Trapped: Builder Moving Deadlines and Now I Want Out!

Hack

Is there any way out of this - and can the 10 per cent deposit be refunded?
The Dublin estate agent said in early February that the house - bought off the plans for new development - would be ready to move in in April. The foundation was done and that all they had to do was build the houses and access road in a new phase of an existing estate. When April came the house still didn't have a roof and the agent said May. By the time the contracts were signed with the development company, the completion date was early June - plus a "reasonable timeframe for doing the interior." Legal advice said that this "timeframe" was approximately one month, but that this was not in writing and that reasonable is open to opinion. However, the house, and others in the area, are still far from finished. The builder now says that it will be ready to move in in early August, but this is doubtful. The estate still looks far from ready. The road still has to be laid, and they are only starting to build house across the road and I doubt they can let anyone move into a building site. This hugely annoying situation means we can’t settle - and we will soon be forced to seek emergency temporary accommodation due to us having to leave our current rented property, which the landlord is selling.
1/ Are there any grounds to pull out at this stage and get the 10 per cent deposit back?
2/ Is anyone else experiencing this lack of care or respect for consumers in the property market, who need deadlines to be kept?

The_Conductor

Unfortunately its common practice for builders to offer unreasonable/unrealistic deadlines. Its not even an Irish phenomenon- its even worse in the UK, and if you have the misfortune to be building in Portugal, you're going to have no hair left before you get in the door.

All I've found that works-

For self builds- drip feed the payments based on significant build milestones.

For developments like this- have a reward/penalty scheme in place, based on dates and milestones.

You are past this at this stage though. You are also contractually bound to the builder- so if you walk, you loose your 10%.

I'd be of a frame of mind that you should get the current state of the property assessed- and then a solicitor's letter sent to the builder, detailing the slipped dates, and threatening legal action if a new agreed time table, is not followed through on.

FYI- from the second week in July onwards- a lot of building sites close pretty much to September.......... You need to get this tied down- and you need to threaten the builder- obviously he has over-reached, and is unable to deliver on his promises, in the stated time span. Perhaps its time for him to take on a few more staff?

moy83

Did anyone point out to you in February that 3 months was an incredibly short space of time to have a house completed from the raft up ? I feel sorry for you OP and I think the builders knew well it wouldn't be ready so quick and shouldn't have give you a timescale like that . I dont know what you can do now except keep the pressure on him .

Hack

The_Conductor wrote: »

Unfortunately its common practice for builders to offer unreasonable/unrealistic deadlines. Its not even an Irish phenomenon- its even worse in the UK, and if you have the misfortune to be building in Portugal, you're going to have no hair left before you get in the door.

All I've found that works-

For self builds- drip feed the payments based on significant build milestones.

For developments like this- have a reward/penalty scheme in place, based on dates and milestones.

You are past this at this stage though. You are also contractually bound to the builder- so if you walk, you loose your 10%.

I'd be of a frame of mind that you should get the current state of the property assessed- and then a solicitor's letter sent to the builder, detailing the slipped dates, and threatening legal action if a new agreed time table, is not followed through on.

FYI- from the second week in July onwards- a lot of building sites close pretty much to September.......... You need to get this tied down- and you need to threaten the builder- obviously he has over-reached, and is unable to deliver on his promises, in the stated time span. Perhaps its time for him to take on a few more staff?

Thanks for that, really appreciate it. I' definitely getting it assessed. A security guy on site told me they are very short on staff so that could be the reason for the slow build. My mortgage approval also runs out I'm September.

Hack

moy83 wrote: »

Did anyone point out to you in February that 3 months was an incredibly short space of time to have a house completed from the raft up ? I feel sorry for you OP and I think the builders knew well it wouldn't be ready so quick and shouldn't have give you a timescale like that . I dont know what you can do now except keep the pressure on him .

Thanks Moy83. Ye it is very frustrating. Bricklayer pals said the house would be up in a month but it seems this guy doesn't work as past as them!

Victor

Talk to your solicitor about performance (there is a special term I can't think of) of the contract. While the contract will likely say that "time is not of the essence", the delay seems unreasonable.

moy83 wrote: »

Did anyone point out to you in February that 3 months was an incredibly short space of time to have a house completed from the raft up ?

It is perfectly possible, without much of a rush, to build a house in 3 months.

moy83

Victor wrote: »

Talk to your solicitor about performance (there is a special term I can't think of) of the contract. While the contract will likely say that "time is not of the essence", the delay seems unreasonable.

It is perfectly possible, without much of a rush, to build a house in 3 months.

I never said it wasnt possible , but I do think there would want to be a push on things to be able to move in three months after the raft is done .
I dont understand why the builder wouldn't allow himself a bit more time from the start

No Pants

Victor wrote: »

Talk to your solicitor about performance (there is a special term I can't think of) of the contract.

Not related to building, but I'm familiar with the term non-performance.