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mightyanvil

Owner-Contractor Contracts

mightyanvil
16 years ago

You will run into many different, and often contradictory, opinions about Owner-Contractor construction contracts; who should write them and the biases of the standardized forms from industry organizations.

Many of these opinions will be based on limited experience and familiarity with construction contract writing in general and standardized forms in particular, and will sometimes be based on the principle of "this is how we do it here".

For what it is worth, I don't recommend using contracts cobbled together by a general contractor even if a lawyer has reviewed it or even written it. I recommend that contracts be industry consensus-based, long-time court-tested, and widely used for best protection for all parties. You can modify these standard forms and have a lawyer review them, but you should try to avoid non-standard contract language and unnecessary negotiations.

The two best contract publishers are the AIA (American Institute of Architects) and the AGC (Associated General Contractors). It should be no surprise that the AIA forms are written from the perspective of architects and the AGC forms are written from the perspective of general contractors. Unfortunately, there are no consensus organizations or contract form publishers who represent owners so it is best to pick one of these forms and modify it as necessary.

The short versions of these forms are primarily intended for residential projects and should not be considered complicated nor should they be a cause of concern to either of the parties. They represent the minimum terms required to protect all parties to the contract. Special attention should be paid to the dispute resolution and contract termination clauses for possible modifications.

You can order the AIA Residential form #A105+A205 or the Limited Scope form #A107 at AIA

You can register and download a sample copy of the AGC short form #205 at AGC

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