Without going into all the details in this post, One Three Designer Homes hit us with a massive extra bill right at the end of the lengthy building process. We were (and still are) of the opinion that these extra charges were unjustified and a pure money grab, and this led to various exchanges about these costs.
What the extra bill was about, and how One Three Designer Homes treated us when we attempted to put forward our concerns about it, is a whole other story, but in the process One Three Designer Homes offered us a small discount on the large extra bill that was conditional on signing a deed of release.
Gut instinct was steer well clear of the deed of release, but feeling well out of my depth with the document prepared by their lawyers (who also appear to be the owners business partner and to have acted in the family's defence in past controversies) I thought that we should seek some advice.
The advice that I received:
.... do not sign the Deed under
any circumstances...
We were advised that this deed was highly favourable for the builder as it would effectively release the them from their contractual obligations and any claims we may have under the contract.
Which is basically what I thought. Perhaps this is standard stuff for lawyers and such but if its all fair and reasonable, why the conditions about non-disparagement and confidentiality? It really made us feel like they were trying to take advantage of us and keep themselves all safe and sound from a legal perspective at the same time.
The NSW home building act
Who knows. Nice try I guess, but there is no way I was going to sign that, especially after the advice I received.
I have noticed that there are two or three other blogs about building with One Three Designer Homes that appear to come to a halt before the projects come to completion. I don't know anything about the other blogs, but it did make me wonder whether this deed of release business is an approach that One Three Designer Homes have used to take advantage of clients before?
