We were a little unclear of what to expect at the first Eden Brae contract and tender presentation appointment. More so the assumption that the formal house build contract would be presented and discussed.
Charles Dimarco, greeted us with a firm handshake at the Eden Brae head office. Inviting us in, we could see our portfolio on his desk, already the size of two phone books.
Today was a day of further questions and a line-by-line walk through of the contract; all inclusions outlined, and each contract page that is. The line-by-line walk through of the contract was honestly draining, but a necessary evil. My attention span in meetings is usually half-hour let alone a contract review which lasted two hours.
Charles stepped us through the requirements for our local council and developer approval. We needed to request from our council for a copy of our Section 149 Planning Certificate (council certificate of how our land/property may be used and the restrictions on development). He was knowledgeable and detailed about the house build. He seemed very experienced and patient with our on-going questions.
Today, we had further modifications to the floor plans which needed to be raised as Post Contract Variations aka PCVs. For every adjustment, addition, deduction made to the existing contract, a new PCV was raised. A PCV would be considered for a modification in window size, a door width, a room size and the request would be put through our Client Service Administrator via the estimator in terms of revision and if there was a cost adjustment.
Over the next few days, we waited for the revised costings and also reviewed the contract in finer detail. At this point, if you have your solicitor on-hand, you can have the contract reviewed before formal acceptance.
If you’re then happy with the fixed contract price, a deposit of AU$2,500 is required and deemed acceptance of the tender in preparation of the contract drawings and final documentation.
We’re really doing this, still cannot believe it.
