There are many hurdles to overcome when planning and building a home. Almondia supports future homeowners in all important decisions on their way to their own home. So does the Steinert family. In May, the young family decided to take the exciting step of building a house together with Almondia. In this construction diary, we regularly report on personal experiences, decision-making processes, mastered challenges and Almondia’s support throughout the planning and construction phase. Whether looking for a property, financing concept or room allocation – read here how the Steinert family finds a suitable solution for every challenge together with Almondia. In this post the contract will be signed!
About four months had elapsed between the first viewing of the model home park in Poing and the selection of the offer from ECOBAU Allgäu GmbH . Almondia supported the Steinert family during this time with a targeted pre-selection of construction companies. By narrowing down the offers, Julia and Sebastian didn’t find it difficult to make a decision and soon the contract with the construction company fluttered into the house.
service description
A service description specifies the contractual item and contains all the services in kind that are included in a work or purchase contract.
“Checking the specifications was also one of Almondia’s greatest help.”
It not only consists of a list of all partial services, but also describes the properties, functions and quality features of the purchased item and is part of every construction contract as an appendix. (What you should pay attention to when reading the construction contract, we describe in our article The most important pitfalls in the construction contract .)
Technical jargon and small print in the contract
Who doesn’t know him? The slight hint of desperation when you look at the fine print on complex contracts? Especially when it comes to an important matter and you are definitely not an expert… Infinitely long sentences, nested if-then formulations and numerous exceptions make reading and especially understanding such a contract text anything but easy. But before prospective builders even deal with the actual contract, the service description must first be examined more closely.
Pages of achievements
In the appendix to the ECOBAU contract, Julia and Sebastian Steinert found all the relevant plans such as floor plans, views from different perspectives, etc. as well as a plan list that lists them in full. The contract also included a payment plan and a nine-page description of services, which the prospective builders should carefully examine before signing the contract. But what do you have to pay attention to? Which points must absolutely be included in the service description? Is the specified duration for individual services realistic? Where are there loopholes and where are hidden costs possibly lurking? With Almondia at their side, answering all of these questions was no problem for the Steinert family. (To learn how to keep your dream home from becoming a nightmare, check out our botched construction article.)
Concretization is about studying
Although the original specification of the company ECOBAU was already very fair, there were a few aspects that the Steinert family renegotiated after the consultation with Almondia. This concerned, for example, the issue of building site facilities : it was clear that the construction company would bear the financial costs, but this was not explicitly stated in the specifications. Hidden costs are also particularly important, i.e. points that are missing in the service description and, in unfortunate cases, have to be paid for at the end. Not insignificant was also the specification of the completion times of individual trades. (To learn how to protect yourself against unforeseen costs when building a house, see our article Cost Traps When Building a House .)
On the basis of Almondia’s suggestions, the Steinert family and the construction company jointly refined the specific content of the specification in a total of three coordination meetings.
“With the help of Almondia, it was possible to rule out the possibility that unforeseen costs would arise in the end.”
In this way, later misunderstandings could be prevented and clear conditions were created from the outset. The company ECOBAU not only immediately accepted all the change requests of the prospective builders, but also made them the standard for all Amondia builders at the same time. The joint specification of the service description can therefore be understood as pioneering work, which will also benefit all future Almondia customers who decide in favor of ECOBAU.
Teamwork in contract negotiation
Almondia also took a look at the contract before the prospective builders signed it.
“Of course, Almondia is much better able to assess whether the construction contract or the specification attached to the contract is serious.”
For Julia and Sebastian Steinert, for example, the question arose as to whether the splitting of payment into seven individual installments, which are to be paid after completion of a trade, is so common. With these and other questions, the two were very happy to have Almondia at their side as an advisory body. After all ambiguities were cleared up, the ceremonial signing of the contract took place in July 2016.
This is how Almondia helps
Contracts pose a challenge for the inexperienced reader. The technical jargon is often difficult for prospective builders to understand, and there are often no comparative values to be able to correctly assess the offer. Therefore, benefit from Almondia’s comprehensive expert knowledge and let us check both your contract and the associated service description. We are at your side during this crucial phase of contract negotiations and help you to get the best possible conditions.
Construction diary part 9 A complete building application includes various documents such as building…
Autorin Sarah Völkl
Sarah Völkl hat Architektur studiert und ist seit Jahren das Gesicht von a better place. Mit ihren Videos ist sie bei YouTube vielen Personen schon länger bekannt. Sarah teilt Ihr Wissen jetzt auch bei den Bautipps von Almondia.
