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Quotes and contracts: Important to know

Many people start some projects without a contract with their builder, and with time they realize they should have contracted before beginning the work. Many people repent on it after being worked without a contract. It is because when they do just verbal agreement with the builder and start work. Then work can get confused, and it won't be easy to decide what to do and what has already been done. Below we clear some important terms which can help you to understand quotes and contracts.

Estimate:

An Estimate is no more than a professional guess. And you estimate the cost of your job done. It is not an excellent way to set out the scope of your work. Because with time there may be some work that demands some extra cost. And you are required to enhance the budget, but builders disagree on it. Hence there is no absolute commitment regarding price.
More than the estimate, a person can also agree through a verbal commitment for specific work to a particular price. If you have anything which is a record of this like mobile messages, or calls etc., then you can handle the builder through that word. But it mostly becomes complex in case of mutual consent if there isn't any writing proof.

Written Quote:

It is in fact an estimated but detailed description, step by step, of all the services provided by a professional. Its use differs from fixed price contracts, which fix the price of the work to be carried out globally and without details. Which system can sometimes be advantageous for the customer but does not have the merit of clarity concerning all the cases that the service provider will encounter on the site.

On the contrary, the estimate makes it possible to check in detail the quality, the quantity of materials required for the work (construction etc.) ordered, the labor required, as well as the price charged by the professionals requested. For each of the indications entered, the craftsman must make the most objective estimate possible.

What is the mandatory information that must be entered on the written Quote?

First of all, make it clear there is no universal template for a work quote, but some things should clear.

● The date of writing,
● The name and address of the company,
● The name of the client and the address of the execution of the work,
● The detailed account, in quantity and price, of each service and product necessary for the planned operation, specifying each time the name, the unit price and the designation of the reference unit for the calculation (hourly labor rate - of work, per linear meter, per square meter) and the planned quantity,
● Travel costs, if applicable,
● The total amount to be paid,
● The amount to be paid including tax,
● VAT rate,
● The period of validity of the offer,
● The indication whether the estimate is free or paid. The other mentions written by the service provider come within the framework of the discussion with his client.
● They are part of the professional's commitments and therefore their responsibility once the estimate has been approved. Finally, it should be noted that the estimate is drawn up in duplicate, each participant keeping a duplicate of the document.

Other things which can be mentioned in the written Quote?

● Hourly labor rates including all taxes,
● The method for calculating the time spent on the site,
● The prices including VAT of the services offered,
● Travel costs, if necessary,
● The paid nature of the quote if it is and the cost of its establishment,

When does the quote engage both parties?

Once it is dated and signed by the professional and the client, the estimate has the value of a contract. In this sense, it engages the responsibility of the professional for the various terms entered on the document. As for the client, he is not required to comply with the estimate if he has not validated it. Hence the interest of requesting several quotes from different companies, comparing them and then making a choice. On the other hand, once the customer has affixed the handwritten words 'Estimate received before the execution of the works' and 'Good for works', with the date and his signature.

The advantages of the quote:

The estimate is the support that prefigures a contract between a builder and a tradesperson. Clearly written and well detailed, it allows the customer to judge the credibility and seriousness of the service provider. Trusted documents, it is also on this basis that the customer can request readjustments in the quantity of products or in the number of hours of service to the person, for example.

The estimate also constitutes security for the service provider. By clearly indicating the clauses of the contract, he delimits his field of intervention and the duration thereof. This precision allows him to better manage his time (when it comes to providing services) but also his property (when it comes to providing products).

Contract:

A contract is not mandatory. So if you already offer a sufficiently detailed quotation, together with the general terms and conditions, you already have an agreement after acceptance. You can opt for a contract if you keep quotes very short and perhaps only want to offer general terms and conditions later. You do not send the requirements with the quotation, but you send them with the contract. In the agreement, you work out the quote even further. Everything that is especially specific to this assignment must be included in the contract. What do you deliver, when, how much, for what price, etc.?

The different types of construction contract:

When you build, you can have recourse to several types of contracts:

● the single-family house construction contract: For the construction of a single-family house or a building with no more than two dwellings intended for the same owner (you), for residential use or use mixed (residential and professional) on land belonging to you. The obligation to conclude applies to any builder who takes care of the water out (covering and waterproofing) and air out work. (doors and windows). It can conclude with or without providing a plan. In the first case, you have your house built according to a plan that the builder has proposed. In the second case, the builder is responsible for carrying out the structural work, water and air out;
● the contract of sale of building to be constructed (purchase off-plan, sale in the future state of completion);
● the real estate development contract: the promoter undertakes to have you proceed, for an agreed price, with the completion of a construction program as well as all or part of the legal, administrative and financial operations;
● the company contract (or works deal) can conclude if none of the contractors concerned is responsible for providing the plan and if no contractor is responsible for all the structural work, water out and out of the air;
● The architect (or project management) contract is concluded with a project manager who designs the project in return for fees: he draws up the plans, prepares the technical documents, coordinates the work and assists you in your business relations. But he does not take care of the construction.

