Undercover Architect

Helping homeowners get it right when designing, building or renovating their family home.

The Time Risk When Signing Your Building Contract

Signing your building contract is a big milestone in your renovation or new build.

Are you setting yourself up for success, or exposing yourself to big time risks, and possible cost and time blowouts.

Understand what you need to know when getting ready to sign your building contract so you can manage this common project risk.

Listen to the episode now.

Hello! This is Episode 306, and in it, I’m going to be talking about a significant and influential project risk when it comes to finalising things with your chosen builder and moving into construction.

This project risk I’ll be talking about is based on one of my five factors that impact every step and every decision in your project journey. Check out Episode 305 to learn more about what these 5 factors are.

In this episode, I’ll be sharing a major TIME RISK that can have a significant impact, and sometimes be truly devastating when building or renovating.

Because if you don’t handle this well, you can be legally bound to a working relationship with your builder that can be financially challenging to navigate and super stressful, be the cause of budget and time blowouts, and be difficult and expensive to terminate.

Now, let’s dive in!

This TIME RISK is this:

Not allowing sufficient time to properly review and understand the building contract you’re signing with your chosen builder for the construction of your new build or renovation.

When you don’t manage this risk, and don’t get help with reviewing and understanding the building contract before you sign it and commit to what it obligates you to do, a few things can happen:

  • You’re naively and blindly signing a legal agreement that is binding you in a working relationship that can last months and years depending on the conditions of the contract
  • You’re not aware of what you’re agreeing to and if the contract conditions are fair or reasonable
  • You’re not understanding what the contract requires of you, and obligates you to fulfil
  • You also don’t understand the contractual processes you can expect your project to follow, or what to hold your builder to account to
  • You can be setting yourself up for a huge amount of additional costs, longer timeframes than expected, and big challenges during your build
  • You can have very little scope to protect yourself or seek damages if things do go pear-shaped
  • You can run into issues with any finance arrangements you have not being fulfilled appropriately, and causing issues with your project’s progress
  • You can expose yourself to huge cash outlays unnecessarily due to the structure of the progress draws
  • If things are delayed, you can be out of pocket in managing your living expenses, whilst still dealing with an unfinished project
  • You can be in breach of contract without even realising it
  • It’s only once something has gone wrong on your project that you look at your contract, and then (and only then) do you understand how off-track things have been, or what strife you’re actually in. You only have to see the suggestions of “Don’t pay the builder that last payment” in the free Facebook groups to see how easy it is for people to take actions that will put them in breach of their contract as clients.
  • Plus so much more can go wrong.

And the evidence of this risk will usually be:

  • You’ve not spent a lot of time with your builder prior to commencing construction
  • You’ve not seen a draft copy of the contract prior to your finalised version being sent to you
  • You’ve not sought legal advice about the contract
  • You’re racing to get things finalised so you can proceed with construction
  • Things feel stressed and hectic
  • The builder is potentially pressuring you to hurry up and sign so you can keep your spot in their pipeline
  • Signing a contract is being handled quite casually overall

So, before we explain the reasons I see homeowners expose themselves to this risk, let me mention this:

Your timeline in your project needs to allow sufficient time and support to read, review and understand your building contract, before you sign it.

This includes seeing a draft copy of it prior to signing your finalised version.

This includes the builder walking you through it to explain what is relevant for your project.

This includes you seeking legal advice on it and what it contains.

This includes you being willing to NOT sign it if it’s too onerous, doesn’t make sense, or you feel you’re being rushed and pushed.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE NOW.

RESOURCES:

Access the special offer for podcast listeners to PROJECT 101 by heading to www.undercoverarchitect.com/project

Here’s some resources to review …

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program, HOME METHOD >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/

Learn more about how to interview and select the right builder with the Choose Your Builder mini-course >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/choose-your-builder 

Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan

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