CONTRACTS!!! Scary things, boring things, but necessary things!
How many of us really do look at the fine print?Mikiah Homes use contracts prepared by the Queensland Master Builders legal team. After perusing the various contracts put together by building industries bodies, we feel this is the fairest contract for both the client and the builder. At the time of signing, we sit down with the client/s and read through each individual part of the contract. It's required by law that we do this, and though time consuming, it still sorts out things that may have been inadvertently missed. So. how many of you really pay attention when going through your contract with your builder? It can be a long slog and a lot of information that maybe you glaze over. But here's one that you really should pay attention to. It's a clause that probably wont effect you, and one that we haven't come across in our 10 years of building... UNTIL our own home!
Latent Condition
definition : as per Qld Master Builders Residential Building Contract*
"Latent Condition - means any physical condition on or around the Land, including surface and subsurface conditions, which differ materially from the physical conditions reasonably expected by the Contractor at the time the Contract was entered into;"
In lay men's terms** that means a latent condition is something that is found above or below the land surface that despite the normal tests carried out prior to the start of the construction ie soil test survey etc, something has been found that has caused a problem with the works. That problem can mean a time delay, a financial cost or both.
So how did we come to a latent condition on our own block? It was the driveway and phone and power trench that was our undoing. In the process of getting the driveway levelled and putting the trench in to run power and phone cable from the street to the proposed dwellings, we hit a shelf of rock. BUGGER. So everything came to a stop till we could arrange for heavier machinery (time delay) to come out and spend the day digging the trench (unexpected financial cost)
Now as I said, this is the first time in ten years of building that, had this been a contract with a client, we would have had to implement the clause.
What can you as the client do to prepare for this? Make sure you have a read and understood the contract as to what the extra charge rate would be in this situation. Always budget for more money than the cost of the contract.
So what was your unexpected surpise when building??
 |
| uh oh.... this isn't good. |
Mikiah Homes ..... Building dreams in Hervey Bay since 2004
QBCC 78836
* sourced Queensland Master Builder wedsite - www.masterbuildersasn.com.au
Residential Building Contract - general conditions. Clause 14
Residential Building Contract - general conditions. Clause 14
** The writer is not trained in legal matters and the interpretation given is a guide only and should only be taken as such. Professional legal advice should always be sought before entering contracts