The obligations of the individual home builder:

The latter must, in all cases:

● be the holder of a delivery guarantee issued by a credit institution or insurance and a money-back guarantee when the construction contract with supply plan provides for payments before the start of construction ;
● be insured as a guarantee for professional and ten-year liability ;
● carry out the work by the agreed schedule and the rules of the Construction and Housing Code and the Town Planning Code;
● deliver the construction within the time and price agreed in the contract.

Beware of false builders!

You may come across advertisements that suggest that the company is a single-family home construction company as defined above when it uses the project management contract or the company contract to avoid constraints. Two scenarios can arise:

● the advertisement suggests that the company is responsible for the overall construction operation while it is only responsible for a part and is not subject to the provisions;
● the elements contained in the advertising of the company suggest that the latter is responsible for the overall operation of building a house and is therefore subject to the rules on the construction of single-family homes when in reality it does well of the construction of a house but intends to evade the obligations arising from the Construction and Housing Code by resorting to a project management contract or a works contract.

If you are the victim of misleading advertising, you can contact the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations in your department.

The content of the contract:

The written and compliant contract must sign before the start of the work. The manufacturer must send you a copy of the agreement, accompanied by all its annexes, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

The mandatory information which must be contained in the contract summarize in the table below. It differs slightly depending on whether you sign a contract for the construction of a detached house with or without providing a plan:


With provision of planWithout providing a plan
General informations● designation of the land and mention of the title deed;
● an indication that you can be assisted by an authorized professional upon acceptance of the work;
● justification of the reimbursement and delivery guarantees provided by the manufacturer;
● reference of the damage insurance that you must take out.

● designation of the land (address, surface, cadastral designation);
● reference of the damage-to-work insurance that you must take out;
● undertaking by the entrepreneur to provide the guarantee of delivery at the agreed price and time;
● the indication that you can be assisted by an authorized professional upon acceptance of the work.

Construction Information● indication of the project's compliance with the rules of the Construction and Housing Code and the Town Planning Code;
● consistency and technical characteristics of the building to be constructed;
● indication of obtaining the building permit and other administrative authorizations;
● date of opening of the site, the completion time of the work and penalties provided for in the event of late delivery.

● consistency and technical characteristics of the building to be constructed;
● the time limit for completion of work and penalties applicable in the event of late delivery.

Prices and funding● Price of the house to be built: this price must make up the fixed. And the final cost of the work, the execution of which is the responsibility of the builder. The cost of the work for which the client reserves the performance (reserved work) ;
● payment terms depending on the progress of the work;
● Financing terms, nature and amount of loans you have obtained.

● We agreed, the fixed and final price as well as the terms of its payment.
Appendices● copy of the building permit and other administrative authorizations;
● warranty certificates (delivery, and where applicable, reimbursement);
● descriptive notice of the technical characteristics of the building and of the interior or exterior equipment works which are essential for the establishment and use of the building; plan of the construction accompanied by a perspective drawing of the building;
● an information notice recalling the applicable regulations;

● The delivery guarantee certificate, the description of the work to be carried out, the possible plan and the information notice recalling the general rules applicable without providing a project must be appended to the contract.
Conditions precedent● acquisition of land or real rights to build;
● obtaining the building permit and other administrative authorizations;
● obtaining loans;
● getting structural damage insurance;
● Obtaining the delivery guarantee.

● The regulations without provision of a plan do not provide for it. Still, the latter can conclude under the same conditions with a project's requirement.
Conversely, several prohibited clauses cannot be included in the contract to construct a single-family house. These are the clauses which aim at:

● to oblige you to give the mandate to the builder to find the loan (s) necessary for the financing of the construction without this mandate being express and includes all the useful details on the conditions of this or these loans;
● to subordinate the repayment of the security deposit to the obligation, for you, to justify the refusal of several loan requests;
● to accept as equivalent administrative authorization a building permit accompanied by technical or architectural prescriptions such as to entail a substantial modification of the project which gave rise to the conclusion of the initial contract;
● relieve the builder of his obligation to perform the work within the time limits provided for in the agreement, in particular by providing for legitimate causes of delay other than lousy weather, cases of force majeure and fortuitous events;
● to make the handing over of the keys conditional on full payment of the price and thus prevent your right to deposit the sums remaining due when reservations are made upon receipt of the work;
● To prevent you from visiting the site, before each payment due and receipt of the work.