Hi Arinta,
I've lost 15k too, and decided not to proceed because they require you to sign the contract before council approves the plans.

The payment schedule which Champion homes is asking 25%, 25%, 25%, 22.5% and 2.5% . My broker told CH in cooling off period that No bank is accepting this plan.…

Statutory Requirements and Provisional Allowance costs are not included in CH contract price. I have quotes from Beechwood, Eden Brae, Mojo Homes, and Wisdom Homes, and their contact price includes…

Hi ,
You are lucky not signing the contact, else CH can sue you for 15% percentage of the contract price. Could you please advise how much did you loose on…

Your cost is the base price with promotion discount (if any) and upgraded appliances, flooring, tiling etc.,
Most builders include the following but not CH.
Not included:
Statutory Costs: e.g. Preliminary site cost…

You are absolutely correct. All the standard project 3 bedroom houses are so similar in design. How can you vary the design with a limited 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, open…

Your feedback is noted. Thank you.
As you have read in this post, one have to be very careful in amending copyright plans building plans. Even 10% amendment, the builder can…

Thank you l_vanslyk for your feedback on copyright

I have the final architecture building plan from a builder I'm walking away from. They owned the copyright. I want to use their building plan by changing a percentage which…

Hi Clare, it frightens me to read your complex misfortune dealing with these people in SA. I don't believe it has happened in NSW (correct me if I'm wrong). Well.…

I'm in NSW Sydney. It's a huge builder but some where in the tender, (which I have signed) it mentioned I cannot expose their name.

It's a nightmare and I don't know how you pull through this. What I gather is some corruption happening between the applicant and the council. You should have gone to…

Latest update 18/05/2020
After my written email to the builder not to proceed with signing the contract. They responded by making an offer to remove the penalty clauses in the contract…

I have thought about custom building plan similar to the builder (which is copyright), but after this, I am very reluctant to proceed with building. Thanks for the feedback

After reading your second post, I understand it's an amendment before DA approval. This also cannot happen without the applicant approval.
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After careful consideration, I advised the builder my decision not to proceed with signing the contract .
So did you check the DA after approval from the council?. From my understanding,…

Thank you Alexp79 and GrahamB for your feedback.

Builder still insisted on signing the contract before council approval. Negotiated with a few amendments to the contract. The final offer from the builder is to sign the contract, and…

Force majeure and COVID-19 – what you need to know now.
It is complex and depends how you relate this to your circumstances.
Thank you. I have this in my discussion with…

Step 4 "Once you signed the HIA contract the builder will submit your building applications" as shown in the attached image.
I disagree with this standard procedure. What are your thoughts?
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Will get my solicitor to include a clause for no changes to house plan dimensions of length & width. You feedback is appreciated.
Contract Variations
The contract could have allowances for the…

How I wish this was true?.
It depends on your builder. Some insist on signing the contract before DA approval, and others after.
My builder needs the contract to be signed before…

see if your council has a pre approval process or a “duty planner”. They should identity any obvious issues with the architectural plans for you prior to submission.
Setbacks, site…

I have gone through the contract several times and highlighted the pertinent points. Next week to the solicitor to review the contract. It's the builder business policy to sign the…

Thank you for your response especially the links which provided me with more incidents about the subject matter.
I agree with you not signing the building contact until the DA is…

Thank you for your response alexp79. The builder has followed the guidelines but slightly stretched to the limit because of the small block, and the house also to the maximum…

I am doing a Knock Down and Rebuild. I have paid the Tender fee and have signed the Tender. I have now received the Architectural Plans, and contract. The builder…