How to negotiate effectively with your individual house builder

Building one’s house is generally a once-in-a-lifetime undertaking. While the acquisition of an existing property is quick and offers the security of being able to spot any defects during viewings, the same cannot be said when purchasing real estate that does not yet exist. The process is lengthy and requires particular attention, notably regarding the clauses of the contract signed with your individual house builder: they must protect you from disappointment, or even the physical or financial danger that defective workmanship or premature wear of construction elements could represent. Here are some tips for negotiating a contract that will allow you to calmly watch the rise of your future place of living.

First and foremost, sign the right type of contract

It is advisable, first of all, to define which contract will be signed with your contractor(s). It will be appropriate to sign a CCMI (Contrat de Construction de Maison Individuelle / Contract for the Construction of an Individual House), if you entrust the entire construction to a single company. This contract may be entered into with or without the provision of plans, depending on whether an architect is involved in your project.

If other companies are working on your site, you will need to sign a separate contract for each, specifying the scope of work and all associated conditions. A CCMI is still possible, insofar as a single main company carries out the structural work and makes the building watertight and weathertight.

The CCMI has the advantage of being highly regulated, and notably ensures that you benefit from a cancellation period, a financing plan secured by your bank, a contractual price and delivery deadline. It also guarantees the completion of works in the event of the initial contractor going bankrupt.

The other two possibilities are to sign:

• A set of work contracts, lot by lot, with each contractor involved. The risk being poor coordination of works or a lack of coherence in successive stages. Vigilance is also required regarding compliance with commitments made, as the work contract is less regulated and less binding for the contractor.
• A project management contract, to entrust a project manager, architect or other, with coordinating the works and ensuring their proper progress. This choice obviously entails an additional cost, in monitoring fees

Construction takes time and… so does your payment!

Above all, do not make the mistake of paying too quickly the sums owed to the builder for the completion of the various stages of your house construction. The process is strictly regulated and should lead you to pay:

• 5% of the total sum upon signing the contract,
• 10% at the site opening,
• 10% after completion of the foundations,
• 15% at completion of the walls,
• 20% at the watertight stage (walls and roof erected),
• 15% at completion of the partitions and the weathertight stage (therefore after installation of doors and windows),
• 20% once the secondary works are completed,
• 5% upon acceptance of the works and if no defective workmanship is detected. Otherwise, the balance will only be payable after repairs.

The essential price guarantee

The signed contract must state all works included in the advertised price. Do not hesitate to verify, point by point, that all works necessary for the perfect completion of your house are indeed included! To offer attractive price quotes, some unscrupulous builders may indeed omit to specify that certain works such as painting, tiling or site cleaning remain the responsibility of the client.

The list of services must therefore appear in the contract in an exhaustive manner, and the overall price stated must be accompanied by the mention “firm and final”. The only element that may then influence it will be an increase in the construction cost index regularly calculated by INSEE to establish the average cost practice in new construction, an index which also serves as the basis for rent reviews.

Insist on taking out a delivery guarantee!

Do not take the risk of putting your future house in the same basket as the other 10,000 built each year without this essential delivery guarantee. While it entails an additional cost which companies are happy to do without to increase their competitiveness, it nevertheless protects you from setbacks that could ruin your initial project.

Beyond delays of several weeks, ultimately common in the construction industry and which may be explained, the risk is also – and above all – the bankruptcy of your builder which may suddenly be announced to you. You would then find yourself with a house under construction on your hands, with no bank or insurance coming to finance the continuation of the construction.

With a delivery guarantee, delays will entitle you to compensation, and a company abandonment ensures that another will take over, without additional cost.

We therefore advise you against signing a contract that does not include this delivery guarantee, which must moreover not exceed 4% of the sale price. If this is the case, your builder has probably already had problems with their insurance, so mistrust is advised.

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Proceed with a careful examination upon acceptance of the house

You will only have 8 days to report to the builder any defective workmanship you have detected within the house. This deadline remains fairly short, and we advise you not to wait to devote a few hours to a detailed examination.

Multiple elements are to be checked:

• the most visible, such as correct tiling, renders and paints, good layout of partitions;
• some more technical, such as doors and windows, radiators or the boiler;
• others, finally, more difficult to check: the roofing, the chimney, plumbing and electrical circuits.

The aim will be to detect any installation defect (tiling that protrudes, a window letting a draft through, etc.), operating problems for appliances, to note any omission (paint not carried out, poorly positioned electrical socket, etc.), and to note any element appearing to differ from the agreement concluded. This sole 8-day period will be allocated to you to report them to the builder and demand repairs.

To ensure sufficient perspective and expertise, do not hesitate to engage a building technician or architect, so that they examine the house from every angle for you. A defect not detected could cost you much more in the future than the fees of a simple visit.

Building an individual house with a specialised builder will be a serene operation, provided you have taken all these precautions. Also trust your instinct: a salesperson making you an offer that seems too good to be true… probably is! Before contacting a company, use the means at your disposal to ensure its good reputation: reviews posted online and word of mouth. Finally, you can verify on the web that the company has not experienced any difficulty in recent years, such as being placed in judicial restructuring. Build prudently, but certainly!