May I know if this contract is fair for both parties

Hi Alice, Stay well clear of the RMB contract it is weighted so heavily in favour of the builder it really should be banned from use. Do not get sucked in by The Master Builders org, they are paid for by subscriptions from the builder and it is to them that they will back every time there is a dispute. In all my years reading this blog I have never seen one thing positive about a resolution in favour of the home owner against the builder by MB. Chris C has a very good contract which he will point you in the direction of, take it away Chris…….

Hi Alice, More pressure from MJ! I’m not familiar with the MB 2018 form. But assuming it’s similar to the 2011 form we used in 2015 then I agree with MJ that it likely has a number of problems. I say ‘used’ because we did in fact go ahead using most of the form, but in the days when some MBs were prepared to discuss changes (or perhaps I just got lucky). So we agreed on enough changes to keep me happy, while letting them feel they were still using their own form. I agree with MJ there are much better forms out there. Unfortunately it seems these days it’s not easy to persuade builders to use them. As I said recently, that could all change by next year, when in my view a lot of builders will be begging for work to avoid going out of business. (We can all dream) To avoid repeating a lot of stuff said here before, you may have to try CtrlF and search words like contract, NZ Standard, PC Sum, Provisional, mortgage, and perhaps do the boring stuff of reading Mark Grahams building guide, and scanning through this very lengthy blog. Due diligence on stage payments is difficult if you’re not around. First establish to what extent the builder will give you (or your agent) access to even check. Apparently some of the crazy ones don’t. Avoid the ones who make the slightest difficulty. I suppose maybe if you’ve really established trust with the builder you could rely on his word plus photos. Failing that I suppose you need to employ someone who knows what they’re looking for. Good luck.

Thanks MJ. I would imagined a builder who is a RMB has more ‘assurance’ than one who is not a member of any established builder associations with no guarantees? Appreciate some insights as this is our first time building. For builder who are RMB, I presume they will be inclined to use the RMB contract? If one were to stay clear of that contract, what options would the purchaser have? The builder we are discussing said they are willing to take up clause which pass rising cost to purchaser to fulfil the fixed price contract though.

Hi Alice, If this is your first time building I strongly suggest you see a lawyer that specialises in construction contracts so he can go over the RMB contract with you and he may well have a contract that’s more balanced that you could use. You might not want to spend the money doing this but this blog is full to the brim of people who didn’t spend the money doing due diligence and it ended up costing them tens of thousands of dollars, and in some cases hundreds, and a lifetime of stress with a poor quality product as a result. If the builder then does not want to take on board any changes your lawyer suggests then walk away. Housing franchises have very good sales people so best not listen to them until you have the contract sorted.