[Closed] Paying up front for a timber house kit?

Once assembled I doubt it can be taken back down again without damage and recovered for lack of payment....

It's costing nearly £100k for the kit

For a 'pine lodge' 😯

How big is it ffs?

I would want to see the companies finances (publicly available) to see how much of a risk they are and maybe think about using a solicitor to put the money in a form of escrow account, maybe 10% up front, 40 % more past a certain progress point and then the balance when its put up.

£100k is some peoples life savings and losing it could a devastating loss to them.

For a 'pine lodge'

Im guessing its more of a SIP modular house

I'd be nervous about it too, but is it normal in the kit-house business? I have no idea.

I would be comfortable with 25% up front (maybe they have to pay for the materials), then 75% on delivery.

I'd put the second bit in escrow if they are worried about us not paying.

If they need all the money before they build the kit, that's not a company I'd want to do business with.

For bespoke fabrication in other fields 50% deposit then 50% when it is released to the buyer is fairly normal. That should result in 100% payment before it is onsite but with minimal/shared risk to both parties

So not that strange then. I guess they need to take a view on it themselves. I think I'd still only put up 50% max until it arrived on site.

[i]If they need all the money before they build the kit, that's not a company I'd want to do business with. [/i]

I wouldn't imagine it's because they [b]need the money[/b] but because it's a custom build and so only wanted by the person ordering.

For example at work we invoice 1/3 on order, 1/3 when we start the work and the last 1/3 at go-live.

Obviously this means a 1/3 risk for us at any time, as we could start the work before they'd paid.

I agree 10-25% deposit, the value of goods as and when delivered to site with a bill to say they are mine at that point, and a final payment the day work is finished. No-one has refused or wanted an escrow account. I have shown people bank statements which make it clear I'll have no trouble paying.

If a company wanted £100 000 up front without escrow I'd go somewhere else. It would be easy for the company to have good looking books but be bankrupt if they have money on their books for materials they haven't bought and work they haven't done. Ten orders would be a million on their books.

£100k is some peoples life savings and losing it could a devastating loss to them.

Seems fair, you wouldn't order a frame from CRC and tell them you're not paying until the forks arrive from Wiggle and you can get around to building it.

Or more relevant, going to Jewsons for some bricks and mortar, and saying you'll pay them later. They may or may not offer you credit, but I suspect as a one off customer you're far more of a risk to them than they are to you.

If the forks didn't arrive fro Wiggle you could send the frame back to CRC and they'd give you a full refund.

You need some kind of lever with building companies. When it's put together you find there are a host of problems, good luck getting them sorted if they've got all your money already. And is their any incentive at all to make your house in the time promised when they've already got all the money? Don't place your confidence in people who have no confidence in you.

We have to pay upfront for the design calcs on steel buildings. All that gets you is a ****ing picture!

Say they've paid all the money to the supplier and they go bump before supplying the goods.
Good luck with getting their money back.

cannot say with wood houses but with boats its common to pay as you go along

Deposit to commision the hull paid up when it arrives and continue as you add bits to the boat.

Otherwise the builder/supplier of the house takes a massive risk as after weeks of work and thousands of pounds of cost the customer can just walk away

Phased payment is reasonable though I would want to hold something back for "quality checks" or some such say 10% as you cannot check it all when it arrives on site?

"Do one" is the phrase that springs to mind.

They'll soon come back with a better proposal.

Which is what I shall be doing at work tomorrow with a supplier who's operating under a similar delusion that I'm going to finance their margin before I've derived any value.

Say they've paid all the money to the supplier and they go bump before supplying the goods.
Good luck with getting their money back.

This, you'd not get anything back and have no 'shed' to show for it....

I'd want to see all their financials for the last 6 months plus still only put down 20% up front.

Hi
I work for a timber frame manufacturer. We make for national home builders down to individuals. If this house is a one off design, they won't want the risk if the client changes their mind. Also it's harder to credit check joe blogs than a developer. For individuals we typically take a deposit of about 20% at the start, more prior to manufacture and almost the rest prior to despatch.

At the moment, trade is picking up (for us at least) so the manufacturer in this case can be choosy.

If you want, pm me the company name and I'll dig for some "inside" info.

It's fairly common to pay a deposit and the balance prior to delivery.
As mentioned in the OP erection is extra and once it's up you're not removing it due to non-payment!