Why You Need a Construction Contract

A handshake is as good as your word. Contracts are meant to be broken. The only reason a written agreement or contract exists is to protect the parties in case the promise is broken.

In the event the contract is fully satisfied, everyone is happy. Many times a construction contract is signed and there is never a need for enforcement. But there are many sad stories of court action and years of unfulfilled promises on the part of a construction contractor and even, in the case of non-payment or other buyer non-performance, on the part of the buyer, homeowner or commercial tenant or owner.  

Whether you are about to undertake an addition to your home, build your first business facility, renovate an office or build a new home, you need a construction contract. Do not suppose you can write the details on the back of an envelope or discuss them over coffee.  

Construction contracts exist because the devil is in the details. You may be so excited by the prospect of your construction project that you can’t see how anything can go wrong. And your construction contractors may be the most honest guy in the city, but that does not mean you both have the same vision. Some of the most passionate legal actions take place, not because of malice on either side, but because both parties though they understood the nature and scope of the project and somewhere along the way they discovered they did not see things in the same light. 

When you negotiating the terms of a construction contract you are forced to review  the details of labor, materials, schedules, changes and other factors, and as you work through these details you will better understand just what you are getting and giving in the exchange. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the parties start a construction project with full intent to satisfy the contract. Construction contracts and related agreements and forms exist to address the other one percent and the myriad of construction project details that can be misconstrued or misunderstood!