This week a weight was lifted off my/our shoulders and I'm happy to sit down and write about the last little while.
In mid February, 2 days before we were due to attend our new date with the New South Wales Civil Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), we received an email from the Builder stating he was lodging a claim AGAINST us.
The claim was $30K above our claim against him to fix and finish the house.
To say we were floored would be an understatement.
Not only do we hate him more for this, but it also means there's a whole lot more work in store. Not to worry, I have the fire in my belly to bring this dickhead down.
His claim against us mainly consists of discrepancies between the architects and engineer's drawings...ironic considering he's failed to use either of these drawings in much of the house build. In fact, this process has really brought to light his inability to follow drawings / specifications / building codes...right down to the slab and frame, now creating substantial cracking and shifting in the structure.
In any case, the 'correctness' of these drawings - as stated in the contract - lie with the Builder, so why is he claiming against us - the Client? What a tool. His claims are laughable (now, not at first), and I must admit that while he's not very good at building houses, he's very good at muddying the waters - something I'm having to wade through now.
After the initial surprise, we contacted our newly-appointed Building Expert who put us at ease about the process. As he predicted, NCAT amalgamated the two cases so items listed in both claims could be addressed simultaneously. Makes sense, though the process has effectively tripled in time. We should be finished by October / November this year...devastated!
So back to February...we rocked up to Tribunal with all of our paperwork in hand but none of that was really necessary as it was a 'Directions Hearing' - basically, directions on how this process will go down over the next few months.
The Arbitrator addressed our claim first, asking how long it would take us to gather all of the documents / emails / statements for all of our (70+) claims against the Builder. We needed to be able to substantiate each claim and provide a factual account of each item listed on a Scott Schedule - the template NCAT like to use. We offered 4 weeks to turn it around.
In reply, the Arbitrator asked the Builder how long he would need to respond to our claims, he requested 7 weeks. We stated this was another stalling tactic, and the Arbitrator reduced his time frame to 6 (7 weeks with Easter holidays included) - triple the time frame most respondents get. Ughh!
After this 10 week back-and-forth, we will reconvene in May and start the process again in reverse - it will be the Builder's turn to substantiate his claims, and our job to reply.
This should take us to approximately August where the Builder's nominated Building Expert will meet with our expert onsite to complete a 'conclave' where the they will nut-out the finer details before going back to NCAT with some top-line figures. Hopefully this is where we'll get a ruling around October / November.
So where are we up to now? This week we handed NCAT and the Builder our documentation surrounding our claims to fix and finish the house...all 4 folders of it. I took almost 3 weeks off work and nearly every evening to get it done. What a marathon. Should we have asked for more time? Probably. I underestimated how difficult it would be to build a case on some items as there had been so many alterations of the Builder's invoices.
For example, we're currently using version 8 of the Final Invoice, in which the overall (signed) contract price has been increased by the Builder, his costs have suddenly increased and our (documented) payments have decreased...it's a mess. Some claims I had to reference every past invoice, including the changes and our bank statements just to clarify payment. Exhausting!
Can't wait for this to be over. Can't wait to bury this guy and move on with our lives.
I never thought I'd have to fight this hard for our house to be finished. I'm amazed that we're even in this position, but we have to keep fighting - we can't roll over and let his claim crush us.
What's next? In 7 weeks we'll get his reply to our claim. Should be a bunch of random statements written in red crayon (as per his claim against us). Am looking forward to 'new' invoices with increased costs on old items. Maybe this time he'll use a calculator, or even a dictionary to define 'builder', as it seems he still doesn't understand what that terms means...he's now claiming we should have paid for Home Warranty Insurance on the house build. Unbelievable.
