Remove items from a building contract

missymoo1000, Apr 29, 5:56am
Has anyone removed items from a master builders residential build contract? According to the contract, the builder is able to recover the cost of processing variations (additions, reductions or substitutions, as per clause 31 of the stand MB contract) which is fine by me. From this I take it I am able to request a variation (reduction) in this case to supply and install the carpets myself. I am aware that this will mean they will not be covered by the build warranty etc etc and that I need to do this so as to ensure the builder is not inconvenienced or bares any cost if we do this. Has anyone any experience with this?

zak410, Apr 29, 6:01am
I think it may cost you more going down that road if the contract is already signed. :(

carter19, Apr 29, 6:09am
When I worked for one of NZ's favourite builders, it was standard to only credit 70% of any variations to customers. So if they charged you 10k initially do not expect to get a credit for the whole amount. obviously every builder is different but the one I worked for would only credit you$7k

missymoo1000, Jan 22, 10:55am
Hmm, interesting. The contract doesn't state anything about only crediting 70% of the cost of the variation. However, it does say the builder can charge 5% of the cost of the variation to process it. My interpretation is for a $10k variation to remove the carpets, the builder is entitled to charge $500.