minor changes in the contract, as long as they are reasonable. The way I look at the contract is that you can't have it all, nor should the builder.. The contract should create a level playing field....

On a side note.. If you have the layout you can just take it to another architect and you could have it done in about 2-3 weeks.. When we went to do our house drawings we had about 3 or 4 plans that had layouts and features we liked.. The architect then took these and came up with a custom layout..Having those drawings saved us a lot of time.. Some people go in blind and have no idea what they want.. But if you already have the layout the architect will be able to get the drawings faster and should do it pretty cheap since he doesn't have to draw it from scratch.. You paid 2500 for drawings.. They should be yours..
mom2samlibby
9 years ago
I would have wanted a start date and end date in mine, along with a penalty for not completing within that time frame.