Contract signing

The process of signing the contract with Eden Brae probably went about as smoothly as one would imagine considering that the builder is trying to get you to sign on the dotted line and commit a 5% deposit.

You will likely encounter a charming contract consultant who is essentially another salesperson looking to close the deal for the builder. We dealt with Tanya, who was lovely and knowledgeable. When she didn’t know the answer to our questions, she was able to quickly consult with another colleague to get us answers.

The process involves two stages:

1. The initial tender presentation. Come armed with a list of questions and any changes that you have in mind.

2. Contract signing appointment, where they present you with a contract incorporating any changes discussed during the tender presentation. They want you both there to sign on the dotted line on the day; one of us couldn’t make it due to work commitments. It didn’t matter in the end as we signed after the presentation and it gave us some extra time to think about it before really committing.

Tip: Before you really commit, be honest to yourself about how much you will spend on upgrades. Eden Brae has a list of common upgrades and their associated costs, which can be useful for budgeting. However, they only provide this to you after you sign and commit the 5% deposit so you will need to ask for it. The other way to do it is ask yourself how much you want to budget for upgrades and then double it. Seriously. Think about everything (upgrades to kitchen, flooring, brick choice, electrical and lighting, doors, windows, tap fixtures, cabinets to laundry, air conditioning etc)

Tip 2: Before signing the contract is about the only time that you will have any leverage during negotiations. Challenge their pricing if it seems unfair to you. We got Eden Brae to waive $3k for traffic control – ridiculous for a street that barely has any traffic, no school zone, is not near a traffic light and has ample street parking. Eden Brae waived it if we were willing to sign.